Nonfiction Books
Last updated: December 22, 2024
The Best Kindles in 2024, recommended by Maneetpaul Singh
With Amazon refreshing its entire range this year—including the introduction of the first colour Kindle—it’s hard to know which is the best Kindle for reading. We turned to Kindle expert Maneetpaul Singh, author of Kindle Bookworm, to talk us through the 2024 lineup.
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Peacemakers: Six Months That Changed the World
by Margaret MacMillan -
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1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare
by James Shapiro -
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Nothing to Envy
by Barbara Demick -
4
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
by Patrick Radden Keefe -
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Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest
by Wade Davis -
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One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time
by Craig Brown
The Best Nonfiction of the Past Quarter Century: The Baillie Gifford Prize Winner of Winners, recommended by Sophie Roell
The Best Nonfiction of the Past Quarter Century: The Baillie Gifford Prize Winner of Winners, recommended by Sophie Roell
“All the best stories are true” runs the tagline of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, the UK’s pre-eminent nonfiction book award. This year, to celebrate the prize’s 25th birthday, a panel of judges picked out books for a winner of winners award, making for an excellent collection of nonfiction books from the last quarter of a century, as Five Books editor Sophie Roell explains.
The best books on The Lessons of History, recommended by Roman Krznaric
History is too complex to be an easy guide for navigating the present, but that doesn’t mean the experience of those who came before can’t shed valuable insights into our current dilemmas. In his latest book, History for Tomorrow, social philosopher Roman Krznaric looks at ten crises currently facing the world and how lessons from the past might be able to help.
Five of the Best U.S. Political Biographies, recommended by William Cooper
Biographers create character studies of fascinating people, through which we might insight into the historical context and the systems these individuals functioned within. Here, journalist and attorney William Cooper recommends five U.S. political biographies and memoirs that allow readers special access to the rooms where American decision-making takes place.
Five Biographies of Artists, recommended by Sue Prideaux
From the Baroque painter who killed a man in Rome during the Counter-Reformation to the surrealist artist who left Britain and died in Mexico City in 2011, award-winning biographer Sue Prideaux talks to us about her favorite biographies of artists. Her new biography of Paul Gauguin, Wild Thing, is out this week and has been longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize.
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The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748–1789
by Robert Darnton -
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France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain
by Julian Jackson -
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Monet: The Restless Vision
by Jackie Wullschläger -
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Revolutionary Spring: Europe Aflame and the Fight for a New World, 1848-1849
by Christopher Clark -
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Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire
by Nandini Das
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2024 Duff Cooper Prize, recommended by Susan Brigden
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2024 Duff Cooper Prize, recommended by Susan Brigden
If you’re looking for nonfiction with a literary sensibility and a historical bent, the books highlighted by the annual Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize are a great place to start. British historian Susan Brigden, author of Thomas Wyatt: The Heart’s Forest and one of the prize’s judges, talks us through the 2024 shortlist — from war and revolution to the splendours of Mughal India and Monet’s garden at Giverny.
The best books on Mountaineering, recommended by Anna Fleming
Mountaineering is a thrilling, mind-altering pastime that brings the climber into direct contact with some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes. But it is also one that carries significant risk, explains Anna Fleming, author of the rock-climbing memoir Time on Rock. Here, she recommends five fascinating mountaineering books that combine history, nature, and sheer adventure.
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1
The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt
by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones -
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The Roads to Rome: A History of Imperial Expansion
by Catherine Fletcher -
3
Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World
by Roger Crowley -
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The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
by Erik Larson -
5
Default: The Landmark Court Battle over Argentina's $100 Billion Debt Restructuring
by Gregory Makoff
Notable Nonfiction Books of Mid-2024, recommended by Sophie Roell
Notable Nonfiction Books of Mid-2024, recommended by Sophie Roell
From a dynasty that ruled ancient Egypt to the 1986 space shuttle disaster, from the fight to get rich from spices in the 16th century to making billions from bankrupt countries in the 21st century, Five Books editor Sophie Roell gives an overview of the new nonfiction books that have appeared since April.
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The Shortest History of Economics
by Andrew Leigh -
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Maurice and Maralyn: A Whale, a Shipwreck, a Love Story
by Sophie Elmhirst -
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Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan
by Ruby Lal -
4
How the World Made the West: A 4,000-Year History
by Josephine Quinn -
5
Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense
Saul Perlmutter, Robert MacCoun and John Campbell
Nonfiction Books to Look Out for in Early 2024, recommended by Sophie Roell
Nonfiction Books to Look Out for in Early 2024, recommended by Sophie Roell
From the origins of sex to the effects of social media, from the invention of the wheel to the race against climate change, Five Books editor Sophie Roell gives an overview of the new nonfiction books appearing in January, February and March of 2024.
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Predatory States: Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America
by J. Patrice McSherry -
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Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations
by Ronen Bergman -
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Putin's Killers: The Kremlin and the Art of Political Assassination
by Amy Knight -
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Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad
by Michela Wrong -
5
When States Kill: Latin America, the U.S., and Technologies of Terror
by Cecilia Menjívar & Néstor Rodríguez
The best books on State-Sponsored Assassination, recommended by Luca Trenta
The best books on State-Sponsored Assassination, recommended by Luca Trenta
Political assassinations are usually portrayed in the media as the actions of rogue states acting recklessly, outside the bounds of international law. But it is far more common than you might think, says Luca Trenta—international relations expert and the author of The President’s Kill List. Here, he recommends five books on state-sponsored assassinations and explains how different countries have justified, denied or redefined the practice.