New Nonfiction To Read This Year

From the bestselling author of Too Big to Fail, “the definitive history of the 2008 banking crisis” (The Atlantic Monthly), comes a spellbinding narrative of the most infamous stock market crash in history. With the depth of a classic history and the drama of a thriller, 1929 unravels the greed, blind optimism, and human folly that led to an era-defining collapse — one with ripple effects that still shape our society today.

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow illuminates the full, fascinating, and complex life of the writer long celebrated as the father of American literature, Mark Twain. Today, more than one hundred years after his death, Twain’s writing continues to be read, debated, and quoted. In this brilliant work of scholarship, a moving tribute to the writer’s talent and humanity, Chernow reveals the magnificent and often maddening life of one of the most original characters in American history.

The award-winning authors and podcasters Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle created We Can Do Hard Things — the guidebook for being alive — to help fellow travelers find their way through life.

Hope is the first autobiography in history ever to be published by a Pope. Written over six years, Hope includes a wealth of revelations, anecdotes, and illuminating thoughts. It is a thrilling and very human memoir, moving and sometimes funny, which represents the “story of a life” and, at the same time, a touching moral and spiritual testament that will fascinate readers throughout the world and will be Pope Francis’s legacy of hope for future generations.

Shot Ready is a powerful distillation of Stephen Curry’s transformative philosophy of success — centered on preparation, constant improvement, creativity, connection, mindfulness, and joy — delivered in his incomparable voice and style. Stunningly designed and illustrated with more than 100 gorgeous photographs, Shot Ready is an intimate narrative and a practical blueprint for any reader who wants to unlock their own potential.

In this much-anticipated final installment in the Stoic Virtues series, Ryan Holiday makes the case for the virtue on which all other virtues depend. Drawing on fascinating stories of the ancient and modern figures alike, Holiday teaches us how to listen more than we talk, to think with nuance, to ruthlessly question our own beliefs, and to develop a method of self-education. An absence of curiosity and prudence is a catastrophe for all of us, argues Holiday. This incredibly timely book both diagnoses the greatest problem of our current moment and offers solutions for the way forward. Wisdom is work — but it’s worth it.

In her first nonfiction book in a decade, the #1 bestselling writer who taught millions of readers to live authentically (Eat Pray Love) and creatively (Big Magic) shows how to break free. All the Way to the River is a landmark memoir that will resonate with anyone who has ever been captive to love — or to any other passion, substance, or craving — and who yearns, at long last, for liberation.

The origin story of one of the most influential and transformative business leaders and philanthropists of the modern age. Source Code is not about Microsoft or the Gates Foundation or the future of technology. It’s the human, personal story of how Bill Gates became who he is today: His childhood, his early passions and pursuits. Bill Gates tells this, his own story, for the first time: Wise, warm, revealing, it’s a fascinating portrait of an American life.

A stunning narrative from one of the most powerful young writers at work today, and the director of the Oscar®-nominated documentary, Sugarcane, We Survived the Night interweaves oral history with hard-hitting journalism and a deeply personal father-son journey into a searing portrait of Indigenous survival, love, and resurgence.

From two of America’s most respected journalists comes an unflinching and explosive reckoning with one of the most fateful decisions in American political history: Joe Biden’s run for reelection despite evidence of his serious decline — amid desperate efforts to hide the extent of that deterioration. Wherever you stand on the political spectrum, Original Sin is essential reading.

A stunning celebration of Dolly Parton’s iconic career as a performer, featuring entertaining personal stories alongside more than 500 full-color photographs, including exclusive images and ephemera from her archive, and an eight-page gatefold listing her lifetime of performances. Brimming with Parton’s trademark wit and heartfelt sincerity, Star of the Show: My Life on Stage is not only an homage to one of history’s most cherished artists, but also a must-have collector’s item for — and love letter to — any fan of the one and only Dolly Parton.

From New Yorker writer Michael Luo comes a masterful narrative history of the Chinese in America that traces the sorrowful theme of exclusion and documents their more than century-long struggle to belong. Drawing on archives from across the country, Strangers in the Land is revelatory and unforgettable, an essential American story.

From the award-winning historian and filmmakers of The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The Roosevelts, and others: A richly illustrated, human-centered history of America’s founding struggle — expanding on the landmark, six-part PBS series to be aired in November 2025.

From one of our foremost psychologists, a trailblazing book that turns the idea of a good life on its head and urges us to embrace the transformative power of variety and experience. In this wise and delightful book, Oishi shows how anyone at any age can build a fuller, more authentic life.

A guide to the art of journaling — and a meditation on the central questions of life — by the bestselling author of Between Two Kingdoms, with contributions from Hanif Abdurraqib, Jon Batiste, Salman Rushdie, Gloria Steinem, George Saunders, and many more. Whether you’re a lifelong journaler or new to the practice, this book gives you the tools, direction, and encouragement to engage with discomfort, ask questions, peel back the layers, dream daringly, and uncover your truest self.

A revealing personal life story like no other — enlightening, entertaining, surprising, empowering — and a testament to the world-making power of Black motherhood. It is one brilliant woman’s intimate and revealing story, and a multigenerational family saga that carries within it the story of America — and the wisdom that women pass on to one another, mothers to daughters, across generations.

In the second volume of the landmark American Revolution trilogy by the bestselling author of The British Are Coming, George Washington’s army fights on the knife edge between victory and defeat.

A radiant new memoir from artist and writer Patti Smith, author of the National Book Award winner Just Kids.

How does one of the greatest storytellers of our time write her own life? The long-awaited memoir from the author of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments, one of our most lauded and influential cultural figures. As we travel with her along the course of her life, more and more is revealed about her writing, the connections between real life and art — and the workings of one of our greatest imaginations.

From one of the definitive journalists of this era — acclaimed historian, Pulitzer finalist, staff writer at The New Yorker, and dean of Columbia Journalism School — comes a kaleidoscopic, real-time portrait of our last turbulent decade. Through a stunning melange of narrative journalism, criticism, and penetrating profiles, Cobb captures the crises, characters, movements, and art of an era — and helps readers understand what might be coming next.

From a brilliant longtime AI insider with intimate access to the world of Sam Altman’s OpenAI from the beginning, an eye-opening account of arguably the most fateful tech arms race in history, reshaping the planet in real time, from the cockpit of the company that is driving the frenzy.

From the author of the landmark bestseller Lawrence in Arabia comes a stunningly revelatory narrative history of the Iranian Revolution, one of the most momentous events in modern times. This groundbreaking work exposes the jaw-dropping stupidity of the American government and traces the rise of religious nationalism, offering essential insights into today’s global unrest.

From the bestselling author and MSNBC and podcast host, a powerful wide-angle reckoning with how the assault from attention capitalism and our minds and our hearts has reordered our politics and the very fabric of our society.

From the bestselling author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat — and one of America’s most beloved chefs and teachers — 125 meticulously tested, flavor-forward, soul-nourishing recipes that bring joy and a sense of communion.

A powerful, incisive reckoning with the impacts of school desegregation that traces four generations of the author’s family to show how the implementation of integration decimated Black school systems and did much of the Black community a disservice. Rooks’s deft hand turns the story of integration’s past and future on its head, and shows how we may better understand and support generations of students to come.

From comedian, Emmy-nominated writer and producer, and former Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr., an unforgettable, laugh-out-loud funny memoir revealing that sometimes the best advice comes from the most surprising teachers.

The Waterbearers is a dazzling and transformative work of American storytelling that reimagines not just how we think of Black women, but how we think of ourselves — as individuals, parents, communities, and a country.

From the New York Times bestselling author, Emmy-winning actor, and charismatically carnivorous woodworker Nick Offerman, an illustrated woodworking guide with projects for the whole family.

From a renowned National Book Award-winning scholar, an extraordinary new account of the life of Jesus that explores the mystery of how a poor young man inspired a religion that reshaped the world. In Miracles and Wonder, Pagels does more than solve a historical mystery. She sheds light on Jesus’s enduring power to inspire and attract.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and beloved former Today co-host Hoda Kotb comes her most personal, ambitious book yet — a guide to dealing with change and upheaval, even (and perhaps especially) when it’s unexpected.

In 2024, award-winning reporters Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf bring us the definitive, inside story of the most tumultuous and consequential presidential campaign in our history. Gripping, revelatory, and deeply reported, 2024 is the shocking inside story of the election that tested American democracy and would go on to shape the future of the free world.

In hilarious and tender essays, Chelsea Handler shares her unforgettable story of becoming the woman she always wanted to be. Surprisingly vulnerable and always outrageous, Chelsea Handler captures the antic-filled, exhilarating, and joyful life she’s built — a life that makes the rest of us think, I’ll have what she’s having.

A book like no other, I Am Maria weaves Shriver’s hard-earned wisdom with her own deeply personal poetry. I Am Maria reminds readers that there is strength and love on the other side of all our hardest days.

In her most personal book yet, the iconic star of the hit Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and the #1 bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up opens up about the cultural traditions that have inspired her philosophy — and can make our lives better today.

From the Academy Award-winning actor and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Greenlights comes an inspiring, faith-filled, and often hilarious collection of personal poetry and prayers about navigating the rodeo of life and chasing down the original dream, belief.

In November 1999, Joan Didion began seeing a psychiatrist because, as she wrote to a friend, her family had had “a rough few years.” She described the sessions in a journal she created for her husband, John Gregory Dunne. Didion’s journal was crafted with the singular intelligence, precision, and elegance that characterize all of her writing. It is an intimate account that reveals sides of her that were unknown, but the voice is unmistakably hers — questioning, courageous, and clear in the face of a wrenchingly painful journey.

In this groundbreaking leadership book, John Wang, a top empowerment coach to Asian American professionals across Fortune 500 companies, offers research-backed guidance for Asian Americans to embody their most confident selves in business, relationships, and their everyday lives.