Best Nonfiction Books of the 20th Century

101.
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men 3.97 avg rating β€” 3,971 ratings
102.
The Second Sex
The Second Sex 4.18 avg rating β€” 45,864 ratings
103.
Black Like Me
Black Like Me 4.11 avg rating β€” 69,182 ratings
104.
Oscar Wilde: A Biography
Oscar Wilde: A Biography 4.01 avg rating β€” 5,107 ratings
104.
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors 4.14 avg rating β€” 80,874 ratings
106.
The March Of Folly: From Troy To Vietnam
The March Of Folly: From Troy To Vietnam 4.02 avg rating β€” 7,165 ratings
107.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World 3.92 avg rating β€” 24,362 ratings
108.
The Revolt of the Masses
The Revolt of the Masses 4.03 avg rating β€” 6,256 ratings
109.
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches 4.57 avg rating β€” 2,429 ratings
109.
My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)
My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1) 4.17 avg rating β€” 61,495 ratings
111.
The Strange Career of Jim Crow
The Strange Career of Jim Crow 4.14 avg rating β€” 3,184 ratings
112.
The Two-Ocean War
The Two-Ocean War 4.27 avg rating β€” 1,428 ratings
113.
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II 4.24 avg rating β€” 50,744 ratings
114.
The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War
The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War 4.37 avg rating β€” 466 ratings
114.
Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo
Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo 3.76 avg rating β€” 12,197 ratings
116.
A Bridge Too Far
A Bridge Too Far 4.27 avg rating β€” 21,303 ratings
117.
The Power Elite
The Power Elite 4.15 avg rating β€” 1,631 ratings
118.
A History of the English Speaking Peoples, 4 Vols
A History of the English Speaking Peoples, 4 Vols 4.21 avg rating β€” 1,666 ratings
119.
A Beautiful Mind
A Beautiful Mind 4.13 avg rating β€” 134,374 ratings
120.
The Men with the Pink Triangle: The True Life-and-Death Story of Homosexuals in the Nazi Death Camps
The Men with the Pink Triangle: The True Life-and-Death Story of Homosexuals in the Nazi Death Camps 4.35 avg rating β€” 3,402 ratings
121.
A Girl from Yamhill
A Girl from Yamhill 4.02 avg rating β€” 4,471 ratings
122.
The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design
The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design 4.09 avg rating β€” 41,142 ratings
122.
Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America
Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America 4.16 avg rating β€” 8,535 ratings
122.
The Screwtape Letters: Also Includes "Screwtape Proposes a Toast"
The Screwtape Letters: Also Includes "Screwtape Proposes a Toast" 4.31 avg rating β€” 7,481 ratings
125.
Herculaneum: Italy's Buried Treasure
Herculaneum: Italy's Buried Treasure 3.96 avg rating β€” 93 ratings
126.
Stephen King's Danse Macabre
Stephen King's Danse Macabre 3.67 avg rating β€” 30,582 ratings
127.
Eleanor and Franklin
Eleanor and Franklin 4.26 avg rating β€” 2,956 ratings
128.
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales 3.83 avg rating β€” 6,186 ratings
129.
The Civil War: A Narrative
The Civil War: A Narrative 4.53 avg rating β€” 8,028 ratings
130.
In Search of SchrΓΆdinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality
In Search of SchrΓΆdinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality 4.06 avg rating β€” 21,372 ratings
130.
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families 4.22 avg rating β€” 35,953 ratings
132.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt, #1)
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt, #1) 4.23 avg rating β€” 59,126 ratings
132.
Bird by Bird
Bird by Bird 4.24 avg rating β€” 108,480 ratings
134.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph 3.91 avg rating β€” 11,816 ratings
135.
The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher 4.14 avg rating β€” 10,344 ratings
135.
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. 4.34 avg rating β€” 23,718 ratings
137.
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942–1943
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942–1943 4.32 avg rating β€” 40,054 ratings
138.
Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir
Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir 4.37 avg rating β€” 2,887 ratings
139.
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith 4.14 avg rating β€” 48,282 ratings
140.
The Mismeasure of Man
The Mismeasure of Man 4.05 avg rating β€” 9,212 ratings
140.
The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics: World, Finitude, Solitude
The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics: World, Finitude, Solitude 4.25 avg rating β€” 304 ratings
142.
Helen Keller's Teacher
Helen Keller's Teacher 4.17 avg rating β€” 2,186 ratings
142.
Round Ireland with a Fridge
Round Ireland with a Fridge 3.81 avg rating β€” 20,289 ratings
144.
King Solomon's Ring
King Solomon's Ring 4.13 avg rating β€” 4,449 ratings
145.
The Zimmermann Telegram
The Zimmermann Telegram 4.06 avg rating β€” 5,054 ratings
146.
The Year of Decision 1846
The Year of Decision 1846 4.13 avg rating β€” 424 ratings
146.
Homage to Catalonia
Homage to Catalonia 4.09 avg rating β€” 68,323 ratings
148.
The Weaker Vessel
The Weaker Vessel 3.92 avg rating β€” 1,424 ratings
149.
The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale 4.58 avg rating β€” 245,666 ratings
150.
Illuminations
Illuminations 4.29 avg rating β€” 12,265 ratings
151.
Fermat's Enigma
Fermat's Enigma 4.30 avg rating β€” 32,758 ratings
151.
Cider with Rosie
Cider with Rosie 3.91 avg rating β€” 14,856 ratings
153.
If This Is a Man β€’ The Truce
If This Is a Man β€’ The Truce 4.54 avg rating β€” 21,713 ratings
154.
Egyptian Art
Egyptian Art 3.81 avg rating β€” 205 ratings
155.
Shakespeare's Kings: The Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle Ages: 1337-1485
Shakespeare's Kings: The Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle Ages: 1337-1485 3.92 avg rating β€” 521 ratings
155.
The Road to Wigan Pier
The Road to Wigan Pier 3.91 avg rating β€” 27,349 ratings
155.
Essays
Essays 4.30 avg rating β€” 7,963 ratings
155.
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years 4.17 avg rating β€” 14,167 ratings
159.
The Origins of Totalitarianism
The Origins of Totalitarianism 4.30 avg rating β€” 13,914 ratings
160.
The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV
The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV 3.85 avg rating β€” 242 ratings
160.
The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made it
The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made it 4.04 avg rating β€” 1,859 ratings
162.
Dickens
Dickens 3.85 avg rating β€” 2,121 ratings
162.
Oh Canada! Oh Quebec!: Requiem for a Divided Country
Oh Canada! Oh Quebec!: Requiem for a Divided Country 3.55 avg rating β€” 295 ratings
164.
Expecting Adam: A true story of birth, transformation and unconditional love
Expecting Adam: A true story of birth, transformation and unconditional love 3.85 avg rating β€” 10,777 ratings
165.
The Shetland Bus
The Shetland Bus 4.11 avg rating β€” 648 ratings
166.
My Journey to Lhasa: The Classic Story of the Only Western Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden City
My Journey to Lhasa: The Classic Story of the Only Western Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden City 3.98 avg rating β€” 2,302 ratings
167.
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest 4.44 avg rating β€” 136,012 ratings
168.
The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self
The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self 4.05 avg rating β€” 29,443 ratings
168.
Pompeji, bedolven stad
Pompeji, bedolven stad 3.54 avg rating β€” 123 ratings
170.
We Took to the Woods
We Took to the Woods 4.22 avg rating β€” 2,152 ratings
171.
Frontiers: The Epic of South Africa's Creation and the Tragedy of the Xhosa People
Frontiers: The Epic of South Africa's Creation and the Tragedy of the Xhosa People 4.29 avg rating β€” 106 ratings
171.
Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects
Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects 4.01 avg rating β€” 21,974 ratings
173.
Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx
Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx 4.26 avg rating β€” 13,312 ratings
174.
The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecyβ€”What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny
The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecyβ€”What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny 3.88 avg rating β€” 7,162 ratings
175.
Gods, Graves and Scholars: The Story of Archaeology
Gods, Graves and Scholars: The Story of Archaeology 4.25 avg rating β€” 2,766 ratings
176.
The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War
The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War 3.93 avg rating β€” 7,697 ratings
177.
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-40
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-40 4.39 avg rating β€” 11,881 ratings
178.
The Strange Death of Liberal England 1910-1914
The Strange Death of Liberal England 1910-1914 4.11 avg rating β€” 453 ratings
179.
Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the Coming of the Great War
Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the Coming of the Great War 4.31 avg rating β€” 6,885 ratings
179.
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements 4.20 avg rating β€” 11,541 ratings
181.
Jennie
Jennie 3.97 avg rating β€” 308 ratings
181.
The Female Eunuch
The Female Eunuch 3.68 avg rating β€” 7,402 ratings
183.
The Naked Civil Servant
The Naked Civil Servant 4.03 avg rating β€” 2,696 ratings
184.
Jennie: The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill, Vol 2
Jennie: The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill, Vol 2 4.01 avg rating β€” 228 ratings
184.
Across The Wide Missouri
Across The Wide Missouri 4.08 avg rating β€” 487 ratings
184.
The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money
The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money 3.85 avg rating β€” 5,679 ratings
187.
Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account Of The Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate
Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account Of The Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate 4.14 avg rating β€” 8,953 ratings
187.
Jane Austen: A Life
Jane Austen: A Life 3.90 avg rating β€” 11,660 ratings
187.
Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth
Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth 3.81 avg rating β€” 2,283 ratings
190.
Station X: The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park
Station X: The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park 3.97 avg rating β€” 963 ratings
191.
Race Rebels : Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class
Race Rebels : Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class 4.29 avg rating β€” 518 ratings
192.
Geoffrey Chaucer of England
Geoffrey Chaucer of England 3.93 avg rating β€” 45 ratings
193.
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: A New Spiritual Classic from One of the Foremost Interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism to the West
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: A New Spiritual Classic from One of the Foremost Interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism to the West 4.21 avg rating β€” 31,769 ratings
194.
A History of Private Life: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium
A History of Private Life: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium really liked it 4.00 avg rating β€” 1,192 ratings
194.
Eleni
Eleni 4.42 avg rating β€” 2,724 ratings
196.
The Ghost in the Machine
The Ghost in the Machine 4.03 avg rating β€” 659 ratings
197.
Restoration London: From Poverty to Pets, from Medicine to Magic, from Slang to Sex, from Wallpaper to Women's Rights
Restoration London: From Poverty to Pets, from Medicine to Magic, from Slang to Sex, from Wallpaper to Women's Rights 4.10 avg rating β€” 726 ratings
197.
The Varieties of Religious Experience
The Varieties of Religious Experience really liked it 4.00 avg rating β€” 12,768 ratings
197.
Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama
Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama 4.17 avg rating β€” 6,624 ratings
200.
House of Eternity: The Tomb of Nefertari
House of Eternity: The Tomb of Nefertari 3.75 avg rating β€” 24 ratings
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