The best biographies for summer reading 2025? Summer is the time when we like to indulge in a good book that sucks us into its world. And what's more compelling than a true first-hand story? We've selected for you 10 Best Biographies and Memoirs, which combine bestsellers from the last few years and the hottest new releases of 2025. When selecting, we browsed through lists of renowned book media - from The New York Times to The Guardian – and have selected the works that appear most frequently, garner praise from critics and readers, and cover a wide range of interesting personalities. On our list, you’ll find everything from royal testimonies and pop culture icons to pioneers in science, sports, and politics. Each book offers something unique – whether it’s an intimate glimpse into a celebrity’s private life, a gripping historical backdrop, or an inspiring message that resonates with today. Grab a refreshing drink, settle in, and immerse yourself in true stories that are as exciting as fiction!

Find inspiration in true stories—from candid confessions from celebrities to in-depth portraits of historical legends—these biographies and memoirs are the ideal companion for relaxed summer reading.

The Best Biographies for Summer Reading 2025

1. Spare – Prince Harry (2023)

Prince Harry us in Spare takes you on an emotional journey through her life behind the castle walls. In her highly anticipated and candid memoir, she reveals details from the traumatic loss of her mother Diana to her strained relationships with other members of the royal family. The book broke all records upon its release – Spare has become the fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time, which is a testament to the enormous public interest. Why is it worth reading? Because Harry, without mincing words, presents us with his side of the story and the human side of life in the royal family – full of privileges, but also pain and the search for one's own identity. This controversial memoir is both an intimate confession and a global phenomenon that everyone will be talking about this summer. One of the main ones on the list – the best biographies for summer reading 2025!
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2. The Woman in Me – Britney Spears (2023)

Pop icon Britney Spears is back with her long-awaited autobiography The Woman in Me has reached its peak in the world of bestsellers. In the book, written after her release from 13 years of custody, Britney speaks candidly about her meteoric rise as a teenager, the media lynching and the long struggle for her freedom. This is not just another celebrity confession for the curious – Britney shows without embellishment how she fell into the clutches of patriarchy and exploitation as a young girl. Her story “deserves to be read as a warning and an indictment, not as a bag of tabloid revelations,” she writes. The Guardian. The Woman in Me is a moving tale of the pop princess' power to defeat the system, and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the true cost of fame and the importance of their own voice. The book is also officially recognized - it received an overwhelming response from readers and won the Goodreads award for best memoir of 2023. After reading this book, you will see Britney with new eyes - as a woman who took control of her life story.
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3. Elon Musk – Walter Isaacson (2023)

How is the richest man in the world created and what kind of personality lies behind his entrepreneurial ventures? He answers these questions Elon Musk, a biography written by the renowned Walter Isaacson (bestselling author of books about Steve Jobs, Einstein, etc.). Isaacson followed Musk for two years and offers us an unprecedented insight into the thoughts and life of this controversial technological visionary. The result is a portrait “a tech mogul portrayed as a brutal visionary with fatherly issues”. The book reveals Musk's childhood traumas in South Africa, his relentless work ethic, his bold innovation, and his unusual decisions – from SpaceX rockets to the Twitter takeover. Why read it? Because it's your chance to find out firsthand whether Musk is a genius or a "pillock" - or perhaps both, as Isaacson suggests. This nearly 700-page page-turner will keep you in suspense with dramatic stories from Silicon Valley, while also raising questions about how far vision and eccentricity can take an individual. An ideal read for anyone fascinated by both the successes and failures of modern innovators.
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4. King: A Life – Jonathan Eig (2023)

Biography King: A Life brings a fresh, comprehensive look at the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Author Jonathan Eig is the first in decades to write a comprehensive story about the legendary civil rights leader. The result? A book that critics have hailed as “a remarkable achievement” and “an essential biography of an iconic social justice activist.” Eig delves into newly discovered FBI documents and personal letters to show us the real King – not just a saint with famous quotes, but also a man of flesh and blood. We learn that King loved to play pool and tell jokes, as well as how he was weighed down by the FBI wiretap scandal and internal doubts. The book “vividly and thoroughly outlines” his short but magnificent life: from his teenage years in Atlanta, his rapid rise to the forefront of the movement, to his tragic assassination at the age of just 39. Why read it? Because it offers an intimate portrait of the man behind the myth – King: A Life shows us how Martin Luther King Jr. really lived, loved, sinned, and fought. After this book, you will appreciate even more the courage and vision of the man who moved mountains for a more just world. One of the main ones on the list - the best biographies for summer reading 2025!
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5. Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life – Anna Funder (2023)

Have you ever wondered who the women are in the shadow of great literary masters? Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life reveals just that – the unseen life of Eileen O'Shaughnessy, the first wife of writer George Orwell. Author Anna Funder has created “a brilliant, creative blend of biography, feminist polemic, and literary criticism that turns our view of reading on its head.” With forensic precision, Funder examines six private letters Eileen wrote to a friend that have long been ignored. From these fragments, she constructs a startling portrait of the woman who was Orwell’s intellectual partner, editor, and inspiration, but also the victim of his infidelity and “double-track” life. Wifedom takes us behind the scenes of the creation Animal farms and 1984, but through the eyes of someone who has remained in Orwell's shadow until now. Why read this book? Because upenda Orwell's myth and shows us that behind a great man there is often a woman without whom his success would not have been possible. This book is not only a biography of Eileen, but also a sharp reflection on how many women's stories have been overlooked in history. For lovers of literature and advocates of gender equality, it will Wifedom real intellectual entertainment for the beach.
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6. I'm Glad My Mom Died – Jennette McCurdy (2022)

The title itself I'm Glad My Mom Died is captivating – and former child star Jennette McCurdy really doesn't hold back in her memoir. It's both a dark comedy and a poignant confession, in which McCurdy describes growing up under the spotlight of the Nickelodeon series iCarly and a toxic relationship with a manipulative mother. The book was met with a huge response upon its release: it was accompanied by “unprecedented media attention and a wave of recognition from readers and critics,” and it immediately jumped to #1. The New York Times best-seller lists and many have called it the book of the year. Why is it worth reading? In a witty yet painfully honest way, McCurdy shows us the dark side of child stardom – auditions at age 6, forced weight loss and an acting career that was more her mother’s wish than her own. With rawness and humor, she reveals “the boundless ambition of generational trauma and the harsh reality of child stardom”. The book first shocks the reader, then liberates them – just as writing liberated Jennette. This is a story of liberation from the grip of emotional abuse, packaged in an extremely readable narrative that will make you laugh and cringe at the same time. For anyone who grew up watching Nickelodeon (or raising young talent) – this book will open your eyes and your heart.
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7. All-In – Billie Jean King (2021)

If you need a dose of sports inspiration, pick up All-In, the autobiography of tennis legend Billie Jean King. The queen of tennis, known for her famous 1973 “battle of the sexes,” tells the honest story of her triumphs and struggles—on and off the court. The Guardian In his review, he called her “a true game-changer” and emphasized that the author “writes candidly about the career that paved the way for women’s sports as we know it today.” And indeed, Billie Jean King takes us through the story of how, at the age of 10, she was excluded from a group photo of female competitors because of her shorts, to the founding of her own women’s tennis association and the fight for equal awards between the sexes. A special chapter is also dedicated to her privacy – as the first openly lesbian athlete, she went through difficult times when she lost all her sponsors due to the revelation of her homosexuality. But she persevered and became an even more vocal advocate equalityWhy is it All-In The perfect summer read? Because it's a story of indestructible energy and passion. With her infectiously determined style, Billie Jean King inspires the reader to "go all out" for the things they believe in. After reading it, you'll feel like you can move mountains—or at least win a summer tennis match.
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8. The Code Breaker – Walter Isaacson (2021)

Science and technology may not sound like light summer reading, but The Code Breaker Walter Isaacson will surprise you – this biography Jennifer Doudna, a pioneer of genetic engineering, reads like a suspenseful thriller. Isaacson is a master of telling the stories of the geniuses of our time (remember his biography of Steve Jobs), but this time he focuses on the scientist who co-discovered the revolutionary CRISPR gene-editing technique. Critics were delighted: Kirkus called the book “a key book on the next big thing in science – and another superb biography from Isaacson’s pen.” In The Code Breaker we follow Doudna's journey from a curious girl who adored Jurassic Park, to the Nobel laureate who gave humanity the tools to change life itself. Isaacson masterfully weaves a personal story with understandable explanations of the science behind it – from the race between laboratories to be the first to “unlock” the secret of CRISPR, to the ethical dilemmas of genetically engineering children. Why read it? Because the book will educate and entertain you at the same time. You’ll discover how science actually works (with plenty of rivalry, drama and eureka moments) and meet an extraordinary woman who is like a modern Marie Curie. The Code Breaker is proof that even a scientific biography can be a real adventure – ideal for those of you who like to combine lying in the sun with “aha!” moments in your head.
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9. Source Code: My Beginnings – Bill Gates (2025)

Among the latest book releases of this year, the following stands out: Source Code: My Beginnings, the first memoir by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. In this long-awaited autobiography, the billionaire and philanthropist looks back on his young years ago billions – from his childhood in Seattle to his college days at Harvard and the founding of Microsoft in a garage. It is the author’s “origin story,” in his own words, covering all the “wonderful and bizarre moments of growing up,” and is the first part of a planned trilogy. Gates speaks candidly about his supportive parents (he admits that they even sent him to a therapist for his rebelliousness), his early friendships, and how he experimented with computers – and yes, even LSD – before finding his way into the computing world. Why is this book worth delving into? Because Gates, who we usually know as a serious tycoon, shows us his more naughty and the human face. We learn where some of his “strange” habits and ideas came from, which later changed the world of technology. The book Source Code is written in a surprisingly accessible and humorous way, full of amusing anecdotes (e.g. how he arranged his high school class schedule so that he was the only boy among girls). It is often mentioned in the media as a must-read this summer, as it offers a rare insight into the private life of a man who co-created the digital age. An ideal read for entrepreneurial souls and the curious who are interested in how a visionary is created. One of the main ones on the list – the best biographies for summer reading 2025!
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10. Mark Twain – Ron Chernow (2025)

For history and literature lovers, the long-awaited biography will be a real treat. Mark Twain from the pen of Pulitzer Prize-winning Ron Chernow. Chernow, who became famous for his monumental biographies of historical figures (Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, etc.), this time tackles father of American literature – Mark Twain (born Samuel Langhorne Clemens). The result, the publisher promises, is “a brilliant scholarly work that is a moving tribute to the writer’s talent and humanity; Chernow reveals the magnificent and sometimes absurd life of one of the most original characters in American history.” Twain’s life is an epic story in itself: from growing up on the Mississippi River and dreaming of steamboats, to his adventures in the Wild West, where he adopted the pseudonym Mark Twain and became famous as a newspaper humorist. Chernow takes us through the creation of literary classics such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, while also not letting us miss Twain's personal turbulence - financial failures, family tragedies, and his brash but carefully cultivated public persona. Why are we looking forward to this book in the summer days? Because it promises a real literary treat: an in-depth and vivid portrait a man who marked an era with his humor and social criticism. If you're tempted to escape to the 19th century with a cold drink and get to know what Mark Twain was really like (beyond his witty quotes), then this comprehensive biography will be perfect for long summer afternoons. Chernow is known for making history readable like a novel - and we expect nothing less from the story of one of the greatest literary legends of all time.
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Conclusion: When Life Writes the Best Stories – The Best Biographies for Summer Reading 2025! 

Each of these biographies is more than just a book - it's a world in itself. Sometimes it takes us behind the scenes of pop stardom, other times to the edge of scientific breakthroughs or straight into the heart of history. But they all have one thing in common: real people who dared to live differently.

If you're a fan of juicy revelations and royal intrigue, take Spare Prince Harry. If you are interested in the unknown female heroes behind the scenes of great men, Wifedom your literary treasure. For those who love high tension and genius in one breath, we recommend Elon Musk or The Code Breaker – both books are intellectual adrenaline rides. If you are captivated by stories of liberation and personal courage, then they are I'm Glad My Mom Died and The Woman in Me books that will surprise you and make you laugh at the same time. History and literature lovers will be delighted by the extensive Mark Twain, while entrepreneurial minds will enjoy Bill Gates' autobiographical "source code."

And the next time you lie under a pine tree or on a hotel terrace overlooking the sea, think: fiction is wonderful, but real life... sometimes surpasses all imagination.

Read smart. And bravely. Choose one from the list – the best biographies for summer reading 2025!