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The 20 best nonfiction books of 2015
“Modern Romance” by Aziz Ansari
“Humans of New York: Stories” by Brandon Stanton
Stanton’s popular Humans of New York blog captures glimpses into the lives and histories of everyday New Yorkers through portraits and snippets of dialogue. The follow-up to his first best-selling book, this new collection dives even deeper with new humans and more in-depth stories. Sometimes funny, sometimes somber, sometimes brutally honest, it touches on all the raw emotions of being human.
“Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert
Creativity is everywhere, in everything we do. And Elizabeth Gilbert, best-selling author of “Eat, Pray, Love,” wants to show every single one of us how to tap into our own caches of inspiration.
The book is divided into six sections — courage, enchantment, permission, persistence, trust, and divinity — with strategies and encouragement for coaxing out creativity within each one.
“Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
In a letter to his teenage son, Coates grapples with the implications of race in America, especially for the black men and women who still today face a disproportionate amount of prejudice. As Coates attempts to answer tough questions surrounding race, he shares his own story of finding his place in the world through both personal narrative and reimagined history. Winner of 2015 National Book Award.
“H is for Hawk” by Helen Macdonald
When Helen Macdonald’s father died unexpectedly, she found herself overcome with grief. In attempt to push past her anguish, the experienced falconer decided to take on the challenge of training a goshawk — one of the species' most vicious predators — and starts to see pieces of herself in its fierce temperament along the way.
“Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town” by Jon Krakauer
In Missoula, Montana, home of the University of Montana Grizzlies, school spirit runs rampant — but so does sexual assault.
Krakauer investigates a world where self-doubt and fear of public shaming scares victims away from reporting their abuse and those brave enough to press charges are met with extreme pushback. His carefully reported accounts from several real women in Missoula reveal major truths about rape and shed light on a deeply flawed justice system.
“Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship” by Robert Kurson
Finding and correctly identifying a sunken pirate ship is the hardest underwater feat in the world — it’s only been accomplished once in history. But John Chatterton and John Mattera will stop at nothing to find the Golden Fleece, the ship of notorious yet little-known pirate Joseph Bannister.
“Pirate Hunters” follows the two men as they traverse the globe for the ship, facing every obstacle from government blockades to dangerous rivals.
“So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed” by Jon Ronson
Though scarlet letters might be a thing of the past, public shaming is alive and real, especially with the rise of social media. To uncover the phenomenon behind modern-day public shaming — from Justine Sacco’s tasteless Twitter joke to Jonah Lehrer’s widely-publicized plagiarism scandal — Ronson explores the implications and consequences of what it means to be called out and publicly bullied today.
“For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards” by Jen Hatmaker
Life’s biggest challenge is something no one can ignore: other people — even the ones we care about. But Hatmaker reveals how Jesus’ unending grace and love can get us through everything from dealing with the comparison trap of our friends’ Instagram-worthy lives to escaping the impossible standards we place on our own lives to learning how to form deep, long-lasting friendships.
“Rising Strong” by Brené Brown
Everyone stumbles sometimes, but how you rise back up is where character and courage forms. From teachers to veterans to leaders of Fortune 500 companies, Brown shares the stories of bravery and perseverance that happen when we bounce back from failure, pinpointing what all success stories have in common: Those who survive recognize the power of emotion and aren’t afraid to give in to it.
“Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America” by Jill Leovy
Though largely ignored by the media, “ghettoside killings” — one young black man murdering another — is one of the most common types of homicide in the country. Leovy aims to shed light on the issue, following a cadre of detectives who share her goal of bringing justice to the communities rocked by these tragedies.
“Guantánamo Diary” by Mohamedou Ould Slahi
Though he’s been held in the Guantánamo Bay detention camp since 2002, Mohamedou Ould Slahi still hasn’t been charged with an official crime by the US government. In his diary — the first and only one published by a still-imprisoned Guatánamo inmate — Slahi tells his story of life before imprisonment up through his experiences in a justice system that's far from perfect.
“The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion” by Elle Luna
There’s a big difference between living for other people’s expectations and pursuing your true passion, which Luna describes as the intersection of “should” — what we feel pressured to do — and “must” — our heart’s desires. Originally written as a personal manifesto, this visual book helps every reader explore their own passions and put life into perspective.
“The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion” by Meghan Daum
In a collection of 10 personal essays, Daum tackles heavy topics many people deal with but never acknowledge, from a lack of desire to have children to a near-death experience following a sudden illness. She strikes a careful balance between humor and reality, capturing and dissecting the “unspeakable” moments that define our modern culture.
“Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives” by Gretchen Rubin
If you want to change anything significant about your life, you’ve got to start with the little things, the habits that shape your everyday. In “Better Than Before,” Rubin lays out practical ways to identify and modify our habits — and ensure that we stick to new ones. Whether you want to get more sleep, lose weight, or tackle a big project, forming lasting habits is the key to success.
“One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway” by Asne Seierstad
In 2011, Anders Behring Breivik shocked the peaceful nation of Norway and became one of the country’s most infamous criminals when he set off a bomb outside the prime minister’s house — killing eight people — and the massacred 69 more at a youth camp on the nearby island of Utøya. Seierstad sharply illustrates the lives of both Breivik and his victims, providing an in-depth look at extreme violence and how a normally placid country coped with tragedy.
“Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead” by Laszlo Bock
The head of people operations at Google, Bock draws on his own experiences, as well as the most recent research in behavioral economics, to offer insights into a successful workplace, including how to hire the best people and receive constructive feedback. He includes wisdom from his 15 years at Google alongside examples from both well-known and under-the-radar businesses for a comprehensive look at how to build a successful company.
“Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs” by Johann Hari
To mark the 100-year anniversary of the ban on drugs in the US, Hari set out to experience the war on drugs firsthand. Throughout his three-year journey, he discovered that drugs and addiction across the globe are far different from how they’re portrayed on TV. From a transsexual crack dealer in Brooklyn to a doctor set on decriminalizing all drugs, Hari shares deeply personal stories from all over the world.
“When to Rob a Bank: ...And 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
From the authors of the best-selling “Freakonomics” franchise comes a curated collection of posts from Levitt and Dubner’s popular blog. The essays tackle everything from what people lie about to why they think it’s time for a sex tax in a fun and conversational way, echoing the offbeat, economic logic that made “Freakonomics” a worldwide sensation.
“The Road to Character” by David Brooks
According to Brooks, the path to becoming a better person involves focusing less on “resume virtues,” such as achieving fame or money, and leaning more toward the “eulogy virtues” that define our personality, such as kindness and honesty. Brooks employs some of the world’s greatest leaders as examples, from civil-rights activists A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin to President Dwight Eisenhower.
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