The Greatest Nonfiction and Psychological Books Since 1970

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 488 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
1172 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert M. Pirsig 1974 American English
1283 Dependency Tove Ditlevsen 1971 Danish Danish
1975 The Uses of Enchantment Bruno Bettelheim 1976 Austrian English
2024 Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman 2011 Israeli English
2798 The Adversary Emmanuel Carrère 2000 French French
4164 A Sorrow Beyond Dreams Peter Handke 1972 Austrian German
4560 Steps To An Ecology Of Mind Gregory Bateson 1972 American English
4813 How To Change Your Mind Michael Pollan 2018 American English
5029 One Of Us Asne Seierstad 2013 Norwegian Norwegian
5241 Three Month Fever Gary Indiana 1999 American English
7580 My Father's House Sylvia Fraser 1987 Canadian English
7704 Phantoms In The Brain Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Sandra Blakeslee 1998 American English
10517 Memorial Drive Natasha Trethewey 2020 American English
10608 Love's Executioner Irvin D. Yalom 1989 American English
11770 Hunger Roxane Gay 2017 American English
11787 Stuart Alexander Masters 2005 British English
11875 The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog Bruce D. Perry, Danny Campbell, Maia Szalavita 2006 American English
12173 The Body Keeps The Score Bessel van der Kolk 2014 American English
12239 My Father, My Monster McIntosh Polela 2011 Unknown English
12247 Lighter Than My Shadow Katie Green 2013 British English
12295 Montauk Max Frisch 1975 Swiss German
12403 Lo Que No Tiene Nombre Piedad Bonnett 2013 Colombian Spanish
12783 Subliminal Leonard Mlodinow 2012 American English
12783 Patient H.M. Luke Dittrich 2016 American English
12783 Heartbreak Florence Williams 2022 American English
13139 Explaining Humans Camilla Pang 2020 British English
14371 Sybil Flora Rheta Schreiber 1973 American English
14371 The Psychopath Test Jon Ronson 2011 British English
14371 The War Marguerite Duras 1985 French French
14371 The Possession Annie Ernaux 2002 French French
14371 The Art Of Cruelty Maggie Nelson 2011 American English
14371 When Death Takes Something From You Give It Back Naja Marie Aidt 2017 Danish Danish
14371 House Of Psychotic Women Kier-La Janisse 2012 Unknown English
14371 The Nurture Assumption Judith Rich Harris 1998 American English
14371 Atlas Of An Anxious Man Christoph Ransmayr 2016 Austrian German
14371 Keeper Andrea Gillies 2009 British English