Author Guide · Lisanne Swart
Books Written by Mathew Knowles
Mathew Knowles built the machine — the record label, the choreography schedules, the relentless audition process — behind Destiny’s Child and his daughters’ careers, then spent his second act writing about all of it from the inside. His five books range from corporate self-help to a raw childhood memoir about growing up Black in 1960s Alabama, and taken together they read like a man trying to explain both how he built an empire and how he became the person capable of building one. Below is his complete bibliography, in order.
By Lisanne Swart · 5 books · 2015–2019 · Updated July 2026
Where to start
For the personal story
Racism From the Eyes of a Child (2017) — his most personal book, and the one now being adapted for film and television.
For the music industry story
Destiny’s Child: The Untold Story (2019) — his account of building the group from the ground up, as both father and manager.
The DNA of Achievers: 10 Traits of Highly Successful Professionals
Knowles’s number-one best-selling book draws on interviews with dozens of highly successful people, including thirty of his own accomplished friends, to identify ten recurring traits behind their achievement. It reads as business and motivational advice rather than memoir.
Racism From the Eyes of a ChildStart here
Knowles’s most personal book recounts his childhood in 1960s Alabama, including his experience as one of six Black students to integrate an all-white school and being detained multiple times during civil rights protests. In 2024, it was optioned for adaptation into both a feature film and a limited series.
The Emancipation of Slaves Through Music
Drawing on his decades in the music industry, Knowles examines the liberating effects of music on oppressed people throughout history, connecting that history to his own work developing Black artists.
Public Relations and Media: PR Strategies for the Digital Age
A compact, practical manual on navigating publicity in the digital era, drawing on Knowles’s decades of experience managing the public image of major recording artists.
Destiny’s Child: The Untold Story
Knowles’s firsthand account of managing and developing Destiny’s Child from its earliest stages into one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, told from his perspective as both father and manager to Beyoncé. It was released alongside a companion album of early recordings by the group’s earlier lineup, Girls Tyme.
Frequently asked questions about Mathew Knowles’s books
More from the shelf
