Best Selling Biography & Memoir Books

You've probably heard the rumours about the world ending in 2012 right? Did you know that the smart and powerful people are secretly building three giant spaceships in which to make a getaway but it's only for them? And did you also know that to get on one of those spaceships and escape you've got t...

'I've been to hell and I'm back. If you're in that same place, then I understand what you're going through.' John Kirwan was one of the most devastating wingers New Zealand, and world, rugby had ever seen. A prominent and revered figure at the dawn of the professional age of rugby, he seemed to ...

From bestselling author Walter Isaacson comes the landmark biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years--as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues--Walter Is...

Join the UK's hottest new boyband on their rollercoaster ride to superstardom, with the follow-up to the Number 1 bestselling book One Direction: Forever Young: Our Official X Factor Story. Last year they were just five normal boys, who didn't even know each other, dreaming of being up on stage, wit...

Dame Alison Holst holds more titles than her damehood suggests: she's been invariably described as 'Mother of the Nation', 'Queen of the Kitchen' and 'a groundbreaker in the culinary world'. In the sixties, Dame Alison singlehandedly changed the way women prepared food for their families with he...

Known to millions simply as 'Smithy', Sir Charles Kingsford Smith was one of Australia's true twentieth-century legends. In an era in which aviators were superstars, Smithy was among the greatest and, throughout his amazing career, his fame in Australia was matched only by that of Don Bradman. Among...

From one of the greatest rock guitarists of our era comes a memoir that redefines sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. The long-awaited, never-before-told, no-holds-barred memoir from the legendary Guns N' Roses guitarist. Finally, all the lurid tales of sex, drugs and rock n' roll are revealed as Slas...

In this follow up to CALL THE MIDWIFE, Jennifer Worth, a midwife working in the docklands area of East London in the 1950s tells more stories about the people she encountered. There's Jane, who cleaned and generally helped out at Nonnatus House - she was taken to the workhouse as a baby and was alle...

'Someone called and said Kurt died. I just f*****g lost it.' He has sold over 40 million albums. He's been in bands that have changed popular music forever. He saw his best friend commit suicide. He starts supergroups. He's the nicest guy in rock. From a bandmate's suicide to drug abuse, from Wa...

Some say your previous cat chooses their successor. If so, what in cat heaven's name was Helen Brown's beloved Cleo thinking when she sent a crazy kitten like Jonah? When Cleo died, Helen Brown swore she'd never get another kitten. But after she was diagnosed with breast cancer an unscheduled visit ...

An epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? Isolated by Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful Tarahumara Indians have honed the ability to run hundreds of miles without rest or injury. In a riveting narrative, award-winning journalist and often-injured runner...

New Zealand's high country farmers are a special breed. They farm in tough terrain, at high altitudes, in areas where extreme climate puts both man and animal to the test. When she was widowed, with three children, in 1992 Iris Scott had to call on all her farming skill and inner strength to carry o...

His debut album has already gone platinum. His YouTube videos have received over 10 million hits. He's sung for the President of the United States. His screaming fans have stormed TV studios and shut down shopping malls. Justin Bieber is a global superstar and now, for the first time ever, he's goin...

Given away by her mother at five months old, raped on the day of her first communion at age seven - when Celine Roberts was told 'No one wants you', she believed it. Illegitimate and unwanted, Celine was forced by her foster mother into prostitution. Her bones were broken, her nose was crushed and s...

'My life is a series of embarrassing incidents strung together by telling people about those embarrassing incidents.' Accolades Winner of British Book Awards: Tesco Biography of the Year Award 2008. Reviews 'Candid, funny and moving.' (Sun ) 'How in God's name did the publishers ever ...

How is it that someone who gets seasick and loves her two showers a day attempted to sail across the Pacific in a small yacht with her new husband and baby? It can be summed up in two words. Love. Adventure. Yep, there is the love of adventure, which is pretty self explanatory. And then there is lo...

Jennifer Worth came from a sheltered background when she became a midwife in the Docklands in the 1950s. The conditions in which many women gave birth just half a century ago were horrifying, not only because of their grimly impoverished surroundings, but also because of what they were expected to e...

The book that you are considering buying is nothing short of a VIP Pass to Enlightenment, written by the UFC's most infamous and feared destroyer of men--Chael P. Sonnen. Backwoodsmen and unlearned folk call him the Walking Thesaurus. His contemporaries have bestowed upon him the title Sir Sonnen. A...

Life was never destined to be a smooth ride for the Abberton brothers. The four boys, all born to different fathers, grew up on Sydney's Maroubra beach at a time when the place was in the shadow of drugs and gang violence. Raised largely by their grandmother, Sunny, Jai, Koby and Dakota found solace...

In the sequel to Russell's best-selling biography 'My Booky Wook' we follow the now sober but still scandalous, sex-fuelled star on his electrifying rise to international fame. A roller coaster ride through tours, films, stand up and tabloids - this time, it's personal. “As with the clinica...

The greatest equestrian of the 20th century makes a stunning comeback in the 21st century. Imagine in Michael Schumacher had come back to Formula 1 and won the World Championship. This is what Mark Todd has achieved - winning at Badminton in 2011 and being a favourite to win a third Olympic gold ...

Still only 24, Lionel Messi is on course to become the greatest footballer of all time. The 2009 and 2010 FIFA Player of the Year, he is fast, elusive, and mesmerising. Luca Caioli draws on numerous exclusive testimonies to tell Messi's story including his parents and extended family, his coaches, ...

The tale of a year-long journey from straight-talking, hard-bitten journalist to green goddess - complete with fabulous recipes and experimental disasters - all told in a smart, funny and self deprecating fashion. Wendyl Nissen is well-known as a straight talking journalist whose career has seen ...

The census tells us that 8000 New Zealanders actively identify as Jewish and it is estimated that the broader population is probably around 25,000. There has never been an authoritative history of this country's Jewish population and yet people of Jewish descent (both secular and religious) have pla...

This final book in Jennifer Worth's memories of her time as a midwife in London's East end brings her story full circle. As always there are heartbreaking stories such as the family devastated by tuberculosis and a ship's woman who 'serviced' the entire crew, as well as plenty of humour and warmth, ...

Retired All Blacks captain Tana Umaga is one of the most respected players in world rugby. As the first player of Samoan heritage to captain the All Blacks in test rugby, his story is unique. One of the proudest players ever to wear the famous black jersey, Umaga became an inspirational captain - a ...

They were called Easy Company-but their mission was never easy. Immortalized as the Band of Brothers, they suffered 150% casualties while liberating Europe-an unparalleled record of bravery under fire. Dick Winters was their commander-"the best combat leader in World War II" to his men. Th...

Bear Grylls is a man who has always sought the ultimate in adventure. Growing up on the Isle of Wight, he was taught by his father to sail and climb at an early age. As a teenager he found identity and purpose through both mountaineering and martial arts, which led the young adventurer to the foothi...

Beloved television star of Fair Go, Kevin Milne's memoir is funny, insightful, incisive, moving and all-round entertaining. He talks of his long television career - 40 years - including 25 years of the long-running, top-rating Fair Go. Kevin writes in a relaxed, laconic style that draws the reader ...

It's a good time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven't been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few nagging questions do remain...Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should we use Botox? Do men secretly hate us? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a ...

From one of America's iconic writers, this is a portrait of a marriage and a life - in good times and bad - that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child. This is a stunning book of electric honesty and passion. Several days before Christmas 2003, John Gregory Dunne and Joa...

If you haven't heard of the success of 42 Below Vodka you must have been living under a rock! Initially brewed by Wellington advertising man Geoff Ross in his garage, everything about this vodka was audacious, from the very notion of making high-end vodka Downunder to its shock-and-awe advertising c...

Charles F. Goldie (1870-1947) is one of New Zealand's best known artists, with mystique surrounding his work. His fame has been fed by newspaper reports documenting record-shattering prices, thefts, vandalism and forgeries. The book explores Goldie's career, his early still life paintings, his time ...

Chart topping-and headline-making-rap artist Eminem shares his private reflections, drawings, handwritten lyrics, and photographs in his "New York Times" bestseller "The Way I Am" Fiercely intelligent, relentlessly provocative, and prodigiously gifted, Eminem is known as much for his enigmatic pers...

"The greatest female artist of the 20th century" - Elton John This first-ever biography of Nina Simone caused quite a stir among reviewers. "A chastening read", said the Sunday Times; "Simone's story is as harrowing as it is remarkable", said the Yorkshire Post. No-...

As a diarist, I have chronicled the time through which I have lived in meticulous detail: but all that is history. What matters now is the future for those who will live through it. The past is the past but there may be lessons to be learned which could help the next generation to avoid mistakes the...

NOT EVERY FAIRY TALE HAS A HAPPY ENDING. . . . Reality hit Taylor Armstrong hard one tragic evening last August when she found the body of her estranged husband, Russell, hanging in his California home. Fans across the country were shocked at the horrific news of his death and even more shocked to d...

Emmy Award-winning actress Kirstie Alley's candid and audacious memoir about her life and the men she has shared it with--for better and for worse.""Known for her irreverent, no-holds-barred, hilarious opinions and observations, beloved actress and spokesperson Kirstie Alley now channels her media-s...

Bear Grylls has always sought the ultimate in adventure. Growing up on a remote island off of Britain's windswept coast, he was taught by his father to sail and climb at an early age. Inevitably, it wasn't long before the young explorer was sneaking out to lead all-night climbing expeditions. As a ...

All of us have cancer cells in our bodies. But not all of us will develop cancer. This international bestseller, now revised with the latest research, examines what we can do every day to lower our chances of ever developing the illness, and also explains what to do to increase the chances of recove...