Author Guide · Memoir
Books Written by
In 1986 Paul Newman and Stewart Stern began an oral history of his life. For five years they interviewed Newman and the people around him, from family and friends to colleagues. The thousands of pages of transcripts became The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man, published in 2022, fourteen years after his death. His other books tell the story of Newman’s Own, the food company that gives its profits to charity. This guide covers his 2 key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 2 key books · 2003–2022 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Paul Newman’s key books are Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good (2003), the story of Newman’s Own, written with A. E. Hotchner, and The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man (2022), his memoir, published after his death. Start with the memoir; read on for how it was made.
Where to Start with Paul Newman
If you want his life, in his own words
→ The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man (2022) — the memoir built from his interviews.
If you want the story of Newman’s Own
→ Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good (2003) — salad dressing, charity and two friends.
2 Paul Newman Books, in Order
Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good
Written with his friend and business partner A. E. Hotchner, the story of Newman’s Own, the food company the two men founded in 1982 that gives all its profits to charity.
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man
Assembled from the transcripts of the oral history Newman and Stewart Stern recorded between 1986 and 1991, alongside the voices of family, friends and colleagues, and edited by David Rosenthal. It covers his service in the Second World War, his career, his struggles with alcohol and his marriage to Joanne Woodward; Kirkus Reviews called it “a revealing memoir of a life marked by pain, grief, and regret.”
In What Order to Read Paul Newman
Start with the memoir. It is the only book in which Newman talks about himself at length, and it is a candid one, covering his struggles with alcohol as well as his career.
Shameless Exploitation is lighter and shorter, and shows the other side of his later life: the business and the charities it funds.
A reading path
1. The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man (2022)
2. Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good (2003)
Everything Else Paul Newman Published
Beyond the 2 key books: 1 more, grouped by kind.
Open a group with the + to see every book in it.
Cookbook
1
1 book · 1998
- 1998Newman’s Own Cookbookrecipes, written with A. E. Hotchner
The years · 1925–2022
Quick facts about Paul Newman
- Known for
- Starring in films from The Hustler to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and founding Newman’s Own, which gives its profits to charity
- 1925
- Born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio
- 1958
- Marries Joanne Woodward
- 1982
- Founds Newman’s Own with A. E. Hotchner
- 1987
- Oscar for The Color of Money
- 2008
- Dies in Westport, Connecticut
- Born
- 26 January 1925, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
- Died
- 26 September 2008, Westport, Connecticut
- Served
- US Navy, Second World War
- Academy Award
- Best Actor for The Color of Money (1986)
- Married
- Jackie Witte (1949), then Joanne Woodward (1958)
- Founded
- Newman’s Own (1982) and the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (1988)
The red mark is 2022: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man, the memoir published fourteen years after his death.
How Paul Newman’s Books Were Made
Newman never sat down to write a conventional memoir. The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man comes from an oral history: from 1986 Newman and Stewart Stern interviewed him and the people around him for five years. Newman later abandoned the memoir; after his death the transcripts were edited into a first-person book, with the other voices placed between his own, and a foreword by his daughter Melissa Newman.
The title sets the tone: Newman presents himself as an ordinary man, and the book does not avoid the hard parts of his life, including his struggles with alcohol.
His earlier books are collaborations with A. E. Hotchner, his partner in Newman’s Own, and are told by the two friends together.
Frequently asked questions about Paul Newman’s books
How many books has Paul Newman written?
Three under his name: Newman’s Own Cookbook (1998) and Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good (2003), both with A. E. Hotchner, and the memoir The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man (2022).
What are Paul Newman’s books in order?
Newman’s Own Cookbook (1998), Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good (2003) and The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man (2022).
Where should I start with Paul Newman?
With The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man (2022), the memoir built from his own interviews.
What is Paul Newman’s most famous book?
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir (2022), published fourteen years after his death.
Did Paul Newman write his memoir himself?
Not in the usual way. From 1986 to 1991 he and the screenwriter Stewart Stern recorded an oral history of his life, interviewing Newman, his family, friends and colleagues. The memoir was condensed from those transcripts and published in 2022.
Who reads the audiobook of Paul Newman’s memoir?
Several voices: Jeff Daniels, Ari Fliakos, January LaVoy, John Rubinstein, Emily Wachtel, and Newman’s daughters Melissa Newman and Clea Newman Soderlund.
What does Paul Newman’s memoir say about Joanne Woodward?
Their marriage, from 1958 until his death in 2008, is one of the main threads of the book.
What is Newman’s Own?
The food company Newman founded with A. E. Hotchner in 1982, which gives all its profits to charity. Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good (2003) tells how it started.
When did Paul Newman die?
On 26 September 2008, at his home in Westport, Connecticut, aged 83, of lung cancer.
Footnotes
- The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man — Penguin UK
- Paul Newman — Wikipedia
- Newman’s Own — Wikipedia
- The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man — Penguin Random House
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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