Recommended non-fiction
Explore our curated list of top recommended non-fiction books across various genres. Discover must-read titles for knowledge, inspiration, and personal growth.
Book
The World
by Jan Morris
A breathtakingly vivid guide to our greatest cosmopolitan cities and culturesfrom Manhattan to Venice and from Baghdad to Barbados, this book assembles 50years of Morris's finest travel writing.
Book
The World of Venice
by Jan Morris
A fascinating exploration of the history, sights, seasons, arts, food, and people of an incomparable city. “A highly intelligent portrait of an eccentric city, written in powerful prose and enlivened by many curious mosaics of information...a beautiful book to read and to possess” (The Observer). New Foreword by the Author. Index.
Book
Conundrum
by Jan Morris
One of the first-ever books on gender transition, this poignant memoir by a trans woman is “the best first-hand account ever written by a traveler across the boundaries of sex” (Newsweek). “A profoundly poetic story.” —The New York Times “An exquisite read.” —Maria Popova, The Marginalian The great travel writer Jan Morris was born James Morris. James Morris distinguished himself in the British military, became a successful and physically daring reporter, climbed mountains, crossed deserts, and established a reputation as a historian of the British empire. He was happily married, with several children. To all appearances, he was not only a man, but a man’s man. Except that appearances, as James Morris had known from early childhood, can be deeply misleading. James Morris had known all his conscious life that at heart he was a woman. Conundrum, one of the earliest books to discuss transsexuality with honesty and without prurience, tells the story of James Morris’ hidden life and how he decided to bring it into the open, as he resolved first on a hormone treatment and, second, on risky experimental surgery that would turn him into the woman that he truly was.
Book
The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson
by Emily Dickinson
Presents selections of poems along with a chronology of Dickinson's life and an essay offering background information on her works.
Book
I'm a Stranger Here Myself
by Bill Bryson
A classic from the New York Times bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods and The Body. After living in Britain for two decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and four children (he had read somewhere that nearly 3 million Americans believed they had been abducted by aliens—as he later put it, "it was clear my people needed me"). They were greeted by a new and improved America that boasts microwave pancakes, twenty-four-hour dental-floss hotlines, and the staunch conviction that ice is not a luxury item. Delivering the brilliant comic musings that are a Bryson hallmark, I'm a Stranger Here Myself recounts his sometimes disconcerting reunion with the land of his birth. The result is a book filled with hysterical scenes of one man's attempt to reacquaint himself with his own country, but it is also an extended if at times bemused love letter to the homeland he has returned to after twenty years away.
Book
A Walk in the Woods
by Bill Bryson
The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way–and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).
Book
The Lost Continent
by Bill Bryson
An unsparing and hilarious account of one man's rediscovery of America and his search for the perfect small town.
Book
Neither Here Nor There:
by Bill Bryson
Like many of his generation, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe in the early seventies -- in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. Twenty years later he decided to retrace the journey he undertook in the halcyon days of his youth. The result is Neither Here Nor There, an affectionate and riotously funny pilgrimage from the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to the chaotic tumult of Istanbul, with stops along the way in Europe's most diverting and historic locales. Like many of his generation, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe in the early seventies--in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. Twenty years later he decided to retrace the journey he undertook in the halcyon days of his youth. The result is Neither Here Nor There, an affectionate and riotously funny pilgrimage from the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to the chaotic tumult of Istanbul, with stops along the way in Europe's most diverting and historic locales.
Book
Made in America
by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson, who gave glorious voice to The Mother Tongue, now celebrates her magnificent offspring in the book that reveals once and for all how a dusty western hamlet with neither woods nor holly came to be known as Hollywood...and exactly why Mr. Yankee Doodle call his befeathered cap "Macaroni."
Book
Clara Schumann
by Nancy B. Reich
This absorbing and award-winning biography tells the story of the tragedies and triumphs of Clara Wieck Schumann (1819-1896)--at once artist, composer, editor, teacher, wife, and mother of eight children.
Book
Johannes Brahms
by Jan Swafford
A New York Times Notable Book "This brilliant and magisterial book is a very good bet to...become the definitive study of Johannes Brahms."--The Plain Dealer Judicious, compassionate, and full of insight into Brahms's human complexity as well as his music, Johannes Brahms is an indispensable biography. Proclaimed the new messiah of Romanticism by Robert Schumann when he was only twenty, Johannes Brahms dedicated himself to a long and extraordinarily productive career. In this book, Jan Swafford sets out to reveal the little-known Brahms, the boy who grew up in mercantile Hamburg and played piano in beer halls among prostitutes and drunken sailors, the fiercely self-protective man who thwarted future biographers by burning papers, scores and notebooks late in his life. Making unprecedented use of the remaining archival material, Swafford offers richly expanded perspectives on Brahms's youth, on his difficult romantic life--particularly his longstanding relationship with Clara Schumann--and on his professional rivalry with Lizst and Wagner. "[Johannes Brahms] will no doubt stand as the definitive work on Brahms, one of the monumental biographies in the entire musical library."--London Weekly Standard "It is a measure of the accomplishment of Jan Swafford's biography that Brahms's sadness becomes palpable.... [Swafford] manages to construct a full-bodied human being."--The New York Times Book Review
Book
A Traveller in Rome
by Henry Vollam Morton
This is H.V. Morton's account of his sojourn in Rome. He leads the reader on a well-informed and insightful journey around the city from the Fontana di Trevi and the Collosseum to the Vatican Gardens.
Book
Shakespeare's Sonnets
by William Shakespeare
A bestselling, beautifully designed edition of William Shakespeare’s sonnets, complete with valuable tools for educators. The authoritative edition of Shakespeare’s Sonnets from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes: -Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on the facing page of each sonnet -A brief introduction to each sonnet, providing insight into its possible meaning -An index of first lines -Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books -An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the sonnets The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.
Book
The Children of Henry VIII
by Alison Weir
“Fascinating . . . Alison Weir does full justice to the subject.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer At his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife Katherine of Aragon; the Lady Elizabeth, the teenage daughter of his second wife Anne Boleyn; and his young great-niece, the Lady Jane Grey. In this riveting account Alison Weir paints a unique portrait of these extraordinary rulers, examining their intricate relationships to each other and to history. She traces the tumult that followed Henry's death, from the brief intrigue-filled reigns of the boy king Edward VI and the fragile Lady Jane Grey, to the savagery of "Bloody Mary," and finally the accession of the politically adroit Elizabeth I. As always, Weir offers a fresh perspective on a period that has spawned many of the most enduring myths in English history, combining the best of the historian's and the biographer's art. “Like anthropology, history and biography can demonstrate unfamiliar ways of feeling and being. Alison Weir's sympathetic collective biography, The Children of Henry VIII does just that, reminding us that human nature has changed--and for the better. . . . Weir imparts movement and coherence while re-creating the suspense her characters endured and the suffering they inflicted.”—The New York Times Book Review
Book
Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley
by Alison Weir
Handsome, accomplished, and charming, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, staked his claim to the English throne by marrying Mary Stuart, who herself claimed to be the Queen of England. It was not long before Mary discovered that her new husband was interested only in securing sovereign power for himself. Then, on February 10, 1567, an explosion at his lodgings left Darnley dead; the intrigue thickened after it was discovered that he had apparently been suffocated before the blast. After an exhaustive reevaluation of the source material, Alison Weir has come up with a solution to this enduring mystery. Employing her gift for vivid characterization and gripping storytelling, Weir has written one of her most engaging excursions yet into Britain’s bloodstained, power-obsessed past.
Book
Marie Antoinette
by Evelyne Lever
A biography of the French queen explores the intrigue surrounding her life, as well as the events leading up to her death
Book
Jacqueline Du Pre
by Carol Easton
First time in paperback: A "strong, compelling, and compassionate book" ("Boston Globe") about the acclaimed and ill-fated cellist who died at the age of forty-two.
Book
The Adventure of English
by Melvyn Bragg
Bragg's landmark history of the English language details how and where it began 1,500 years ago, and how it evolved to become the tongue of two billion people worldwide.
Book
The Fatal Shore
by Robert Hughes
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • This incredible true history of the colonization of Australia explores how the convict transportation system created the country we know today. "One of the greatest non-fiction books I’ve ever read ... Hughes brings us an entire world." —Los Angeles Times Digging deep into the dark history of England's infamous efforts to move 160,000 men and women thousands of miles to the other side of the world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Hughes has crafted a groundbreaking, definitive account of the settling of Australia. Tracing the European presence in Australia from early explorations through the rise and fall of the penal colonies, and featuring 16 pages of illustrations and 3 maps, The Fatal Shore brings to life the history of the country we thought we knew.
Book
Sisters to the King
by Maria Perry
"Much has been written about Henry VIII and his six wives, but his sisters, Margaret and Mary, have had less of the limelight ... In the Tudor age both Margaret and Mary were thought to be more important personalities than Henry's six wives. Margaret became Queen of Scotland at the age of thirteen; Mary, Henry's famously beautiful younger sister, was married off to the ageing King of France. Against convention, both chose their second husbands for love. Mary risked her head by proposing to the handsome Duke of Suffolk; Margaret's husband James IV was killed by henry's armies, her children were snatched from her and her two subsequent husbands betrayed her, yet she defied convention by twice seeking divorce"--Publisher's description.
Book
King George V
by Kenneth Rose
The Whitbread (and Wolfson and Yorkshire Post) Prize Winning account of the king whose life spanned the centuries. Grandfather of the present Queen, George V bridged the century from the ÂżgloriesÂż of the Victorian and Edwardian eras through the horrors of the Great War. His life is recounted here drawing on letters and diaries of the Royal family as well as intimates and social observers of the time. As his funeral cortege turned into New Palace Yard the Maltese Cross fell from the Crown and landed in the gutter. ÂżA most terrible omenÂż wrote Harold Nicolson. And indeed it was.
Book
Queen Mary
by James Pope-Hennessy
The award-winning biography of Princess May of Teck tells the moving story of her relatively impoverished childhood, her very significant reign, and her old age as the much-admired Queen Dowager. As official biographer, the author had the advantage of access to private papers and the cooperation of many people. “A masterpiece of royal biography first published in 1959 and too long out of print.”—Booklist.
Book
Queen Victoria
by Elizabeth Longford
In this biography, Lady Longford, long recognized as an authority on the subject, gives a full account of Queen Victoria's life and provides her unique assessment of the monarch. Victoria ascended the throne in 1837 on the death of her uncle, William IV. In 1840, she married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
Book
Queen Victoria's Children
by John Van der Kiste
Queen Victoria and Albert, the Prince Consort, had nine children who despite their very different characters, remained a close-knit family. This is not only the story of their lives in terms of world impact, but also of personal achievements in their own right.
Book
The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England
by Antonia Fraser
A compendium of illustrated biographies of the British monarchs, revised throughout and updated to include the recent history of the Windsors.
Book
Umbria
by Paul Hofmann
Offers a personal account of the cities, towns, villages, and natural sights of Umbria, and reveals its hidden wonders from the great Etruscan and Roman ruins, medieval castles, cathedrals, and palaces to extraordinary works of art
Book
King, Kaiser, Tsar
by Catrine Clay
Traces the shared history of George V of England, Wilhelm II of Germany, and Nicholas II of Russia, in an account that draws on previously unpublished royal letters and diaries to record how intimate family details had a profound influence on the events leading to World War I. 35,000 first printing.
Book
Becoming Queen
by Kate Williams
Our perception of Victoria the Queen is coloured by portraits of her older, widowed self - her dour expression embodying the repressive morality propagated in her time. But Becoming Queen reveals an energetic and vibrant woman, determined to battle for power. It also documents the Byzantine machinations behind Victoria's quest to occupy the throne, and shows how her struggles did not end when finally the crown was placed on her head. Laying bare the passions that swirled around the throne in the eighteenth century, Becoming Queen is an absorbingly dramatic tale of secrets, sexual repression and endless conflict. After her lauded biography of Emma Hamilton, England's Mistress, Kate Williams has produced a most original and intimate portrait of Great Britain's longest reigning monarch.
Book
1788
by David Hill
An extraordinary narrative history of the First Fleet, by the bestselling author of The Forgotten Children. Never before or since has there been an experiment quite as bold as this. Set against the backdrop of Georgian England with its peculiar mix of elegance, prosperity, progress and squalor, the story of the First Fleet is one of courage, of short-sightedness, of tragedy but above all of extraordinary resilience. It is also, of course, the story of the very first European Australians, reluctant pioneers who travelled into the unknown - the vast majority against their will - in order to form a colony by order of the King's government. Separated from loved ones and travelling in cramped conditions for the months-long journey to Botany Bay, they suffered the most unbearable hardship on arrival on Australian land where a near-famine dictated that rations be cut to the bone. But why was the settlement of New South Wales proposed in the first place? Who were the main players in a story that changed the world and ultimately forged the Australian nation? How did the initial skirmishes with the indigenous population break out and how did the relationship turn sour so quickly? Using diaries, letters and official records, David Hill artfully reconstructs the experiences of these famous and infamous men and women of history, combining narrative skill with an eye for detail and an exceptional empathy with the people of the past.
Book
That's Another Story
by Julie Walters
The number-one Sunday Times bestseller Her mum wanted her to be a nurse so that is what Julie did. But in her heart she had always wanted to be an actress and soon she was on stage at the local theatre in Liverpool. Her career snowballed with highlights that include Educating Rita, Billy Elliot, Harry Potter, Acorn Antiques, Dinner Ladies and Mamma Mia! She has been nominated for two Oscars, been awarded multiple BAFTAs and a Golden Globe, plus been honoured with a DBE. This is the heart-warming and funny story of that journey.
Book
Marie-Therese
by Susan Nagel
The biography of Marie Antoinette's only child to survive the revolution and the woman who helped shape the future of nineteenth-century Europe.
