Every
year
I
come
out
with
a
list,
in
no
particular
order,
of
the
best
nonfiction
books
I’ve
read
in
the
preceding
12
months
(I
will
provide
links
at
the
end
to
previous
years’
lists)
along
with
short
descriptions
of
what
I
liked
about
each.
This
year
I
couldn’t
narrow
it
down
to
15,
so
you
get
20
recommendations.
Call
it
literary
inflation.
Also,
after
last
year’s
list
was
published,
I
got
an
email
from
a
reader
who
decried
that
I
had
so
few
titles
by
female
authors
on
my
list
(fair
enough).
This
time
I
made
a
special
effort
to
include
a
majority
of
books
written
by
women.
One
last
thing
before
we
get
to
it:
I’ll
note
that
almost
all
the
links
go
to
Amazon
because
that
is
still
the
easiest
place
to
get
information
about
and
to
ultimately
purchase
most
books.
I
do
encourage
you
to
go
to
your
local
independent
bookstore
instead
if
you’re
able
to.
Alright
then,
here
we
go:
Arctic
Dreams
by
Barry
Lopez
It
holds
up.
Much
of
the
Arctic
has
been
lost
since
this
book
was
written,
but
you
can
still
experience
something
of
its
wonders.
Not
the
End
of
the
World:
How
We
Can
Be
the
First
Generation
to
Build
a
Sustainable
Planet
by
Hannah
Ritchie
Yet,
we
are
not
doomed.
Most
of
us
could
use
a
reminder
of
that,
as
well
as
some
practical
advice
on
how
to
make
the
future
less
awful
than
it
otherwise
might
be.
The
Last
Stand
of
the
Raven
Clan:
A
Story
of
Imperial
Ambition,
Native
Resistance
and
How
the
Tlingit-Russian
War
Shaped
a
Continent
by
Gerald
Easter
and
Mara
Vorhees
Russia
wasn’t
any
better
at
invading
foreign
countries
220-some
years
ago
than
it
is
today.
Maybe
they
should
give
it
up.
Although
it
does
result
in
some
satisfying
reads.
For
All
the
Tea
in
China:
How
England
Stole
the
World’s
Favorite
Drink
and
Changed
History
by
Sarah
Rose
Is
there
anything
the
British
didn’t
steal?
That
being
said,
you
can’t
help
but
admire
the
tenacity
of
the
chief
protagonist.
The
Drunken
Botanist:
The
Plants
that
Create
the
World’s
Great
Drinks
by
Amy
Stewart
After
all
that
imperialism,
you’re
probably
going
to
need
something
a
little
stronger
than
tea.
You
might
as
well
drink
in
this
handsome
volume
while
you’re
at
it.
Get
boozing!
Anatomy
of
a
Rose:
Exploring
The
Secret
Life
of
Flowers
by
Sharman
Apt
Russell
Botany
isn’t
all
about
booze.
It’s
only
mostly
about
booze.
Anyhow,
this
book
is
an
accessible
and
beautifully
written
entry
into
the
science
behind
flowers.
The
Sirens’
Call:
How
Attention
Became
the
World’s
Most
Endangered
Resource
by
Chris
Hayes
You
are,
at
this
very
moment,
reading
an
article
about
books
you
might
want
to
read.
So
you
are
probably
not
one
of
the
people
most
in
need
of
this
particular
book.
You
will
nonetheless
enjoy
it,
and
will
find
yourself
nodding
along.
Who
Is
Government?:
The
Untold
Story
of
Public
Service
by
Michael
Lewis,
Casey
Cep,
Dave
Eggers,
John
Lanchester,
Geraldine
Brooks,
Sarah
Vowell,
and
W.
Kamau
Bell
As
I
write
this,
we
are
in
the
longest
federal
government
shutdown
in
history.
“DOGE
Impact”
has
been
cited
as
the
leading
reason
for
job
cuts
so
far
this
year.
Federal
workers
have
been
devalued
and
demonized.
Here
you
will
find
many
stark
examples
of
why
that
is
unfair,
unwise,
and
wrong.
Abundance
by
Ezra
Klein
and
Derek
Thompson
The
only
thing
worse
than
Trump
is
the
mindless
army
of
sycophants
catering
to
his
every
whim.
Even
so,
today’s
Democrats
need
to
remember
how
their
predecessors
actually
got
things
done
if
they
are
ever
going
to
successfully
banish
fascism
back
to
the
annals
of
history.
Do
not
miss
this
bold
vision
for
the
future
of
politics
and
progress.
A
Woman
of
No
Importance:
The
Untold
Story
of
the
American
Spy
Who
Helped
Win
World
War
II
by
Sonia
Purnell
Virginia
Hall
was
among
the
most
competent
clandestine
fighters
of
fascism
in
WWII
despite
(or
maybe
because
of)
being
someone
who’d
be
criticized
as
a
DEI
hire
today.
It’s
an
unforgettable
real-life
spy
thriller
full
of
lessons
that
we
still
haven’t
learned.
The
Daughters
of
Kobani:
A
Story
of
Rebellion,
Courage,
and
Justice
by
Gayle
Tzemach
Lemmon
Maybe
fighting
out
in
the
open
is
more
your
thing.
For
any
lover
of
freedom,
the
women
profiled
herein
are
an
inspiration.
Yellow
Bird:
Oil,
Murder,
and
a
Woman’s
Search
for
Justice
in
Indian
Country
by
Sierra
Crane
Murdoch
Not
a
feel-good
story,
albeit
an
important
one.
You
know
what?
Maybe
don’t
read
this
on
a
rainy
day.
Traffic:
Why
We
Drive
the
Way
We
Do
(and
What
It
Says
About
Us)
by
Tom
Vanderbilt
I
acquired
a
copy
of
this
book
years
ago
and
put
off
reading
it,
not
because
it
didn’t
look
great,
but
in
the
hope
that
it
would
become
obsolete
with
the
arrival
of
the
self-driving
future.
Yeah,
not
a
chance
on
that
one.
Just
as
relevant
today
as
it
was
when
it
was
written,
and
set
to
be
relevant
indefinitely,
you
will
get
a
better
grasp
on
all
the
things
we
get
wrong
about
driving,
not
to
mention
human
nature.
Vanishing
Treasures:
A
Bestiary
of
Extraordinary
Endangered
Creatures
by
Katherine
Rundell
Perhaps
you’d
like
to
read
about
some
of
the
animals
we
are
killing.
It
is
a
testament
to
Rundell’s
writing
that
this
book
is
a
delight,
considering
its
subject
matter.
Tenacious
Beasts:
Wildlife
Recoveries
That
Change
How
We
Think
about
Animals
by
Christopher
J.
Preston
This
title
pairs
perfectly
with
the
previous
one.
Again,
the
planet
is
not
doomed,
people
just
need
to
get
off
their
asses
and
do
something
about
the
real
problems
in
the
world.
A
Love
Affair
with
Birds:
The
Life
of
Thomas
Sadler
Roberts
by
Sue
Leaf
Don’t
overlook
these
great
little
biographies
that
abound
in
the
literary
world.
The
stakes
are
just
right
in
this
overview
of
the
life
of
the
“father
of
Minnesota
ornithology.”
You
really
do
not
need
or
want
to
always
be
reading
about
a
head
of
state
or
whatever
to
gain
real
insight
into
the
past
and
into
people,
then
and
now.
Bonk:
The
Curious
Coupling
of
Science
and
Sex
by
Mary
Roach
If
you’re
in
the
mood,
you
will
be
entertained.
Roach’s
approach
is
not
always
for
me,
though
this
book
is
my
favorite
of
hers
that
I’ve
read
thus
far.
Cuba:
An
American
History
by
Ada
Ferrer
Ah,
Cuba.
Made
me
feel
like
I
was
back
in
Havana,
smoldering
stogie
clenched
firmly
between
my
teeth.
Everything
Lost
Is
Found
Again:
Four
Seasons
in
Lesotho
by
Will
McGrath
Lesotho
has
been
in
the
news
a
few
times
recently
as
a
result
of
Donald
Trump
making
fun
of
its
obscurity
and/or
slapping
a
huge
unreasonable
tariff
on
it.
The
president’s
nonsense
aside,
McGrath
has
produced
here
a
moving,
hilarious,
tragic,
and
ultimately
enlightening
chronicle
of
his
(McGrath’s)
time
there.
Unmask
Alice:
LSD,
Satanic
Panic,
and
the
Imposter
Behind
the
World’s
Most
Notorious
Diaries
by
Rick
Emerson
“Unmask
Alice”
was
given
to
me
by
a
dear
friend
to
read
on
my
plane
ride
to
Europe
because
she
“need[ed]
someone
to
be
as
enraged
about
the
satanic
panic”
as
she
was.
It
did
not
disappoint.
Keep
an
eye
on
the
publisher,
BenBella
Books,
which
really
puts
out
some
exciting
stuff.
Finally,
just
in
case
you
need
75
more
nonfiction
recommendations,
here
are
links
to
the
previous
installments:
15
Best
Nonfiction
Books
To
Read
Yourself
Or
Give
As
Gifts,
None
Of
Them
Memoirs
Or
About
Politics
15
Best
General-Interest
Nonfiction
Books
You
Dare
Not
Overlook
For
Your
2024
Reading
List
15
Of
The
Best
General-Interest
Nonfiction
Books
To
Add
To
Your
Reading
List
In
2023
And
Beyond
15
More
Excellent
General-Interest
Nonfiction
Books
Read
During
The
Second
Year
Of
The
Pandemic
15
Best
General-Interest
Nonfiction
Books
Read
During
The
Worst
Year
Of
Everyone’s
Life
It
is
my
solemn
guarantee
that
if
you
spend
more
time
reading
nonfiction
than
you
do
on
social
media,
you
will
be
better
at
your
job,
you
will
feel
better
about
yourself,
and
people
of
all
genders
will
find
you
more
sexually
intriguing.
Go
out
there
and
take
that
to
the
bank.
Jonathan
Wolf
is
a
civil
litigator
and
author
of Your
Debt-Free
JD (affiliate
link).
He
has
taught
legal
writing,
written
for
a
wide
variety
of
publications,
and
made
it
both
his
business
and
his
pleasure
to
be
financially
and
scientifically
literate.
Any
views
he
expresses
are
probably
pure
gold,
but
are
nonetheless
solely
his
own
and
should
not
be
attributed
to
any
organization
with
which
he
is
affiliated.
He
wouldn’t
want
to
share
the
credit
anyway.
He
can
be
reached
at [email protected].