Nonfiction Books

Communication is critical to getting on in our lives and in business, but many of us fall short in communicating what we want in the right way to the right audiences. Matt Abrahams of Stanford's Graduate School of Business talks us through five books packed with practical advice on how to improve your communication skills—from the insights of improvisational theater to the acronym to use if you want people to remember what you've said.

More than a century after it went down, our fascination with the Titanic shows no signs of dimming, its story told in numerous books and movies—both fact and fiction. Steven Biel, a historian at Harvard, recommends books to read about the Titanic, from early first-person accounts of the disaster to a comprehensive and lavishly illustrated reference guide.  

Since cuneiform symbols were first used on clay tablets 5,000 years ago, humans have been recording not only information, but also stories. Some of the oldest writings were works of literature that speak to us across the millennia and continue to be published as books today. Five Books contributing editor Tuva Kahrs brings you five of the oldest books that have made it all the way from clay tablet or papyrus scroll to printed edition or e-book, influencing countless generations of readers and writers.

In early January 2026 US forces arrested the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and took him into custody in the US, charged with drug offences. Political scientist Julia Buxton chooses five books on modern Venezuelan politics and explains that this is only the latest political catastrophe to befall a country that has been plagued by its vast oil reserves. An endowment of natural resources that was expected to make the country rich when they were discovered in the early 20th century has only succeeded in making it poor and politically unstable.

Five Books is all about human expertise—speaking to people, in person or via Zoom, about the best books in their field. Once a year, however, we make an exception and turn to a non-human interviewee: ChatGPT, to ask for its recommendations on the best books about artificial intelligence. Here are the five books the AI chose in 2026, along with its recommendation for the single book to read if you were to choose just one.

The Wolfson History Prize is awarded annually for historical writing that is both brilliantly researched and a great read. Professor Helen King, one of this year's judges, talks us through the 2025 shortlist and explains why each book stood out.

Editors at AudioFile magazine, who reviewed more than 2,000 books in 2025, pick out their favourites in the 'history and nonfiction' category—from the American struggle for independence to the ruminations of a food celebrity.

While we may not always act as we should, research into human behaviour has taught us enough to improve things both individually and as a society, says behavioural scientist Michael Hallsworth, author of The Hypocrisy Trap. He talks us through his favourite books on human behaviour, from managing the voice in our head to avoiding the dangers of groupthink.

In order to have fewer failed projects, we need to address some of the deep structural incentives in the system, argues Jonathan Simcock, who spent 16 years leading and advising on large UK government projects. He talks us through books to read to understand more about big projects and why they go wrong, and how to do better in future.

From the terrorists who came up with the idea of hijacking planes to get attention to a biography of the Scottish novelist Muriel Spark, the books in the running for this year's Baillie Gifford Prize, as always, display a wonderful breadth. Robbie Millen, literary editor of the Times and chair of the 2025 judging panel, talks us through the shortlist of the UK's most prestigious nonfiction book prize.