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A biography is the best way to get a firsthand perspective on anyone. It not only gives you correct factual information on the event or the personality but also describes the emotional depth and impact each event had on them.

For example, reading about the World War from the perspective of a war veteran adds an entirely different meaning and value to it. Therefore, autobiography or biography writing is a skill very few authors have mastered. Such books offer a unique opportunity to live through and honor the experiences of those before us.

For readers navigating challenges, autobiographies can inspire and motivate them. By learning about these experiences, the reader forms a unique relationship with the author, who presents even the most minor details, struggles, and triumphs remarkable individuals face.

Here are five of the most brilliant, aspiring, and absorbing autobiographies of 2024 that you must read.

1. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Into the Wild explores the unforgettable life of Christopher McCandless, authored by Jon Krakauer in 1996. Initially, it was a 9,000-word article titled Death of an Innocent, which Krakauer wrote in 1993 for Outside Magazine. This autobiography was turned into a Sean Penn directorial in 2007, in which Emile Hirsch played the role of McCandless.

Into the Wild discusses Christopher McCandless' odyssey through the western United States. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, severing all ties with his family, and donating $24,500 worth of college fun to Oxfam, McCandless went on a hitchhike to the Stampede Trail in Alaska. With negligible supplies and a long trail, he survived for 113 days and eventually passed away on August 18, 1992.

His expedition has struck a chord with the readers, who still debate why he made such a decision and what it all meant.

2. Takeaway: Stories from a Childhood Behind the Counter by Angela Hui

Authored by a Food Journalist, Angela Hui, this autobiography is about her life growing up in a Chinese takeaway in Beddau, a small village in South Wales Valleys. It's a raw description of her journey from childhood to adulthood behind the counter of Lucky Star, her family Restaurant, where commercial and business goals often overtook her personal and familial life.

In the autobiography, Angela describes her hours at the counter packing boxes, taking orders, and answering phone calls. While her parents did the heavy work, Angela and her two elder brothers would do the lid duty, where they had to press lids onto the aluminum foil trays filled with hot food.

Food became her love language, but the struggles of being the Chinese takeaway kid had many negative impacts on her life.

3. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE

This New York Times Best Seller tells the tenacious and inspiring journey of the man behind the brand NIKE, the media-shy man Phil Knight. Now considered a gold standard in footwear fashion, NIKE had humble beginnings. Shoe Dog tells the story of Phil Knight, beginning his business with fifty dollars and establishing an empire worth Billions.

After graduating from business school, Phil borrowed fifty dollars from his father to launch a company that offered a straightforward solution, importing low-cost and high-quality shoes from Japan. What started as a shoe-selling business from his car trunk made him eight thousand dollars in the first month, and from then on, NIKE's annual sales have topped the $30 billion mark every year.

From devastating setbacks to ruthless competitors, Knight tells all his struggles and achievements and how he made his bold vision and faith in the power of sports helped him create a brand known worldwide.

4. Wild Swans by Jung Chang

This is quite different from the conventional storytelling used in biographies. Wild Swans tells a story encompassing three generations. Jung Chang, the author, tells the story of the women in her family, including herself, her mother, and her grandmother. This book provides an insightful context on the country's history of the 20th century and the time when China became highly isolated from the world.

Wild Swans celebrates a woman's strength, bravery, fear, and instinct for survival through the stories of Jung's grandmother, who was given as a concubine to a warlord, and her young idealist mother during the early days of communism.

Although the book is banned in China, Wild Swan has sold over 13 million copies worldwide.

5. Frances Perkins - Champion of American Workers by Ruth C. Monsell

This is the first new biography in 15 years of a leader who made significant contributions to the well-being of all Americans, not just workers. Though relatively forgotten in mainstream history books, Frances Perkins did more than any other single individual to bring her country back from the brink of the Great Depression, and she fought tirelessly throughout her life to construct what we now call the social safety net.

Frances Perkins was the first woman to hold a Cabinet position in the United States, serving as Secretary of Labor under Franklin D. Roosevelt for 12 years. Her greatest accomplishment was the Social Security Act. However, she is generally referred to as the principal architect of the New Deal.

Frances Perkins - Champion of American Workers by Ruth C. Monsell illustrates how her legacies and innovations benefit America even today. It is an ode to a woman's undying spirit and courage, who brought change with her passion and commitment.

To read more on her journey and how it was achieved, grab your copy of Frances Perkins - Champion of American Workers here!