Important Books & Authors
SSC GD Self-Paced Course
Introduction
Books and authors are a high-scoring static GK topic. SSC GD frequently asks about names of books, authors, books written by famous personalities, autobiographies, and award-winning books.
This article covers all important books & authors required for SSC GD and other government exams.
1. Famous Indian Books & Authors (Most Important)
| Book | Author | Type/Note |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery of India | Jawaharlal Nehru | Historical |
| India Wins Freedom | Abul Kalam Azad | Historical |
| My Experiments with Truth | Mahatma Gandhi | Autobiography |
| Wings of Fire | A.P.J. Abdul Kalam | Autobiography |
| Ignited Minds | A.P.J. Abdul Kalam | Inspirational |
| Transforming India | Arun Jaitley | Political |
| Poverty and Un-British Rule in India | Dadabhai Naoroji | Economic |
| Anand Math | Bankim Chandra Chatterjee | Novel |
| Gitanjali | Rabindranath Tagore | Poetry |
| The Home and the World | Rabindranath Tagore | Novel |
| Train to Pakistan | Khushwant Singh | Historical Fiction |
| A Suitable Boy | Vikram Seth | Novel |
| God of Small Things | Arundhati Roy | Booker Prize Winner |
| Midnight's Children | Salman Rushdie | Booker Prize Winner |
| The White Tiger | Aravind Adiga | Booker Prize Winner |
| My Country My Life | L.K. Advani | Political |
| Exam Warriors | Narendra Modi | Educational |
| Unbreakable | Mary Kom | Autobiography |
| Playing It My Way | Sachin Tendulkar | Autobiography |
| The Test of My Life | Yuvraj Singh | Autobiography |
2. Autobiographies of Freedom Fighters
My Experiments with Truth
Mahatma Gandhi
India Wins Freedom
Abul Kalam Azad
Toward Freedom
Jawaharlal Nehru
Waiting for a Visa
B.R. Ambedkar
Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
M.O. Mathai
Why I Am an Atheist
Bhagat Singh
3. Autobiographies of Presidents & Prime Ministers
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Wings of Fire
Narendra Modi
Exam Warriors
Jawaharlal Nehru
An Autobiography
Sonia Gandhi
A Biography (by Nicholas Wapshott)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Meri Ekyavan Kavitayein (book of poems)
4. Sports Autobiographies
Sachin Tendulkar
Playing It My Way
Mary Kom
Unbreakable
Yuvraj Singh
The Test of My Life
Sania Mirza
Ace Against Odds
Abhinav Bindra
A Shot At History
5. Books Written by Indian Leaders
Ignited Minds
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Wings of Fire
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Exam Warriors
Narendra Modi
My Country My Life
L.K. Advani
The Indian Struggle
Subhas Chandra Bose
Discovery of India
Jawaharlal Nehru
Glimpses of World History
Jawaharlal Nehru
Annihilation of Caste
B.R. Ambedkar
6. Award-Winning Books
Booker Prize Winners (India):
Midnight's Children
Salman Rushdie
The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy
The White Tiger
Aravind Adiga
The Inheritance of Loss
Kiran Desai
7. International Books Commonly Asked
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
The Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare
Les Misérables
Victor Hugo
Origin of Species
Charles Darwin
Gulliver's Travels
Jonathan Swift
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Mark Twain
8. Books on Indian History
Ancient India
R.S. Sharma
Medieval India
Satish Chandra
Modern India
Bipan Chandra
Freedom Struggle
Bipan Chandra
India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra
9. Books on Economics (Often Asked)
Economic Survey
Published annually
Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith
Das Kapital
Karl Marx
Planned Economy of India
M. Visvesvaraya
10. Books on Polity
Indian Polity
M. Laxmikanth
Introduction to Constitution of India
D.D. Basu
My Country My Life
L.K. Advani
11. Books on Science & Environment
A Brief History of Time
Stephen Hawking
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson
Origin of Species
Charles Darwin
12. Important Writers and Their Famous Works
R.K. Narayan
Malgudi Days
Ruskin Bond
The Blue Umbrella
Amish Tripathi
Shiva Trilogy
Chetan Bhagat
2 States, 5 Point Someone
Khushwant Singh
Train to Pakistan
Premchand
Godaan, Nirmala
Satyajit Ray
Feluda Series
13. Quick Revision Table
| Book | Author |
|---|---|
| Gitanjali | Rabindranath Tagore |
| Discovery of India | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Wings of Fire | A.P.J. Abdul Kalam |
| God of Small Things | Arundhati Roy |
| The White Tiger | Aravind Adiga |
| Midnight's Children | Salman Rushdie |
| Playing It My Way | Sachin Tendulkar |
| Unbreakable | Mary Kom |
| India Wins Freedom | Maulana Azad |
| Train to Pakistan | Khushwant Singh |
14. Memory Tricks for SSC GD
Author-Book Associations:
- Gandhi → My Experiments with Truth
- A.P.J. Abdul Kalam → Wings of Fire, Ignited Minds
- Tagore → Gitanjali
- Premchand → Godaan
- Tendulkar → Playing It My Way
- Arundhati Roy → God of Small Things
Key Categories:
- Autobiographies - Gandhi, Kalam, Tendulkar
- Booker Prize Winners - Roy, Rushdie, Adiga
- Political Leaders - Nehru, Advani, Modi
- Sports Personalities - Tendulkar, Mary Kom, Yuvraj
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