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- Top 30 Biographies, Autobiographies, and Memoirs | HarperCollins Publishers India
Top 30 Biographies, Autobiographies, and Memoirs | HarperCollins Publishers India
There’s something irresistible about getting to know your favourite personalities a little better that make biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs so appealing. After all, these books offer a window to world that you would otherwise have little to no access to! Check out our selection of the most popular books in this genre.
ISRO by Aravamudan& Gita Aravamudan
ISRO pioneer R. Aravamudan narrates the gripping story of the people who built India’s space research programme and how they did it – from the rocket engineers who laid the foundation to the savvy young engineers who keep Indian spaceships flying today. This is a made-in-India story like no other.
Auroville by Anuradha Majumdar
Auroville was born to realize human unity through change of consciousness – a concept that still holds value in today’s world. Told by someone who has lived the adventure for thirty-six years, this book explores how far the city has grown to resonate with its founding vision. Anu Majumdar examines the life of Auroville both as a resident and as an observer.
This is a remarkable book that seeks to lay the foundations for a new society — a compelling testimony and statement of values by an important global political leader who has become the flag-bearer for a new kind of politics — evocative in its scope, ambition and vision of Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope.
Bhupen Hazarika by Kalpana Lajmi
We all know Bhupen Hazarika as a singer-composer, poet and lyricist non-pariel. What about the man behind the legend? Told through the lens of Kalpana Lajmi, Bhupen Hazarika: As I knew Him is a free-flowing memoir, moving back and forth across time, defying description, much like the love story it narrates.
Devil’s Advocate by Karan Thapar
Riveting and fast-paced, Devil’s Advocate is as no-holds-barred as any of Karan Thapar’s interviews.
When it was first published in 1973, Kamala Das’s sensational autobiography shocked readers with its total disregard for convention and its fearless articulation of subjects still considered tabloo. Narrating the author’s intensely personal experiences in her passage to womanhood and shedding light on the hypocrisies that informed traditional society, My Story was far ahead of its time and is today considered a masterpiece.
Funny, charming, and gut-wrenchingly honest all at once, Close to the Bone is Lisa Ray’s brave and inspiring story of a life lived on her terms.
Ocean to Ocean by Susmit Sen & Sehba Imam
Ocean to Ocean tells the story of Susmit Sen in the maestro’s own words. Warm, intimate and honest, it documents the life and times of a rare musician and composer, a man who dared to flow against the tide and came up trumps.
At the Helm is the story of how a boy from the small village of Karuveli in Tamil Nadu starts out as a technician at airfields during the Second World War but goes on to script the biggest success stories of young India’s fledgling public sector over the next five decades.
My Father Baliah by B. Satyanarayana
The extraordinary story of a Dalit family in southern India. A narrative that derives its strength from the simplicity with which it is told, My Father Baliah is a story of great hardship and greater resilience.
Jail Diary is Rana’s story in his own words. It begins on the day of his escape from Tihar and goes back and forth in time describing his childhood in small-town India, the beginning of his political career during college days, his induction into Eklavya Sena through which he was introduced to Phoolan, his days as a liquor vendor in Haridwar, and his nerve-wracking adventures as someone who broke one of the highest security prisons in Asia to pursue what, to his mind, was an act of honour.
Prison and Chocolate Cake by Nayantara Sahgal
A dramatic portrait of the spirit of sacrifice that carried India through the years of the struggle for independence, this evocative memoir of an unusual childhood ends with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.
Anusual is the story of Anu Aggarwal, the dusky Delhi girl who went to Bombay and became an international model, and then a star with her very first Bollywood movie, Aashiqui, only to chuck it all up and join a yogashram.
No One Else is beautiful, singular and unforgettable, a tour de force that celebrates love and sensuality, dignity and freedom, and holds to account those who would deny anyone these priceless human joys.
Standing My Ground by Matthew Hayden
Matthew Hayden was one of the most commanding batsmen the game has ever seen – and one of its great enigmas. A devout Catholic, and a ruthless on-field sledger. A brutal enforcer, and a soft-hearted family man. The Australian record-holder for highest score in Tests and One Day Internationals, who was at times troubled by self-doubt and doubters. In Standing My Ground, Hayden confronts these contradictions head-on. Here is the superstar batsman, the surfer, fisherman and chef in a book as bold and powerful as the man himself.
Controversially Yours by Anshu Dogra
Shoaib Akhtar has been one of the most colourful characters in the history of cricket. He is the fastest bowler in the world, who set an official world record by achieving the fastest delivery when he clocked in at 161.3 km/ph (100.2 mph) twice in the same match. Having taken more than 400 wickets in international cricket, he is a phenomenal cricketer too. Tagged as being undisciplined, Akhtar’s career has been plagued by injuries, controversies and accusations of poor attitude. Here he tells his side of the story.
Satyajit Ray, known to his intimates as Manik-da, remains India’s most respected name in international film circles. This nuanced and lucid translation from the Bengali original, which includes a perceptive Foreword by Sharmila Tagore, presents to the English reader Ghosh’s thoughts on Ray with over fifty exquisite, never-before-seen photographs.
Against the Wind by Rajni Kumar
Observant and vivacious, this is a memoir that is a testament as much to Rajni Kumar’s lifelong work in education as to the spirit of romance and daring with which she set foot in a new country all those decades ago.
The Commonwealth of Cricket by Ramachandra Guha
The Commonwealth of Cricket is a first-person account of this astonishing transformation. The book traces the entire arc of cricket in India, across all levels at which the game is played: school, college, club, state, country. It presents vivid portraits of local heroes, provincial icons, and international stars.
Advice and Dissent by V. Reddy
Leavened with his irrepressible sense of humour, Advice and Dissent is a warm, engaging account of a life that moves easily from a career in the districts as a young IAS officer to the higher echelons of policy making, in a trajectory that follows change in the country itself.
This book presents Dr Arvind Lal’s journey as a spiritual seeker and an accidental entrepreneur. How did a saint from a remote Himalayan village called Hairakhan transform Arvind’s life? How did Lal Pathlabs become a household brand in India? How does spiritualism shape his thoughts as an entrepreneur? Can work and spirituality gel in a ‘karma yoga’ form as mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures? Woven around Arvind’s life, this book answers these and many other questions about work, life and spirituality.
Travelling as it does from the nineteenth century to the present, this book tells the larger story of the evolution of Hindi cinema, and of a society and a nation in the throes of change.
A Life Misspent by Suryakant Tripathi Nirala& Satti Khanna
Set in pre-Independence India, A Life Misspent is as much the account of an unlikely friendship as it is a coming-of-age story. A memoir on the making of one of the greatest poets of all time.
The Man Who Bombed Karachi by Admiral S.M. Nanda
The Man Who Bombed Karachi is the inspiring story of how a childhood fascination for the sea led an outstanding officer to rise to the pinnacle of India’s armed forces. It gives a glimpse into life in the Royal Indian Navy, with a dramatic rebellion by Indian sailors against their British superiors, and traces its evolution into an organization that is today a force to reckon with globally. Most of all, it is an insider’s authentic account of the inventive naval strategies that led to one of India’s biggest victories in war to date.
Honour Bound by Sarosh Zaiwalla
In Honour Bound, Sarosh Zaiwalla looks back on his career – from his passage to England at a time when diversity had barely begun to take root in its legal circles, to now leading a ground-breaking law firm.
What We Carry by Maya Shanbhag Lang
Absorbing, moving, and raw, What We Carry is a memoir about mothers and daughters, lies and truths, receiving and giving care, and how we cannot grow up until we fully understand the people who raised us.
At Large in the World in Harish Chandola
At Large in the World tells the stories behind the headlines and makes startling disclosures as it paints a compelling and honest portrait of India in eventful times over the last half-century.
Family Fables and Hidden Heresies by Vrinda Nabar
Drawing on history, myth and gender,Vrinda Nabar unravels the many fault lines women have to negotiate, often at great cost, in their search for a middle ground between individuality and conformity.
More Maicious Gossip Pb by Khushwant Singh
This selection of Khushwant Singh’s prose is like the man himself: blunt, perceptive, incorrigibly provocative, often amusing but always bubbling with life. The book includes candid portrayals of public personalities such as Zail Singh, Rajiv Gandhi, Nani Palkhivala, Rajni Patel and Nargis Dutt. There are also vivid portrayals of public personalities such as Zail Singh, Rajiv Gandhi, Nani Palkhivala, Rajni Patel and Nargis Dutt. There are also vivid portraits of places such as Delhi, Amritsar, Goa, Lucknow, Bhopal and Hyderabad. Then there are his musings on such issues as communalism, terrorism and bride burning, still as vivid today as when the pieces were first written.
The Afternoon Girl by Amrinder Bajaj
The Afternoon Girl celebrates a friendship that swings between love and loathing, adoration and indifference, support and abandonment, but stood the test of time and circumstances. With disarming honesty, the book builds and busts a few myths, and offers unexpected insights into Khushwant Singh: good- and sometimes ill-humored mentor, garrulous yet grumpy friend, and saintly but outspoken old man.
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