The best nonfiction books published in 2019 look to the past to better understand the present. Some revisit the conflicts that have shaped the modern world, as Patrick Radden Keefe does in his investigation of a murder in Northern Ireland during an era of sectarian strife. Some refute old ideas, as Ojibwe writer David Treuer does with the damaging misconception that native civilization and culture ended with the Wounded Knee Massacre. and others claim traumatic narratives, as Chanel Miller does in her memoir of her sexual assault and her subsequent court case, during which she became known as Emily Doe.
here, the best non-fiction books of 2019.
You are reading: Best selling non fiction books 2019
10. this land is our land: an immigrant’s manifesto, suketu mehta
In a year overwhelmed by contentious immigration debate across the political spectrum, journalism professor Suketu Mehta, who immigrated to the U.S. from India. uu. when he was young – he takes a bird’s eye view of the migration. In strong, lucid prose, 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist Mehta calls on us to rethink both the roots and implications of immigration. Examining colonialism through the centuries, he argues that populations once displaced by others have a natural right to settle elsewhere. and he makes a poignant case for the benefits to societies that welcome immigrants, asserting that prejudice against them is the real danger.
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9. midnight in chernobyl: the untold story of the world’s greatest nuclear disaster, adam higginbotham
journalist adam higginbotham spent years researching and reporting his fascinating story of the april 1986 collapse of the chernobyl nuclear power plant in ukraine. The result is a definitive, real-time look at one of history’s most notorious man-made disasters, one that made victims and villains of a wide variety of characters, from mechanical engineers to communist party leaders. higginbotham’s rich work tells the story of a singular catastrophe embedded in the tensions and dramas of the soviet union of the 1980s, and underscores the factors (brutal inequality, arrogance, and the prioritization of optics over human life) that led to the demise of the ussr.
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8. the collected schizophrenias: essays, esmé weijun wang
in her captivating collection of essays, a follow-up to her 2016 novel the border of paradise, esmé weijun wang uncovers what it feels like to live with chronic and mental illness, starting with her diagnoses of late-stage lyme disease and schizoaffective disorder through intimate descriptions of his experiences with hallucinations and other psychotic episodes. his is not a narrative of recovery, nor a search for a cure; instead, she disconnects from the outside world to find new ways to cope. is essential reading for anyone affected by or seeking to understand mental illness.
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buy now: the collected schizophrenias
7. The Heartbeat of the Wounded Knee: Native America 1890 to the Present, David Treuer
Burying My Heart In My Wounded Knee remains a defining tale of Native American history, but David Treuer, who grew up on an Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota, recognized early on that the story that he had did not coincide with his own experience. In his fascinating story of the events after the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, a National Book Award finalist, he refutes the common notion that indigenous civilizations faded after that point. Incorporating current reporting alongside his own stories, Treuer makes a passionate case for why Native cultures are a vibrant force in American life today.
buy now: the beat of a wounded knee
6. raging hours: murder, fraud and the last trial of harper lee, casey cep
After Harper Lee found success with her debut novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the world eagerly awaited her next book. but apart from the controversial 2015 publication of go set a watchman, a book closely related to her original work, it never materialized. In her investigation, journalist Casey Cep resurrects a true crime case that Lee reported on during the 1970s with the intention of rewriting: the story of Willie Maxwell, an Alabama preacher who was accused of murdering multiple relatives. to pay insurance payments, only to be shot to death at the funeral of one of his alleged victims. By revisiting the crimes and Lee’s interest in them, CEP breathes new life into the story of one of our most enduring cultural figures.
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5. in the house of dreams: memoirs, carmen maria machado
An urgent exploration of abuse within queer relationships and the distance our society still has to go to address it, in the dream house blends personal recollection with references to pop culture, history and literature. carmen maria machado, the author of the famous collection of short stories su cuerpo y otros poetas, builds her memories of a toxic relationship in a shared home with the scaffolding of literature itself, with chapters dedicated to narrative tropes specific (“dream house as noir”, “dream house as utopia”, “dream house as comedy of errors” and more). As Machado considers her trauma from each new angle, the impact of her experience becomes undeniably palpable.
buy now: in the house of your dreams
4. underland: a journey through deep time, robert macfarlane
The acclaimed nature writer behind monuments and old ways maps the oft-overlooked realm below us, and embarks on an expansive journey through geological time. From the tombs of the Bronze Age to the sea caves of Scandinavia and the catacombs of France, MacFarlane descends to the most mysterious and revealing places below the surface of the earth to consider the impact of humans on the planet. He vividly chronicles claustrophobic and sometimes deadly journeys to the land below, undertaken by himself and others, incorporating science, philosophy, and mythology in a meditation on the fragility of the man-made world.
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buy now: underground
3. The Yellow House: A Memoir, Sarah M. broom
in the early 1960s, sarah m. broom’s mother bought a house in east new orleans with the promise of a vibrant future. That home was the scene of a boisterous childhood for Escoba and her 11 brothers and sisters, but also an abyss of need for Escoba’s mother after the death of the author’s father. and then the house fell victim to hurricane katrina, swept away by the storm. In his first memoir, which won a National Book Award, Broom uses his family’s home as a central character in his exploration of a story that is both acutely personal and part of larger struggles involving race, class, and and the complex transformation and mythology of a beloved, and misunderstood, American city.
buy now: the yellow house
2. know my name: memories, chanel miller
We first come across the piercing words of Chanel Miller when she was known as “Emily Doe,” a woman who was sexually assaulted on the Stanford campus in January 2015. In a widely shared victim impact statement reading in the sentencing of the perpetrator, “emily” raised her voice above the ugly debate surrounding the case to offer a glimpse into one survivor’s experience. This year, Miller shed her anonymity and came out as herself: a sister, a daughter, an artist, and an exceptional writer. her transcendent memoir, know my name, reviews her experiences before and after the assault, inviting the reader to enter her heart and mind as she fights through each step in the path to justice and peace.
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1. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, Patrick Radden Keefe
In 460 fast-paced pages blending true crime and history, Patrick Radden Keefe dusts off a decades-old crime and, to the surprise of even himself, stumbles upon a clue in the case. Jean McConville, a mother of 10 in Northern Ireland, was abducted from her Belfast home one night in 1972 and was never seen again. her disappearance went down in history as one of the most infamous incidents of the riots, a decades-long sectarian and political conflict. During the four years she spent investigating and reporting on her compassionate and expertly paced book, a sweeping exploration of not only the murder case, but also the I.R.A. and the violent clashes that swept the country, Keefe discovered a connection that led him to identify someone he believes was involved in the McConville murder.
buy now: say nothing
write to lucy feldman at lucy.feldman@time.com.
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