Non-Fiction Books about Literature & the Arts

1.
Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time
Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time 4.50 avg rating — 1,098 ratings
2.
Goethe: Life as a Work of Art
Goethe: Life as a Work of Art 4.19 avg rating — 533 ratings
3.
Eternity's Sunrise: The Imaginative World of William Blake
Eternity's Sunrise: The Imaginative World of William Blake 4.15 avg rating — 160 ratings
4.
Balzac: A Biography
Balzac: A Biography 3.89 avg rating — 113 ratings
5.
Thomas Mann: A Biography
Thomas Mann: A Biography 3.71 avg rating — 28 ratings
6.
Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer's Search for American Music
Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer's Search for American Music 4.33 avg rating — 18 ratings
6.
Late Romance: Anthony Hecht―A Poet's Life
Late Romance: Anthony Hecht―A Poet's Life 4.23 avg rating — 22 ratings
8.
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare 3.87 avg rating — 10,656 ratings
8.
Duke Ellington: An American Composer and Icon
Duke Ellington: An American Composer and Icon 4.33 avg rating — 6 ratings
10.
The World Broke in Two: Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster and the Year that Changed Literature
The World Broke in Two: Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster and the Year that Changed Literature 3.78 avg rating — 623 ratings
10.
Blind Tom, the Black Pianist-Composer (1849-1908): Continually Enslaved
Blind Tom, the Black Pianist-Composer (1849-1908): Continually Enslaved 3.25 avg rating — 4 ratings
12.
The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination
The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination 4.18 avg rating — 2,614 ratings
12.
We'll Understand It Better By and By: Pioneering African American Gospel Composers (The "Wade in the Water" Series)
We'll Understand It Better By and By: Pioneering African American Gospel Composers (The "Wade in the Water" Series) 3.71 avg rating — 7 ratings
14.
The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World
The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World 4.09 avg rating — 1,055 ratings
14.
Shakespeare's London Theatreland: Archaeology, History and Drama
Shakespeare's London Theatreland: Archaeology, History and Drama 3.69 avg rating — 13 ratings
16.
Stand and Be Counted: A Revealing History of Our Times Through the Eyes of the Artists Who Helped Change Our World
Stand and Be Counted: A Revealing History of Our Times Through the Eyes of the Artists Who Helped Change Our World 3.79 avg rating — 63 ratings
17.
Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece
Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece 4.30 avg rating — 414 ratings
17.
How Blue Can You Get? A Teleplay: Docudrama Based On Elements from the Life of B.B. King
How Blue Can You Get? A Teleplay: Docudrama Based On Elements from the Life of B.B. King 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
19.
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books 3.66 avg rating — 138,482 ratings
19.
The Yeats Reader: A Portable Compendium of Poetry, Drama, and Prose
The Yeats Reader: A Portable Compendium of Poetry, Drama, and Prose 4.15 avg rating — 316 ratings
21.
Gabriel García Márquez: a Life
Gabriel García Márquez: a Life 4.20 avg rating — 1,675 ratings
21.
The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever
The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4,771 ratings
23.
James Joyce
James Joyce 4.34 avg rating — 2,886 ratings
23.
Arthur Miller: American Witness
Arthur Miller: American Witness
by: John Lahr
3.96 avg rating — 54 ratings
25.
Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway’s Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises
Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway’s Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises 3.99 avg rating — 2,750 ratings
25.
Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh
Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh
by: John Lahr
4.23 avg rating — 941 ratings
27.
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern 3.87 avg rating — 34,489 ratings
27.
When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry
When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry
by: Joy Harjo
4.54 avg rating — 827 ratings
29.
At the Existentialist Café
At the Existentialist Café 4.24 avg rating — 18,510 ratings
29.
Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout: A Hillbilly Poet's Journey From Appalachia to Yale to Writing Hits for Elvis, Johnny Cash & More
Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout: A Hillbilly Poet's Journey From Appalachia to Yale to Writing Hits for Elvis, Johnny Cash & More 3.93 avg rating — 14 ratings
31.
Tolstoy: A Biography
Tolstoy: A Biography 4.02 avg rating — 422 ratings
31.
The Bughouse: The Poetry, Politics, and Madness of Ezra Pound
The Bughouse: The Poetry, Politics, and Madness of Ezra Pound 3.66 avg rating — 149 ratings
33.
Neruda: The Poet's Calling
Neruda: The Poet's Calling 4.31 avg rating — 171 ratings
34.
All the Lives We Ever Lived: Seeking Solace in Virginia Woolf
All the Lives We Ever Lived: Seeking Solace in Virginia Woolf 3.81 avg rating — 861 ratings
34.
James Wright: A Life in Poetry
James Wright: A Life in Poetry 4.65 avg rating — 63 ratings
36.
A Moveable Feast
A Moveable Feast 4.02 avg rating — 162,883 ratings
36.
Inheriting the War: Poetry and Prose by Descendants of Vietnam Veterans and Refugees
Inheriting the War: Poetry and Prose by Descendants of Vietnam Veterans and Refugees 4.26 avg rating — 27 ratings
38.
Albert Camus: Elements of a Life
Albert Camus: Elements of a Life 4.12 avg rating — 165 ratings
38.
The Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America's First Black Poet and Her Encounters with the Founding Fathers
The Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America's First Black Poet and Her Encounters with the Founding Fathers 3.95 avg rating — 460 ratings
40.
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf 4.01 avg rating — 4,894 ratings
40.
Crowded by Beauty: The Life and Zen of Poet Philip Whalen
Crowded by Beauty: The Life and Zen of Poet Philip Whalen 4.09 avg rating — 45 ratings
42.
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary 3.84 avg rating — 120,614 ratings
42.
Steve Earle: Fearless Heart, Outlaw Poet
Steve Earle: Fearless Heart, Outlaw Poet 3.67 avg rating — 51 ratings
44.
Yeats: The Man and the Masks
Yeats: The Man and the Masks 4.07 avg rating — 327 ratings
44.
Catullus' Bedspread: The Life of Rome's Most Erotic Poet
Catullus' Bedspread: The Life of Rome's Most Erotic Poet 3.71 avg rating — 286 ratings
46.
Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph
Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph 4.25 avg rating — 1,829 ratings
46.
Rumi's Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of Love
Rumi's Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of Love 3.87 avg rating — 464 ratings
48.
The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824
The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824 3.59 avg rating — 984 ratings
48.
Fifteen Poets of the Aztec World
Fifteen Poets of the Aztec World 4.37 avg rating — 147 ratings
50.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci 4.19 avg rating — 122,296 ratings
50.
Finding Ireland: A Poet's Explorations of Irish Literature and Culture
Finding Ireland: A Poet's Explorations of Irish Literature and Culture liked it 3.00 avg rating — 34 ratings
52.
Great Books: My Adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and Other Indestructible Writers of the Western World
Great Books: My Adventures with Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and Other Indestructible Writers of the Western World 3.86 avg rating — 1,077 ratings
52.
The Poetry and Life of Allen Ginsberg
The Poetry and Life of Allen Ginsberg 3.91 avg rating — 56 ratings
54.
The World of Christopher Marlowe
The World of Christopher Marlowe 3.83 avg rating — 209 ratings
54.
Langston Hughes: American Poet
Langston Hughes: American Poet 4.17 avg rating — 100 ratings
56.
Melville: His World and Work
Melville: His World and Work 4.03 avg rating — 439 ratings
56.
Against Forgetting: Twentieth-Century Poetry of Witness
Against Forgetting: Twentieth-Century Poetry of Witness 4.38 avg rating — 621 ratings
58.
Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination
Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination 3.72 avg rating — 596 ratings
58.
The Poetics of Slumberland: Animated Spirits and the Animating Spirit
The Poetics of Slumberland: Animated Spirits and the Animating Spirit 4.42 avg rating — 12 ratings
60.
Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare
Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare 4.10 avg rating — 547 ratings
60.
Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi
Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi 4.12 avg rating — 316 ratings
62.
The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses
The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses 4.33 avg rating — 1,286 ratings
62.
Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet
Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet 4.01 avg rating — 290 ratings
64.
The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages
The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages 3.87 avg rating — 3,559 ratings
64.
Poetry of Witness: The Tradition in English, 1500 - 2001
Poetry of Witness: The Tradition in English, 1500 - 2001 4.43 avg rating — 44 ratings
66.
J.D. Salinger: A Life
J.D. Salinger: A Life 3.78 avg rating — 1,502 ratings
66.
The White Goddess
The White Goddess 4.02 avg rating — 3,613 ratings
68.
1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry
1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry 3.95 avg rating — 1,132 ratings
68.
The Essential Mystics, Poets, Saints, and Sages: A Wisdom Treasury
The Essential Mystics, Poets, Saints, and Sages: A Wisdom Treasury 4.21 avg rating — 34 ratings
70.
The Zhivago Affair: The Kremlin, the CIA, and the Battle over a Forbidden Book
The Zhivago Affair: The Kremlin, the CIA, and the Battle over a Forbidden Book 3.74 avg rating — 1,472 ratings
70.
Claude Lévi-Strauss: The Poet in the Laboratory
Claude Lévi-Strauss: The Poet in the Laboratory 3.82 avg rating — 114 ratings
72.
Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely
Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely 4.14 avg rating — 516 ratings
72.
John Ford: Poet In the Desert
John Ford: Poet In the Desert 4.07 avg rating — 15 ratings
74.
Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World
Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World 4.13 avg rating — 229 ratings
74.
Some Desperate Glory: The First World War the Poets Knew
Some Desperate Glory: The First World War the Poets Knew 3.78 avg rating — 152 ratings
76.
Voltaire
Voltaire 3.94 avg rating — 153 ratings
76.
Blues and the Poetic Spirit
Blues and the Poetic Spirit 3.53 avg rating — 34 ratings
78.
Chasing Lost Time: The Life of C.K. Scott Moncrieff: Soldier, Spy and Translator
Chasing Lost Time: The Life of C.K. Scott Moncrieff: Soldier, Spy and Translator 3.97 avg rating — 92 ratings
78.
Still Mad: American Women Writers and the Feminist Imagination
Still Mad: American Women Writers and the Feminist Imagination 3.95 avg rating — 124 ratings
80.
How Proust Can Change Your Life
How Proust Can Change Your Life 3.76 avg rating — 18,288 ratings
80.
Folk: Music, Modernity, and the Political Imagination
Folk: Music, Modernity, and the Political Imagination
by: Ross Cole
4.12 avg rating — 8 ratings
82.
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley 4.22 avg rating — 7,201 ratings
82.
Robert Penn Warren and the American Imagination
Robert Penn Warren and the American Imagination really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating
84.
Goodbye to All That
Goodbye to All That 3.93 avg rating — 15,319 ratings
84.
Goya's Graphic Imagination
Goya's Graphic Imagination 4.57 avg rating — 14 ratings
86.
Hamlet in Purgatory
Hamlet in Purgatory 3.91 avg rating — 372 ratings
86.
The Prophetic Imagination
The Prophetic Imagination 4.33 avg rating — 4,536 ratings
88.
The First Four Notes: Beethoven's Fifth and the Human Imagination
The First Four Notes: Beethoven's Fifth and the Human Imagination 3.39 avg rating — 323 ratings
88.
Screening Reality: How Documentary Filmmakers Reimagined America
Screening Reality: How Documentary Filmmakers Reimagined America 3.76 avg rating — 17 ratings
90.
Young Romantics: The Tangled Lives of English Poetry's Greatest Generation
Young Romantics: The Tangled Lives of English Poetry's Greatest Generation
by: Daisy Hay
4.10 avg rating — 1,300 ratings
90.
Just around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination
Just around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination 3.99 avg rating — 247 ratings
92.
Why Homer Matters
Why Homer Matters 3.89 avg rating — 1,836 ratings
92.
Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination
Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination 4.20 avg rating — 1,678 ratings
94.
Shelley: The Pursuit
Shelley: The Pursuit 4.40 avg rating — 408 ratings
94.
Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination, from Amos 'n' Andy and Edward R. Murrow to Wolfman Jack and Howard Stern
Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination, from Amos 'n' Andy and Edward R. Murrow to Wolfman Jack and Howard Stern 3.78 avg rating — 101 ratings
96.
The Glamour of Strangeness: Artists and the Last Age of the Exotic
The Glamour of Strangeness: Artists and the Last Age of the Exotic 3.47 avg rating — 38 ratings
97.
The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature
The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature 3.70 avg rating — 2,971 ratings
97.
Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs, and Human Imagination
Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs, and Human Imagination 4.12 avg rating — 194 ratings
99.
Summer in the Shadow of Byron
Summer in the Shadow of Byron 3.94 avg rating — 31 ratings
99.
Vodou in Haitian Memory: The Idea and Representation of Vodou in Haitian Imagination
Vodou in Haitian Memory: The Idea and Representation of Vodou in Haitian Imagination 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
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