Best Nonfiction Books of 2022
Last updated: September 17, 2024
With so many nonfiction books to choose from, it's not easy to find the ones that are really worth spending your time reading. To help, we've collected all our books recommendations relating to the best nonfiction of 2022 here.
Part of our best books of 2022 series.
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1
Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want
by Ruha Benjamin -
2
Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole
by Susan Cain -
3
The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness
by Meghan O'Rourke -
4
Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else)
by Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò -
5
Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living
by Dimitris Xygalatas
Five of the Best Self-Help Books of 2022, recommended by Avram Alpert
Five of the Best Self-Help Books of 2022, recommended by Avram Alpert
At the turn of the year, many of us take the opportunity to think about our lives—how they are going, and how we hope to live them in future. We asked Avram Alpert, author of The Good-Enough Life, to recommend five of the best self-help books of 2022 that might help our bids for self-improvement; his choices remind us that self-help is not only about life-hacks and diets, but about bringing the world more in line with our ideals.
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1
How to Say No: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Cynicism
by Diogenes and the Cynics, translated by Mark Usher -
2
Looking for Theophrastus: Travels in Search of a Lost Philosopher
by Laura Beatty -
3
Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy
by David Chalmers -
4
The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Philosophy
by Andy West -
5
Thinking to Some Purpose
by Susan Stebbing
The Best Philosophy Books of 2022, recommended by Nigel Warburton
The Best Philosophy Books of 2022, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Every year we ask our philosophy editor Nigel Warburton to recommend the best new books in the field. In 2022, his philosophy book recommendations include David Chalmers’ latest examination of consciousness, a memoir of teaching philosophy in prison, and a biography of the ancient provocateur and original cynic Diogenes.
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1
My Fourth Time, We Drowned
by Sally Hayden -
2
Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad
by Michela Wrong -
3
Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World's Economy
by Adam Tooze -
4
Orwell's Roses
by Rebecca Solnit -
5
Things I Have Withheld
by Kei Miller -
6
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
by David Graeber & David Wengrow
The Best Politics Books: the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Writing, recommended by David Edgerton
The Best Politics Books: the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Writing, recommended by David Edgerton
From the dawn of humanity to the Covid crisis, from a study in power to the plight of the powerless, the Orwell Prize for Political Writing looks for books that break through the mendacities of politics and rise to the challenge of our times, explains historian David Edgerton, chair of this year’s judging panel. He talks us through the ten fabulous books that made the 2022 shortlist.
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1
Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne
by Katherine Rundell -
2
Devil-Land: England Under Siege, 1588-1688
by Clare Jackson -
3
A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters
by Henry Gee -
4
Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate
by M E Sarotte -
5
My Fourth Time, We Drowned
by Sally Hayden -
6
Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology
by Chris Miller
Award Winning Nonfiction Books of 2022, recommended by Sophie Roell
Award Winning Nonfiction Books of 2022, recommended by Sophie Roell
It’s that time of year when there are dozens of the best-of-the-year lists. Which books are worth reading? One way of narrowing it down is by looking at the various awards that celebrate books across a range of nonfiction categories. Five Books editor Sophie Roell does a roundup of nonfiction books that won prizes in 2022.
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1
The Greywacke: How a Priest, a Soldier and a School Teacher Uncovered 300 Million Years of History
by Nick Davidson -
2
Different: What Apes Can Teach Us About Gender
by Frans de Waal -
3
Spike: The Virus vs. The People - the Inside Story
by Jeremy Farrar & with Anjana Ahuja -
4
A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters
by Henry Gee -
5
Age Proof: The New Science of Living a Longer and Healthier Life
by Rose Anne Kenny -
6
Hot Air: The Inside Story of the Battle Against Climate Change Denial
by Peter Stott
The Best Popular Science Books of 2022: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Maria Fitzgerald
The Best Popular Science Books of 2022: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Maria Fitzgerald
The renowned UCL neuroscientist Professor Maria Fitzgerald, chair of the 2022 Royal Society Book Prize, talks us through the judges’ selection of the best popular science books of the year—including a whistle-stop tour of the history of the Earth, a self-help book offering evidence-based advice on how to live a longer life, and a primatologist’s study of gender among apes.
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1
The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality
by Oded Galor -
2
Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century
by Brad DeLong -
3
Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success
by Leah Boustan & Ran Abramitzky -
4
Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It
by Richard V Reeves -
5
Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology
by Chris Miller
The Best Economics Books of 2022, recommended by Jason Furman
The Best Economics Books of 2022, recommended by Jason Furman
As we study the causes of economic prosperity over the millennia and particularly the last century-and-a-half, it’s worth remembering that humans are always the most important driver of economic growth. Jason Furman, a Harvard economics professor and former adviser to Barack Obama, picks out five of the best economics books of 2022, as well as topics he’d like to see books about in 2023.
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1
Fragile Cargo: The World War II Race to Save the Treasures of China's Forbidden City
by Adam Brookes -
2
Agents of Subversion: The Fate of John T. Downey and the CIA's Covert War in China
by John Delury -
3
Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden: Two Sisters Separated by China's Civil War
by Zhuqing Li -
4
Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong
by Louisa Lim -
5
Accidental Holy Land: The Communist Revolution in Northwest China
by Joseph W. Esherick
The Best China Books of 2022, recommended by Jeffrey Wasserstrom
The Best China Books of 2022, recommended by Jeffrey Wasserstrom
From a true story that reads like a spy novel to a detailed study of the mythic origins of the Chinese Communist Party in Northwest China, there were lots of interesting books published about China this year. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a professor at UC Irvine and specialist in modern Chinese history, recommends some of his 2022 favourites.
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1
Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire
by Caroline Elkins -
2
The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World
by Jonathan Freedland -
3
My Fourth Time, We Drowned
by Sally Hayden -
4
The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown
by Anna Keay -
5
A Fortunate Woman: A Country Doctor’s Story
by Polly Morland -
6
Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne
by Katherine Rundell
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2022 Baillie Gifford Prize Shortlist, recommended by Caroline Sanderson
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2022 Baillie Gifford Prize Shortlist, recommended by Caroline Sanderson
Every year the judges of the Baillie Gifford Prize pick out the best nonfiction books published in the United Kingdom over the previous 12 months. Author and books journalist Caroline Sanderson, chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the books that made the 2022 shortlist, books that are important, readable and will hopefully surprise you.
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1
Dead in the Water: Murder and Fraud in the World’s Most Secretive Industry
by Kit Chellel & Matthew Campbell -
2
Influence Empire: The Story of Tencent and China’s Tech Ambition
by Lulu Chen -
3
The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era
by Gary Gerstle -
4
The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Art of Disruption
by Sebastian Mallaby -
5
Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology
by Chris Miller -
6
Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century
by Helen Thompson
The Best Business Books of 2022: the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award, recommended by Andrew Hill
The Best Business Books of 2022: the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award, recommended by Andrew Hill
For its annual book award, the Financial Times looks beyond books that might be filed under business in a bookshop, picking out books that are compelling and enjoyable, explains Andrew Hill, the newspaper’s senior business writer. He talks us through the 2022 shortlist: books that shine a light on obscure but immensely important companies or industries, or address some of the bigger challenges facing our capitalist economies.
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1
Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century
by Brad DeLong -
2
How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth
by Jared Rubin & Mark Koyama -
3
The World the Plague Made: The Black Death and the Rise of Europe
by James Belich -
4
Pioneers of Capitalism: The Netherlands 1000–1800
by Jan Luiten van Zanden & Maarten Prak -
5
The Cambridge Economic History of China
by by Debin Ma and Richard von Glahn (editors)
The Best Economic History Books of 2022, recommended by Davis Kedrosky
The Best Economic History Books of 2022, recommended by Davis Kedrosky
From a sweeping history of China covering three millennia to what econometrics papers can tell us about what made the world rich, it’s been a fantastic year for economic history books. Davis Kedrosky, a student at Berkeley and publisher of Great Transformations, an economic history newsletter, picks some of his favourite economic history books of 2022.