Listopia


Best Non-Fiction (non biography)
Share your picks for the best non-fiction books you've read - not including biographies.
Tags: non-fiction

1
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and...
by Erik Larson, Tony Goldwyn (Narrator) 138 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
2
In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote 107 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
3
The Omnivore's Dilemma
The Omnivore's Dilemma
by Michael Pollan 82 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
5
Fast Food Nation
Fast Food Nation
by Eric Schlosser 72 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
6
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
by Mary Roach 68 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
7
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Guns, Germs, and Steel
by Jared Diamond 60 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
8
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank 57 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
9
A Short History of Nearly Everything
A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson 51 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
10
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by John Berendt 48 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
11
Into the Wild
Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer 48 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
12
Under the Banner of Heaven
Under the Banner of Heaven
by Jon Krakauer 44 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
13
The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell 41 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
15
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Ev...
by Jon Krakauer 37 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
18
On Writing
On Writing
by Stephen King 34 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
19
Blink
Blink
by Malcolm Gladwell 32 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
20
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on t...
by Bill Bryson 31 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
22
Seabiscuit: An American Legend
Seabiscuit: An American Legend
by Laura Hillenbrand 28 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
26
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
by Anne Fadiman 19 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
27
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
by Michael Pollan 18 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
28
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those ...
by Timothy Egan 17 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
29
Silent Spring
Silent Spring
by Rachel Carson 17 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
30
A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive
A Child Called "It": One Child's Cour...
by Dave Pelzer 16 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
31
The World Without Us
The World Without Us
by Alan Weisman 16 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
32
The God Delusion
The God Delusion
by Richard Dawkins (Goodreads author) 15 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
33
Outliers
Outliers
by Malcolm Gladwell 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
34
Schindler's List
Schindler's List
by Thomas Keneally 15 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
37
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and ...
by Anne Lamott 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
38
Origin of Species
Origin of Species
by Charles Darwin 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
39
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your Americ...
by James W. Loewen 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
40
What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America
What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservativ...
by Thomas Frank 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
41
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
by Mary Roach 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
43
Salt: A World History
Salt: A World History
by Mark Kurlansky 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
44
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest...
by Erik Larson 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
46
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the ...
by Tony Horwitz 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
47
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Beco...
by A.J. Jacobs 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
48
Man's Search for Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
49
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
by David Simon 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
51
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That ...
by Dan Ariely 9 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
52
The Communist Manifesto
The Communist Manifesto
by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels 9 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
53
Cosmos
Cosmos
by Carl Sagan 9 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
54
Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
by James Bradley 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
56
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
by Alfred Lansing 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
57
A Brief History of Time
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen W. Hawking 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
58
A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present
A People's History of the United States: 1492 t...
by Howard Zinn 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
62
Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World's Worst Dog
Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World's...
by John Grogan 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
63
The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language
The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Lan...
by Steven Pinker 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
64
The Dangerous Book for Boys
The Dangerous Book for Boys
by Conn Iggulden, Hal Iggulden 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
66
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Crit...
by Ruth Reichl 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
67
Shadow Divers
Shadow Divers
by Robert Kurson 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
68
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
by Mary Roach 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
71
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of...
by Julian Jaynes 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
72
Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players
Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Ob...
by Stefan Fatsis 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
72
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capita...
by Naomi Klein 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
72
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror,...
by Adam Hochschild 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
75
The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition
The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition
by Richard Dawkins (Goodreads author) 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
76
The Bookseller of Kabul
The Bookseller of Kabul
by Ã…sne Seierstad 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
77
The Mismeasure of Man
The Mismeasure of Man
by Stephen Jay Gould 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
78
Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There
Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How ...
by David Brooks 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
79
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming th...
by Barack Obama 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
81
An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned but Probably Didn't
An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things You Shoul...
by Judy Jones 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
82
Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters
Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Ch...
by Matt Ridley 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
83
Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America
Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Und...
by Steve Almond 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
84
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Import...
by Bruno Bettelheim 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
85
Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape
Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape
by Susan Brownmiller 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
86
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and t...
by Randy Shilts 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
87
The Closing of the American Mind
The Closing of the American Mind
by Allan Bloom 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
88
Seeing Voices
Seeing Voices
by Oliver W. Sacks 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
89
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
by Richard Rhodes 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
93
How the Mind Works
How the Mind Works
by Steven Pinker 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
94
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inhe...
by Barack Obama 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
95
Columbine
Columbine
by Dave Cullen (Goodreads author) 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
96
The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence
The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolut...
by Carl Sagan 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
97
A Distant Mirror:  The Calamitous 14th Century
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century
by Barbara W. Tuchman 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
98
Homage to Catalonia
Homage to Catalonia
by George Orwell 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
99
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of...
by Iris Chang 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
List started by: Susan (votes)
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds



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1166 books
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comments (showing 1-9 of 9) (9 new)

dateDown_arrow    newest »

message 1: by jeff (new)

1300124 Anyone else feel a little troubled by this list?


message 2: by jeff (new)

1300124 From about #63 on maybe?


message 3: by Chanel (new)

767519 What happened to no biography?


message 4: by Angel (new)

190365 I am not sure why some folks seem to find this list troubling. Maybe I missed something? For me at least, there are a few titles I would not mind reading, like Salt. But I did wonder, I thought no biographies. What gives? Bourdain's book is (arguably at least) biographical as are a few others. Anyhow, this list this give me an idea or two to pursue later.


message 5: by Rachel (new)

1297653 Schindler's List is a novel. Pet peeve.


message 6: by brian (new)

2200688 Im very concerned by this list too.
George Lincoln Rockwell?
I'm all for freedom of expression, but it seems odd to find him on a list with a Jewish Cookbook.


message 7: by Susanna (new)

1109068 Caddie Woodlawn? Novel.

The Joy Luck Club? Novel.

I have my doubts about the appropriateness of 84, Charing Cross Road for this list, as well.


message 8: by Michelle (new)

2854717 Me too. I have read dozens of great non-fiction that do not appear on this list!


message 9: by Susanna (new)

1109068 It's easy to add books at the right of the screen.


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