The Greatest Lebanese, Ghanaian, French, South African Nonfiction Books Since 1990

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 400 '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
898 The Years Annie Ernaux 2008 French French
1198 Long Walk To Freedom Nelson Mandela 1994 South African English
2347 The Adversary Emmanuel Carrère 2000 French French
2594 To The Friend Who Did Not Save My Life Hervé Guibert 1990 French French
2987 Boyhood J. M. Coetzee 1997 South African English
3030 Capital in the Twenty-First Century Thomas Piketty 2013 French French
3609 Essential Cuisine Michel Bras 1996 French French
4108 Lives Other Than My Own Emmanuel Carrère 2009 French French
4945 Born A Crime Trevor Noah 2016 South African English
5126 In My Father's House Anthony Appiah 1992 Ghanaian English
5157 Country Of My Skull Antjie Krog 1998 South African English
5357 Cutting The Rose Efua Doorkenoo 1994 Ghanaian English
5658 King Kong Theory Virginie Despentes 2006 French French
5724 The Seed Is Mine Charles Van Onselen 1996 South African English
6060 Disturbance Philippe Lançon 2018 French French
7521 Them Francine du Plessix Gray 2005 French English
7816 Beirut Fragments Jean Said Makdisi 1990 Lebanese English
8199 The Straight Mind Monique Wittig 1992 French English
8965 La Charte Du Mandé Et Autres Traditions Du Mali Aboubakar Fofana, Jean-Louis Sagot 2003 French French
9653 Capitalism, Socialism, Ecology Andre Gorz 1991 French French
9654 Happening Annie Ernaux 2000 French French
9670 Religion Explained Pascal Boyer 2001 French English
10098 The Black Swan Nassim Nicholas Taleb 2007 Lebanese English
10136 Passagère Du Silence Fabienne Verdier 2001 French French
10166 Acts Of Resistance Pierre Bourdieu 1998 French French
10252 The Elephant Whisperer Lawrence Anthony 2009 South African English
10260 The Black Count Tom Reiss 2012 French English
10324 Interventions Kofi Annan 2012 Ghanaian English
10427 Eight Days In September Frank Chikane 2012 South African English
12497 Dawn of Art Jean-Marie Chauvet 1995 French French
12497 What's The Big Idea? Oscar Brenifier 2001 French French
12497 A History Of Molecular Biology Michel Morange 1998 French English
12497 Armed And Dangerous Ronnie Kasrils 1993 South African English