“What are the best Nonfiction books released in 2020?” We looked at 356 of the top Nonfiction books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 37 books, all appearing on 3 or more “Best Nonfiction” book lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 300+ titles, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.

Our other Best Of 2020 Articles:

• The Best Art, Photography, And Coffee Table Books
• The Best AudioBooks
• The Best Biography And Memoir Books
• The Best Graphic Novels And Comics
• The Best Cookbooks
• The Best Fiction Books
• The Best Books (All Categories)
• The Best History Books
• The Best Kids, Children, and Youth Books
• The Best Mystery, Horror, and Thriller Books
• The Best Nonfiction Books
• The Best Poetry Books
• The Best Science And Nature Books
• The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
• The Best Young Adult Books

Previous Years: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015

All titles have been added to a Bookshop list as well!

Happy Scrolling!

Top 37 Best Nonfiction Books From 2020

37.) Children of the Land: A Memoir written byMarcelo Hernandez Castillo

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookpage
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NPR

An Entertainment Weekly, The Millions, and LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2020 This unforgettable memoir from a prize-winning poet about growing up undocumented in the United States recounts the sorrows and joys of a family torn apart by draconian policies and chronicles one young man’s attempt to

36.) Desert Notebooks: A Road Map for the End of Time written byBen Ehrenreich

Lists It Appears On:

• NY Times
• NYPL
• NPR

Layering climate science, mythologies, nature writing, and personal experiences, this New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice presents a stunning reckoning with our current moment and with the literal and figurative end of time. Desert Notebooks examines how the unprecedented pace of destruction

35.) Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town written byBarbara Demick

Lists It Appears On:

• Washington Post
• NY Times
• NPR

A gripping portrait of modern Tibet told through the lives of its people, from the bestselling author of Nothing to Envy. “You simply cannot understand China without reading Barbara Demick on Tibet.”–Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition Just as she did with North Korea, award-winning journalist Ba

34.) Having and Being Had written byEula Biss

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• Time
• NPR

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE BEST BOOKS OF 2020, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING “A sensational new book [that] tries to figure out whether it’s possible to live an ethical life in a capitalist society. . . . The results are enthralling.” –Associated Press A timely and arresting new look at affluence by the

33.) His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope written byJon Meacham

Lists It Appears On:

• Washington Post
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• Worldly Gentleman

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER – An intimate and revealing portrait of civil rights icon and longtime U.S. congressman John Lewis, linking his life to the painful quest for justice in America from the 1950s to the present–from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of America John Lewis, who a

32.) Notes on a Silencing: A Memoir written byLacy Crawford

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookpage
• NY Times
• NPR

A “powerful and scary and important and true” memoir (Sally Mann, Carnegie Medal-winning author of Hold Still) of a young woman’s struggle to regain her sense of self after trauma, and the efforts by a powerful New England boarding school to silence her—at any cost. A New York Times Book Review Ed

31.) Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America written byMaria Hinojosa

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookpage
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NPR

“Anyone striving to understand and improve this country should read her story.” –Gloria Steinem, author of My Life on the Road The Emmy Award-winning journalist and anchor of NPR’s Latino USA tells the story of immigration in America through her family’s experiences and decades of reporting, painti

30.) Rage written byBob Woodward

Lists It Appears On:

• Washington Post
• Goodreads
• Worldly Gentleman

Bob Woodward’s new book, Rage, is an unprecedented and intimate tour de force of new reporting on the Trump presidency facing a global pandemic, economic disaster and racial unrest. Woodward, the #1 international bestselling author of Fear: Trump in the White House, has uncovered the precise moment

29.) Surviving Autocracy written byMasha Gessen

Lists It Appears On:

• Publishers Weekly
• Powells
• Bookshop Santa Cruz

“When Gessen speaks about autocracy, you listen.” –The New York Times “The Platonic ideal of the anti-Trump Trump book.” –The Washington Post As seen on MSNBC Morning Joe and heard on NPR All Things Considered: the bestselling, National Book Award-winning journalist offers an essential guide to un

28.) The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal about Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power written byDeirdre Mask

Lists It Appears On:

• She Reads
• Marginal Revolution
• Publishers Weekly

Finalist for the 2020 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction An entertaining quest to trace the origins and implications of the names of the roads on which we reside. –Sarah Vowell, The New York Times Book Review When most people think about street addresses, if they think of them at all, it is in their capac

27.) The Book of Eels written byPatrik Svensson

Lists It Appears On:

• Washington Post
• Publishers Weekly
• NY Times

Los Angeles Times BestsellerIndieBound BestsellerA New York Times Editor’s Choice One of Forbes’ “Best Summer Reads for Those Stuck Inside Working Remotely” One of the LA Times’ “21 New and Classic Books to Keep You in Touch with the Natural World”One of NPR Science Friday’s Best Science Books of th

26.) Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man written byMary L. Trump

Lists It Appears On:

• Worldly Gentleman
• Los Angeles Times
• Washington Post

In this revelatory, authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him, Mary L. Trump, a trained clinical psychologist and Donald’s only niece, shines a bright light on the dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the w

25.) Untamed written byGlennon Doyle

Lists It Appears On:

• Washington Post
• Books A Million
• Bookshop Santa Cruz

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER – “Packed with incredible insight about what it means to be a woman today.”–Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Pick) In her most revealing and powerful memoir yet, the activist, speaker, bestselling author, and “patron saint of female empowerment

24.) Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman’s Search for Justice in Indian Country written bySierra Crane Murdoch

Lists It Appears On:

• NPR
• Publishers Weekly
• NY Times

The gripping true story of a murder on an Indian reservation, and the unforgettable Arikara woman who becomes obsessed with solving it–an urgent work of literary journalism. “I don’t know a more complicated, original protagonist in literature than Lissa Yellow Bird, or a more dogged reporter in Ame

23.) Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America written byLaila Lalami

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookpage
• Los Angeles Times
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NPR

What does it mean to be American? In this starkly illuminating and impassioned book, Pulitzer Prize­­-finalist Laila Lalami recounts her unlikely journey from Moroccan immigrant to U.S. citizen, using it as a starting point for her exploration of the rights, liberties, and protections that are tradi

22.) Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking written byBill Buford

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Washington Post
• Publishers Weekly
• NPR

A hilariously self-deprecating, highly obsessive account of the author’s adventures, in the world of French haute cuisine, for anyone whose ever found joy in cooking and eating food with their family–from the author of the best-selling, widely acclaimed Heat. A New York Times Book Review Editors’ C

21.) Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor written byLayla F. Saad

Lists It Appears On:

• Washington Post
• Goodreads
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NPR

Based off the original workbook, Me and White Supremacy teaches listeners how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.When Layla Saad began an Instagram challeng

20.) The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir written byWayétu Moore

Lists It Appears On:

• Time
• Publishers Weekly
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NY Times

An engrossing memoir of escaping the First Liberian Civil War and building a life in the United States When Wayétu Moore turns five years old, her father and grandmother throw her a big birthday party at their home in Monrovia, Liberia, but all she can think about is how much she misses her mother,

19.) The End of Everything written byKatie Mack

Lists It Appears On:

• Powells
• Publishers Weekly
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NY Times

“[A] pleasure…I found it helpful–not reassuring, certainly, but mind-expanding–to be reminded of our place in a vast cosmos.” –James Gleick, The New York Times Book Review “A thrilling tour of potential cosmic doomsdays….Beyond her deep expertise, Ms. Mack’s infectious enthusiasm for communic

18.) War: How Conflict Shaped Us written byMargaret MacMillan

Lists It Appears On:

• NY Times 2
• NY Times
• Five Books
• CBC

Is peace an aberration? The bestselling author of Paris 1919 offers a provocative view of war as an essential component of humanity. “Margaret MacMillan has produced another seminal work. . . . She is right that we must, more than ever, think about war. And she has shown us how in this brilliant, el

17.) Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life written byLulu Miller

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• Washington Post
• Book Riot
• NPR

A “remarkable” (Los Angeles Times), “seductive” (The Wall Street Journal) debut from the new cohost of Radiolab, Why Fish Don’t Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession, and–possibly–even murder.​ “At one point, Miller dives into the ocean into a school of fish…c

16.) World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments written byAimee Nezhukumatathil

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookpage
• NYPL
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NPR

A Barnes & Noble 2020 Book of the Year Finalist A Kirkus Prize Finalist for Nonfiction An Indie Next Pick, September 2019 A Publishers Weekly “Big Indie Book of Fall 2020” A BuzzFeed Best Book of Fall 2020 A Literary Hub “Most Anticipated Book of 2020 An Esquire Best Book of Fall 2020 A Ralph Lauren

15.) Wow, No Thank You written bySamantha Irby

Lists It Appears On:

• Washington Post
• Book Riot
• Bookpage
• NPR

*AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* “Stay-up-all-night, miss-your-subway-stop, spit-out-your-beverage funny…. irresistible as a snack tray, as intimately pleasurable as an Irish goodbye.” –Jia Tolentino From Samantha Irby, beloved author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, a rip-roaring,

14.) Intimations: Six Essays written byZadie Smith

Lists It Appears On:

• Los Angeles Times
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• Financial Times
• NYPL
• NPR

“Smith does more than illuminate what we’re going through right now. She offers a model of how to think ourselves through a fraught historical moment without getting hysterical or sanctimonious, without losing our compassion or our appreciation for what’s good in other people. She teaches us how to

13.) Memorial Drive written byNatasha Trethewey

Lists It Appears On:

• Los Angeles Times
• NY Times
• Bookpage
• Time
• NPR

An Instant New York Times BestsellerA chillingly personal and exquisitely wrought memoir of a daughter reckoning with the brutal murder of her mother at the hands of her former stepfather, and the moving, intimate story of a poet coming into her own in the wake of a tragedy At age nineteen, Natasha

12.) Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You written byJason Reynolds

Lists It Appears On:

• Chicago Public Library
• Goodreads
• Book Riot
• Worldly Gentleman
• NPR

The #1 New York Times bestseller and a USAToday bestseller! A timely, crucial, and empowering exploration of racism–and antiracism–in America This is NOT a history book. This is a book about the here and now. A book to help us better understand why we are where we are. A book about race. The const

11.) A Promised Land written byBarack Obama

Lists It Appears On:

• Washington Post
• Books A Million
• Los Angeles Times
• NY Times
• NY Times 2
• NPR

A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making–from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his

10.) Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot written byMikki Kendall

Lists It Appears On:

• Washington Post
• Book Riot
• Goodreads
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NYPL
• NPR

“If Hood Feminism is a searing indictment of mainstream feminism, it is also an invitation. . . . Kendall] offers guidance for how we can all do better.”–NPR.org “A rousing call to action for today’s feminists. It should be required reading for everyone.”–Gabrielle Union, author of We’re Going to

9.) The Undocumented Americans written byKarla Cornejo Villavicencio

Lists It Appears On:

• Los Angeles Times
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NY Times
• Time
• NYPL
• NPR

FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD – One of the first undocumented immigrants to graduate from Harvard reveals the hidden lives of her fellow undocumented Americans in this deeply personal and groundbreaking portrait of a nation. “Karla’s book sheds light on people’s personal experiences and allow

8.) Uncanny Valley written byAnna Wiener

Lists It Appears On:

• Washington Post
• Los Angeles Times
• Powells
• NY Times
• NY Times 2
• NPR

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A definitive document of a world in transition: I won’t be alone in returning to it for clarity and consolation for many years to come.” –Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and a January 2020

7.) Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning written byCathy Park Hong

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookpage
• Time
• Washington Post
• Book Riot
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NYPL
• NPR

A ruthlessly honest, emotionally charged, and utterly original exploration of Asian American consciousness and the struggle to be human “Brilliant . . . To read this book is to become more human.”–Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong fearlessly and provocatively blen

6.) The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X written byLes Payne and Tamara Payne

Lists It Appears On:

• Worldly Gentleman
• Bookpage
• Time
• Powells
• Washington Post
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NY Times
• NPR

Finalist — National Book Award for Nonfiction – Excerpted in The New Yorker – Longlisted — Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction – New Books to Watch Out for in October — New York Times – Best Books of Fall 2020 — O, the Oprah Magazine, The Week, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – Best New B

5.) The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz written byErik Larson

Lists It Appears On:

• Worldly Gentleman
• Bookpage
• NYPL
• Washington Post
• Books A Million
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NY Times
• NPR

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER – The author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers an intimate chronicle of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz–an inspiring portrait of courage and leadership in a time of unprecedented crisis One of Chicago Tribune’s Best Books of the Year So

4.) Vesper Flights written byHelen Macdonald

Lists It Appears On:

• Amazon
• Powells
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• Financial Times
• Bookpage
• Time
• NYPL
• NPR

Animals don’t exist in order to teach us things, but that is what they have always done, and most of what they teach us is what we think we know about ourselves. In Vesper Flights Helen Macdonald brings together a collection of her best loved essays, along with new pieces on topics ranging from nost

3.) Just Us: An American Conversation written byClaudia Rankine

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookpage
• Time
• Amazon
• Publishers Weekly
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• Financial Times
• NY Times
• NYPL
• NPR

Claudia Rankine’s Citizen changed the conversation–Just Us urges all of us into it As everyday white supremacy becomes increasingly vocalized with no clear answers at hand, how best might we approach one another? Claudia Rankine, without telling us what to do, urges us to begin the discussions that

2.) Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family written byRobert Kolker

Lists It Appears On:

• Worldly Gentleman
• Bookpage
• NY Times 2
• Amazon
• Goodreads
• Publishers Weekly
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NY Times
• NYPL
• NPR

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science’s great hope in the quest to understand the disease. Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dre

1.) Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents written byIsabel Wilkerson

Lists It Appears On:

• Books A Million
• Los Angeles Times
• Powells
• Readings
• Amazon
• Publishers Weekly
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• NY Times
• Bookpage
• Time
• NYPL
• Worldly Gentleman
• NPR

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER – OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK – LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD – “An instant American classic and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American century thus far.”–Dwight Garner, The New York Times The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The W

The 300+ Additional Best Nonfiction Books Released In 2020

24 Best Nonfiction Book Sources/Lists