Best Nonfiction Books of the 20th Century

1.
The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl 4.20 avg rating — 4,073,042 ratings
2.
In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood 4.09 avg rating — 710,352 ratings
3.
The Guns of August
The Guns of August 4.18 avg rating — 82,598 ratings
4.
A Brief History of Time
A Brief History of Time 4.21 avg rating — 466,990 ratings
5.
The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956
The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956 4.33 avg rating — 33,404 ratings
6.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
by: Dee Brown
4.26 avg rating — 99,680 ratings
7.
Night
Night 4.38 avg rating — 1,334,194 ratings
8.
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany 4.22 avg rating — 144,580 ratings
9.
Cosmos
Cosmos 4.40 avg rating — 155,623 ratings
10.
Nicholas and Alexandra: The Classic Account of the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty
Nicholas and Alexandra: The Classic Account of the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty 4.23 avg rating — 29,465 ratings
11.
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century 4.05 avg rating — 43,235 ratings
12.
All the President’s Men
All the President’s Men 4.18 avg rating — 56,974 ratings
13.
Man's Search for Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning 4.37 avg rating — 832,412 ratings
14.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies 4.04 avg rating — 445,031 ratings
15.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1) 4.30 avg rating — 568,937 ratings
16.
Hiroshima
Hiroshima 4.04 avg rating — 86,439 ratings
17.
Silent Spring
Silent Spring 4.05 avg rating — 53,314 ratings
18.
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China 4.30 avg rating — 120,278 ratings
19.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by: Malcolm X
4.37 avg rating — 285,176 ratings
20.
The Wives of Henry VIII
The Wives of Henry VIII 4.11 avg rating — 18,966 ratings
21.
Truman
Truman 4.17 avg rating — 90,310 ratings
22.
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic 4.39 avg rating — 28,866 ratings
23.
Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History 4.14 avg rating — 10,151 ratings
24.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft 4.34 avg rating — 310,116 ratings
25.
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory 4.10 avg rating — 101,034 ratings
26.
No Logo
No Logo 3.89 avg rating — 32,433 ratings
27.
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era 4.40 avg rating — 33,177 ratings
28.
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West 4.23 avg rating — 66,333 ratings
29.
Peter the Great: His Life and World
Peter the Great: His Life and World 4.15 avg rating — 22,818 ratings
30.
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War 4.10 avg rating — 24,892 ratings
30.
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time 3.99 avg rating — 75,022 ratings
32.
The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene 4.16 avg rating — 189,053 ratings
33.
Gandhi: An Autobiography
Gandhi: An Autobiography 4.10 avg rating — 73,821 ratings
34.
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge 4.25 avg rating — 18,112 ratings
35.
West with the Night
West with the Night 4.15 avg rating — 40,231 ratings
36.
The Feminine Mystique
The Feminine Mystique 3.87 avg rating — 30,215 ratings
37.
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
The Making of the Atomic Bomb 4.40 avg rating — 23,887 ratings
38.
The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914
The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 4.12 avg rating — 9,480 ratings
39.
The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding
The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding 4.09 avg rating — 10,199 ratings
40.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales 4.05 avg rating — 239,793 ratings
41.
The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus
The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus 4.16 avg rating — 119,584 ratings
42.
The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom 4.47 avg rating — 348,508 ratings
43.
Long Walk to Freedom
Long Walk to Freedom 4.36 avg rating — 92,321 ratings
44.
Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life
Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life 3.93 avg rating — 16,522 ratings
45.
Mornings on Horseback
Mornings on Horseback 4.10 avg rating — 34,705 ratings
46.
Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools
Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools 4.26 avg rating — 18,905 ratings
47.
The Johnstown Flood
The Johnstown Flood 4.13 avg rating — 24,632 ratings
48.
A Night to Remember
A Night to Remember 4.09 avg rating — 27,689 ratings
49.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1) 3.78 avg rating — 241,450 ratings
50.
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa 4.19 avg rating — 66,210 ratings
51.
A Room of One’s Own
A Room of One’s Own 4.22 avg rating — 246,443 ratings
52.
A Moveable Feast
A Moveable Feast 4.02 avg rating — 162,850 ratings
53.
The Souls of Black Folk
The Souls of Black Folk 4.31 avg rating — 44,283 ratings
54.
The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine
The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine 4.15 avg rating — 875 ratings
55.
The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage 4.28 avg rating — 15,265 ratings
56.
The Hero With a Thousand Faces
The Hero With a Thousand Faces 4.13 avg rating — 44,163 ratings
57.
The Making of the President 1960
The Making of the President 1960 4.15 avg rating — 7,922 ratings
58.
Osler's Web: Inside the Labyrinth of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Epidemic
Osler's Web: Inside the Labyrinth of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Epidemic 4.16 avg rating — 118 ratings
59.
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark 4.29 avg rating — 78,413 ratings
60.
The Ascent of Man
The Ascent of Man 4.21 avg rating — 6,285 ratings
61.
The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme
The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme 4.13 avg rating — 8,521 ratings
62.
The Conquering Family (The Plantagenets, #1)
The Conquering Family (The Plantagenets, #1) 4.11 avg rating — 1,503 ratings
63.
The Double Helix
The Double Helix 3.84 avg rating — 19,751 ratings
64.
The Magnificent Century (The Plantagenets, #2)
The Magnificent Century (The Plantagenets, #2) 4.14 avg rating — 1,000 ratings
65.
Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Queen of Scots 3.99 avg rating — 17,292 ratings
65.
Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September 1787
Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September 1787 4.06 avg rating — 1,983 ratings
67.
Connections
Connections 4.25 avg rating — 2,480 ratings
68.
God's Smuggler
God's Smuggler 4.38 avg rating — 45,863 ratings
69.
How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe
How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe 3.81 avg rating — 46,387 ratings
70.
The Right Stuff
The Right Stuff
by: Tom Wolfe
4.23 avg rating — 54,857 ratings
71.
Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives
Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives 4.18 avg rating — 2,733 ratings
72.
The Best and the Brightest
The Best and the Brightest 4.27 avg rating — 12,645 ratings
73.
Profiles in Courage
Profiles in Courage 3.92 avg rating — 14,260 ratings
74.
In Search of the Trojan War
In Search of the Trojan War 4.09 avg rating — 847 ratings
75.
Storm of Steel
Storm of Steel 4.15 avg rating — 20,487 ratings
76.
Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds (Story of Elsa, #1)
Born Free: A Lioness of Two Worlds (Story of Elsa, #1) 4.16 avg rating — 33,673 ratings
77.
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter 4.02 avg rating — 7,615 ratings
78.
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid 4.29 avg rating — 51,680 ratings
79.
A Time of Gifts (Trilogy, #1)
A Time of Gifts (Trilogy, #1) 4.04 avg rating — 9,322 ratings
80.
Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: A Cultural History, Vol. I)
Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: A Cultural History, Vol. I) 4.37 avg rating — 3,468 ratings
80.
Notes of a Native Son
Notes of a Native Son 4.37 avg rating — 23,279 ratings
82.
The Life of Elizabeth I
The Life of Elizabeth I 4.03 avg rating — 32,631 ratings
83.
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition 4.34 avg rating — 21,552 ratings
84.
Wind, Sand and Stars
Wind, Sand and Stars 4.12 avg rating — 20,391 ratings
85.
The Story of My Life
The Story of My Life 4.08 avg rating — 150,147 ratings
86.
Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Pedagogy of the Oppressed 4.30 avg rating — 37,856 ratings
87.
The Last Plantagenets (The Plantagenets, #4)
The Last Plantagenets (The Plantagenets, #4) 4.14 avg rating — 1,276 ratings
88.
Survival in Auschwitz
Survival in Auschwitz 4.34 avg rating — 83,590 ratings
89.
The Three Edwards (The Plantagenets, #3)
The Three Edwards (The Plantagenets, #3) 4.11 avg rating — 1,151 ratings
90.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death 3.98 avg rating — 76,136 ratings
91.
The Great Hunger : Ireland 1845-9
The Great Hunger : Ireland 1845-9 4.18 avg rating — 1,246 ratings
92.
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 — 120,604 ratings
93.
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 4.33 avg rating — 15,702 ratings
94.
The Naked Ape
The Naked Ape 3.93 avg rating — 11,899 ratings
95.
Ways of Seeing
Ways of Seeing 3.93 avg rating — 418,800 ratings
96.
The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium, An Englishman's World
The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium, An Englishman's World 3.87 avg rating — 5,818 ratings
96.
The Decline of the West
The Decline of the West 4.06 avg rating — 2,170 ratings
98.
Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages
Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages 3.88 avg rating — 925 ratings
99.
Out of Africa / Shadows on the Grass
Out of Africa / Shadows on the Grass 4.21 avg rating — 11,732 ratings
99.
Being and Time
Being and Time 4.05 avg rating — 27,067 ratings
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