The 50 Best Books of Literary Journalism
This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.
About this list
GQ, 50 Books
In creating their list of the 50 best literary journalism books of the 21st century, GQ sought the opinions of an elite group of American journalists, including Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and National Magazine Award winners, as well as GQ contributors. These books, which range from explorations of significant events to deep dives into intriguing subjects, represent a form of journalism that combines meticulous reporting with the narrative depth of novels. The journalists who voted for these books considered them not only enjoyable but also significant in their ability to clarify and interpret contemporary and recent historical events, influencing other forms of art such as film and TV. The list, meant to update the canon of literary journalism, strictly features one book per author and excludes essay collections, focusing instead on works that fully articulate a single story or theme.
who voted?
the article says "we canvassed dozens and dozens of American journalists who do this kind of reporting and writing at the highest level. Among those we asked were winners of Pulitzer Prizes, National Book Awards, and National Magazine Awards, as well as a number of GQ contributors."
dozens of dozens is a lot. I am not sure I believe that. I am going to go with 36 unless someone knows of more specific details
This list was originally published in 2021 and was added to this site about 2 years ago.
| Rank | Book | Authors | Year | Country | Language | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1494 | Behind the Beautiful Forevers | Katherine Boo | 2012 | American | English | |
| 908 | The Warmth Of Other Suns | Isabel Wilkerson | 2010 | American | English | |
| 3252 | Killers Of The Flower Moon | David Grann | 2017 | American | English | |
| 1433 | Random Family | Adrian Nicole LeBlanc | 2003 | American | English | |
| 2518 | The Passage Of Power | Robert Caro | 2012 | American | English | |
| 1207 | Between the World and Me | Ta-Nehisi Coates | 2015 | American | English | |
| 7016 | Going Clear | Lawrence Wright | 2013 | American | English | |
| 1363 | The Adversary | Emmanuel Carrère | 2000 | French | French | |
| 1990 | Say Nothing | Patrick Radden Keefe | 2018 | American | English | |
| 4933 | Ghettoside | Jill Leovy | 2015 | American | English | |
| 6598 | Hidden Valley Road | Robert Kolker | 2020 | American | English | |
| 9515 | The Tiger | John Vaillant | 2010 | Canadian | English | |
| 3517 | Nothing to Envy | Barbara Demick | 2009 | American | English | |
| 2892 | Moneyball | Michael M. Lewis | 2003 | American | English | |
| 4644 | The Forever War | Dexter Filkins | 2008 | American | English | |
| 1699 | The New Jim Crow | Michelle Alexander | 2010 | American | English | |
| 5084 | Amity and Prosperity | Eliza Griswold | 2018 | American | English | |
| 8048 | The Future Is History | Masha Gessen | 2017 | Russian | English | |
| 8543 | Under The Banner Of Heaven | Jon Krakauer | 2003 | American | English | |
| 6651 | How The Word Is Passed | Clint Smith | 2021 | American | English | |
| 5729 | One Of Us | Asne Seierstad | 2013 | Norwegian | Norwegian | |
| 8741 | Night Draws Near | Anthony Shadid | 2005 | American | English | |
| 4939 | Dark Money | Jane Mayer | 2016 | American | English | |
| 6317 | No Good Men Among The Living | Anand Gopal | 2014 | American | English | |
| 7722 | No Turning Back | Rania Abouzeid | 2018 | Unknown | English | |
| 6236 | The Unwinding | George Packer | 2013 | American | English | |
| 4742 | The Omnivore's Dilemma | Michael Pollan | 2006 | American | English | |
| 5795 | Five Days at Memorial | Sheri Fink | 2013 | American | English | |
| 8871 | Heat | Bill Buford | 2006 | American | English | |
| 1817 | Barbarian Days | William Finnegan | 2015 | American | English | |
| 5451 | The Yellow House | Sarah M. Broom | 2019 | American | English | |
| 10873 | Rising Out Of Hatred | Eli Saslow | 2018 | American | English | |
| 6639 | The Beast | Óscar Martínez | 2013 | Salvadoran | Spanish | |
| 1843 | The Sixth Extinction | Elizabeth Kolbert | 2014 | American | English | |
| 4805 | Dreamland | Sam Quinones | 2015 | American | English | |
| 8410 | She Said | Jodi Kantor | 2019 | American | English | |
| 3519 | Bad Blood | John Carreyrou | 2018 | American | English | |
| 10077 | Deep Down Dark | Héctor Tobar | 2014 | American | English | |
| 10732 | A Moonless, Starless Sky | Alexis Okeowo | 2017 | American | English | |
| 8741 | Disney War | James B. Stewart | 2005 | American | English | |
| 5078 | Imperial Life in the Emerald City | Rajiv Chandrasekaran | 2006 | American | English | |
| 4606 | Gulag | Anne Applebaum | 2003 | American | English | |
| 2920 | The Return | Hisham Matar | 2016 | Libyan | English | |
| 5696 | The Sum Of Us | Heather McGhee | 2021 | American | English | |
| 8335 | This Cold Heaven | Gretel Ehrlich | 2001 | American | English | |
| 10732 | Notes On A Foreign Country | Suzy Hansen | 2017 | American | English | |
| 5974 | Maximum City | Suketu Mehta | 2004 | American | English | |
| 9604 | Three Women | Lisa Taddeo | 2019 | American | English | |
| 7989 | Play Their Hearts Out | George Dohrmann | 2010 | American | English | |
| 8871 | The Beautiful Fall | Alicia Drake | 2006 | British | English |