Autobiographical works can take many forms, from the intimate writings made during life that were not necessarily intended for publication (including letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and reminiscences) to a formal book-length autobiography.

Reading an autobiography can offer a unique insight into a world and experience very different from your own — and these real-life stories are even more entertaining, and stranger, than fiction. Take a glimpse into the lives of some of the world's most inspiring and successful celebrities from ancient times to the present day.

1. The Life of Flavius Josephus

2. “De Bello Gallico” and Other Commentaries by Julius Caesar

3. The Confessions of St. Augustine by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine

4. The Autobiography of St. Ignatius by Saint of Loyola Ignatius

5. Letters to His Son, Complete by Earl of Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield

6. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

7. Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

8. An Autobiography by Theodore Roosevelt

9. Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie

10. My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla

11. Henry Ford: Highlights of His Life

12. The Autobiography of Goethe by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

13. The Memoirs of Victor Hugo

14. Mohandas K. Gandhi, Autobiography The Story of My Experiments with Truth