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Must Read Non-Fiction
Non-Fiction books that everyone should read before they die.
Tags: autobiography, biography, and non-fiction

1
Night
Night
by Elie Wiesel 36 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
2
Eats, Shoots  &  Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance...
by Lynne Truss 24 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
4
Under the Banner of Heaven
Under the Banner of Heaven
by Jon Krakauer 22 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
5
The World Without Us
The World Without Us
by Alan Weisman 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
5
The Omnivore's Dilemma
The Omnivore's Dilemma
by Michael Pollan 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
8
A Short History of Nearly Everything
A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson 13 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
9
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
by Jung Chang 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
10
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
by Jeannette Walls 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
12
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Ev...
by Jon Krakauer 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
14
On Writing
On Writing
by Stephen King 9 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
16
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfec...
by Atul Gawande 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
17
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
by Anne Fadiman 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
18
Mere Christianity
Mere Christianity
by C.S. Lewis 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
19
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
by Piers Paul Read 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
20
The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
22
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Guns, Germs, and Steel
by Jared Diamond 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
23
In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
24
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) 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
25
The Complete Persepolis
The Complete Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
26
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Pa...
by Tracy Kidder 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
27
Stumbling on Happiness
Stumbling on Happiness
by Daniel Gilbert 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
28
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
by Ishmael Beah 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
29
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
by Anne Lamott 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
30
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
by Azar Nafisi (Goodreads author) 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
31
Blink
Blink
by Malcolm Gladwell 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
32
A Distant Mirror:  The Calamitous 14th Century
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century
by Barbara W. Tuchman 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
34
The Communist Manifesto
The Communist Manifesto
by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
37
Escape
Escape
by Carolyn Jessop, Laura Palmer 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
38
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
39
Looking through the Eyes of an Unseen Child
Looking through the Eyes of an Unseen Child
by Diana Joy (Goodreads author) 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
40
Walden, or Life in the Woods
Walden, or Life in the Woods
by Henry David Thoreau 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
40
Into the Wild
Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
42
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 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
43
Infidel
Infidel
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
44
The Hiding Place
The Hiding Place
by Corrie Ten Boom 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
45
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
by Michael Pollan 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
45
Outliers
Outliers
by Malcolm Gladwell 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
48
Marie Antoinette: The Journey
Marie Antoinette: The Journey
by Antonia Fraser 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
49
Undaunted Courage
Undaunted Courage
by Stephen E. Ambrose 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
50
A Short History of Progress
A Short History of Progress
by Ronald Wright 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
50
God Wants You Dead
God Wants You Dead
by Sean Hastings, Paul Rosenberg 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
53
Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women
Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islam...
by Geraldine Brooks 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
54
Last Chance to See
Last Chance to See
by Douglas Adams, Mark Carwardine 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
54
Basic Economics: A Citizens Guide to the Economy, Revised and Expanded
Basic Economics: A Citizens Guide to the Econom...
by Thomas Sowell 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
57
Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission
Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of Wor...
by Hampton Sides 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
58
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to Hi...
by James McBride 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
58
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
by Ron Chernow 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
61
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
by Laurence Gonzales 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
61
Salt: A World History
Salt: A World History
by Mark Kurlansky 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
64
Love, Janis
Love, Janis
by Laura Joplin 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
65
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
by John Perkins 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
65
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the ...
by Tony Horwitz 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
65
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian Histor...
by Dee Brown 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
68
Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools
Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools
by Jonathan Kozol 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
70
The Scottish Enlightenment: The Scots' Invention of the Modern World
The Scottish Enlightenment: The Scots' Inventio...
by Arthur Herman 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
71
Grace [Eventually]: Thoughts on Faith
Grace [Eventually]: Thoughts on Faith
by Anne Lamott 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
72
Notes from a Small Island
Notes from a Small Island
by Bill Bryson 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
73
Cider with Rosie
Cider with Rosie
by Laurie Lee 3 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
74
Letting Go: An Ordinary Woman's Extraordinary Journey of Healing & Transformation
Letting Go: An Ordinary Woman's Extraordinary J...
by Nancy A. Kaiser (Goodreads author) 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
74
Soldiers of Reason: The RAND Corporation and the Rise of the American Empire
Soldiers of Reason: The RAND Corporation and th...
by Alex Abella (Goodreads author) 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
74
Up from Slavery
Up from Slavery
by Booker T. Washington 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
78
In the Presence of My Enemies
In the Presence of My Enemies
by Gracia Burnham, Dean Merill 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
78
The Complete Maus
The Complete Maus
by Art Spiegelman 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
81
How To Keep Your Man: And Keep Him For Good
How To Keep Your Man: And Keep Him For Good
by Darren G. Burton (Goodreads author) 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
82
The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father
The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father
by Jim Wight 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
83
Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park
Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardine...
by Lee Whittlesey 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
83
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Murder and the U...
by Kate Summerscale 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
83
Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
by G.K. Chesterton 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
83
Brave Companions
Brave Companions
by David McCullough 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
83
Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet
Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet
by Xinran 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
83
The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History
The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Dead...
by John M. Barry 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
90
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capita...
by Naomi Klein 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
92
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
by Brian Wansink 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
93
The Virtue of Selfishness
The Virtue of Selfishness
by Ayn Rand 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
94
The Guns of August
The Guns of August
by Barbara W. Tuchman 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
95
For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn...
by Ayn Rand 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
96
How to Lie With Statistics
How to Lie With Statistics
by Darrell Huff 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
97
Desert Solitaire
Desert Solitaire
by Edward Abbey 2 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
List started by: Craig (votes)
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds



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comments (showing 1-3 of 3) (3 new)

dateDown_arrow    newest »

message 1: by Lud (new)

424064 If this is a best non-fiction list, why is "Killer Angels: A NOVEL of the Civil War," winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for FICTION, included??? Just curious.


message 2: by Susanna (new)

1109068 Yeah, I was wondering that as well.


message 3: by booklady (new)

350218 It shouldn't be.


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