Here are the Biggest Nonfiction Bestsellers of the Last 100 Years
(And the Books We Remember Instead)
Last week, we published a list of the biggest fiction bestsellers of the past 100 years—and gently compared them to the books we still read and talk about from those very same years. Sometimes the difference was striking, and sometimes, readers of the past, you kind of nailed it. A few of our own, present-day readers wrote in to request that we give nonfiction books the same treatment, and since Publishers Weekly also kept lists of the bestselling nonfiction of the past 100 years, those readers are in luck. The data below comes almost entirely from those lists, which count sales of nonfiction books in the United States, and are of course subject to all of the flaws, faults, and inaccuracies of any similar best-seller lists.
As with the fiction list, for each year I also added a few of what I’d consider to be some of the most famous, best, and/or most influential books published in each year—that is, the books we still read and talk about in 2018. Again, these picks are subject to the flaws, faults, and inaccuracies of any list of books made by a human with her own tastes and interests and awarenesses.
Some general takeaways from the nonfiction lists:
1. Certain books counted as nonfiction by Publisher’s Weekly are . . . not exactly nonfiction. Religious texts and books of poetry pop up repeatedly on these lists (the Bible held serious sway in the 50s, a fact which I will not make any comments about), and I’ve left them, but to be true to my own sense of propriety, I haven’t added any of my own in the “also published” lists.
2. As with the fiction list, sometimes it took notable books a cycle or two to “arrive” as bestsellers.
3. Everyone was playing (or at least reading about) Canasta in 1949.
4. Some of the years, like 1950, give a great snapshot of American culture at the time. Others are a little more obscure. And whether demonstrative of the era or not, some of these years do not age well. 1987, I’m looking at you.
5. Diet books have always been popular, and so have self-help books, but in the 80s they begin to really strangle the lists. I wonder if this is a primarily American phenomenon. Either way, we all need to learn to accept ourselves and read a good travel narrative or something.
6. On that note, I have to admit that, while there were periods in the fiction list that I found a bit troubling, the nonfiction version is a lot more depressing. I mean, in 1994, three of the top ten bestselling books of the year in this country were Magic Eye books. Three. Three! Maybe this is merely a matter of categorization, but it still made me groan loudly in the Lit Hub office, multiple times. [Ed. note: we thought she was ill.]
Perhaps you will groan too. Perhaps you will cheer. Either way, without any further ado, I now present the biggest nonfiction bestsellers of the last 100 years:
1918
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Robert W. Service, Rhymes of a Red Cross Man
2. G. H. Clark, Treasury of War Poetry
3. Everard J. Appleton, With the Colors
4. Viscount Morley, Recollections
5. Douglas Fairbanks, Laugh and Live
6. Albert Bigelow Paine, ed., Mark Twain’s Letters
7. Richard Harding Davis, Adventures and Letters of Richard Harding Davis
8. Edgar Guest, Over Here
9. Edith O’Shaughnessy, Diplomatic Days
10. Alan Seeger, Poems of Alan Seeger
Also published that year:
Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams
1919
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams
2. Rudyard Kipling, The Years Between
3. Brand Whitlock, Belgium
4. Margaret Cameron, The Seven Purposes
5. John McCrae, In Flanders Fields
6. John Spargo, Bolshevism
Also published that year:
H. L. Mencken, The American Language
1920
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Philip Gibbs, Now It Can Be Told
2. John M. Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace
3. Joseph B. Bishop, ed., Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children
4. William Roscoe Thayer, Theodore Roosevelt
5. Frederick O’Brien, White Shadows in the South Seas
6. Cornelia Stratton Parker, An American Idyll
Also published that year:
William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style (first commercial edition)
1921
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. H. G. Wells, The Outline of History
2. Frederick O’Brien, White Shadows in the South Seas
3. A Gentleman with a Duster (Harold Begbie), The Mirrors of Downing Street
4. Margot Asquith, The Autobiography of Margot Asquith
6. Robert Lansing, Peace Negotiations
Also published that year:
Edward Sapir, Language: an Introduction to the Study of Speech
1922
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. H. G. Wells, The Outline of History
2. Hendrik Willem Van Loon, The Story of Mankind
3. Edward Bok, The Americanization of Edward Bok
4. Lulu Hunt Peters, Diet and Health
5. James Harvey Robinson, The Mind in the Making
6. J. Arthur Thomson, The Outline of Science
7. Josephine A. Jackson and Helen M. Salisbury, Outwitting Our Nerves
8. Lytton Strachey, Queen Victoria
9. Clinton W. Gilbert, Mirrors of Washington
10. A Gentleman with a Duster (Harold Begbie), Painted Windows
Also published that year:
e. e. cummings, The Enormous Room
Albert Einstein, The Meaning of Relativity
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (English translation)
1923
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Emily Post, Etiquette
2. Giovanni Papini, The Life of Christ
3. Burton J. Hendrick, ed., The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page
4. James Harvey Robinson, The Mind in the Making
5. H. G. Wells, The Outline of History
6. Lulu Hunt Peters, Diet and Health
7. Emile Coué, Self-Mastery Through Conscious Auto-Suggestion
8. Edward Bok, The Americanization of Edward Bok
9. Hendrik Willem Van Loon, The Story of Mankind
10. Edward Bok, A Man from Maine
Also published that year:
Carrie Chapman Catt and Nettie Rogers Shuler, Woman Suffrage and Politics: The Inner Story of the Suffrage Movement
Winston Churchill, The World Crisis (Vols. 1 & 2)
1924
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Lulu Hunt Peters, Diet and Health
2. Giovanni Papini, The Life of Christ
3. Fannie Farmer, ed. The Boston Cooking School Cook Book
4. Emily Post, Etiquette
5. André Maurois, Ariel
6. Prosper Buranelli et al., The Cross Word Puzzle Books
7. Mark Twain, Mark Twain’s Autobiography
8. George Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan
9. Albert E. Wiggam, The New Decalogue of Science
10. Edward Bok, The Americanization of Edward Bok
Also published that year:
Emma Goldman, My Further Disillusionment in Russia
Lowell Thomas, With Lawrence in Arabia
1925
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Lulu Hunt Peters, Diet and Health
2. Fannie Farmer, ed., The Boston Cooking School Cook Book
3. A. A. Milne, When We Were Very Young
4. Bruce Barton, The Man Nobody Knows
5. Giovanni Papini, The Life of Christ
6. André Maurois, Ariel
7. Edward Bok, Twice Thirty
8. Lord Grey, Twenty-Five Years
9. J. J. Brousson, Anatole France Himself
10. Prosper Buranelli et al., The Cross Word Puzzle Books
Also published that year:
Sarah Bernhardt, The Art of the Theater (English translation)
Alain Locke, ed., The New Negro
1926
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Bruce Barton, The Man Nobody Knows
2. George A. Dorsey, Why We Behave Like Human Beings
3. Lulu Hunt Peters, Diet and Health
4. Mark Sullivan, Our Times, vol. 1
5. Fannie Farmer, ed., The Boston Cooking School Cook Book
6. Milton C. Work, Auction Bridge Complete
7. Bruce Barton, The Book Nobody Knows
8. Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy
9. Edgar A. Guest, The Light of Faith
10. Claude G. Bowers, Jefferson and Hamilton
Also published that year:
T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
1927
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy
2. Emil Ludwig, Napoleon
3. T. E. Lawrence, Revolt in the Desert
4. Alfred Aloysius Horn and Ethelreda Lewis, Trader Horn, vol. 1
5. Charles A. Lindbergh, We
6. Julian Spafford and Lucien Esty, Ask Me Another
7. Richard Halliburton, The Royal Road to Romance
8. Richard Halliburton, The Glorious Adventure
9. George A. Dorsey, Why We Behave Like Human Beings
10. Katherine Mayo, Mother India
Also published that year:
J. W. Dunne, An Experiment With Time
E. M. Forster, Aspects of the Novel
The Tibetan Book of the Dead (first English translation, by Walter Evans-Wentz)
1928
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. André Maurois, Disraeli
2. Katherine Mayo, Mother India
3. Alfred Aloysius Horn and Ethelreda Lewis, Trader Horn, vol. 1
4. Emil Ludwig, Napoleon
5. Eugene O’Neill, Strange Interlude
6. Charles A. Lindbergh, We
7. Lowell Thomas, Count Luckner, the Sea Devil
8. Emil Ludwig, Goethe
9. Richard E. Byrd, Skyward
10. George Bernard Shaw, The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Socialism and Capitalism
Also published that year:
Nan Britton, The President’s Daughter
Margaret Mead, Coming of Age in Samoa
1929
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Ernest Dimnet, The Art of Thinking
2. Francis Hackett, Henry the Eighth
3. Joan Lowell, The Cradle of the Deep
4. Lytton Strachey, Elizabeth and Essex
5. Chic Sale, The Specialist
6. Walter Lippmann, A Preface to Morals
7. Robert L. Ripley, Believe It or Not
8. Stephen Vincent Benét, John Brown’s Body
9. Claude G. Bowers, The Tragic Era
10. Will Durant, The Mansions of Philosophy
Also published that year:
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
1930
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Axel Munthe, The Story of San Michele
2. Gaston B. Means and May Dixon Thacker, The Strange Death of President Harding
3. André Maurois, Byron
4. James Truslow Adams, The Adams Family
5. Will James, Lone Cowboy
6. Emil Ludwig, Lincoln
7. Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy
8. H. G. Wells, The Outline of History
9. Ernest Dimnet, The Art of Thinking
10. Charles and Mary Beard, The Rise of American Civilization
Also published that year:
Dion Fortune, Psychic Self-Defense
James Jeans, The Mysterious Universe
1931
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Grand Duchess Marie, Education of a Princess
2. Axel Munthe, The Story of San Michele
3. Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen, Washington Merry-Go-Round
4. Alexander Abingdon and Dr. Seuss, Boners: Being a Collection of Schoolboy Wisdom or Knowledge
5. Ely Culbertson, Culbertson’s Summary
6. Ely Culbertson, Contract Bridge Blue Book
7. Edna St. Vincent Millay, Fatal Interview
8. James Truslow Adams, The Epic of America
9. Stuart Chase, Mexico
10. Mikhail Ilin, New Russia’s Primer
Also published that year:
Margaret Sanger, My Fight for Birth Control
1932
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. James Truslow Adams, The Epic of America
2. Frederick Lewis Allen, Only Yesterday
3. Vash Young, A Fortune to Share
4. Ely Culbertson, Culbertson’s Summary
5. Hendrik Willem Van Loon, Van Loon’s Geography
6. Ernest Dimnet, What We Live By
7. James Truslow Adams, The March of Democracy
8. Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen, Washington Merry-Go-Round
9. Clarence Darrow, The Story of My Life
10. Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen, More Merry-Go-Round
Also published that year:
T. S. Eliot, Selected Essays, 1917–1932
J. B. S. Haldane, The Causes of Evolution
1933
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Walter B. Pitkin, Life Begins at Forty
2. Stefan Zweig, Marie Antoinette
3. R. H. Bruce Lockhart, British Agent
4. Arthur Kallet and F. J. Schlink, 100,000 Guinea Pigs
5. Nora Waln, The House of Exile
6. Hendrik Willem Van Loon, Van Loon’s Geography
7. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Looking Forward
8. Ely Culbertson, Contract Bridge Blue Book of 1933
9. Halliday Sutherland, The Arches of the Years
10. James Truslow Adams, The March of Democracy, vol. 2
Also published that year:
George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London
Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
1934
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Alexander Woollcott, While Rome Burns
2. Walter B. Pitkin, Life Begins at Forty
3. Romola Nijinsky, Nijinsky
4. Arthur Kallet and F. J. Schlink, 100,000 Guinea Pigs
5. Louis Adamic, The Native’s Return
6. Carl Carmer, Stars Fell on Alabama
7. Peter Fleming, Brazilian Adventure
8. Ike Hoover, Forty-Two Years in the White House
9. Edmund Jacobson, You Must Relax
10. Charles Dickens, The Life of Our Lord
Also published that year:
Ruth Benedict, Patterns of Culture
Emma Goldman, Living My Life
Aldous Huxley, Beyond the Mexique Bay
1935
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, North to the Orient
2. Alexander Woollcott, While Rome Burns
3. Clarence Day, Life with Father
4. Vincent Sheean, Personal History
5. T. E. Lawrence, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom
6. Francis Hackett, Francis the First
7. Stefan Zweig, Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles
8. Hans Zinsser, Rats, Lice and History
9. Douglas Southall Freeman, R. E. Lee
10. M. C. Phillips, Skin Deep
Also published that year:
Ernest Hemingway, Green Hills of Africa
1936
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Alexis Carrel, Man the Unknown
2. Dorothea Brande, Wake Up and Live!
3. Negley Farson, The Way of a Transgressor
4. Patience, Richard, and Johnny Abbe, Around the World in Eleven Years
5. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, North to the Orient
6. Victor Heiser, An American Doctor’s Odyssey
7. John Gunther, Inside Europe
8. Marjorie Hillis, Live Alone and Like It
9. Clarence Day, Life with Father
10. Walter Duranty, I Write As I Please
Also published that year:
John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
Irma S. Rombauer, The Joy of Cooking (first commercial publication)
1937
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Dale Carnegie, How To Win Friends and Influence People
2. Victor Heiser, An American Doctor’s Odyssey
3. Henry C. Link, The Return to Religion
4. Hendrik Willem Van Loon, The Arts
5. Marjorie Hillis, Orchids on Your Budget
6. Noel Coward, Present Indicative
7. Lancelot Hogben, Mathematics for the Million
8. Clarence Day, Life with Mother
9. Emil Ludwig, The Nile
10. Van Wyck Brooks, The Flowering of New England
Also published that year:
Isak Dinesen, Out of Africa
1938
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living
2. Margaret Halsey, With Malice Toward Some
3. Eve Curie, Madame Curie
4. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Listen! The Wind
5. Arthur E. Hertzler, The Horse and Buggy Doctor
6. Dale Carnegie, How To Win Friends and Influence People
7. Carl Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin
8. Ogden Nash, I’m a Stranger Here Myself
9. Richard E. Byrd, Alone
10. Margaret Armstrong, Fanny Kemble
Also published that year:
George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia
1939
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Pierre Van Paassen, Days of Our Years
2. Nora Waln, Reaching for the Stars
3. John Gunther, Inside Asia
4. William Lyon Phelps, Autobiography with Letters
5. Bellamy Partridge, Country Lawyer
6. Antoine de St. Exupéry, Wind, Sand, and Stars
7. Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
8. Edna Ferber, A Peculiar Treasure
9. Vincent Sheehan, Not Peace but a Sword
10. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Listen! The Wind
Also published that year:
Bill Wilson, Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism a.k.a. The Big Book
1940
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Osa Johnson, I Married Adventure
2. Mortimer Adler, How to Read a Book
3. Oscar Levant, A Smattering of Ignorance
4. John T. Flynn, Country Squire in the White House
5. Agnes Newton Keith, Land Below the Wind
6. Joseph W. Alsop Jr. and Robert Kintnor, American White Paper
7. Van Wyck Brooks, New England: Indian Summer
8. Hans Zinsser, As I Remember Him
9. Pierre van Paassen, Days of Our Years
10. Betty B. Blunt, Bet It’s a Boy
Also published that year:
Edmund Wilson, To the Finland Station
1941
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. William L. Shirer, Berlin Diary
2. Alice Duer Miller, The White Cliffs
3. Jan Valtin, Out of the Night
4. John Gunther, Inside Latin America
5. Winston S. Churchill, Blood, Sweat and Tears
6. Douglas Miller, You Can’t Do Business with Hitler
7. Clifton Fadiman, ed., Reading I’ve Liked
8. Margaret Leech, Reveille in Washington
9. Irvin S. Cob, Exit Laughing
10. Dirk van der Heide, My Sister and I
Also published that year:
James Agee, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
Vita Sackville-West, English Country Houses
Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon
1942
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Marion Hargrove, See Here, Private Hargrove
2. Joseph E. Davies, Mission to Moscow
3. Elliot Paul, The Last Time I Saw Paris
4. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Cross Creek
5. Major Alexander P. de Seversky, Victory Through Air Power
6. Ilka Chase, Past Imperfect
7. W. L. White, They Were Expendable
8. Antoine de St. Exupéry, Flight to Arras
9. W. M. Kiplinger, Washington Is Like That
10. John Gunther, Inside Latin America
Also published that year:
Salvador Dalí, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí
M. F. K. Fisher, How to Cook a Wolf
Aldous Huxley, The Art of Seeing
C. S. Lewis, A Preface to Paradise Lost
1943
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. John Roy Carlson, Under Cover
2. Wendell L. Willkie, One World
3. Eve Curie, Journey Among Warriors
4. Harry Emerson Fosdick, On Being a Real Person
5. Richard Tregaskis, Guadalcanal Diary
6. Lt. Col. Gordon Seagrave, Burma Surgeon
7. Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough, Our Hearts Were Young and Gay
8. Walter Lippmann, U. S. Foreign Policy
9. Ernie Pyle, Here Is Your War
10. Marion Hargrove, See Here, Private Hargrove
Also published that year:
C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man
Reinhold Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man
William Foote Whyte, Street Corner Society
Stefan Zweig, The World of Yesterday (English translation)
1944
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Bob Hope, I Never Left Home
2. Ernie Pyle, Brave Men
3. Gene Fowler, Good Night, Sweet Prince
4. John Roy Carlson, Under Cover
5. Catherine Drinker Bowen, Yankee from Olympus
6. Sumner Welles, The Time for Decision
7. Ernie Pyle, Here Is Your War
8. Margaret Landon, Anna and the King of Siam
9. Quentin Reynolds, The Curtain Rises
10. Joseph C. Grew, Ten Years in Japan
Also published that year:
Charles Stevenson, Ethics and Language
1945
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Ernie Pyle, Brave Men
2. Juliet Lowell, Dear Sir
3. Bill Mauldin, Up Front
4. Richard Wright, Black Boy
5. Bennett Cerf, Try and Stop Me
6. George and Helen Papashvily, Anything Can Happen
7. U.S. War Department General Staff, General Marshall’s Report
8. Betty MacDonald, The Egg and I
9. James Thurber, The Thurber Carnival
10. Louis Bromfield, Pleasant Valley
Also published that year:
Arthur Koestler, The Yogi and the Commissar and Other Essays
Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy And Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day
1946
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Betty MacDonald, The Egg and I
2. Joshua L. Liebman, Peace of Mind
3. Elliott Roosevelt, As He Saw It
4. Frances Perkins, The Roosevelt I Knew
5. Ernie Pyle, Last Chapter
6. Thomas Sugrue and Col. Edmund Starling, Starling of the White House
7. Victor Kravchenko, I Chose Freedom
8. Emery Reves, The Anatomy of Peace
9. Ralph Ingersoll, Top Secret
10. Gene Fowler, A Solo in Tom-Toms
Also published that year:
John Hersey, Hiroshima
Benjamin Spock, The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
1947
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Joshua L. Liebman, Peace of Mind
2. John Kieran, ed., Information Please Almanac, 1947
3. John Gunther, Inside U.S.A.
4. Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History
5. James F. Byrnes, Speaking Frankly
6. Pierre Lecomte du Noüy, Human Destiny
7. Betty MacDonald, The Egg and I
8. Roger Butterfield, The American Past
9. Margaret B. Boni, ed., The Fireside Book of Folk Songs
10. Katharine T. Marshall, Together
Also published that year:
Cleanth Brooks, The Well Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry
1948
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe
2. Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
3. Joshua L. Liebman, Peace of Mind
4. A. C. Kinsey et al., Sexual Behavior in the Human Male
5. Billy Rose, Wine, Women and Words
6. Al Capp, The Life and Times of the Shmoo
7. Winston Churchill, The Gathering Storm
8. Robert E. Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins
9. Norman Vincent Peale, A Guide to Confident Living
10. Betty MacDonald, The Plague and I
Also published that year:
Robert Graves, The White Goddess
Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen
Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain
1949
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Clare Barnes Jr., White Collar Zoo
2. Oswald Jacoby, How to Win at Canasta
3. Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain
4. Clare Barnes Jr., Home Sweet Zoo
5. Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen
6. Fulton Oursler, The Greatest Story Ever Told
7. Ottilie H. Reilly, Canasta, the Argentine Rummy Game
8. Josephine Artayeta de Viel and Ralph Michael, Canasta
9. Fulton J. Sheen, Peace of Soul
10. Norman Vincent Peale, A Guide to Confident Living
Also published that year:
Joseph Campbell, The Hero with A Thousand Faces
1950
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book
2. The Baby (this is apparently a picture book published by Simon & Schuster)
3. Gayelord Hauser, Look Younger, Live Longer
4. Frank Bettger, How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling
5. Thor Heyerdahl, Kon-Tiki
6. Peter Marshall, Mr. Jones, Meet the Master
7. Hubbard Cob, Your Dream Home
8. H. A. Overstreet, The Mature Mind
9. Clare Barnes Jr., Campus Zoo
10. Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Belles on Their Toes
Also published that year:
E. H. Gombrich, The Story of Art
Ralph L. Rusk, The Life of Ralf Waldo Emerson
Cecil Woodham-Smith, Florence Nightingale
1951
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Gayelord Hauser, Look Younger, Live Longer
2. Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book
3. Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer, Washington Confidential
4. Better Homes and Gardens Garden Book
5. Better Homes and Gardens Handyman’s Book
6. Rachel L. Carson, The Sea Around Us
7. Clarence L. Barnhart, ed., Thorndike-Barnhart Comprehensive Desk Dictionary
8. Walt Kelly, Pogo
9. Thor Heyerdahl, Kon-Tiki
10. The New Yorker Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Album
Also published that year:
Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us
Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory
1952
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version
2. Catherine Marshall, A Man Called Peter
3. Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer, U.S.A. Confidential
4. Rachel L. Carson, The Sea Around Us
5. Tallulah Bankhead, Tallulah
6. Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking
7. Edward P. Morgan, ed., This I Believe
8. Wilson Hicks, ed., This Is Ike
9. Whittaker Chambers, Witness
10. William Hillman, Mr. President
Also published that year:
Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (English translation)
1953
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version
2. Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking
3. Alfred C. Kinsey et al., Sexual Behavior in the Human Female
4. Dale Evans Rogers, Angel Unaware
5. Fulton J. Sheen, Life Is Worth Living
6. Catherine Marshall, A Man Called Peter
7. Edward P. Morgan, ed., This I Believe
8. Fulton Oursler and G.A.O. Armstrong, The Greatest Faith Ever Known
9. Tommy Armour, How to Play Your Best Golf
10. Polly Adler, A House Is Not a Home
Also published that year:
Bruce Catton, A Stillness at Appomattox
Gerald Durrell, The Overloaded Ark
1954
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version
2. Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking
3. Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
4. Betty Crocker’s Good and Easy Cook Book
5. Grantland Rice, The Tumult and the Shouting
6. Lillian Roth, Gerold Frank, and Mike Connolly, I’ll Cry Tomorrow
7. Catherine Marshall, The Prayers of Peter Marshall
8. Raymond Swing, ed., This I Believe, vol. 2
9. Elmer Davis, But We Were Born Free
10. Roger Butterfield, ed., The Saturday Evening Post Treasury
Also published that year:
Heinrich Harrer, Seven Years in Tibet (English translation)
1955
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea
2. Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking
3. Edward Steichen, The Family of Man
4. Catherine Marshall, A Man Called Peter
5. John A. Schindler, How to Live 365 Days a Year
6. Better Homes and Gardens Diet Book
7. Billy Graham, The Secret of Happiness
8. Rudolf Flesch, Why Johnny Can’t Read
9. John Gunther, Inside Africa
10. Harry S. Truman, Year of Decisions
Also published that year:
James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son
1956
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Dan Dale Alexander, Arthritis and Common Sense
2. David B. Guralnik, Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, concise ed.
3. Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book
4. Frances Benton, Etiquette
5. Better Homes and Gardens Barbecue Book
6. Morey Bernstein, The Search for Bridey Murphy
7. Smiley Blanton, Love or Perish
8. Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book
9. John A. Schindler, How To Live 365 Days a Year
10. Kathryn Hulme, The Nun’s Story
Also published that year:
Gerald Durrell, My Family and Other Animals
Kenneth Clark, The Nude
1957
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Art Linkletter, Kids Say the Darndest Things!
2. Don Whitehead, The FBI Story
3. Norman Vincent Peale, Stay Alive All Your Life
4. Catherine Marshall, To Live Again
5. Better Homes and Gardens Flower Arranging
6. Robert Paul Smith, Where Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Nothing.
7. Bernard M. Baruch, Baruch: My Own Story
8. Jean Kerr, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies
9. The American Heritage Book of Great Historic Places
10. Jim Bishop, The Day Christ Died
Also published that year:
Roland Barthes, Mythologies
Noam Chomsky, Syntactic Structures
Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride Towards Freedom
1958
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Art Linkletter, Kids Say the Darndest Things!
2. Pat Boone, Twixt Twelve and Twenty
3. Harry Golden, Only in America
4. Edgar Hoover, Masters of Deceit
5. Jean Kerr, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies
6. Better Homes and Gardens Salad Book
7. J. P. Phillips, tr., The New Testament in Modern English
8. Thor Heyerdahl, Aku-Aku
9. Abigail Van Buren, Dear Abby
10. John Gunther, Inside Russia Today
Also published that year:
Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition
Shelby Foote, The Civil War
John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society
John Maynard Smith, The Theory of Evolution
John Steinbeck, Once There Was A War
1959
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Pat Boone, Twixt Twelve and Twenty
2. D. C. Jarvis, Folk Medicine
3. Harry Golden, For 2¢ Plain
4. Vance Packard, The Status Seekers
5. Moss Hart, Act One
6. Cliff Arquette, Charley Weaver’s Letters from Mamma
7. William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style
8. The General Foods Kitchens Cookbook
9. Harry Golden, Only in America
10. Alexander King, Mine Enemy Grows Older
Also published that year:
Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada
1960
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. D. C. Jarvis, Folk Medicine
2. Better Homes and Gardens First Aid for Your Family
3. The General Foods Kitchens Cookbook
4. Alexander King, May This House Be Safe from Tigers
5. Better Homes and Gardens Dessert Book
6. Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Ideas
7. William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
8. Barry Goldwater, The Conscience of a Conservative
9. Jack Paar, I Kid You Not
10. Pat Boone, Between You, Me and the Gatepost
Also published that year:
Elie Wiesel, Night (English translation)
1961
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. The New English Bible: The New Testament
2. William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
3. Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book
4. Casserole Cook Book
5. William Lederer, A Nation of Sheep
6. Better Homes and Gardens Nutrition for Your Family
7. Theodore H. White, The Making of the President, 1960
8. Dr. Herman Taller, Calories Don’t Count
9. Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cook Book: New Edition
10. Gavin Maxwell, Ring of Bright Water
Also published that year:
Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Jane Jacobs, The Life and Death of Great American Cities
C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
1962
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Dr. Herman Taller, Calories Don’t Count
2. The New English Bible: The New Testament
3. Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book: New Edition
4. Virginia Cary Hudson, O Ye Jigs & Juleps!
5. Charles M. Schulz, Happiness Is a Warm Puppy
6. Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker, The Joy of Cooking: New Edition
7. Louis Nizer, My Life in Court
8. Frederic Morton, The Rothschilds
9. Helen Gurley Brown, Sex and the Single Girl
10. John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley
Also published that year:
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom
Martin Heidegger, Being and Time (English translation)
1963
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Charles M. Schulz, Happiness Is a Warm Puppy
2. Charles M. Schulz, Security Is a Thumb and a Blanket
3. Victor Lasky, J.F.K.: The Man and the Myth
4. John F. Kennedy, Profiles in Courage: Inaugural Edition
5. Virginia Cary Hudson, O Ye Jigs & Juleps!
6. Better Homes and Gardens Bread Cook Book
7. The Pillsbury Family Cookbook
8. Bob Hope, I Owe Russia $1200
9. Heloise’s Housekeeping Hints
10. Better Homes and Gardens Baby Book
Also published that year:
James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time
Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique
LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Blues People
Jessica Mitford, The American Way of Death
1964
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. American Heritage and United Press International, Four Days
2. Charles M. Schulz, I Need All the Friends I Can Get
3. John F. Kennedy, Profiles in Courage: Memorial Edition
4. John Lennon, In His Own Write
5. Charles M. Schulz, Christmas Is Together-Time
6. Jim Bishop, A Day in the Life of President Kennedy
7. Bill Adler, ed., The Kennedy Wit
8. Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast
9. General Douglas MacArthur, Reminiscences
10. Mark Shaw, The John F. Kennedys
Also published that year:
Richard Hofstadter, The Paranoid Style in American Politics
Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can’t Wait
1965
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Dan Greenburg, How To Be a Jewish Mother
2. Ruth Montgomery, A Gift of Prophecy
3. Eric Berne, Games People Play
4. Billy Graham, World Aflame
5. Johnny Carson, Happiness Is a Dry Martini
6. Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings
7. Arthur Schlesinger Jr., A Thousand Days
8. Bill Sands, My Shadow Ran Fast
9. Theodore C. Sorensen, Kennedy
10. Theodore H. White, The Making of the President, 1964
Also published that year:
Claude Brown, Manchild in the Promised Land
Malcolm X and Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Ralph Nader, Unsafe at Any Speed
1966
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Norman F. Dacey, How to Avoid Probate
2. William Howard Masters and Virginia E. Johnston, Human Sexual Response
3. Truman Capote, In Cold Blood
4. Eric Berne, Games People Play
5. Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., A Thousand Days
6. Sam Levenson, Everything but Money
7. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language
8. Mark Lane, Rush to Judgment
9. Cornelius Ryan, The Last Battle
10. Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller’s Housekeeping Hints
Also published that year:
Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anais Nin Vol. 1 (expurgated version)
Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation
Claude Lévi-Strauss, The Savage Mind (English translation)
1967
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. William Manchester, Death of a President
2. Johnny Carson, Misery Is a Blind Date
3. Eric Berne, Games People Play
4. Rod McKuen, Stanyan Street & Other Sorrows
5. Father James Kavanaugh, A Modern Priest Looks at His Outdated Church
6. Sam Levenson, Everything but Money
7. Stephen Birmingham, Our Crowd
8. Jess Stearn, Edgar Cayce, The Sleeping Prophet; Better Homes and Gardens Favorite Ways with Chicken; Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller’s Marriage Manual (three-way tie)
Also published that year:
Robert K. Massie, Nicholas and Alexandra
Desmond Morris, The Naked Ape
Valerie Solanas, SCUM Manifesto
1968
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
2. Laurence Urdang, ed., The Random House Dictionary of the English Language: College Edition
3. Rod McKuen, Listen to the Warm
4. Haim G. Ginott, Between Parent and Child
5. Rod McKuen, Lonesome Cities
6. Erwin M. Stillman and Samm Sinclair Baker, The Doctor’s Quick Weight Loss Diet
7. Adam Smith, The Money Game
8. Rod McKuen, Stanyan Street & Other Sorrows
9. Jean Nidetch, The Weight Watcher’s Cook Book
10. Better Homes and Gardens Eat and Stay Slim
Also published that year:
Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire
Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem
James D. Watson, The Double Helix
Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
1969
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. William Morris, ed., American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
2. Rod McKuen, In Someone’s Shadow
3. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull, The Peter Principle
4. Dr. Haim G. Ginott, Between Parent and Teenager
5. The Galloping Gourmet, The Graham Kerr Cookbook
6. Joe McGinniss, The Selling of the President 1968
7. Marjorie Craig, Miss Craig’s 21-Day Shape-Up Program for Men and Women
8. Jeane Dixon with René Noorbergen, My Life and Prophecies
9. Linda Goodman, Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs
10. Rod McKuen, Twelve Years of Christmas
Also published that year:
Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1970
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. David Reuben, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex but Were Afraid To Ask
2. The New English Bible
3. “J” (Joan Garrity), The Sensuous Woman
4. Better Homes and Gardens Fondue and Tabletop Cooking
5. Robert Townsend, Up the Organization
6. Jim Bouton, Ball Four
7. William Morris, American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
8. Julius Fast, Body Language
9. Rod McKuen, In Someone’s Shadow
10. Rod McKuen, Caught in the Quiet
Also published that year:
Richard Nelson Bolles, What Color is Your Parachute?
Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch
Kate Millet, Sexual Politics
1971
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. “M” (Joan Garrity, John Garrity, and Len Forman), The Sensuous Man
2. Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
3. Better Homes and Gardens Blender Cook Book
4. Thomas Harris, I’m O.K., You’re O.K.
5. David Reuben, Any Woman Can!
6. Albert Speer, Inside the Third Reich
7. Joseph P. Lash, Eleanor and Franklin
8. Lawrence Welk, Wunnerful, Wunnerful!
9. Gay Talese, Honor Thy Father
10. Rod McKuen, Fields of Wonder
Also published that year:
Jane Goodall, In the Shadow of Man
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice
Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, Our Bodies, Ourselves
1972
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Kenneth Taylor, The Living Bible
2. Thomas Harris, I’m O.K., You’re O.K.
3. Nena and George O’Neill, Open Marriage
4. Margaret Truman, Harry S. Truman
5. Robert C. Atkins, Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution
6. Better Homes and Gardens Menu Cook Book
7. Laurence J. Peter, The Peter Prescription
8. Ruth Montgomery, A World Beyond
9. Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan
10. Better Homes and Gardens Low-Calorie Desserts
Also published that year:
John Berger, Ways of Seeing
Alex Comfort, The Joy of Sex
1973
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Kenneth Taylor, The Living Bible
2. Robert C. Atkins, Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution
3. Thomas Harris, I’m O.K., You’re O.K.
4. Alex Comfort, The Joy of Sex
5. Jean Nidetch, Weight Watchers Program Cookbook
6. Mildred Newman et al., How To Be Your Own Best Friend
7. Christopher Finch, The Art of Walt Disney
8. Better Homes and Gardens Home Canning Cookbook
9. Alistair Cooke, Alistair Cooke’s America
10. Flora R. Schreiber, Sybil
Also published that year:
Harold Bloom, The Anxiety of Influence
Oliver Sacks, Awakenings
1974
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Marabel Morgan, The Total Woman
2. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, All the President’s Men
3. Merle Miller, Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman
4. Alex Comfort, More Joy: A Lovemaking Companion to The Joy of Sex
5. Alistair Cooke, Alistair Cooke’s America
6. Carlos A. Castaneda, Tales of Power
7. Harry Browne, You Can Profit from a Monetary Crisis
8. James Herriot, All Things Bright and Beautiful
9. Charles Berlitz with J. Manson Valentine, The Bermuda Triangle
10. Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas, The Memory Book
Also published that year:
Vincent Bugliosi, Helter Skelter
Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Studs Terkel, Working
Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell
1975
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Billy Graham, Angels: God’s Secret Agents
2. Robert Ringer, Winning Through Intimidation
3. Harold H. Bloomfield, TM: Discovering Energy and Overcoming Stress
4. Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man
5. Sylvia Porter, Sylvia Porter’s Money Book
6. Laurence E. Morehouse and Leonard Gross, Total Fitness in 30 Minutes a Week
7. Charles Berlitz with J. Manson Valentine, The Bermuda Triangle
8. David Reuben, The Save-Your-Life Diet
9. David Niven, Bring on the Empty Horses
10. Theodore H. White, Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon
Also published that year:
Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory
Philip Roth, Reading Myself and Others
Paul Theroux, The Great Railway Bazaar
1976
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, The Final Days
2. Alex Haley, Roots
3. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Your Erroneous Zones
4. Gail Sheehy, Passages: The Predictable Crises of Adult Life
5. Charles W. Colson, Born Again
6. Erma Bombeck, The Grass ls Always Greener over the Septic Tank
7. Billy Graham, Angels: God’s Secret Agents
8. John Dean, Blind Ambition: The White House Years
9. Shere Hite, The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality
10. Leon Jaworski, The Right and the Power: The Prosecution of Watergate
Also published that year:
Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment
Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene
Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior
1977
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Alex Haley, Roots
2. Robert Ringer, Looking Out for #1
3. James Herriot, All Things Wise and Wonderful
4. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Your Erroneous Zones
5. David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace, and Amy Wallace, The Book of Lists
6. Charles Paul Conn, The Possible Dream: A Candid Look at Amway
7. Carl Sagan, The Dragons of Eden
8. Carlos Castaneda, The Second Ring of Power
9. Erma Bombeck, The Grass ls Always Greener over the Septic Tank
10. Jay Anson, The Amityville Horror
Also published that year:
Michael Herr, Dispatches
Susan Sontag, On Photography
1978
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Erma Bombeck, If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?
2. Wil Huygen and Rien Poortvliet, Gnomes
3. James Fixx, The Complete Book of Running
4. Christina Crawford, Mommie Dearest
5. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Pulling Your Own Strings
8. Richard Nixon, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon
7. Barbara Tuchman, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century
8. Brian Froud and Alan Lee, Faeries
9. Theodore H. White, ln Search of History: A Personal Adventure
10. The Muppet People, The Muppet Show Book
Also published that year:
Edward Said, Orientalism
1979
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Erma Bombeck, Aunt Erma’s Cope Book
2. Herman Tarnower and Samm Sinclair Baker, The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet
3. Howard J. Ruff, How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years
4. Steve Martin, Cruel Shoes
5. Nathan Pritikin and Patrick McGrady Jr., The Pritikin Program for Diet and Exercise
6. Henry Kissinger, White House Years
7. Lauren Bacall, Lauren Bacall By Myself
8. Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong, The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court
9. Robert J. Ringer, Restoring the American Dream
10. Charles Paul Conn, The Winner’s Circle
Also published that year:
Joan Didion, The White Album
Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination
Douglas Hofstadter, Godel, Escher, Bach
Norman Mailer, The Executioner’s Song
Edward O. Wilson, On Human Nature
Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff
1980
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Douglas R. Casey, Crisis Investing: Opportunities and Profits in the Coming Great Depression
2. Carl Sagan, Cosmos
3. Milton and Rose Friedman, Free to Choose: A Personal Statement
4. Norman Cousins, Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient
5. Gay Talese, Thy Neighbor’s Wife
6. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, The Sky’s the Limit
7. Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave
8. Craig Claiborne with Pierre Franey, Craig Claiborne’s Gourmet Diet
9. Robert Allen, Nothing Down
10. Shelley Winters, Shelley: Also Known as Shirley
Also published that year:
Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States
1981
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Judy Mazel, The Beverly Hills Diet
2. James Herriot, The Lord God Made Them All
3. Richard Simmons, Richard Simmons’ Never-Say-Diet Book
4. Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic
5. Carl Sagan, Cosmos
6. Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
7. Miss Piggy as told to Henry Beard, Miss Piggy’s Guide to Life
8. Weight Watchers 365-Day Menu Cookbook
9. Herb Cohen, You Can Negotiate Anything
10. Andrew A. Rooney, A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney
Also published that year:
Angela Davis, Women, Race, and Class
George W. S. Trow, Within the Context of No Context
1982
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Jane Fonda, Jane Fonda’s Workout Book
2. Leo Buscaglia, Living, Loving and Learning
3. Andrew A. Rooney, And More by Andy Rooney
4. Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook
5. Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw, Life Extension: Adding Years to Your Life And Life to Your Years—A Practical Scientific Approach
6. Harold S. Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People
7. Andrew A. Rooney, A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney
8. Jean Nidetch, The Weight Watchers Food Plan Diet Cookbook
9. Richard Simmons, Richard Simmons’ Never-Say-Diet Cookbook
10. Barbara Woodhouse, No Bad Dogs: The Woodhouse Way
Also published that year:
Audre Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
1983
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr., In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies
2. John Naisbitt, Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives
3. Erma Bombeck, Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession
4. Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, The One Minute Manager
5. Jane Fonda, Jane Fonda’s Workout Book
6. James Herriot, The Best of James Herriot
7. The Mary Kay Guide to Beauty: Discovering Your Special Look
8. Ken Follett, On Wings of Eagles
9. Robert G. Allen, Creating Wealth
10. Victoria Principal, The Body Principal: The Exercise Program for Life
Also published that year:
Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities
William Manchester, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932
John Updike, Hugging the Shore
1984
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Lee Iacocca with William Novak, Iacocca: An Autobiography
2. Leo Buscaglia, Loving Each Other
3. Robert Haas, Eat to Win: The Sports Nutrition Bible
4. Andrew A. Rooney, Pieces of My Mind
5. Weight Watchers Fast and Fabulous Cookbook
6. Mark H. McCormack, What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School: Notes from a Street-Smart Executive
7. Jane Fonda with Mignon McCarthy, Women Coming of Age
8. James Herriot, Moses the Kitten
9. Spencer Johnson and Larry Wilson, The One Minute Salesperson
10. Jean Nidetch, Weight Watchers Quick Start Program Cookbook
Also published that year:
Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider
1985
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Lee Iacocca with William Novak, Iacocca: An Autobiography
2. Gen. Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos, Yeager: An Autobiography
3. Priscilla Beaulieu Presley with Sandra Harmon, Elvis and Me
4. Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, Fit for Life
5. Robert Schuller, The Be-Happy Attitudes
6. Shirley MacLaine, Dancing in the Light
7. Thomas J. Peters and Nancy K. Austin, A Passion for Excellence: The Leadership Difference
8. Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet
9. Howard Cosell with Peter Bonventre, I Never Played the Game
10. Stuart M. Berger, Dr. Berger’s Immune Power Diet
Also published that year:
David Lowenthal, The Past is a Foreign Country
1986
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Bill Cosby, Fatherhood
2. Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, Fit for Life
3. Kitty Kelley, His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra
4. Martin Katahn, The Rotation Diet
5. Dr. Seuss, You’re Only Old Once
6. Callan Pinckney, Callanetics: Ten Years Younger in Ten Hours
7. Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine
8. Robert H. Schuller, Be Happy—You Are Loved!
9. Andrew A. Rooney, Word for Word
10. James Herriot, James Herriot’s Dog Stories
Also published that year:
Art Spiegelman, Maus I
1987
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Bill Cosby, Time Flies
2. Peter Wright with Paul Greengrass, Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer
3. Erma Bombeck, Family: The Ties That Bind . . . and Gag!
4. Bob Woodward, Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987
5. Rick Smolan and David Cohen, A Day in the Life of America
6. Ravi Batra, The Great Depression of 1990
7. Shirley MacLaine, It’s All in the Playing
8. Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. with William Novak, Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O’Neill
9. Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American
10. Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind
Also published that year:
Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore
Randy Shilts, And the Band Played On
1988
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Robert E. Kowalski, The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure
2. Lee Iacocca with Sonny Kleinfield, Talking Straight
3. Steven W. Hawking, A Brief History of Time
4. Donald J. Trump with Tony Schwartz, Trump: The Art of the Deal
5. George Burns, Gracie: A Love Story
6. Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth Takes Off
7. Harvey MacKay, Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive
8. David Cohen, ed., Christmas in America
9. Jean Nidetch, Weight Watchers Quick Success Program Book
10. Michael Jackson, Moonwalk
Also published that year:
Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place
Joe Simpson, Touching the Void
1989
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things
2. Charles J. Givens, Wealth Without Risk: How To Develop a Personal Fortune Without Going Out on a Limb
3. C. David Heymann, A Woman Named Jackie
4. Robert Fulghum, It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It
5. Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
6. David Macaulay, The Way Things Work
7. Gilda Radner, It’s Always Something
8. Roseanne Barr, Roseanne: My Life as a Woman
9. Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome
10. Nancy Reagan with William Novak, My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan
Also published that year:
Tobias Wolff, This Boy’s Life
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Charles Kuralt, A Life on the Road
2. Geoffrey C. Ward with Ric Burns and Ken Burns, The Civil War
3. Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Heritage: Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother
4. Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
5. Charles J. Givens, Financial Self-Defense: How To Win the Fight for Financial Freedom
6. John Bradshaw, Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child
7. Charles J. Givens, Wealth Without Risk: How To Develop a Personal Fortune Without Going Out on a Limb
8. Bo Jackson and Dick Schaap, Bo Knows Bo
9. Ronald Reagan, An American Life: An Autobiography
10. John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene, Megatrends 2000: Ten New Directions for the 1990s
Also published that year:
Judith Butler, Gender Trouble
Janet Malcolm, The Journalist and the Murderer
Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Katharine Hepburn, Me: Stories of My Life
2. Kitty Kelley, Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography
3. Robert Fulghum, Uh-Oh: Some Observations from Both Sides of the Refrigerator Door
4. Oliver North with William Novak, Under Fire: An American Story
5. Derek Humphry, Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying
6. Erma Bombeck, When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It’s Time to Go Home
7. Charles J. Givens, More Wealth Without Risk
8. James B. Stewart, Den of Thieves
9. Bill Cosby, Childhood
10. Charles J. Givens, Financial Self-Defense
Also published that year:
Jung Chang, Wild Swans
Art Spiegelman, Maus II
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Rush Limbaugh, The Way Things Ought To Be
2. Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, It Doesn’t Take a Hero: The Autobiography
3. Naura Hayden, How to Satisfy a Woman Every Time
4. James Herriot, Every Living Thing
5. Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love
6. Sam Walton, Sam Walton: Made in America
7. Andrew Morton, Diana: Her True Story
8. David McCullough, Truman
9. Gail Sheehy, Silent Passage
10. Madonna, Sex
Also published that year:
Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man
Alex Kotlowitz, There Are No Children Here
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Rush Limbaugh, See, I Told You So
2. Howard Stern, Private Parts
3. Jerry Seinfeld, Seinlanguage
4. Betty J. Eadie with Curtis Taylor, Embraced by the Light
5. Deepak Chopra, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind
6. Susan Powter, Stop the Insanity
7. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves
8. John Gray, Men Are from Mars, Women are From Venus
9. Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, The Hidden Life of Dogs
10. Harvey Penick with Bud Shrake, And If You Play Golf, You’re My Friend
Also published that year:
Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Rosie Daley, In the Kitchen with Rosie
2. John Gray, Men Are from Mars, Women are From Venus
3. John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope
4. N.E. Thing Enterprises, Magic Eye I
5. William J. Bennett, The Book of Virtues
6. N.E. Thing Enterprises, Magic Eye II
7. Betty J. Eadie with Curtis Taylor, Embraced by the Light
8. Tim Allen, Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man
9. Paul Reiser, Couplehood
10. N.E. Thing Enterprises, Magic Eye III
Also published that year:
John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Lucy Grealy, Autobiography of a Face
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. John Gray, Men Are from Mars, Women are From Venus
2. Colin Powell, My American Journey
3. Howard Stern, Miss America
4. Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
5. Bill Gates, The Road Ahead
6. Charles Kuralt, Charles Kuralt’s America
7. John Gray, Mars and Venus in the Bedroom
8. Newt Gingrich, To Renew America
9. Ellen DeGeneres, My Point . . . and I Do Have One
10. William J. Bennett, The Moral Compass
Also published that year:
Mary Karr, The Liars’ Club
Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Oprah Winfrey and Bob Greene, Make the Connection
2. John Gray, Men Are from Mars, Women are From Venus
3. Scott Adams, The Dilbert Principle
4. Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance
5. Barry Sears with Bill Lawren, The Zone
6. Dennis Rodman, Bad As I Wanna Be
7. Christopher Darden, In Contempt
8. Walter Cronkite, A Reporter’s Life
9. Scott Adams, Dogbert’s Top Secret Management Handbook
10. Ekaterina Gordeeva with E. M. Swift, My Sergei: A Love Story
Also published that year:
Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild
Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes
William H. Gass, Finding a Form
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes
2. Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance
3. John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
4. Kitty Kelley, The Royals
5. Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ether Becker, The Joy of Cooking
6. Andrew Morton, Diana: Her True Story
7. Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air
8. Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God, Book 1
9. John Gray, Men are from Mars, Women are From Venus
10. Andrew Weil, Eight Weeks to Optimum Health
Also published that year:
Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods
Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel
Geoff Dyer, Out of Sheer Rage
David Foster Wallace, A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Suze Orman, The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom
2. Tom Brokaw, The Greatest Generation
3. H. Leighton Steward, Morrison C. Bethea, Sam S. Andrews, and Luis A. Balart, Sugar Busters!
4. Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie
5. The Guinness Book of Records 1999
6. James Van Praagh, Talking to Heaven
7. Sarah Ban Breathnach, Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self
8. Iyanla Vanzant, In the Meantime
9. Jimmy Buffett, A Pirate Looks at Fifty
10. Cherie Carter-Scott, If Life Is a Game These Are the Rules
Also published that year:
Jo Ann Beard, Boys of My Youth
Bill Bryson, Notes from a Big Country
Sylvia Nasar, A Beautiful Mind
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie
2. Tom Brokaw, The Greatest Generation
3. Guinness World Records 2000 Millennium Edition
4. Frank McCourt, ‘Tis
5. Spencer Johnson, Who Moved My Cheese?
6. Suze Orman, The Courage to be Rich
7. Tom Brokaw, The Greatest Generation Speaks
8. H. Leighton Steward, Morrison C. Bethea, Sam S. Andrews, and Luis A. Balart, Sugar Busters!
9. Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, The Art of Happiness
10. Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster, The Century
Also published that year:
Samuel R. Delany, Times Square Red, Times Square Blue
Brian Greene, The Elegant Universe
Naomi Klein, No Logo
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Spencer Johnson, Who Moved My Cheese?
2. Guinness World Records 2001
3. Bill Phillips, Body for Life
4. Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie
5. The Beatles, The Beatles Anthology
6. Bill O’Reilly, The O’Reilly Factor
7. Dr. Phil McGraw, Relationship Rescue
8. Thomas J. Stanley, The Millionaire Mind
9. Maria Shriver, Ten Things I Wish I’d Known—Before I Went Out into the Real World
10. Andrew Weil, M.D., Eating Well for Optimum Health
Also published that year:
Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Stephen King, On Writing
Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis
David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Bruce Wilkinson, The Prayer of Jabez
2. Bruce Wilkinson, Secrets of the Vine
3. Spencer Johnson, Who Moved My Cheese?
4. David McCullough, John Adams
5. Guinness World Records 2002
6. Darlene Wilkinson, The Prayer for Jabez for Women
7. Bill O’Reilly, The No-Spin Zone
8. Bill Phillips, Body for Life
9. Tiger Woods, How I Play Golf
10. Jack Welch, Jack
Also published that year:
Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed
Diane McWhorter, Carry Me Home
Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Dr. Phil McGraw, Self Matters
2. Bruce Wilkinson with David Kopp, A Life God Rewards
3. Lisa Beamer with Ken Abraham, Let’s Roll!
4. Guinness World Records 2003
5. Spencer Johnson, Who Moved My Cheese?
6. Rudolph W. Giuliani, Leadership
7. Darlene Wilkinson, The Prayer for Jabez for Women
8. Bob Woodward, Bush at War
9. Patricia Cornwell, Portrait of a Killer
10. Bill Phillips, Body for Life
Also published that year:
César Chávez, The Words of César Chávez
Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World
Lorna Sage, Bad Blood
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life
2. Arthur Agatston, M.D., The South Beach Diet
3. Robert Atkins, M.D., Atkins for Life
4. Dr. Phil McGraw, The Ultimate Weight Solution
5. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History
6. Al Franken, Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
7. Guinness World Records 2004
8. Bill O’Reilly, Who’s Looking Out for You?
9. Michael Moore, Dude, Where’s My Country?
10. Paul Burrell, A Royal Duty
Also published that year:
Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City
Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life
2. Arthur Agatston, M.D., The South Beach Diet
3. Bill Clinton, My Life
4. Jon Stewart and the Daily Show writers, America (The Book)
5. Arthur Agatston, M.D., The South Beach Diet Cookbook
6. Dr. Phil McGraw, Family First
7. Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, He’s Just Not That into You
8. Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves
9. Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
10. Guinness World Records 2005
Also published that year:
Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton
Bob Dylan, Chronicles: Volume One
Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Kevin Trudeau, Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About
2. Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
3. Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life
4. Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., You: The Owner’s Manual
5. David McCullough, 1776
6. Thomas L. Friedman, The World is Flat
7. Dr. Phil McGraw, Love Smart: Find the One You Want, Fix the One You Got
8. Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
9. Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics
10. Guinness World Records 2006
Also published that year:
Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. John Grisham, The Innocent Man
2. Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., You: On a Diet—The Owners Manual for Waist Management
3. John Grogan, Marley & Me
4. Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope
5. Bill O’Reilly, Culture Warrior
6. Guinness World Records 2007
7. Bob Greene, The Best Life Diet
8. Cesar Millan and Melissa Jo Peltier, Cesar’s Way: The Natural Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems
9. Thomas L. Friedman, The World is Flat
10. Bob Woodward, State of Denial: Bush at War Part III
Also published that year:
Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Rhonda Byrne, The Secret
2. Conn & Hal Iggulden, The Dangerous Book for Boys
3. Jessica Seinfeld, Deceptively Delicious
4. Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, You: Staying Young—The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your Warranty
5. Stephen Colbert, I Am America (and So Can You!)
6. Joel Osteen, Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day
7. Andrea J. Buchanan & Miriam Peskowitz, The Daring Book for Girls
8. Michael F. Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., You: On a Diet—The Owner’s Manual for Waist Management
9. Guinness World Records 2008
10. Kevin Trudeau, The Weight Loss Cure “They” Don’t Want You to Know About
Also published that year:
Edwidge Danticat, Brother, I’m Dying
Hermione Lee, Edith Wharton
Alex Ross, The Rest is Noise
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow, The Last Lecture
2. Vicki Myron with Brett Witter, Dewey
3. Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics
4. Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass, Flat Belly Diet
5. Bill O’Reilly, A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity
6. Alice Schroeder, The Snowball
7. Rick Warren, The Purpose of Christmas
8. James Patterson and Hal Friedman, Against Medical Advice
9. The Editors of Life, American Journey of Barack Obama
10. Thomas L. Friedman, Hot, Flat and Crowded
Also published that year:
Julian Barnes, Nothing to Be Frightened Of
Annette Gordon-Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello
Brenda Wineapple, White Heat
James Wood, How Fiction Works
Fareed Zakaria, The Post-American World
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow, The Last Lecture
2. Rick Warren, The Purpose of Christmas
3. Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz, You: Being Beautiful
4. Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers
5. Bill O’Reilly, A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity
6. Vicki Myron with Brett Witter, Dewey
7. Barbara Waters, Audition
8. Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics
9. Alice Schroeder, The Snowball
10. Thomas L. Friedman, Hot, Flat and Crowded
Also published that year:
Andre Agassi, Open
Liaquat Ahamed, Lords of Finance
Dave Cullen, Columbine
David Grann, Lost in the City of Z
Mary Karr, Lit
Benjamin Moser, Why This World
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. George W. Bush, Decision Points
2. Glenn Beck, Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth, and Treasure
3. Geneen Roth, Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything
4. Keith Richards with James Fox, Life
5. Sarah Palin, America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag
6. Jon Stewart, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race
7. Justin Halpern, Sh*t My Dad Says
8. Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?
9. Bill O’Reilly, Pinheads and Patriots: Where You Stand in the Age of Obama
10. Chelsea Handler, Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Also published that year:
Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies
Patti Smith, Just Kids
Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken
2. Dr. Mike Moreno, The 17 Day Diet
3. Tina Fey, Bossypants
4. Dr. Pierre Dukan, The Dukan Diet
5. Erik Larson, In the Garden of the Beasts
6. Adam Mansbach, Go the F**k to Sleep
7. Timothy Ferriss, The 4-Hour Body
8. David McCullough, The Greater Journey
Also published that year:
Joan Didion, Blue Nights
Christopher Hitchens, Arguably
Maggie Nelson, The Art of Cruelty
Manning Marable, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention
John Jeremiah Sullivan, Pulphead
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Mark Owen and Kevin Maurer, No Easy Day
2. Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, Killing Kennedy
3. Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, Killing Lincoln
4. Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent, Heaven is for Real
5. Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken
6. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling
7. Eben Alexander, Proof of Heaven
8. Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0
9. Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs: a Biography
10. Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, and Jim DeFelice, American Sniper
Also published that year:
Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers
Robert A. Caro, The Passage of Power
Cheryl Strayed, Wild
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, Killing Jesus
2. Eben Alexander, Proof of Heaven
3. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling
4. Mark Schlabach and Phil Robertson, Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander
5. Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In
6. Charles Krauthammer, Things That Matter
7. Mark Schlabach and Si Robertson, Si-cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle
8. Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0
Also published that year:
Hilton Als, White Girls
Marie Colvin, On the Front Line
Stanley Crouch, Kansas City Lightning
Sheri Fink, Five Days at Memorial
Aleksandar Hemon, The Book of My Lives
Jesmyn Ward, Men We Reaped
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, Killing Jesus
2. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling
3. Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken
4. Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0
5. Ina Garten, Make It Ahead
6. George W. Bush, 41: A Portrait of My Father
7. Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent, Heaven is for Real (trade paper)
8. Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent, Heaven is for Real (movie tie-in)
9. Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat
10. Guinness World Records 2015
Also published that year:
Eula Biss, On Immunity
Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist
Elizabeth Kolbert, The Sixth Extinction
Helen Macdonald, H is for Hawk
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
2. Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, Killing Reagan
3. Chris Kyle, American Sniper (trade paperback movie tie-in)
4. Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime
5. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling
6. Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat
7. Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0
8. Johanna Basford, Lost Ocean
9. David McCullough, The Wright Brothers
10. Chris Kyle, American Sniper (mass market movie tie-in)
Also published that year:
Mary Bead, S.P.Q.R: A History of Ancient Rome
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
Margo Jefferson, Negroland
Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped From the Beginning
Sally Mann, Hold Still
Maggie Nelson, The Argonauts
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, Killing the Rising Sun
2. Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
3. Chip Gaines, Joanna Gaines, and Mark Dagostino, The Magnolia Story
4. Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0
5. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling
6. Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air
7. Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
8. Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey
9. Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton
10. Jen Sincero, You Are a Badass
Also published that year:
Carol Anderson, White Rage: the Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
Matthew Desmond, Evicted
Susan Faludi, In the Darkroom
Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air
Margot Lee Shetterley, Hidden Figures
The best-selling nonfiction of the year:
1. Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
2. Sarah Young, Jesus Always: Embracing Joy in His Presence
3. The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
4. William H. McRaven, Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life
5. Chip Gaines, Joanna Gaines, and Mark Dagostino, The Magnolia Story
6. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
7. J. D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy
8. Trevor Noah, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
9. David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
10. Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant, Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy
Also published that year:
Ta-Nehisi Coates, We Were Eight Years in Power
Masha Gessen, The Future is History
Patricia Lockwood, Priestdaddy
Valeria Luiselli, Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions
