It’s been said that reading literary fiction produces more empathetic people, but the depth of this year’s notable nonfiction titles demonstrates that the same is true for all readers. nonfiction pieces create a gateway to public consciousness, and their success, failure, and long-term resonance highlight the lines that connect us.
Our must-read non-fiction list includes Aziz Ansari’s hilarious explanation of love in the age of the Internet (or just a bit of “Netflix and chill”) in Modern Romance; Kim Gordon’s gritty, inside-the-green-room account of Sonic’s youth in girl in a band; and Åsne seierstad’s harrowing exploration of norway’s deadliest massacre. the nonfiction books closest to us are those that impact our view of the world around us, and these are the titles that did so in the heaviest and most beautiful sense in 2015.
You are reading: Best books of 2015 nonfiction
30. gumption by nick offerman
In Gumption, comedian and actor Nick Offerman scours American history in search of the country’s “boldest troublemakers.” he profiles 21 individuals, championing the traits that constitute the greatest virtue of both our nation and its luminaries. In a book that combines self-deprecating humor with well-researched passages, Offerman first revisits the founding fathers (“magnificent sons of bitches”) to establish his thesis: common sense is a fundamental ingredient of America and remains a strength. guide in life. of his most notable achievements. what emerges is a deep respect for both the men and women he profiles and the abiding egalitarian spirit that guides him and “hunters” everywhere. —eric swedlund
29. h is for hawk by helen macdonald
Helen Macdonald’s book has wowed readers since its release in March and it’s easy to see why. h is for hawk recounts the macdonalds fascinating journey to train one of the fiercest predators, the goshawk, as she deals with the pain of losing her father. An intertwined exploration of falconry and dueling, the book deserves its equally accurate tags of nature writing and memoir. This extraordinary text will delight history buffs, literary buffs, and nature lovers alike, proving that h is for falcon offers a unique yet accessible story. —frannie jackson
28. the folded watch by heidi julavits
diary-meets-memoir by heidi julavits makes for a delightful read, beginning each entry with the simple but powerful words, “today I . . . ” proves to be a prolific diarist, eager to latch onto the poor handwriting of her youth and forge something new by sharing comical episodes, philosophical meanderings and relationships at every fold. there is location, movement (often water rests at the bottom of these entrances) and constant self-assessment julavits’s wandering, non-linear pen is always entertaining and illuminating , and crafts texts that pleasingly deal with both style and life.—high mark
27. kim gordon’s girl in a band
sometimes known as “the godmother of grunge” or “the poster girl of indie-rock,” kim gordon frames nearly 30 years of recording, touring and performing with sonic youth from the perspective of an artist, a mother and a wife. Gordon has been a role model for a generation of vocalists and instrumentalists, and this poetic book offers fans an intimate portrait of the band. There’s hype surrounding Gordon’s vitriolic barbs for her ex-husband (and co-founding member of Sonic Youth) Thurston Moore, as well as for Courtney Love. But you must read on to learn about Gordon’s youth in California before she escaped to New York and forged the spectacular creative mindset of Sonic youth with her bandmates. —jeff milo
26. continuity by sarah manguso
sarah manguso matures into a master of the essay in this book, which is a confrontation with a razor-sharp diary she kept for over 25 years. Manguso, a thinly veiled Proustian of the highest order, fights against her fear of missing “something” in this record of everything that has happened every day. she balances ingenuity and human frailty on the edge of a sword and plunges, repeatedly, into battlefields of emotional complexity that she could easily obliterate with a lesser pen. and though the task is heavy, the book is sparse, and often the prose is delivered in a brief reflection of the highest order. a highly sensitive and imaginative reading, continuity shows a struggle that is both self-awareness and chaotic pursuit. —raised mark
25. madness in civilization by andrew scull
In this story spanning centuries, Andrew Scull reveals how mental illness was treated by numerous societies. Highlighting those who shaped public perception of mental illness, without moralizing or excusing the often abusive treatment prescribed, Scull explains that the phases of our understanding of mental illness exist on a continuum. Insanity in Civilization finally breaks down the supposed barriers between society and the mentally ill, highlighting the many ways in which so-called “insanity” has been appropriated, marginalized, and understood over the course of human history. —heing girlfriend
24. silver screen demon by patton oswalt
For much of the ’90s, Patton Oswalt was addicted to movies, and he’s got a meticulous record to prove it. At the legendary New Beverly Cinema, Oswalt discovered an illuminating escapism that transported him away from the stress of his career into a calmer, more elegant realm of beautiful celluloid imagery. here rested a soothing world, free from judgment and doubt, a world a galaxy away from the noise of the Angels. And when Oswalt finally walked out of the theater for the last time, he had broken free of his shell. With a geeky yet sophisticated narrative voice, silver screen fiend presents an eager look at the transformative power of film. —jeff milo
23. the argonauts by maggie nelson
Maggie Nelson, author of bluets (an impressive book of philosophical aphorisms informing depression), is prolific and intelligent in content and expertise. Just as Marx turned Hegel on its head, Ella Nelson also turns conventional thinking on its head, living and writing backwards in her latest critical memoir. Weaving a story of love and marriage with her husband, transgender artist Harry Dodge, Nelson creates a brilliance that would fade in the hands of a lesser writer. The Argonauts is as much a lived life as it is a theory. it’s out of shape and it’s brilliant because of it. Equal parts poetry, philosophy, criticism, and journalism, this text offers an examination loaded with rules that pervert the open need for love and the inner struggle to find happiness. —raised mark
22. once in a big city by david maraniss
Now synonymous with post-industrial urban blight and the devastating economic impact of decades of white flight, Detroit once defined a country’s ambition, innovation and opportunity. in any case, once in a big city is even more ambitious than david maraniss’s they marched into sunlight, combining revealing portraits of detroit’s luminaries in 1963 in the heyday of the city. glory and the eve of his fall. The harbingers of the city’s impending decline seem unmistakable now, but once in a great city captures the grandeur of a city and its moment, sacrificing little nuance or complexity for the ambition of its narrative scope. —steve nathans-kelly
21. the soul of an octopus by sy montgomery
See Also: Allen Eskens – Book Series In Order
Whenever I have lunch with friends, they always give me sideways looks when I resist the octopus appetizers. i dare not eat such a brilliant creature, and sy montgomery only strengthens my resolve in the soul of an octopus. Throughout her illuminating book, Montgomery describes her international travels to investigate noble creatures, specifically the way they act, feel, and think. And as scientists increasingly accept the intelligence of the octopus, Tome of It presents a powerful and beautiful look into the often-misunderstood world of the eight-legged octopus. —eric smith
20. the wright brothers by david mccullough
You’ve heard of Wilbur and Orville Wright since you were young, but what do you honestly know about them? David McCullough dives behind the mystique of “aviation pioneers” to reveal the brothers’ amazing story. is the iconic story of the American dream: two boys from a poor home (lacking plumbing and electricity) have only a public high school education but risk death to fly. But McCullough avoids romanticizing his story, highlighting the brothers’ mechanical ingenuity without glossing over their flaws. The Wright Brothers delivers an entertaining and well-researched slice of history, proving (once again) that McCullough is a master of historical narrative. —frannie jackson
19. cheating music & disappearing ink by elvis costello
Through the nearly 700 pages of cheating music & disappearing ink, elvis costello delivers an impeccably detailed autobiography. she is often as brilliant at turning a phrase into prose as she is into her lyrics, richly describing her childhood and her relationship with her father. The stories and anecdotes flow freely, from Costello’s unknown early years with the attractions to his later career collaborations with legends like Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and Allen Toussaint. Like his catalog of impressive albums, Costello’s book is dense, multifaceted, singular, and a bit unwieldy, revealing early epiphanies that built on each other to forge the artist we know today. —eric swedlund
18. on the move by oliver sacks
fans of the late dr. Oliver Sacks has waited decades to dive into a proper memoir of the life of the famous and charismatic neurologist. Throughout his 60 years in medicine, Sacks touched lives and broadened minds, filling several books with case studies of real patients. While he slipped a handful of case studies into this memoir, on the move highlights more personal encounters, without shying away from unnerving exchanges or harrowing interactions. Shedding light on his experience as a gay man in 1960s America, his otherworldly attraction to motorcycles, and his Herculean triumphs in weightlifting on Muscle Beach, this memoir celebrates the life of a intrinsically empathetic man. —jeff milo
17. we need to get out of this place: the vietnam war soundtrack by doug bradley and craig werner
when doug bradley and craig werner undertook the oral history project that became we need to get out of this place, the authors envisioned a “top 20 vietnam veterans,” a compact list of songs that was inseparable from the experience of war for the soldiers who fought it. But while interviewing the veterans whose voices drive the book’s narrative, Bradley and Werner realized that no static set of songs would fully represent the stories the veterans were telling. as one veterinarian explains, “there is no such thing as a vietnam. there were more than two and a half million of them.” no single book could capture so many Vietnamese, nor the multitude of voices needed to describe them. but the remarkable achievement of we need to get out of this place is how close it comes to making many vietnam veterans’ voices heard. —steve nathans-kelly
16. dime stories by tony fitzpatrick
famed chicago artist tony fitzpatrick (his work regularly appears on lollapalooza posters, steve earle albums and books, neville brothers albums, early tia chucha poetry books) reveals his double threat perspective in this collection art and writing for his column in the independent weekly newcity. Clinging to the wisdom of city street corners, Fitzpatrick paints a romantic picture of the metropolis he wears on his sleeve. he’s a hard ear that can pick up the wanderings of the city and then mold them into stories that pay homage to the city dwellers before him, and those who will come after. —raised mark
15. country soul of charles l. hugo
with country soul, a revisionist history of the southern studio music scene that produced many of the greatest soul, r&b, and country records of the 20th century, charles l. hughes ruins everything. the first books of southern soul presented the moving story of how post-racial america was born in a memphis recording studio in 1965, when black and white musicians transcended the racism of their day while recording the records that defined the era we know and we love. And in Hughes’s narrative, the studio groups that backed soul superstars Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and Solomon Burke, as well as Nashville-identified artists like Willie Nelson and Jeannie C. Riley, they were often interracial ensembles. but the relationships between its members (and the flourishing southern music business they helped build) were more complicated than other historians claim. hughes aims to set the record straight, adding an essential chapter not only to the history of southern music, but to the history of the south itself. —steve nathans-kelly
14. furiously happy by jenny lawson
“A Funny Book About Horrible Things,” Furiously Happy is Jenny Lawson’s second best-selling memoir that explores her life with mental illness. She may recognize Lawson as “The Blogger,” the creator of the beloved blog of the same name that has garnered a devoted following over the past decade. Her raw honesty and truly hysterical anecdotes translate seamlessly from the web to print, cementing Furiously Happy as a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the everyday realities of living with mental illness. . inspirational and ridiculous, this book insists that “[we embrace] everything that makes us who we are…and [use it] to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways.” —frannie jackson
13. the oregon trail by rinker buck
rinker buck could be the consummate American memoirist of the 21st century: chronically self-absorbed, retrospectively self-aware, comically unassuming, and a great storyteller. His latest, The Oregon Trail, begins four years ago with Buck sorting through the remains of divorce, dissolution, and career decline. So Buck and his brother Nick decided to spend four months in a covered wagon driving a team of mules up and down the Oregon Trail: 2,100 miles of wagon ruts that opened the West to nearly half a million overland immigrants in the mid-19th century. . Before the Buck brothers, no team had accomplished this feat without support in 100 years. And while The Oregon Trail offers personal epiphanies and unbridled, rancorous brotherly humor, it’s the masterfully staged spectacle of the overland journey that makes the book such an absorbing and unforgettable read. —steve nathans-kelly
12. the seven good years of etgar keret
If you’ve listened to 10 or more episodes of This American Life, you’ll know Etgar Keret for his funny, surreal, and engaging stories. If you can catch the attention of the host Ira Glass, it’s fair to say that you can catch the attention of all of us. The Seven Good Years, Keret’s first non-fiction collection, proves to be as playfully profound as any of her works of fiction. Focusing on the years between the birth of her son and the death of her father, Keret critiques and celebrates family life, living in Israel, and the art of writing, all while maintaining a consistency of tone and purpose that most writers should. to envy. —mack hayden
11. one of us: the story of anders breivik and the massacre in norway by Åsne seierstad
The struggle to read One of Us is not the fault of journalist Åsne Seierstad, whose compelling and well-researched book deals with Norway’s deadliest mass shooting. She could tag One of Us as the hardest book I’ve read this year for myriad reasons: Anders Breivik’s horrific account of the crimes marks the most obvious choice, but the book’s most emotional punch. . occurs when the merger of two worlds is observed. in one of us, we witness the lives of brilliant children being deconstructed for years before their names are etched on newspaper front pages and tombstones. With mass shootings becoming a devastatingly common theme in the US. uu. Nightly News, it’s more important than ever to examine Seierstad’s respectable exploration of the twisted young mind behind Norway’s deadliest massacre. — tyler r. kane
10. waking up dead by erik larson
See Also: A.A. Milne: 5 Facts About ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ Author – Biography
No matter how interested (or uninterested) you are in learning about such a pivotal moment in American history, you’ll want to savor Erik Larson’s latest read. he has proven to be one of the best nonfiction authors of the last 20 years, specifically because of his talent for forging an infectious readability into some of history’s overlooked episodes and unknown actors. Larson’s work on waking dead was made difficult by the sinking of the Lusitania, the act of hostility that brought the United States into World War I. The details of the alleged torpedoing of this British liner have long been debated and discussed, but Larson profiles the crew of the Lusitania and highlights the German submarine that was in pursuit, slipping between both sides of the event in his seductive cinematic style. narration. —jeff milo
9. the light of the world by elizabeth alexander
with the light of the world, elizabeth alexander delivers a book she never aspired to write: a memoir on coping with the immediate and surprise death of her husband of 16 years, ficre. alexander, a leading academic at yale and the inaugural poet at president barack obama’s first inauguration, chooses to focus her lens not on her own life, but on ficre’s lavish spirit. she paints a prose poetic masterpiece highlighting food (and utterly tempting descriptions of food), art, and friendship. when he was with ficre, “suddenly there was enough time: to talk, read, think, sleep, make love, drink coffee or tea, practice yoga, walk.” —raised mark
8. modern romance by aziz ansari
with modern romance, aziz ansari had a goal: “i started asking people i knew if there was a book that would help me understand the many challenges of looking for love in the digital age. I found some interesting pieces here and there, but not the kind of full, in-depth sociological investigation I was looking for. that book just didn’t exist, so I decided to try writing it myself.” judging by the pages that follow, modern romance is a hit. it is a snapshot, without prejudice, of a specific time and place. And while the book doesn’t provide concrete instructions on how to thrive in modern dating, most millennials will finish reading modern romance with a greater appreciation for the beings behind the screens of dating. the iphones. — tyler r. kane
7. lafayette in the united states something by sarah vowell
You really can’t blame yourself for not paying attention in history class; even the most interesting material is a challenge to interact with regularly. But Sarah Vowell has made a career out of making American history fascinating. her new book, lafayette in the somewhat united states, focuses on the young french aristocrat who helped the revolutionaries in their war for independence. Through humor and a healthy injection of her own personality, Vowell makes French founding fathers and nobles seem like the kind of people you’re first meeting and adoring at a party. —mack hayden
6. jessica hopper’s first collection of reviews from a living rock critic
if you’re a fan of writing music, you owe it to yourself to read jessica hopper’s first collection of reviews by a living female rock critic. after closing the final page, you should recommend it to your friends who are not even attracted to music journalism. just like the best critics, hopper’s thoughts shared here transcend the boundaries of her topic. You’ll question the implicit misogyny of emo rock, the moral legitimacy of casting a person of dubious moral character, and whether or not you should give Bruce Springsteen the same congratulations your father always offered. This is a non-fiction chronicle of how music has helped Hopper understand what it means to be a good human being, and helps us understand it too. —mack hayden
5. missoula by jon krakauer
thanks to a certain magazine cover story earlier this year, campus rape might have controversial connotations in the media, but jon krakauer’s missoula (into the wild , under the banner of heaven ) is the antithesis of that story. This meticulously researched book reveals rape in the American university system…and examines why so few people are willing to speak out. Krakauer documents three separate accounts of campus rapes in Missoula, Montana, not only through the horrific experiences, but also through the aftermath: police interrogations, arguments with lawyers, family reactions. the pages that follow will stay with you for decades. — tyler r. kane
4. red notice by the invoice search engine
With a subtitle like “a true story of high finance, murder, and one man’s fight for justice,” you know this book is either hyperbole on steroids or a sincerely gripping story. just five pages in red notice, you will realize that it is the last thing. Bill Browder went from a childhood on the South Side of Chicago to manage Russia’s largest hedge fund after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But Browder’s conscience collided with the Russian oligarchy, leading Vladimir Putin to turn on him for exposing corruption. while red notice reads like a thriller, it’s made all the more chilling by its grounding in reality. however, browder never wallows; Instead, he champions a future in which Russia’s Wild East is held accountable for the actions of its citizens. —frannie jackson
3. m train by patti smith
while patti smith’s just kids, winner of the national book award in 2010, was a direct and focused account of the years of youth that she shared with robert mapplethorpe, m train is a confusing tale, oneiric memories that combine a lifetime of scattered memories with the small and comfortable routines of everyday experience. She writes in “seasons” rather than chapters, disjointed times and places flowing freely together, with present trips to Berlin, Mexico City, Tokyo, and Tangier interspersed with memories of past trips. Smith writes odes to coffeehouses, one of her greatest loves, but she also shows a surprising affection for detective shows. an unorthodox but magnificently poetic book, m train focuses on memory, love, sacred objects and artistic idols, an effort on smith’s part to lend permanence to what is gone. —eric swedlund
2. hunger turns me into a modern girl by carrie brownstein
At the height of sleater-kinney’s popularity, a particularly difficult image to reconcile might be that of its guitarist, the one occupying stage right and kicking her way onto kinetic stages, doing whatever else. Like other notable ’90s upstarts from the Pacific Northwest, Sleater-Kinney was a band that thrived on the winning combination of the right time, the right place, the right community, and most importantly, the right talent. With the release of hunger makes me a modern girl, sleater-kinney’s carrie brownstein guides audiences through a concise recollection of how this came to be, beginning with a childhood (and pre- guitar hero) duran duran cover band that simply imitated the music. The result is a thoroughly addictive and entertaining memoir that should strike a chord beyond fans of Sleater-Kinney. — tyler r. kane
1. between me and the world by ta-nehisi coates
between the world and me is the personalization of what, for many, has been merely political for too long. Of course, racism in this country is political, it is historical, it is the very foundation on which the American dream was built, and Ta-Nehisi Coates weaves these important historical narratives together in this short text. but it is his insistence on the little things that are often overlooked in public discourse that makes this book so terrifyingly powerful. It is not only in the form of the piece, a letter to his teenage son samori, but in the more intimate content that tragedies require to be contextualized. A victim of police brutality, like Freddie Grey, Rekia Boyd, Laquan McDonald, Sandra Bland, or Prince Jones of Coates himself, is not just a body or a representative of his race. no, a victim of police brutality is a person whose life was full of beautiful little details that are also looted in his murder. Every music lesson, every check written for family photos, and every soccer practice weighs as much, according to Coates’s text, as every mother who has to bury a child and every child who has to bury a mother or father.
in the same way that claudia rankine’s most powerful moments in citizen were the personal narratives, those intimate reflections on being a black body and mind in the united states, and in the same way that a great toni morrison the novel is not so much about race as about the little things that make up great black characters, between you and me it is simply a love letter to a son; or a compliment for a friend; or an ode to paris. Its brilliance lies in the fact that it is all of these things at once (and more) in one of the most necessary reads for anyone interested in what it means to be awake and still hopeful in America today. —shannon m. houston
See Also: Professional Event Planning Guide: Download the Free eBook! | Guidebook