100 best nonfiction books of the 21st century

Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama This remarkably candid memoir revealed not only a literary talent, but a force that would change the face of US politics for ever. The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe Tom Wolfe raised reportage to dazzling new levels in his quest to discover what makes a man fly to the moon. Orientalism by Edward Said This polemical masterpiece challenging western attitudes to the east is as topical today as it was on publication. The Making of the English Working Class by EP Thompson This influential, painstakingly compiled masterpiece reads as an anatomy of pre-industrial Britain — and a description of the lost experience of the common man. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson This classic of American advocacy sparked a nationwide outcry against the use of pesticides, inspired legislation that would endeavour to control pollution, and launched the modern environmental movement in the US.

This list is generated from "best of" book lists from a variety of great sources. An algorithm is used to create a master list based on how many lists a particular book appears on. Some lists count more than others. I generally trust "best of all time" lists voted by authors and experts over user-generated lists. On the lists that are actually ranked, the book that is 1st counts a lot more than the book that's th. If you have any comments, suggestions, or corrections please feel free to e-mail me. The list of works appears alphabetically by author.

Home Groups Talk Zeitgeist. I Agree This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms. Award description "Earlier this year , Random House announced that it would release a list of the best non-fiction books of the century. The publisher had enjoyed success and controversy with its best novels; now it would do this. Here at National Review, we decided to get a jump on them by forming our own panel and offering our own list. Under the leadership of our reporter John J.

Actually, constructing a canon of any kind is a little weird at the moment, when so much of how we measure cultural value is in flux. Its supposed permanence became the subject of more recent battles, back in the 20th century, between those who defended it as the foundation of Western civilization and those who attacked it as exclusive or even racist.
how to draw a book