bestseller non fiction books 2021

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The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021

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I n an era when time spent trying new things and meeting new people was still a rare privilege, the best books served to please our wandering minds. These works, from well-known writers as well as exciting new voices, dissect a range of subjects from the history of Black performance in America to the value of the 19th-century Russian short story to the intimate pain caused by losing a parent . They are sweeping histories and bold essay collections, powerful memoirs and brilliant literary criticism. Their diversity is a virtue in and of itself, a means of exploring and satisfying our curiosities. Here, the top 10 nonfiction books of 2021.

10. The Kissing Bug , Daisy Hernández

When Daisy Hernández was a child, her aunt traveled from Colombia to the U.S. in search of a cure for the mysterious disease that caused her stomach to become so distended that people thought she was pregnant. Growing up, Hernández believed her aunt had become sick from eating an apple; it wasn’t until decades later that she learned more about Chagas disease . As Hernández describes in her deftly reported book, Chagas—transmitted by “kissing bugs” that carry the parasite that causes it—is an infectious disease that sickens hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S., many of whom are poor immigrants from Latin America. She traces the history of Chagas and the lives most impacted by it, offering a nuanced and empathetic look into the intersections of poverty, racism and the U.S. health care system.

Buy Now: The Kissing Bug on Bookshop | Amazon

9. Finding the Mother Tree , Suzanne Simard

In her first book, pioneering forest ecologist Suzanne Simard blends her personal history with that of the trees she has researched for decades. Finding the Mother Tree is as comprehensive as it is deeply personal, especially as Simard explores her curiosity about trees and what it has been like to work as a woman in a field dominated by men. Her passion for the subject at the book’s center is palpable on every page, coalescing into an urgent call to embrace our connection with the earth and do whatever we can to protect it.

Buy Now: Finding the Mother Tree on Bookshop | Amazon

8. The Copenhagen Trilogy , Tove Ditlevsen

Originally published as three separate books in Danish between 1967 and 1971, The Copenhagen Trilogy, now presented in a single translated volume, is a heartbreaking portrait of an artist. In precise and brutally self-aware terms, Tove Ditlevsen reflects on her life, from her turbulent youth during Hitler’s rise to power to her discovery of poetry and later to the dissolution of her multiple marriages. Though the story was written decades ago, the complexities of womanhood that Ditlevsen captures are timeless.

Buy Now: The Copenhagen Trilogy on Bookshop | Amazon

7. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain , George Saunders

George Saunders is deeply familiar with the 19th-century Russian short story—he’s been teaching a class on the subject to M.F.A. students for two decades. Here, he opens up his syllabus, analyzing seven iconic works by authors including Chekhov and Tolstoy to highlight the importance of fiction in our lives. In a world bursting with distractions, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain demands the reader’s attention. Saunders begins by breaking down a story line by line—in less thoughtful hands, this exercise would be draining, but Saunders infuses so much heart into the practice that instead it is simply fun.

Buy Now: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain on Bookshop | Amazon

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6. Empire of Pain , Patrick Radden Keefe

From the author of the 2019 best seller Say Nothing , which dove into Northern Ireland during the Troubles, Empire of Pain is a stirring investigation into three generations of the Sackler family . Patrick Radden Keefe explores the Sacklers and the source of their infamous fortune, earned by producing and marketing a painkiller that became the driving force behind the opioid crisis. It’s a sweeping account of a family’s outsize impact on the world­—and a dogged work of reporting that showcases the horrific implications of greed.

Buy Now: Empire of Pain on Bookshop | Amazon

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5. aftershocks , nadia owusu.

Born in Tanzania and raised all over the world, from England to Italy to Ethiopia, Nadia Owusu never felt she belonged anywhere. In her aching memoir, she embarks on a tour de force examination of her childhood, marked first by her mother’s abandoning her when she was a toddler and later by the death of her beloved father. Through assessing the people and places that shaped her, Owusu picks up the pieces of her life to make sense of it all. In lyrical and lush prose, she crafts an intimate and piercing exploration of identity, family and home.

Buy Now: Aftershocks on Bookshop | Amazon

4. How the Word Is Passed , Clint Smith

Amid a discussion of what students should be learning about history , Clint Smith, a poet and journalist, takes readers across the U.S.­—from the Monticello plantation in Virginia to a maximum-security prison in Louisiana—to underline the legacy of slavery and how it has shaped the country. The result, longlisted for the National Book Award, is an insightful dissection of the relationship between memory, history and America’s ongoing reckoning with its past.

Buy Now: How the Word Is Passed on Bookshop | Amazon

3. Invisible Child , Andrea Elliott

For almost a decade, reporter Andrea Elliott observed the coming-of-age of a girl named Dasani, who has lived in and out of the New York City shelter system for most of her life. Dasani’s existence is full of contradictions—her Brooklyn shelter is just blocks away from some of the borough’s most expensive real estate—and Elliott is relentless in her efforts to capture them all. In exact and searing detail, she places Dasani’s story alongside the larger issues of inequality, homelessness and racism in the city and more broadly the U.S.

Buy Now: Invisible Child on Bookshop | Amazon

2. Crying in H Mart , Michelle Zauner

When Michelle Zauner, founder of the indie-rock band Japanese Breakfast, was 25 years old, her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. That illness and her mother’s eventual death shattered Zauner’s sense of self—and forced her to re-evaluate her relationship with her Korean culture. In her memoir, Zauner searches for answers about the influences that shaped so much of her life, often ruminating on the food her mother made for her. The memories associated with these dishes—jatjuk, gimbap, galbi—push the narrative along, and it’s food that becomes such a heartbreaking marker of her mother’s decline, particularly when chemotherapy makes it too difficult for her to eat. Remarkably honest and written in animated terms, Crying in H Mart is a potent and devastating portrait of a mother and daughter and the life that they shared.

Buy Now: Crying in H Mart on Bookshop | Amazon

1. A Little Devil in America , Hanif Abdurraqib

A finalist for the National Book Award, Hanif Abdurraqib ’ s work of cultural criticism is an astonishing accounting of Black performance. In essays full of snappy prose, Abdurraqib analyzes everything from the rise of Whitney Houston to a schoolyard fistfight. The author, also a poet, seamlessly blends pop culture references with U.S. history and stories from his own upbringing. The connections that he makes between these stories—both small and large, intimate and collective—point to the enduring influence of Black art. He covers broad ground with ease and wit, an impressive balance for a book that is as bold as it is essential.

Buy Now: A Little Devil in America on Bookshop | Amazon

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The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021 (So Far)

Our favorite nonfiction of the year encompasses everything from reporting on the global climate crisis to literary essays about motorcycles.

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Nothing expands the mind—or the heart—quite like a superb work of nonfiction. But if you hear "nonfiction" and think "dry as a bone," don't get it twisted. Nonfiction doesn't have to feel like homework—in fact, the very best of it can be just as much of a page-turner as a thriller. Our favorite nonfiction of the year encompasses everything from reporting on the global climate crisis to literary essays about motorcycles. This list has true crime, memoirs about identity, and firmament-shattering works that know no boundaries. No matter what your nonfiction niche is, there's something for everyone here. Watch this space for updates, as we'll be expanding our list throughout the year.

Scribner The Hard Crowd, by Rachel Kushner

Kushner’s signature literary sensibility emerges and matures in this two decades-long collection of cultural criticism, literary journalism, and memoir, all of it proof positive of her singular way of seeing. In these nineteen forceful, blistering essays, Kushner turns her lens to everything from Jeff Koons to Denis Johnson, Palestinian refugees to Italian radical politics, classic muscle cars to San Francisco’s indie music scene. And yes, of course, there are motorcycles. 

Simon & Schuster Jackpot: How the Super-Rich Really Live―and How Their Wealth Harms Us All, by Michael Mechanic

Have you done your part to rail against capitalism today? If you haven’t, pick up  Jackpot , Mechanic’s meticulously reported guide to the opulent world of the ultra-rich, and you’ll be seeing red in no time. Mechanic pulls back the velvet curtain on how our highest earners make, build, and hide their staggering wealth, while also taking aim at the commonly-held fantasy that hitting the jackpot would turn our lives to gold. With palpable glee, Mechanic lays out the lived reality behind the age-old truism that money can’t buy happiness—just ask the bored, miserable, and spiritually bankrupt .01%. Character-driven and far more rollicking fun than it should be, this riveting guide to how the other half lives illuminates how economic inequality leaves everyone worse off.

Harper Perennial An Ordinary Age, by Rainesford Stauffer

All too often, we’re told that young adulthood will be the time of our lives—so why isn’t it? Stauffer explores the diminishing returns of young adulthood in this soulful book, providing a meticulous cartography of how outer forces shape young people’s inner lives. From chronic burnout to the loneliness epidemic to the strictures of social media,  An Ordinary Age  leads with empathy in exploring the myriad challenges facing young adults, while also advocating for a better path forward: one where young people can live authentic lives filled with love, community, and self-knowledge. 

Farrar, Straus and Giroux On Violence and On Violence Against Women, by Jacqueline Rose

No stone goes unturned in Rose’s exhaustive inquiry into the enduring global crisis of sexual violence. Drawing on data and contemporary examples, while also braiding in the work of feminist philosophers like Judith Butler and Hannah Arendt, Rose builds a compellingly argued theory that sexual violence is rooted in male fragility. Rose’s framework examines how systemic power structures reinforce themselves, and how sexual violence intersects with gender, sexuality, race, and class. For anyone looking to educate themselves on this essential subject, start here and now.

Celadon Books Last Call, by Elon Green

In this gripping true crime story about the Last Call Killer, who preyed on New York City’s queer men during the 80s and 90s, Green foregrounds the shamefully forgotten lives of the killer’s known victims. Not only does he consider the profound losses carved out by their murders, but also the role of homophobia in shaping their lives and deaths. Green thoroughly sketches the queer bar scene of the era, ravaged by the AIDS crisis, and the law enforcement indifference that allowed the killer to lure men to their gruesome deaths. In these riveting pages, Green reclaims a time, a place, and a community, weaving together a decades-long forensic investigation with a poignant elegy to murdered men. 

Random House A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, by George Saunders

Crown under a white sky, by elizabeth kolbert.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of  The Sixth Extinction  returns with another sobering look at our Anthropocene Epoch, this time centered not on the countless calamities ahead, but on the trailblazing efforts of scientists to turn back the doomsday clock. Kolbert describes the subjects of  Under a White Sky  as “people trying to solve problems created by people trying to solve problems”; she turns her lens to human interventions in nature, like the storied redirection of the Chicago River, and to the pressing need for further intervention to correct our folly. Traveling everywhere from the Great Lakes to the Great Barrier Reef, she chronicles her encounters with scientists, who are pioneering cutting-edge technologies to turn carbon emissions to stone and shoot diamonds in the stratosphere. Heralded by everyone from Barack Obama to Al Gore, Kolbert’s urgent, deeply researched text asks if our ingenuity can outrun our hubris.

Simon & Schuster Surviving the White Gaze, by Rebecca Carroll

Carroll’s searing memoir recounts her complicated childhood as the only Black person in a rural New Hampshire town, where even the love of her adoptive white parents could not answer the incompleteness within her. When her white birth mother enters the picture to cruelly undermine Carroll’s Blackness and self-worth, the aftershocks reverberate across Carroll’s lifetime, sending her spiraling through a pattern of self-destructive behaviors in search of her racial identity. In this vulnerable and layered meditation on race, adoption, and family, chosen and otherwise, Carroll unspools a poignant story of becoming.

Simon & Schuster We Had a Little Real Estate Problem, by Kliph Nesteroff

Nesteroff traces the long and shameful marginalization of Native American comedians in this deeply researched volume, beginning as early as the 1800s, when Native Americans were forced to perform as caricatures of themselves in traveling Wild West shows in order to avoid imprisonment. The book toggles between historical analysis and modern-day interviews with emerging Native comedians, who are struggling to break into show business amid the dearth of opportunities on reservations. Nesteroff also deconstructs caricatures of Native Americans as stoic people, highlighting an irreverent and often hilarious chorus of voices aching to be heard. Read an exclusive excerpt here at Esquire . 

Catapult Craft in the Real World, by Matthew Salesses

In this firmament-shattering examination of how we teach creative writing, Salesses, a novelist and professor, builds a persuasive argument for tearing up the rulebook. Tracing the traditional writing workshop to its roots in white, male cultural values, Salesses challenges received wisdom about the benchmarks of “good” fiction, arguing that we must reimagine how we write and how we teach. Only then will our canon and our classrooms be the inclusive, expansive spaces we want them to be.

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The 32 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021

What a year it’s been. Next Big Idea Club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink reviewed literally hundreds of books in search of the absolute best. Each season they hand-picked eight finalists—two of which became official Club selections—for a total of 32 top-tier reads for the year. Below, find out which ones made the cut as the best nonfiction books of 2021. (Titles with an asterisk went on to become an official selection!)

Download the Next Big Idea App  for “Book Bite” summaries of hundreds of new nonfiction books like these.

AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future

By Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan

In this provocative, utterly original work, a former president of Google China and bestselling author of AI Superpowers  teams up with celebrated novelist Chen Qiufan to imagine our world in 2041 and how it will be shaped by AI. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Kai-Fu Lee, in the Next Big Idea App

Beginners: The Transformative Joy of Lifelong Learning

By Tom Vanderbilt

The bestselling author of Traffic  and  You May Also Like now gives us a thought-provoking, playful journey into the transformative joys that come with starting something new, no matter your age. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Tom Vanderbilt, in the Next Big Idea App

Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas

By Alexi Pappas

The Olympic runner, actress, and filmmaker shares what she’s learned about confidence, self-reliance, mental health, embracing pain, and achieving your dreams. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Alexi Pappas, in the Next Big Idea App

*Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It

By Ethan Kross

An award-winning psychologist reveals the hidden power of our inner voice, and shows how we can harness it to live a healthier, more satisfying, and more productive life. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Ethan Kross, in the Next Big Idea App

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

By Walter Isaacson

A gripping account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Walter Isaacson, in the Next Big Idea App

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

By Amanda Montell

The author of the widely praised  Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Amanda Montell, in the Next Big Idea App

The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics

By Tim Harford

Aided by new research in science and psychology, Tim Harford proposes ten strategies for using statistics to erase our biases and replace them with the patience, curiosity, and good sense to better understand ourselves—and the world. View on Amazon

Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing

By Pete Davis

A profoundly inspiring and transformative argument that purposeful commitment can be a powerful force in our age of restlessness and indecision. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Pete Davis, in the Next Big Idea App

*The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain

By Annie Murphy Paul

A bold new book reveals how we can tap the intelligence that exists beyond our brains—in our bodies, our surroundings, and our relationships. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Annie Murphy Paul, in the Next Big Idea App

Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

By Steven Johnson

The surprising story of how humans gained what amounts to an extra life, from the bestselling author of  How We Got to Now  and  Where Good Ideas Come From . Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Steven Johnson, in the Next Big Idea App

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age

By Annalee Newitz

A quest to explore some of the most spectacular ancient cities in human history―and figure out why people abandoned them. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Annalee Newitz, in the Next Big Idea App

*Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

By Oliver Burkeman

An acclaimed Guardian writer offers a lively, entertaining, philosophical guide to time and time management, setting aside superficial efficiency solutions in favor of reckoning with and finding joy in the finitude of human life. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Oliver Burkeman, in the Next Big Idea App

Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion

By Wendy Suzuki

The world-renowned neuroscientist and author of Healthy Brain, Happy Life explains how to harness the power of anxiety into unexpected gifts. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Wendy Suzuki, in the Next Big Idea App

*High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out

By Amanda Ripley

When we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side”—in our politics, at work, or at home—it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Amanda Ripley, in the Next Big Idea App

*How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

By Katy Milkman

An award-winning Wharton professor reveals a proven path to lasting, positive, meaningful behavior change. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Katy Milkman, in the Next Big Idea App

How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion

By David DeSteno

A pioneering psychology professor demonstrates why religious practices and rituals are so beneficial to those who follow them—and to anyone, regardless of their faith (or lack thereof). Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author David DeSteno, in the Next Big Idea App

How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason

By Lee McIntyre

A philosopher of science explores how we can most effectively get through to those who distrust science, while avoiding the conversational traps of fact-flinging and condescension. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Lee McIntyre, in the Next Big Idea App

Just Work: Get Sh*t Done, Fast & Fair

By Kim Scott

From the author of the revolutionary bestseller Radical Candor comes Just Work , all about how we can recognize, attack, and eliminate workplace injustice―and transform our careers and organizations in the process. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Kim Scott, in the Next Big Idea App

Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives

By Michael Heller and James Salzman

A hidden set of rules governs who owns what—explaining everything from whether you can recline your airplane seat to why HBO lets you borrow a password illegally. In this lively and entertaining guide, two acclaimed law professors reveal how things become “mine.” Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Michael Heller, in the Next Big Idea App

Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement

By Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass Sunstein

From the Nobel Prize-winning author of  Thinking, Fast and Slow , an Oxford professor, and a Harvard professor comes   a revolutionary exploration of why people make bad judgments—and how to make better ones. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-authors Olivier Sibony and Cass Sunstein, in the Next Big Idea App

The Premonition: A Pandemic Story

By Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis’s taut and brilliant nonfiction thriller pits a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of COVID-19. View on Amazon

Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters

By Steven Pinker

A primer in logical thinking and an entertaining expedition through all the trapdoors we can tumble through when we try to parse reality or bend it to our will. Listen to our podcast episode featuring author Steven Pinker

Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere

By Tsedal Neeley

A Harvard Business School professor and leading expert in virtual and global work provides remote workers and leaders with the best practices necessary to perform at the highest levels in their organizations. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Tsedal Neeley, in the Next Big Idea App

The Sea We Swim In: How Stories Work in a Data-Driven World

By Frank Rose

Building on insights from cognitive psychology and neuroscience, a Columbia University instructor shows us how to see the world in narrative terms, not as a thesis to be argued or a pitch to be made but as a story to be told. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Frank Rose, in the Next Big Idea App

*The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning

By Paul Bloom

Drawing on groundbreaking findings from psychology and brain science, a University of Toronto professor shows how the right kind of suffering sets the stage for enhanced pleasure. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Paul Bloom, in the Next Big Idea App

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together

By Heather McGhee

A powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Heather McGhee, in the Next Big Idea App

Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement

By Tarana Burke

From the founder and activist behind one of the largest movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the “me too” movement, Tarana Burke debuts a powerful memoir about her own journey to saying those two simple yet infinitely powerful words. View on Amazon

*Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain

By Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler

From the New York Times bestselling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look at the role of self-deception in human flourishing. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Shankar Vedantam, in the Next Big Idea App

What Is Life?: Five Great Ideas in Biology

By Paul Nurse

A Nobel Prize-winning scientist’s elegant explanation of the fundamental ideas in biology, and their uses today. View on Amazon

Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion, and What Makes Us Good

By Dilip Jeste, with Scott LaFee

From the field’s pioneer, an exploration of the neurobiology and psychology of wisdom: what science says it is, and how to nurture it within yourself―at any stage of life. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Dilip Jeste, in the Next Big Idea App

*Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots

By James Suzman

An acclaimed anthropologist shows that while we have evolved to find joy and purpose in work, for most of human history our ancestors worked far less and thought very differently about work than we do now. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author James Suzman, in the Next Big Idea App

Your Turn: How to Be an Adult

By Julie Lythcott-Haims

A New York Times bestselling author shares her groundbreakingly frank guide to being a grown-up. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Julie Lythcott-Haims, in the Next Big Idea App

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Nonfiction Books

The best nonfiction books of 2021, recommended by sophie roell.

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Five Books Expert Recommendations

As the Covid pandemic gets another lease of life with the appearance of the omicron variant, those of us spending additional time at home may need a few more books to read. Here, Five Books editor Sophie Roell shares some of her favourite nonfiction books of the year, from history to economics, lessons on how to write like Chekhov to the part each of us can play in reducing political polarization.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders

Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing by Chris Bail

Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy by Anne Sebba

Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity by Claudia Goldin

River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads by Cat Jarman

1 A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders

2 breaking the social media prism: how to make our platforms less polarizing by chris bail, 3 ethel rosenberg: an american tragedy by anne sebba, 4 career and family: women’s century-long journey toward equity by claudia goldin, 5 river kings: a new history of the vikings from scandinavia to the silk roads by cat jarman.

A Swim in the Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading and Life by George Saunders

Breaking the Social Media Prism by Chris Bail

Ethel Rosenberg: A Cold War Tragedy by Anne Sebba

Career & Family by Claudia Goldin

Claudia Goldin is an economist, in fact the first female economist ever to get tenure at Harvard. Career & Family is a book everyone should read because it analyses an issue that affects many of us: the wide disparities in pay that develop after people have children. The fact is, it’s very hard to both care for kids and be at the top of your profession. In the economy, the highest paying jobs go to workers who are prepared to work crazy hours and are available 24/7: they either don’t have children or have someone else who is prepared to look after them. This, Goldin has long argued, is the reason women with college degrees still earn so much less than men, especially in jobs like law and investment banking. It’s not so much about sexism or women being worse at bargaining for higher pay than men (say), it’s about a system. If that structure isn’t changed, no number of workshops training people to be less sexist, better at negotiating etc. is going to make a difference. This book is full of data looking at different cohorts of American women through the 20th century, though I love that there are also lots of examples of what prominent women did regarding marriage and children. Goldin remains outraged at the current situation but is also at pains to show that women have come a long way: a century ago, women who had a career did not, in general, get married and have children, now they can have both (even if they’re paid less for their efforts).

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River Kings  by Cat Jarman

I’m always interested in books about the Vikings , this violent group who wreaked havoc around Europe in the medieval period, traded slaves, and had astonishing seafaring skills. Cat Jarman is a bioarchaeologist, and this book looks at what the latest findings in her field can tell us about them. Her own research focuses on a burial site in Repton, in Derbyshire and many miles from the sea, where nearly 300 bodies were found that were very likely from the Great Viking Army that invaded England. Lots of iron nails used for ships were also found at the site, indicating they got there by river. As the title of the book suggests, even if it’s crossing the Atlantic in a ship that seems more impressive, Vikings were a group who were able to flourish because of their ability to sail down rivers. In particular, they sailed along rivers in Russia, down to Byzantium and traded with the Middle East. I love the texture of the book, the information gleaned from Viking skeletons and objects found at burial sites: lots of playing pieces (Vikings liked playing games, apparently useful for strategy), a ring with Arabic script, beads from India, a coin from Afghanistan—and then the DNA evidence as techniques get more sophisticated. One Viking warrior turned out to be a woman, another one was bald, there was quite a bit of immigration to Scandinavia, even from the Middle East. Also, I found out a fact I never learned in school: Harald Hardrada—who famously invaded England just a few weeks before William of Normandy, another Viking, in 1066—spent time as a bodyguard to the Roman emperor in Constantinople.

December 24, 2021

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15 Of The Best Nonfiction Books In 2021

Jamie Canaves

Jamie Canavés is the Tailored Book Recommendations coordinator and Unusual Suspects mystery newsletter writer–in case you’re wondering what you do with a Liberal Arts degree. She’s never met a beach she didn’t like, always says yes to dessert, loves ‘80s nostalgia, all forms of entertainment, and can hold a conversation using only gifs. You can definitely talk books with her on Litsy and Goodreads . Depending on social media’s stability maybe also Twitter and Bluesky .

View All posts by Jamie Canaves

How can I possibly write a list of the best nonfiction books 2021 has to offer? I can’t. I mean I can, because here you are reading this list, but it’s not ALL the best nonfiction titles of the year. It’s 15 of them. So manageable. And definitely with something for everyone. But not even close to all the best. But every book on this list is the best.

It’s not that I didn’t want to add more, nor that I was being lazy or anything, it’s that I would never stop adding to the list because nonfiction has been amazing lately. Amazing! There are so many fantastic stories, voices, interesting things to learn — it just doesn’t end. And because the nonfiction genre has seen an influx in voices that publishing traditionally kept out, I feel like a kid in a candy store getting to hear so many stories. And let me tell you, the audiobook versions narrated by the author are always my first choice option for nonfiction. It feels like cooking, walking the goat (who is an angry goat trapped inside a dog), cleaning, crafting, and puzzling with a friend telling me a story. It was really difficult to choose only 15 titles, but below I have a wide range of top nonfiction books of 2021 including true crime, sociology, memoir, history, and even a deep dive into the history of food. Let’s get started.

Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford

I am forever in awe of people who can not only recount difficult times from their lives, but also do it with nuance, kindness, and deep self-awareness and processing. Ford is an incredibly gifted writer and deserves every amount of praise for how beautifully she is able to share the details of a truly difficult situation: growing up wishing the parent you had with you was instead the one that is incarcerated, only to grow up and learn why he was imprisoned and have your world turned upside down. Her narration of the audiobook is exceptional and I look forward to anything Ford does next.

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

If you like fascinating reads and reading about cults, language, and society, you won’t be able to put this one down. Montell became fascinated with cults when she found out her father’s history with one as a child and this book is in part that same curious person asking questions, which let’s be honest, all of us are. But it goes much further than just recounting the history of various cults and instead ties it to the language cults and leaders use, and how we see that language in many other places, including business marketing.

¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer

This is one of those memoirs that will have you feeling all the emotions: I snorted I laughed so hard in one chapter and in another I was all choked up. What started as a parody advice column ended up becoming a real one, and here Brammer uses the format of responding to advice seeking letters to tell of his childhood in Oklahoma in one of the only Mexican families and coming into adulthood as a gay man. There’s a beautiful spirit in this book as Brammer not only looks at the difficulties of being biracial and gay in the U.S., but also at not fitting into the cultural box you’re expected to, as well as who gets to give advice.

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The Unfit Heiress: The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt by Audrey Clare Farley

Britney Spear’s pleas to end her conservatorship , her revelation in court that she was forced to keep an IUD , and the women who came forward last year saying hysterectomies were performed on them while in immigration custody all show that this book, and the case it covers, are in many ways still a current issue. Farley takes a look at the court case and story of Maryon Cooper Hewitt, who had her daughter, Ann Cooper Hewitt, sterilized without her consent or knowledge for an inheritance. It also takes a look at the history of eugenics and how it created the laws that allowed this, and how this is not a long ago history.

Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green

If you read true crime, especially related to serial killers, and come across a case that you’ve never heard of at all, you can place your money on the bet that the victims were not the ones our society likes to care about. In this case, Green does a fantastic job of bringing voice and attention to the victims of a serial killer who prayed on New York City’s gay community in the ’80s and ’90s.

My Broken Language: A Memoir by Quiara Alegría Hudes

If you audio I highly recommend that format for this book, narrated by the author herself. Quiara Alegría Hudes is a Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright who is gifted at storytelling. This book is not only a recounting of stories from her life, but is also so much about language — all formats, especially being in between languages — and love of family. With stories of history (like her mother fighting for Puerto Rican women’s reproductive rights), family (the house where you find todos los primos), creativity, art, and the many places that come alive in these pages, you’ll be so absorbed while reading this.

A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib

If you’re not already reading Abdurraqib right now is the moment to remedy that. Brilliant people who talk about their passions in an accessible way are my catnip. It seems fitting that this is written in such a lyrical, beautiful, and rhythmic way considering the subject, but that is truly not an easy thing to do and here it seems effortless. By looking at specific performances, Abdurraqib examines the way Black performance is part of American culture but so far from a textbook sort of way, instead infusing every single emotion in his prose.

People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn

As much as I love when a nonfiction title tells you everything you need to know with a punch, I hate how accurate it is. Author Dara Horn noticed that the publications that were asking for her to write articles all had something in common: they never wanted her take on a living Jewish person, but rather only ones that were dead. Here she takes on a slew of topics through essays with the goal of tackling why Jewish lives aren’t respected but dead Jews hold fascination and how “the benign reverence we give to past horrors is itself a profound affront to human dignity.”

White Magic by Elissa Washuta

A beautiful essay collection that is an essay collection but is also much more — you’ll just have to read it to understand. A member of the Cowlitz Indian tribe, Washuta writes about addiction and drug treatment — stemming from a bipolar disorder misdiagnosis — colonization, PTSD, magic, Indigenous history, ghosts, therapy and so much more. If you want something powerful to sit and slowly read — because you’ll want to really absorb this — grab this book.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

This is hands down one of those books where either the title or the cover will absolutely entice you into needing to pick it up. And then it’s like winning the lottery when the inside is also fantastic. This is more than a memoir on grief: while Zauner lost her mother to cancer, she also explores the feeling of losing the connection to her Korean roots. It’s the kind of memoir that is so impactful and beautifully written that you don’t need to know anything about the author (lead of the rock band Japanese Breakfast) to fully appreciate this book and her life story.

Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal by Mark Bittman

1. I absolutely love getting to say “Hey, did you know!” 2. Bittman’s How To Cook Everything is one of my most used cookbooks. 3. The history of things is always a thing I gravitate towards.

If you nodded along to any of those three, this should definitely be on your TBR especially if you’re looking for how to make the future better.

You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience Edited by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown

Countless times I have heard someone say something regarding anything self-help not being for them and immediately follow it up with “except for Brené Brown!” Now add in Tarana Burke, the activist who started the Me Too movement, and imagine a text between these two women that led to a call about how Brown’s vulnerability lessons in principal made sense but were not as easily applicable when in a Black body in the U.S. Thus this essay collection was born which includes a bunch of amazing voices — including Laverne Cox and Jason Reynolds — edited by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown. Not that you need a bonus on top of all that amazingness, but the audiobook has standing ovation–worthy narrators.

Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 Edited by Keisha N. Blain and Ibram X. Kendi

I love that anthologies offer so many different voices and open the door to find new favorite writers. In this case you get an expansive and epic history book told by 90 Black writers! Four Hundred Souls begins in 1619, a year before the Mayflower landed with 20 enslaved Ndongo people in a British colony in America. From there, essays, poems, biographies, and more chronicle 400 years of history of the Black American experience. And the audiobook has 87 narrators !

Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes : Essays by Phoebe Robinson

If you’re already a Robinson fan, then certainly you ran to this the second it released. If you’ve yet to discover Robinson, you are in for a real treat if you enjoy laughing while listening to someone recount stories and discuss pop culture. And that title! I honestly want to ask her if it was between that and “Please Stop Voluntarily Telling People You Don’t Bathe.” Anyhoo, I can not stress enough that the best way to enjoy her books, if it’s an option for you, is the audiobook.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

The author of Say Nothing has once again tackled a big case with history and family at the heart. The catalyst for the opioid crisis was OxyContin and the family behind making and marketing OxyContin was the Sackler family — one of the richest families in the world world who profited off a drug that created a crisis. If you’re a reader of narrative nonfiction and reporting, grab this book.

It’s so hard to stop here. The nonfiction genre has just been putting out amazing work, but my TBR is calling and I’ve got to go read more books! But if this list wasn’t enough for your greedy eat-all-the-books brain, here’s a great list of historical nonfiction books .

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• Perspectives

Best of 2021: Our Favorite Nonfiction

BY Eric Liebetrau • Nov. 21, 2021

The selection of 100 of the best nonfiction books of the year—from hundreds of worthy choices—is both stressful and rewarding. You'll find the complete list here , and I’m especially excited to share 10 books from small publishers that made the top 100 this year, each one a unique and important contribution to literature. Here’s what our reviewers had to say about them.

Belonging and Betrayal: How the Jews Made the Art World Modern by Charles Dellheim (Brandeis Univ. Press, Sept. 21): “A scholar tells the story of 20th-century art dealers, the avant-garde and old masters works they promoted, and Nazi plunder.…A brilliant account of Nazi pillage and the ongoing efforts at restitution.”

Nuestra Am é rica: My Family in the Vertigo of Translation by Claudio Lomnitz (Other Press, Feb. 9): “The noted anthropologist and historian takes his rich family history and builds a narrative of universal significance.…A masterpiece of historical and personal investigation, perfect for anyone trying to uncover their family’s past.”

Names for Light: A Family History by Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint (Graywolf, Aug. 17): “A writer born in Myanmar and raised in Thailand and the U.S. traces how her family history has haunted her personal journey.…An imaginative and compelling memoir about what we inherit and what we pass on.”

A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa (Biblioasis, June 1): “A fascinating hybrid work in which the voices of two Irish female poets ring out across centuries.…Lyrical prose passages and moving introspection abound in this unique and beautiful book.”

Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom by Derecka Purnell (Astra House, Oct. 5): “Purnell argues convincingly that police departments and prisons are irredeemably implicated in racist ideologies and the perpetuation of violence despite long-standing efforts at reform.…An informed, provocative, astute consideration of salvific alternatives to contemporary policing and imprisonment.”

Mud Sweeter Than Honey: Voices of Communist Albania by Margo Rejmer (Restless Books, Nov. 2), translated by Zosia Krasodomska-Jones and Antonia Lloyd-Jones: “Based on interviews with Albanians from all walks of life, Rejmer bears shattering witness to the country’s 47 years of communist dictatorship….A gripping book of starkly revealing testimony.”

Every Day the River Changes: Four Weeks Down the Magdalena by Jordan Salama (Catapult, Nov. 16): “In 2018, Salama…determined to travel as much as possible of the 950-mile length of the Magdalena River, from its source in the Andean highlands to the Caribbean coast.…The book is more than a notable achievement in travel literature and more than a clarifying window into a misunderstood culture; it is a book of conscience and open-heartedness. Pair it with Wade Davis’  Magdalena .”

Toxic Legacy: How the Weedkiller Glyphosate Is Destroying Our Health and the Environment by Stephanie Seneff (Chelsea Green, July 1): “A senior research scientist at MIT sounds the alarm on the herbicide glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and other agrochemicals.…Comparisons will be made to Rachel Carson’s  Silent Spring —and they should be. We can only hope Seneff’s work goes on to rival Carson’s in reach and impact.

Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood by Fatima Shaik (The Historic New Orleans Collection, Feb. 25): “The Société d’Economie et d’Assistance Mutuelle, born in 19th-century New Orleans, was dedicated to benevolent causes of tremendous political implication, including the right of education and the franchise. Its members—all men—'rejected racism and colorism,’ a natural outcome of the fact that so many of them were of mixed African and European heritage, the vaunted ‘Creoles’ of the city’s storied past.…A lively, readable story that nicely complicates the view of racial and ethnic relations in the South of old.”

As You Were by David Tromblay (Dzanc, Feb. 15): “In a section that neatly bookends Anthony Swofford’s  Jarhead , Tromblay recounts the grim travails of boot camp, with its screaming drill sergeants and vomit-inducing Georgia heat.…An incandescent addition to both Native American letters and the literature of the Iraq and Afghan wars.”

Eric Liebetrau is the nonfiction and managing editor .

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The best books of 2021

John le Carré’s final novel, the race to make a vaccine and the conclusion of the groundbreaking Noughts and Crosses series… Guardian critics pick the year’s best fiction, politics, science, children’s books and more. Let us know in the comments what your favourite books have been.

• The Observer’s best books of 2021, chosen by guest authors

Sally Rooney’s much-anticipated third novel, Damon Galgut’s Booker-winning family saga and Kazuo Ishiguro’s take on AI - Justine Jordan chooses the best novels of the year.

Read the full list Best fiction of 2021

Children’s books

Imogen Russell Williams on reimaginings of King Arthur and Medusa, luminous fairytales and the conclusion to the unforgettable Noughts and Crosses series - plus books for young readers by Ben Okri and inaugural poet Amanda Gorman.

Read the full list Best children’s books of 2021

Crime and thrillers

Final outings from John le Carré and Andrea Camilleri, plus three standout debuts - Laura Wilson picks five of the year’s best thrillers and crime novels.

Read the full list Best crime and thrillers of 2021

Science fiction

Adam Roberts selects five of the best science fiction novels of the year - from murder on a spaceship to a feminist utopia.

Read the full list Best science fiction books of 2021

Biography and memoir

Fiona Sturges rounds up the best celebrity autobiographies, from Brian Cox to Miriam Margolyes, as well as a poignant account of a woman who helped Aids patients and terrific studies of DH Lawrence and Barbara Pym.

Read the full list Best biography and memoir books of 2021

The inside stories of Brexit, Sage and Unite, plus a reckoning with Britain’s imperial history - Gaby Hinsliff’s choice of books about politics and politicians.

Read the full list Best politics books of 2021

Nicholas Wroe picks the best books about sport, covering everything from racism on the pitch to the history of female cycling - as well as memoirs by Billie Jean King and Rob Burrow.

Read the full list Best sport books of 2021

Ian Sample on a history of quarantine, a biography of the family that helped to fuel the US opioid crisis and the inside story of how the Oxford vaccine was made.

Read the full list Best science books of 2021

Covid-19 and the climate crisis haunt much of this year’s poetry, including Michael Rosen’s response to his experience in intensive care and Kate Simpson’s hopeful environmentally-themed anthology - Rishi Dastidar picks the best collections.

Read the full list Best poetry books of 2021

Comics and graphic novels

The return of Alison Bechdel, a cold war epic and a nuanced observation of a mother’s illness - James Smart marks a year of excellent graphic books.

Read the full list Best comics and graphic novels of 2021

Alexis Petridis chooses the best books about music and musicians - including Sinéad O’Connor’s striking memoir, Paul McCartney’s autobiography in lyrics and the story of a stolen piece of Nina Simone’s chewing gum.

Read the full list Best music books of 2021

A fascinating memoir of food and grief, Stanley Tucci’s life story in recipes and new cookbooks from Ruby Tandoh and the Ottolenghi test kitchen - Rukmini Iyer selects the best food books of the year.

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The Complete List of New York Times Nonfiction Best Sellers

Go beyond just the current list of New York Times Nonfiction Best Sellers 2024 to discover every bestselling book listed on the NYT Bestseller List in 2024.

Since 1931, The New York Times has been publishing a weekly list of bestselling books. Since then, becoming a New York Times bestseller has become a dream for virtually every writer.

When I first started reading adult books, one of the first places I went for book recommendations was the New York Times Nonfiction Nonfiction Best Sellers. I wanted to know what books were the most widely read, and start with those.

However, scrolling through the list week by week on The New York Times website is rather annoying. I just wanted all the bestselling nonfiction books gathered together in one place.

When I couldn’t find it, I decided to create it.

Here are all the New York Times nonfiction bestsellers from this year. I’ve got the current #1 and this week’s bestselling list, both of which you can find all over the place.

This list also compiles every book that appears on the New York Times Nonfiction Best Sellers list in 2024 for Hardcover Nonfiction. Every week I update it so you can get the most accurate view of the year in one place.

Since this is a bit of a sprawling post, feel free to jump to the section that most interests you or take your time scrolling through the complete list of New York Times nonfiction best sellers.

Quick Links

• Current #1 NYT Bestseller
• Current New York Times Nonfiction Best Seller List
• Previous #1 Fiction Best Sellers
• Heavyweights (10+ Weeks)
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• Honorable Mention (2+ Weeks)
• One Hit Wonders

Don’t Miss a Thing

Current #1 New York Times Best Seller

The Anxious Generation

Jonathan haidt.

( 1 Week ) The author goes into why moving from a play-based childhood to a screen-based childhood has changed the neurological development children, making them more anxious, along with other mental health problems.  He shows why this causes them to withdraw further into a digital world, and then proposes a solution that he says will reduce the incidence of mental illness in the rising generations.

Publication Date: 26 March 2024 Amazon | Goodreads

Current List of New York Times Best Sellers

A co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind” looks at the mental health impacts that a phone-based life has on children.

The CNN host draws out lessons for the present polarized era from the 17th-century Netherlands, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution.

The Fox News host gives his take on some people whose political views differ from the ones to which he subscribes.

The WWE star describes her journey from her Catholic upbringing in Ireland to her success in the wrestling ring.

A former associate justice of the Supreme Court puts forth his philosophy for interpreting the Constitution.

The actress and filmmaker describes her eating disorders and difficult relationship with her mother.

The MacArthur Foundation fellow and author of “Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest” reflects on life and success through the lens of basketball.

The survivors of a shipwrecked British vessel on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain have different accounts of events.

A look at recent scientific research on aging and longevity.

The author of “Operation Paperclip” portrays possible outcomes in the minutes following a nuclear missile launch.

The author of “Red-Handed” depicts a scheme involving the Chinese Communist Party’s covert operations in America.

The producer and star of the movie “Barbie” teams up with her stylist and a fashion photographer to capture looks inspired by the doll-size originals.

The tech journalist and podcast host gives an overview of the tech industry and the foibles of its founders.

The multiple Emmy Award-winning producer of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” traces his journey from his childhood in San Diego to becoming a pop culture icon.

The author of “Fly Girls” details the rise and fall of the baseball legend Pete Rose.

See what Upcoming Releases are coming out soon!

Previous #1 New York Times Nonfiction Best Sellers

Greenlights

Matthew mcconaughey.

(99 Weeks) Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey offers a memoir on his approach to getting the most satisfaction out of life. McConaughey poured over decades of his diaries to share the highs and lows of his life and the funny stories that shaped him along the way.

Publication Date: 20 October 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

I’m Glad My Mom Died

Jennette mccurdy.

(77 Weeks) Both vulnerable and hilarious, Jennette McCurdy’s tell-all memoir sends a poignant message of the dangers of child acting. McCurdy brilliantly embraces her inner child by describing how desperately she wanted to please her mom by acting, even if it lead to an eating disordered and a chaotic relationship with her family that she didn’t full understand until attending therapy after her mother’s death. 

Publication Date: 9 August 2022 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

What Happened to You?

Bruce d. perry and oprah winfrey.

(58 Weeks) Instead of asking What’s wrong with you? , we should be asking What happened to you ? Oprah Winfrey teams up with neuroscientist Bruce D. Perry to discuss how understanding the trauma we faced at a young age can impact our behaviors now. By understanding our past, we can shift our viewpoint and see a clear path to healing.

Publication Date: 27 April 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Peter Attia

(53 Weeks) Who doesn’t want to live longer? Peter Atria has all the strategies that will help you live longer … and better. Using the latest science, Atria explains how to improve your physical, cognitive, and emotional health so that you can help prevent chronic disease and extend your lifespan.

Publication Date: 28 March 2023 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

David Grann

( 49 Weeks ) In 1742, a patched-together vessel washed up on the shores of Brazil with thirty emaciated men. They told an astounding tale of surviving after the HMS Wager was shipwrecked chasing a Spanish treasure galleon. After cobbling together a raft, they floated for 100 days and traveled 3,000 miles. The sailors were lauded as heroes until six months later when three more castaways washed ashore accusing the first men of mutiny. With accusations of treachery and murder, a court-martial is convened to find the truth, with the guilty party likely to be hung.

Publication Date: 18 April 2023 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Matthew perry.

(34 Weeks) Known for his role as Chandler Bing on Friends , Matthew Perry gives a behind-the-scenes look at the hit sitcom. Yet, while his career was hitting a high, Perry struggled through some of his darkest days. In this candid memoir, Perry discusses his lifelong battle with addiction and the persistence, hope, and friends who helped him along the way.

Publication Date: 1 November 2022 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Walter Isaacson

(27 Weeks ) From the author of  Steve Jobs  and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era—a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter.

Publication Date: 14 March 2023 Amazon | Goodreads I More Info

The Woman in Me

Britney spears.

( 20 Weeks ) In the 1990s, Britney Spears burst onto the scene and became a cultural pop icon and leading the way for the teen pop revival of the 90s and 00s. Yet fame brought personal struggles and a shocking conservatorship that trapped her for decades. In her new memoir, Britney Spears discusses her journey and the power of telling your own story. Though not the best-written memoir of the year, The Woman in Me shocks with details about Spears’s life and contemplates the private pain of a public figure.

Publication Date: 24 October 2023 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Poverty, by America

Matthew desmond.

( 18 Weeks ) The United States of America is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Sociologist Matthew Desmond explores the root of poverty in America. From concentrating wealth (and poverty) to subsidizing those already financially secure, Desmond gives a searing look into how America keeps the rich rich and the poor poor.

Publication Date: 21 March 2023 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Rachel Maddow

(17 Weeks ) Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.

Publication Date: 17 October 2023 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Oath and Honor

( 16 Weeks ) The former congresswoman from Wyoming recounts how she helped lead the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol. In relating her experiences during the attack, and everything that came after, she tells the story of this perilous moment in our history, those she believes helped Trump spread the stolen election lie, those whose actions preserved our constitutional framework, and the risks she believes we still face.

Publication Date: 5 December 2023 Amazon | Goodreads  

Blood Money

Peter schweizer.

( 5 Weeks ) Investigative reporter Peter Schweizer presents a plan by the Chinese Communist Party to covertly manipulate America. Looking at Chinese military documents and American financial records, Schweizer claims the Chinese Communist Party has covert operations linked to the American drug trade, the social justice movement and the medical establishment.

Publication Date: 27 February 2024 Amazon | Goodreads

The House of Hidden Meanings

( 4 Weeks ) Legendary icon RuPaul reveals a portrait of his life in brutal honesty. From growing up a poor queer Black kid in San Diego to becoming a drag queen and then building one of world’s largest television franchise, RuPaul shares a look at his life and reflects on performance, found-family, self-acceptance and identity.

Publication Date: 5 March 2024 Amazon | Goodreads

Medgar & Myrlie

Joy-ann reid.

( 3 Weeks ) In this groundbreaking and thrilling account of two heroes of the civil rights movement, Joy-Ann Reid uses Medgar and Myrlie’s relationship as a lens through which to explore the on-the-ground work that went into winning basic rights for Black Americans, and the repercussions that still resonate today.

Publication Date: 6 February 2024 Amazon | Goodreads  

Get It Together

Jesse watters.

( 2 Week ) Fox New host Jesse Watters interviews radical Liberal activists hoping to understand where their views come from. Watters believes that most activists don’t actually need to change the world but change themselves; a lack of introspection about their own experiences lead them to extreme views that the general American public then buys into.

Publication Date: 19 March 2024 Amazon | Goodreads

Save for Later

Heavyweights (10+ Weeks on the NYT Bestseller List)

The In-Between

Hadley vlahos.

( 17 Weeks ) Hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos shows palliative care teaches as much about how to live your life as how to die. Vlahos recounts the most memorable patients she’s worked with: a woman who never questioned her faith until death, a man seeing visions of his late daughter, and a young patient regretting how much she cared about others’ opinions.

Publication Date: 10 January 2023 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Killing the Witches

Bill o’reilly and martin dugard.

( 13 Weeks ) The 13th book in the Killing series takes on the Salem Witch Trials and the mass hysterical that gripped the town in the 1690s. When young girls began having violent fits, three young women were arrested, accused of being witches. Soon the mania swept the entire New England town, with hundreds accused and almost two dozen executed.

Publication Date: 26 September 2023 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory

Tim alberta.

( 11 Weeks ) Journalist Tim Alberta, a practicing Christian and son of an evangelical pastor, looks at the divisions in evangelical Christianity. For many conservative Christians, love of America has become a strong focus of their religion, leading to right wing Christian nationalism. Alberta examines the ways conservative Christians have pursued, used, and abused power in their quest and the growing disconnect with scripture.

Publication Date: 5 December 2023 Amazon | Goodreads

Being Henry

Henry winkler.

( 11 Weeks ) Henry Winkler rose to stardom starring as the iconic “Fonz” in Happy Days . With poignant humor, Winkler’s memoir tells of his troubled childhood, his struggles with severe dyslexia, and his rise to fame. Yet what do your greatest days seem to be behind you? Winkler writes of the challenge to escape typecasting and his eventual star in other roles, all while staying one of the nicest men in Hollywood.

Publication Date: 31 October 2023 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Behind the Seams

Dolly parton.

( 11 Weeks ) Iconic singer-songwriter Dolly Parton shares the story of her lifelong love with fashion and how she developed her own distinctive style. With gorgeous photographs of her costume archive, Parton discusses her boldest dresses and hairstyles, telling never before heard stories that span her illustrious career.

Publication Date: 17 October 2023 Amazon | Goodreads

Democracy Awakening

Heather cox richardson.

( 10 Weeks ) During the impeachment crisis of 2019, historian Heather Cox Richardson started a daily newsletter explaining the historical context of current events. Richardson argues that a small group of wealthy citizens have fought to distort history to lead American into authoritarianism. Explaining several decades of American politics, Richardson suggests a way forward to America’s future.

Publication Date: 26 September 2023 Amazon | Goodreads

My Name is Barbra

Barbra streisand.

( 10 Weeks ) Iconic entertainer Barbra Streisand has dominated the entertainment business throughout her career, winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards for her various performances. In a frank and funny memoir, Streisand takes readers through her life – growing up in Brooklyn, her breakout performance in Funny Girl, her career success, her advocacy, and all her opinions along the way.

Publication Date: 7 November 2023 Amazon | Goodreads

Fan Favorites (5+ Weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List)

My Effin’ Life by Geddy Lee

Amazon | Goodreads (9 Weeks) The musician known for his work with the band Rush chronicles his life as the child of Holocaust survivors and his time in the limelight.  

Ghosts of Honolulu by Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll Jr.

Amazon | Goodreads (8 Weeks) The story of a Japanese American naval intelligence agent, a Japanese spy and events in Hawaii before the start of World War II.  

Teddy and Booker T. by Brian Kilmeade

Amazon | Goodreads (6 Weeks) The Fox News host gives an account of the relationship between President Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington.  

Burn Book by Kara Swisher

Amazon | Goodreads (5 Weeks) The tech journalist and podcast host gives an overview of the tech industry and the foibles of its founders.

King by Jonathan Eig

Amazon | Goodreads (5 Weeks) A biography of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., which includes new archival material and reflections from some who worked, lived and fought with him.  

Honorable Mention (2-4 Weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List)

One Hit Wonders (1 Week on the New York Times Best Seller List)

Nuclear War Annie Jacobsen

Charlie Hustle Keith O’Brien

Do You Agree with The New York Times Nonfiction Best Sellers?

What books do you think are the best of the year? Do you think The New York Times Nonfiction Best Sellers deserve the hype? As always, let me know in the comments!

More New Book Releases:

• The New York Times Fiction Bestseller List
• The Most-Anticipated Upcoming Releases of 2024
• The 2023 New York Times Nonfiction Bestsellers
• The Current Celebrity Book Club Picks
• The Top 50 Books of the Last Decade

Recommended

The week’s bestselling books, April 14

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Hardcover fiction

1. Table for Two by Amor Towles (Viking: $32) A collection of stories from the author of “The Lincoln Highway.”

2. James by Percival Everett (Doubleday: $28) An action-packed reimagining of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

3. The Women by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Press: $30) An intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

4. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Riverhead: $28) The discovery of a skeleton in Pottstown, Pa., opens out to a story of integration and community.

5. City in Ruins by Don Winslow (William Morrow: $32) The bestselling author’s third book in his Danny Ryan trilogy and his final novel.

6. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange (Knopf: $29) Three generations of a family trace the legacy of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

7. The Hunter by Tana French (Viking: $32) A taut tale of retribution and family set in the Irish countryside.

8. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday: $29) In the 1960s, a female chemist goes on to be a single parent, then a celebrity chef.

9. Until August by Gabriel García Márquez, Anne McLean (Transl.) (Knopf: $22) The Nobel Prize winner’s rediscovered novel is a tale of female desire and abandon.

10. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Entangled: Red Tower Books: $30) A young woman enters a brutal dragon-riding war college.

Hardcover nonfiction

1. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (Penguin: $32) The music producer’s guidance on how to be a creative person.

2. Think This, Not That by Josh Axe (Thomas Nelson: $30) The leadership expert on how to cultivate an empowering new mind-set.

3. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt (Penguin Press: $30) An investigation into the collapse of youth mental health and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood.

4. Burn Book by Kara Swisher (Simon & Schuster: $30) An accounting of the tech industry and its founders who wanted to change the world but broke it instead.

5. Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg (Random House: $30) An exploration of what makes conversations work.

6. There’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib (Random House: $32) A poignant, personal reflection on basketball, life and home.

7. Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions by Ed Zwick (Gallery Books: $29) The filmmaker’s dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

8. 3 Shades of Blue by James Kaplan (Penguin Press: $35) How jazz arrived at the pinnacle of American culture in 1959 and how Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Bill Evans created the iconic album “Kind of Blue.”

9. Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen (Dutton: $30) A vivid, expert picture of what the handful of minutes after a nuclear missile launch would look like. 2

10. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (HarperOne: $23) A modern fable explores life’s universal lessons.

Paperback fiction

1. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, Ken Liu (Transl.) (Tor: $19)

2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury: $19)

3. Dune by Frank Herbert (Ace: $18)

4. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury Publishing: $19)

5. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (Forever: $18)

6. Happy Place by Emily Henry (Berkley: $19)

7. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Penguin: $18)

8. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Picador: $19)

9. Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson (Penguin: $18)

10. Trust by Hernan Diaz (Riverhead: $17)

Paperback nonfiction

1. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (Vintage: $18)

2. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (TarcherPerigee: $19)

3. All About Love by bell hooks (Morrow: $17)

4. The Eater Guide to Los Angeles (Abrams Image: $20)

5. Attached by Amir Levine, Rachel Heller (TarcherPerigee: $17)

6. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Vintage: $17)

7. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi (Picador: $20)

8. Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino (Harper Perennial: $21)

9. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $13)

10. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. (Penguin: $19)

More to Read

The week’s bestselling books, April 7

April 3, 2024

10 books to add to your reading list in April

April 1, 2024

The week’s bestselling books, March 31

March 27, 2024

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The Los Angeles Times bestsellers list comes courtesy of the California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA). Established in 1981, CALIBA is a mutual benefit 501c(6) nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting, nurturing and promoting independent retail bookselling in California.

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Washington Post hardcover bestsellers

1 JAMES (Doubleday, $28). By Percival Everett. A reimagining of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” told from the point of view of Jim as he flees from enslavement.

2 TABLE FOR TWO (Viking, $32). By Amor Towles. A collection of stories plus one historical novella from the author of “A Gentleman in Moscow.”

3 THE WOMEN (St. Martin’s, $30). By Kristin Hannah. An Army nurse in Vietnam treats soldiers wounded in combat but struggles to find support when she returns home.

4 THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE (Riverhead, $28). By James McBride. In a ramshackle Pennsylvania neighborhood during the 1920s and ’30s, Jewish and African American residents come together to hide an orphan from state officials.

5 WANDERING STARS (Knopf, $29). By Tommy Orange. Repercussions from the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre echo through subsequent generations of a Native American family.

6 REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES (Ecco, $29.99). By Shelby Van Pelt. A woman develops a friendship with an octopus living in an aquarium.

7 FOURTH WING (Red Tower Books, $29.99). By Rebecca Yarros. A young woman competes to secure a spot at an elite war college for dragon riders.

8 THE HUNTER (Viking, $32). By Tana French. A retired detective tries to protect a teenager who seeks revenge for her brother’s death.

9 IRON FLAME (Red Tower Books, $29.99). By Rebecca Yarros. The Empyrean series continues as second-year students face new challenges at Basgiath War College.

10 NORTH WOODS (Random House, $28). By Daniel Mason. Over the centuries, a New England farmhouse is a home that interconnects people, plants and animals.

1 THE ANXIOUS GENERATION (Penguin Press, $30). By Jonathan Haidt. A social psychologist attributes the recent increase in adolescent mental illness to the prevalence of smartphones.

2 THERE’S ALWAYS THIS YEAR (Random House, $32). By Hanif Abdurraqib. The essayist’s sports memoir explores the meaning of basketball through both a personal and societal lens.

3 THE CREATIVE ACT (Penguin, $32). By Rick Rubin. A Grammy-winning music producer shares how artists work and suggests ways to foster creativity in everyday life.

4 THE WAGER (Doubleday, $30). By David Grann. After enduring storms, sickness and a shipwreck, the surviving crew members of HMS Wager turn against each other.

5 AGE OF REVOLUTIONS (W.W. Norton, $29.99). By Fareed Zakaria. An attempt to understand today’s world by studying periods of revolution from the past.

6 SUPERCOMMUNICATORS (Random House, $30). By Charles Duhigg. The author of “The Power of Habit” examines how conversations work and offers tips to become better at communicating.

7 ATOMIC HABITS (Avery, $27). By James Clear. How to make small changes that have a big impact.

8 HOW TO KNOW A PERSON (Random House, $30). By David Brooks. A New York Times columnist draws on various sources to consider how people can make more meaningful connections with each other.

9 GRIEF IS FOR PEOPLE (MCD, $27). By Sloane Crosley. The death of her closest friend inspires the essayist to consider the cultural narrative surrounding grief.

10 I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED (Simon & Schuster, $27.99). By Jennette McCurdy. The former Nickelodeon actor details her dysfunctional childhood and the resulting psychological distress she faced during adulthood.

Rankings reflect sales for the week ended April 7. The charts may not be reproduced without permission from the American Booksellers Association, the trade association for independent bookstores in the United States, and indiebound.org . Copyright 2024 American Booksellers Association. (The bestseller lists alternate between hardcover and paperback each week.)

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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This Week’s Bestsellers: April 8, 2024

Easter rules this week’s children’s picture book list, with 16 of 25 titles sharing a spring theme. Marilyn Sadler’s Bunny with a Big Heart, illustrated by Tim Bowers, pubbed in December and leaps to #11 on our list. It joins more than a dozen books in Sadler’s P.J. Funnybunny series, including two more on our list: 1983’s It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny, illustrated by Richard Bollen, is #1 on our picture book list and #2 overall. 2022’s It’s Better Being a Bunny, illustrated by Bowers, is the #3 picture book and #6 overall.

The Kids Are Alright?

The #1 book on our hardcover nonfiction list, and #8 in the country, is The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, coauthor of T he Coddling of the American Mind . In it, Haidt sounds an alarm against screentime: “The Great Rewiring of Childhood,” he writes, “in which the phone-based childhood replaced the play-based childhood, is the major cause of the international epidemic of adolescent mental illness.”

Raising Mentally Strong Kids by neuropsychiatrist Daniel G. Amen and child psychologist Charles Fay is #6 on our hardcover nonfiction list. Tech isn’t the book’s sole focus, but it’s a pervasive adversary: “We parent in an age where the devices available to our children contain more temptations than we faced during our entire childhood,” the authors write.

Year Over Year

Hanif Abdurraqib lands at #18 on our extended hardcover nonfiction list with There’s Always This Year , “a triumphant meditation on basketball and belonging,” per our starred review. “The narrative works as if by alchemy, forging personal anecdotes, sports history, and cultural analysis into a bracing contemplation of the relationship between sport teams and their communities.” For our extended lists and complete bestseller coverage, visit publishersweekly.com/bestsellers.

NEW & NOTABLE

Becky Lynch Rebecca Quin #2 Hardcover Nonfiction “Pro wrestler Quin, who performs as Becky Lynch, delivers an endearing debut memoir about her life and athletic career,” according to our review. Her “honesty sets her account apart from other professional athlete memoirs. Even non–wrestling fans are likely to enjoy this.”

The Truth About the Devlins Lisa Scottoline #6 Hardcover Fiction “A wealthy Philadelphia family’s dysfunction threatens to undo them in the engrossing latest from Scottoline,” per our review. “The midsection sags a bit, but for the most part, this is a ripping blend of legal and family drama.”

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A Mother’s Devastating Memoir of Losing Her Adult Son

In “Fi,” Alexandra Fuller describes the sudden death of her 21-year-old.

By David Sheff

David Sheff is the author of “Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction.”

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When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.

FI: A Memoir, by Alexandra Fuller

Alexandra Fuller learned the art of denial from her gloriously dysfunctional parents. “‘Mum’s having a bit of a wobbly,’ Dad would explain, that dangerous British habit of underestimating the gravity of any given situation until you were eating the last sled dog and writing your final diary entries.”

In “Fi,” her latest memoir (she’s published four, including “ Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight ,” which was a Times Notable Book of 2002 ), Fuller writes, “It was normal for people in our circles to prefer their animals over their children and to die young — of gin, guns and other accidents of the soul. Certainly no one we knew outlived their hips or knees; we were raised in the expectation of short, colorful lives.”

An example of the family’s stoicism: Fuller experienced the funeral of her toddler sister “with no displays of real emotion.”

She warns the reader that it will get so much worse after that, “the body count.” It does.

Her mother tried to kill herself — “all the pills, waving a gun; everyone was talking about it” — and then her granny tried too. But, Fuller writes, “the less said the better my mother told us, a phrase we heard a lot as kids: under the table, under the rug, under wraps .”

In “Fi,” Fuller leaves nothing under the table, under the rug or under wraps. Even when things continue to get so much worse, when the body count includes her beloved son, Fi (pronounced Fee).

There was no warning or explanation. There had been seizures but Fi had been pronounced fine. He was 21.

A parent is prejudiced, of course, but we trust Fuller when she raves about Fi. “He was so alive his whole life, for years and years. He was “smart, hilarious, earnest, self-aware.”

Fuller doesn’t spare the reader the moment when she faced Fi’s death. With her two daughters outside weeping, she sat with his body. “Our perfect son is dead; the perfect son is dead; a perfect son is dead,” she writes.

Nor does she spare us the next step: “The sound of an incinerator, it’s a roar. Headfirst, he came out. Feetfirst, he went in. And then the doors closed.”

Wasting away, losing weight, Fuller tracks her journey through her grief. Early on, she goes camping near an alpine lake. For a while, she lives in a sheep wagon — 16 feet long, 8 feet wide, meant for shepherds guarding their flocks. There, she meditates and writes: “It’s getting harder to leave my ‘deep mountain grief.’”

Fuller releases her son’s ashes in a stream. “‘I’m letting you go,’ I told Fi. ‘Wherever it is you’re needed, go there.’” She promises to find him.

Back at her condo, Fuller goes into a tailspin: “People told me now that I must get over it. They insisted my girls needed me. Fi’d have wanted me to be happy, they said, the same people who’d told me the death of their own child would have killed them.”

Next she visits a “grief sanctuary” in New Mexico to work with a bodyworker. “Either you’ll have to fix me, or I’ll have to die here,” she tells the woman. There is yoga and breath work and writing letters and then burning them.

Fuller searches elsewhere for answers but discovers there are few to be had when a parent loses a child. Maybe one answer: time. Fuller’s friend Cait said, “I felt like my brain was hijacked for about a year after Ollie died.”

“Are you over it now?” Fuller asked.

Cait tells her it took her a long time to feel joy again but, she says, “We made it. That’s what I want you to hear.”

Fuller sticks Post-it notes on a mirror, a door and above the kettle: “We DO make it.”

She writes, “How did I know we’d make it? I don’t know; I didn’t know. People do, though.”

The last thing you expect to do when you read a book about a child dying is to laugh. Reading “Fi,” you do, though — or, like Fuller, you “laugh-cry,” like the emoji. The wit in this memoir is soul-piercing. It’s part of what saves Fuller, and it saves the reader as we move through the stages of her loss and grief to a kind of acceptance that life will never be the same as it had been.

Fuller is sagacious and perspicacious. She is a sublime writer. In the hands of another memoirist, the story of Fi might be unbearably sad, but this book is a mesmeric celebration of a boy who died too soon, a mother’s love and her resilience. It will help others surviving loss — surviving life.

FI : A Memoir | By Alexandra Fuller | Grove | 272 pp. | $28

An earlier version of this review misstated the title of one of Alexandra Fuller’s previous memoirs. It is “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight,” not “Don’t Go to the Dogs Tonight.”

How we handle corrections

Coping With Grief and Loss

Living through the loss of a loved one is a universal experience. but the ways in which we experience and deal with the pain can largely differ..

What Experts Say:   Psychotherapists say that grief is not a problem to be solved , but a process to be lived through, in whatever form it may take.

How to Help: Experiencing a sudden loss can be particularly traumatic. Here are some ways to offer your support to someone grieving.

A New Diagnosis: Prolonged grief disorder, a new entry in the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual, applies to those who continue to struggle long after a loss .

The Biology of Grief: Grief isn’t only a psychological experience. It can affect the body too, but much about the effects remains a mystery .

Comforting Memories:  After a person dies, their digital scraps — text messages, emails, playlists and voicemails — are left behind. They can offer solace to their grieving families .

Grieving the Loss of a Pet:   Counseling. Grief-group sessions. The number of resources for coping with a pet’s death  has grown in recent years.