Search for books, people and lists
Read This Twice
HomePeopleBooksSonaLibrariesSign in

Best Nonfiction Books

Embark on a journey of real-world knowledge with these critically acclaimed nonfiction books, consistently highlighted in the top spots of renowned book lists.

Recommendations from 88 articles, Barack Obama, Rihanna, Jimmy Fallon and 401 others.
100 books on the list
Sort by
Number of Articles
Layout
The Sixth Extinction book cover
The Sixth Extinction
An Unnatural History
Elizabeth Kolbert - 2014-02-11
Goodreads Rating
The Sixth Extinction is a profound analysis of the current global extinction event, predicted to be the most catastrophic in history. Elizabeth Kolbert, a New Yorker writer, explores the reasons for the event, the species that have already vanished, and how human activities have altered life on Earth in unprecedented ways. This Pulitzer Prize-winning book is a moving and comprehensive account of the disappearances that are happening right now, compelling us to question what it means to be human in the face of ecological catastrophe.
Recommended by
Barack ObamaBill Gates
Between the World and Me book cover
Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates - 2015-07-14
Goodreads Rating
This thought-provoking work delves into American history and presents a powerful new framework for understanding the nation's current crisis. Through personal narratives and reimagined history, the author addresses the falsehood of "race" and its damaging effects on black men and women. Written as a letter to his son, this emotionally charged book sheds light on the past, confronts the present, and offers a hopeful vision for the future.
The Year of Magical Thinking book cover
The Year of Magical Thinking
Joan Didion - 2007-02-13 (first published in 2005)
Goodreads Rating
This memoir delves into the intensely personal yet universal experience of loss and grief, exploring the portrait of a marriage and a life in good times and bad. After losing their only daughter, Joan Didion and her husband face a series of traumatic events that challenge their understanding of death, illness, marriage, and memory. This book is an act of literary bravery, offering electric honesty and passion that will speak to anyone who has loved deeply.
Educated book cover
Educated
A Memoir
Tara Westover - 2018-02-20
Goodreads Rating
Discover the inspiring story of a young girl born into the harsh wilderness of Idaho and raised by survivalists who shunned modern medicine and education. Despite lacking any formal schooling, she taught herself enough to gain admittance into Brigham Young University, leading her on a journey of self-invention that took her across oceans and continents to prestigious universities. Educated is a powerful memoir about the transformative power of knowledge and the struggle for self-discovery.
Silent Spring book cover
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson - 2022-02-01 (first published in 1962)
Goodreads Rating
This influential book was published in 1962 and sparked a movement to protect the environment. Written by Rachel Carson, it exposes the harmful effects of DDT and led to changes in laws regarding our air, land, and water. Carson's powerful words and concern for the future of our planet launched the environmental movement, making it a landmark book of the twentieth century.
Recommended by
Ramachandra Guha
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks book cover
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Rebecca Skloot - 2010-02-02
Goodreads Rating
Discover the remarkable story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951, becoming one of the most important tools in medicine. Her cells have been bought and sold by the billions for medical advancements, but her story and legacy remain virtually unknown. This New York Times bestseller tackles the collision between ethics, race, and medicine, and the daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew. A riveting tale of scientific discovery and faith healing that will leave you questioning the ethics of medical advancements.
In Cold Blood book cover
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote - 1994-02-01 (first published in 1959)
Goodreads Rating
This gripping nonfiction book explores the brutal murder of a Kansas family and the subsequent investigation, trial, and execution of the killers. With meticulous detail and astounding empathy, Truman Capote reconstructs the events and personalities surrounding the crime, including the truly chilling young killers. In Cold Blood is a masterful example of literary journalism that will leave readers breathless.
Quiet book cover
Quiet
The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
Susan Cain - 2012-01-24
Goodreads Rating
Discover the power of introverts with this insightful book. Susan Cain explores how society undervalues introverts and their contributions, from Rosa Parks to Steve Wozniak. Through research and real-life stories, Quiet charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal and introduces successful introverts who often thrive in quiet environments. Prepare to see introverts in a new light and gain a fresh perspective on how we view ourselves and others.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings book cover
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou - 1993-11-01 (first published in 1969)
Goodreads Rating
This poignant memoir follows Maya and her brother as they are sent to live with their grandmother in a small Southern town, facing abandonment and prejudice. After a traumatic incident and years of struggle, Maya learns to liberate herself through self-love, the support of others, and great literature. Poetic and powerful, this book is a timeless standout in the genre of memoir.
Atomic Habits book cover
Atomic Habits
An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
James Clear - 2018-10-16
Goodreads Rating
Discover a proven framework for improving every day with Atomic Habits. Written by one of the world’s foremost experts in habit formation, James Clear, this instant New York Times bestseller offers practical strategies on how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. Drawing on biology, psychology, and neuroscience, Clear distills complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Whether you want to overcome a lack of motivation, design your environment for success, or simply achieve your goals, Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and give you the tools you need to transform your habits.
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, Robert Petkoff, Donna Dale Carnegie, Simon & Schuster Audio
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
Breath by James Nestor
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
H Is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald
Range by David Epstein
On Writing by Stephen King
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Barbarian Days by William Finnegan
Hunger by Roxane Gay
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
Wild Swans by Jung Chang
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Evicted by Matthew Desmond
How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
No Logo by Naomi Klein
The Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank
How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Hiroshima by John Hersey
Monsters by Claire Dederer
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Endurance by Alfred Lansing
Underland by Robert MacFarlane
The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West
I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
Make It Scream, Make It Burn by Leslie Jamison
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
You Look Like a Thing and I Love You by Janelle Shane
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
What My Mother and I Don't Talk About by Michele Filgate
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
The Creative ACT by Rick Rubin
Cosmos by Carl Sagan
Dreamland by Sam Quinones
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace
The Answer Is . . . by Alex Trebek
Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger
The Wager by David Grann
The Invention of Yesterday by Tamim Ansary
All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacIntyre