The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl Popper (1945) The Austrian-born philosopher’s postwar rallying cry for western liberal democracy was hugely influential in the 1960s. There’s a broad array of subjects and stories that fall under the umbrella of historical … 310,038 ratings — 8. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama (1995) This remarkably candid memoir revealed not only a literary talent, but a force that would change the face of US politics for ever. published 1965, avg rating 3.99 — published 1959, avg rating 4.13 — 65. Our world history is vast, and these 30 books are only the tip of the iceberg. 53. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (1952/53) A bleakly hilarious, enigmatic watershed that changed the language of theatre and still sparks debate six decades on. The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe (1979) Tom Wolfe raised reportage to dazzling new levels in his quest to discover what makes a man fly to the moon. A Book of Mediterranean Food by Elizabeth David (1950) This landmark recipe book, a horrified reaction to postwar rationing, introduced cooks to the food of southern Europe and readers to the art of food writing. These are the pillar books that have helped shape my thinking and approach to life. The Double Helix by James D Watson (1968) An astonishingly personal and accessible account of how Cambridge scientists Watson and Francis Crick unlocked the secrets of DNA and transformed our understanding of life. published 2005, avg rating 4.16 — My focus is mainly restricted to comparative religion, history, international relations/area studies, biographies, current affairs, narrative non-fiction and some memoirs. published 2018, avg rating 4.38 — 61,791 ratings — This is my list of the 10 best nonfiction books. 31,086 ratings — 2,839,562 ratings — 49. Leave your thoughts in the comments. Raise Kids Who Love to Read. The Elements of Style by William Strunk and EB White (1959) Dorothy Parker and Stephen King have both urged aspiring writers towards this crisp guide to the English language where brevity is key. 58. Culture and Anarchy by Matthew Arnold (1869) Arnold caught the public mood with this high-minded but entertaining critique of Victorian society posing questions about the art of civilised living that still perplex us. Domestic Manners of the Americans by Frances Trollope (1832) Rich in detail and Old World snobbery, Trollope’s classic travelogue identifies aspects of America’s national character still visible today. published 2012, avg rating 3.83 — 70. published 2015, avg rating 4.21 — The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert (2014) An engrossing account of the looming catastrophe caused by ecology’s “neighbours from hell” – mankind. Baby & Toddler (0-2) Pre-K (3–5) Growing Reader (6–8) Tween (9–12) Teen (13+) Discover Baby & Toddler (0-2) Pre-K (3–5) Growing Reader (6–8) Tween (9–12) Teen (13+) Editor's Pick. The Diary of Fanny Burney (1778)Burney’s acutely observed memoirs open a window on the literary and courtly circles of late 18th-century England. published 1980, avg rating 4.41 — published 1970, avg rating 3.95 — They are listed here in no particular order. published 1997, avg rating 4.11 — The History of the World by Walter Raleigh (1614)Raleigh’s most important prose work, close to 1m words in total, used ancient history as a sly commentary on present-day issues. 14. The Nude: A Study of Ideal Art by Kenneth Clark (1956)Clark’s survey of the nude from the Greeks to Picasso foreshadows the critic’s towering claims for humanity in his later seminal work, Civilisation. published 2002, avg rating 4.03 — published 2008, avg rating 3.81 — published 1992, avg rating 4.26 — The Life of Samuel Johnson LLD by James Boswell (1791) This huge work is one of the greatest of all English biographies and a testament to one of the great literary friendships. 91. Essays by RW Emerson (1841) New England’s inventor of “transcendentalism” is still revered for his high-minded thoughts on individuality, freedom and nature expressed in 12 essays. 25. 19,782 ratings — I accept review inquiries for historical fiction and any all related subgenres. 99. The Great Tradition by FR Leavis (1948) The controversial critic’s statement on English literature is an entertaining, often shocking, dissection of the novel, whose effects are still felt to this day. 75. Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes (1998) These passionate, audacious poems addressed to Hughes’s late wife, Sylvia Plath, contribute to the couple’s mythology and are a landmark in English poetry. 26,125 ratings — 4. The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell (1937)Orwell’s unflinchingly honest account of three northern towns during the Great Depression was a milestone in the writer’s political development. North by Seamus Heaney (1975) This raw, tender, unguarded collection transcends politics, reflecting Heaney’s desire to move “like a double agent among the big concepts”. 44,812 ratings — Take a quick look at five centuries of great writing, Last modified on Wed 24 Jul 2019 11.58 EDT. 39,191 ratings — 88,868 ratings — 5. 159,105 ratings — Is it possible to pick 50 of the best nonfiction books ever? 2. The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes (1919) The great economist’s account of what went wrong at the Versailles conference after the first world war was polemical, passionate and prescient. 66,062 ratings — 31. published 2011, avg rating 4.03 — Hiroshima by John Hersey (1946) Hersey’s extraordinary, gripping book tells the personal stories of six people who endured the 1945 atom bomb attack. published 2004, avg rating 4.15 — Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom by Nik Cohn (1969) This passionate account of how rock’n’roll changed the world was written with the wild energy of its subject matter. 138,076 ratings — 79. Brief Lives by John Aubrey, edited by Andrew Clark (1898) Truly ahead of his time, the 17th-century historian and gossip John Aubrey is rightly credited as the man who invented biography. Jade City. published 2003, avg rating 4.07 — Here’s my list of the 27 best nonfiction books of all time, in no particular order. 45. Refresh and try again. 10. 69,430 ratings — 85. published 2003, avg rating 4.16 — 73. 87. 85,163 ratings — The book was featured in the Modern Library's Top 100 nonfiction books … 69,776 ratings — Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial, or A Brief Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns Lately Found in Norfolk by Sir Thomas Browne (1658)Browne earned his reputation as a “writer’s writer” with this dazzling short essay on burial customs. Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain (1933) Brittain’s study of her experience of the first world war as a nurse and then victim of loss remains a powerful anti-war and feminist statement. Find our best selection and offers online, with FREE Click & Collect or UK delivery. The Emperor of All Maladies won the 2011 Pulitzer in General Nonfiction (the jury called it “An elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal, into the long history of an insidious disease that, despite treatment breakthroughs, still bedevils medical science.”), the Guardian first book award, and the inaugural PEN/E. Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed (1919) The American socialist’s romantic account of the Russian revolution is a masterpiece of reportage. 135,476 ratings — Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. This classic autobiography of one man’s journey to survive the Holocaust is a gripping portrait of both the depths of evil—and the precipice of hope—that human beings are capable of. 64. published 2019, avg rating 4.03 — Here are the best non-fiction books, including celebrity memoirs, investigations into the royal family, and more, to publish in 2020. How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher (1942)The American culinary icon was one of the first writers to use food as a cultural metaphor, describing the sensual pleasures of the table with elegance and passion. Ariel by Sylvia Plath (1965) The groundbreaking collection, revolving around the poet’s fascination with her own death, established Plath as one of the last century’s most original and gifted poets. The Pulitzer Prize winning, The Guns of August, by Barbara W. Tuchman, is focussed on the first month of World War I. Tuchman explains in detail the events that led to the war. Error rating book. Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag (1966) The American novelist’s early essays provide the quintessential commentary on the 1960s. Adam Higginbotham’s page-turner of a historical nonfiction book tells the story of the April 1986 meltdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. published 2015, avg rating 4.18 — Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions by John Donne (1624)The poet’s intense meditation on the meaning of life and death is a dazzling work that contains some of his most memorable writing. 13. 89. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft (1792) This radical text attacked the dominant male thinkers of the age and laid the foundations of feminism. published 2005, avg rating 4.34 — 33. The Devil in the White City book. Readers' Favorite Non-Fiction - Historical genre features book reviews for today's newest Non-Fiction - Historical authors, including book award contest winners. Some nonfiction categories—like literary nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, and creative nonfiction—overlap with historical nonfiction, and many bestselling books can be categorized in two or more of these genres. This includes traditional historicals, historical fantasy, historical romance, time-slip novels, alternative history… 63. 48. Similiar to our list of 100 (Fiction) Books to Read in a Lifetime, this list of 50 non-fiction books contains recommendations you might actually read (if you haven't already).This curated list covers the gamut of non-fiction, from compelling war stories to key feminist texts, to unbelievable struggles for survival, to tales of life in the culinary trade. 98. Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey (1822) An addiction memoir, by the celebrated and supremely talented contemporary of Coleridge and Wordsworth, outlining his life hooked on the the drug. 7. Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb (1807) A troubled brother-and-sister team produced one of the 19th century’s bestselling volumes and simplified the complexity of Shakespeare’s plays for younger audiences. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (1963) The book that ignited second-wave feminism captured the frustration of a generation of middle-class American housewives by daring to ask: “Is this all?”. 55,386 ratings — Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant – The Durants wrote an 11-volume “History of the World” series that took up pretty much all of their adult lives. 995,556 ratings — But readers loved the world building and threads of mythology weaved into the story. published 2006, avg rating 4.07 — An absurdist masterpiece. published 2015, avg rating 4.06 — 84. 12. Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey (1918)Strachey’s partisan, often inaccurate but brilliant demolitions of four great 19th-century Britons illustrates life in the Victorian period from different perspectives. The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (1776)Blending history, philosophy, psychology and sociology, the Scottish intellectual single-handedly invented modern political economy. Higginbotham’s book draws from hundreds of hours of interviews. published 1997, avg rating 4.08 — • This article was amended on 9 April 2018. published 1998, avg rating 4.39 — Enemies of Promise by Cyril Connolly (1938)Connolly’s dissection of the art of writing and the perils of the literary life transformed the contemporary English scene. 113,601 ratings — 60. In this list I narrowed down the topic a bit by focusing on books within the last 100 years or so, including some very contemporary ones, and I kept just a few genres: biography, memoir, history, social sciences, culture, science, and nature. No Logo by Naomi Klein (1999) Naomi Klein’s timely anti-branding bible combined a fresh approach to corporate hegemony with potent reportage from the dark side of capitalism. Welcome back. 51. Common Sense by Tom Paine (1776) This little book helped ignite revolutionary America against the British under George III. 52. published 1998, avg rating 3.24 — This is the story of a human-made tragedy, and the … 74. 66. The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James (1902) This revolutionary work written by Henry James’s less famous brother brought a democratising impulse to the realm of religious belief. The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne by Gilbert White (1789) This curate’s beautiful and lucid observations on the wildlife of a Hampshire village inspired generations of naturalists. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin (1793) The US founding father’s life, drawn from four different manuscripts, combines the affairs of revolutionary America with his private struggles. 59,565 ratings — Historical nonfiction is a broad category that covers any sort of nonfiction writing that depicts historical, real-life events. Here, the best nonfiction books of 2020. 78. 56. 88. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (1936) The original self-help manual on American life – with its influence stretching from the Great Depression to Donald Trump – has a lot to answer for. 86. Jade City by Fonda Lee is $2.99! 17. The Diary of a Young Girl book. published 2010, avg rating 4.09 — I also have a fond weakness for books from university presses. published 2011, avg rating 4.36 — 21. 94. published 1960, avg rating 3.90 — 88,873 ratings — A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (1790) Motivated by the revolution across the Channel, this passionate defence of the aristocratic system is a landmark in conservative thinking. De Profundis by Oscar Wilde (1905) There is a thrilling majesty to Oscar Wilde’s tormented tour de force written as he prepared for release from Reading jail. 34. John Adams book. Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa by Mungo Park (1799) The Scottish explorer’s account of his heroic one-man search for the river Niger was a contemporary bestseller and a huge influence on Conrad, Melville and Hemingway. 96. 6. 40. 545,287 ratings — published 1978, avg rating 4.13 — 69. 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