The Best Nonfiction Books of 2024

Curious about the best nonfiction books of 2024? Read stunning memoirs and learn more about history, science, or self-improvement with these must-read nonfiction books.

While I will admit that I absolutely love reading fiction, the older I get the more I seem to crave nonfiction books. 

Fiction allows you to feel powerful emotions – sobbing when a character dies, exploring magical worlds, or laughing at bizarre scenarios – without having to leave your bed. Yet, in the back of your mind, you know the story is made up.

With the best nonfiction books, you get that feeling that only comes from a true story. You know these things actually happened to real people. You get to learn new skills, discover your self-worth, and examine the truths of the world around us.

I think good nonfiction books are harder to find than fiction titles, so to help you out, here is my list of the best nonfiction books of 2024. Some I’ve read, some I can’t wait to read, but all are getting plenty of buzz this year.

For years, Lisa Marie Presley had been working on her memoir and she finally asked her daughter, Riley Keough, for help finishing it only to die a month later. Using tapes of her mother telling stories of her life, Keough places together a memoir of a passionate conflicted woman. From the neverending grief and trauma from the death of her father, Elvis Presley, to living with her mother while constantly getting kicked out of schools, Lisa Marie shares her complicated life, her various relationships (including a marriage to Michael Jackson), and her struggles with addiction.

Publication Date: 8 October 2024
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Having worked closely with John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Robert Kennedy, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and her husband Dick had a front-row seat to the 1960s. Digging through a treasure trove of documents, diaries, and memorabilia from that decade, the Goodwins spent Dick’s last days reflecting on the achievements and failures of those great leaders. Weaving together American history and her personal life, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin gives an intimate look at a tumultuous decade.

Publication Date: 16 April 2024
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From winning a Tony Award as part of the original cast of A Chorus Line on Broadway to her beloved role as Emily Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, Kelly Bishop has had a storied career. But she has also had a turbulent personal life: first married to a compulsive gambler and then losing her second husband to cancer. In her new memoir, Bishop reminisces about her past and looks to the future, telling the greatest stories and enduring life lessons she has learned throughout her journey.

Publication Date: 17 September 2024
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Born into the Waorani tribe in the remote regions of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest, Nemonte Nenquimo grew up learning about plant medicines and shamanism. After moving to the city to study with an evangelical missionary group, Nenquimo eventually returned home to embrace her own culture and become on of the greatest climate change activists, allying together indigenous nations across the Upper Amazon.

Publication Date: 17 September 2024
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Known as the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten is the bestselling author of thirteen cookbooks and a well-loved Food Network personality. In her first memoir, Garten shares the challenges and misadventures she had to overcome to build the unexpected career that has turned her into a cultural icon known for her playfulness and purpose.

Publication Date: 1 October 2024
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Jonathan Haidt explains why moving from a play-based childhood to a screen-based childhood has changed the neurological development of children, making them more anxious, along with other mental health problems. Haidt shows why this causes them to withdraw further into a digital world, and then proposes a solution that he says will reduce the incidence of mental illness in the rising generations. Haidt paints an enlightening (and terrifying) picture while still focusing on the solutions, especially a greater need for connections, independence and in-person interaction.

Publication Date: 26 March 2024
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We all know that person who is able to connect deeply with anyone they meet. All conversations can be categorized as practical, emotional, or social. Charles Duhigg argues that these supercommunicators can identify and match each type of conversation while also hearing complex emotions, subtle negotiations, and understanding possible biases. Using the power of storytelling, Duhigg promises to help you become more adept at recognizing and navigating any conversation you find yourself in. Not a quick-fix self-help book, Supercommunicators begs to be read and reread as you contemplate and analyze conversations in your life to become a better communicator.

Publication Date: 20 February 2024
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Since the establishment of Benjamin Franklin’s first bookstore in Philadelphia, bookstores have earned a central place in America’s cultural landscape. Evan Friss highlights the history and importance of bookstores in America – from large establishments like The Strand to sidewalk used booksellers and mass-market establishments like Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Friss shows how bookstores have shaped the nation and why we still need them.

Publication Date: 6 August 2024
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Twenty-five years ago, Malcolm Gladwell topped the bestseller list with The Tipping Point, analyzing the science of viral trends. Now, Gladwell revisits his bestseller to reframe the lessons for the modern day. Gladwell expands his focus to look at the dark side of contagious phenomena using his trademark mix of fascinating anecdotes and social science.

Publication Date: 1 October 2024
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Journalist Annie Jacobsen considers the few minutes after a nuclear weapon is launched and the quick decisions that need to be made to save lives. With the power to destroy the world, nuclear weapons come with safeguards, risks, and emergency scenarios. Through dozens of interviews with military and civilian professionals, Jacobsen paints a terrifying picture of the worse-case scenario.

Publication Date: 26 March 2024
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In her bestselling book Come As You Are, Emily Nagoski discussed the science behind women’s sexuality. Now, Nagoski takes on maintaining a happy sex life in long-term relationships. Instead of focusing on desire and frequency, Nagoski proposes that what’s most important is that couples enjoy the sex they are having. Using scientific studies and personal anecdotes, Nagoski helps couples let go of what they think their sex life should look like and find how to find a happy sex life that will last.

Publication Date: 30 January 2024
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Sharon McMahon shares twelve stories of everyday Americans who are unknown heroes displaying the courage that makes America great. From a telephone operator to a schoolteacher to a formerly enslaved person, McMahon details the lives and accomplishments of unsung American heroes in her signature style of storytelling.

Publication Date: 24 September 2024
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Created under President Kennedy, the White House Situation Room has been the epicenter of crisis management in the United States for the last six decades. A former presidential advisor and well-known political commentator and tv host, George Stephanopoulos describes twelve high-pressure situations that were dramatic turning points in American history: including the moments after Kennedy’s assassination, the hours after planes struck the Twin Towers, the raid on Osama bin Laden, and the staff watching the unfolding events on January 6th.

Publication Date: 14 May 2024
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Erik Larson delves into the five months between Abraham Lincoln’s election and the first shots fired on Fort Sumter that started the Civil War. In a period of betrayal, error, and miscommunication, Larson focuses on the stories of four individuals: Sumter’s commander caught between sympathy to the South and loyalty to the Union; a bloodthirsty radical promoting secession at every turn; the wife of a local planter who is conflicted about marriage and slavery; and in the thick of it all, is Abraham Lincoln, desperately trying to avert a war.

Publication Date: 30 April 2024
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Captain James Cook was one of the greatest explorers of his age and highly regarded for his dedication to scientific research and his respect for Indigenous people and cultures. Yet, in 1776 when he set out on his third voyage, something had changed. Suddenly Cook was moody and authoritative with secret missions thrust on him by the British crown. What led this acclaimed seaman to the deadly encounter with the Hawaiian natives that would end his life?

Publication Date: 9 April 2024
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