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The Guardian - The 100 Greatest Non-Fiction Books

After keen debate at the Guardian's books desk, this is our list of the very best factual writing, organised by category, and then by date.
Looking for great book recommendations? Our critics and experts pick the best books, and give the definitive subject lists.
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The Shock of the New
The Shock of the New
1
The Story of Art
The Story of Art
2
Ways of Seeing (John Berger)
Ways of Seeing
3
John Berger
The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (Giorgio Vasari)
The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
4
Giorgio Vasari
The Life of Samuel Johnson
The Life of Samuel Johnson
5
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
6
Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey
Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey
7
Goodbye to All That (Robert Graves)
Goodbye to All That
8
Robert Graves
The Autobiography of Alice B. Tokias by Gertrude Stein
The Autobiography of Alice B. Tokias by Gertrude Stein
9
Notes on Camp (Susan Sontag)
Notes on Camp
10
Susan Sontag
Mythologies
Mythologies
11
Orientalism (Edward W. Said)
Orientalism
12
Edward W. Said
Silent Spring (Rachel Carson)
Silent Spring
13
Rachel Carson
The Revenge of Gaia
The Revenge of Gaia
14
The Histories
The Histories
15
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Edward Gibbon)
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
16
Edward Gibbon
The History of England (Lord Macaulay)
The History of England
17
Lord Macaulay
Eichmann in Jerusalem (Hannah Arendt)
Eichmann in Jerusalem
18
Hannah Arendt
THE MAKING OF THE ENGLISH WORKING CLASS by E. P. Thompson
THE MAKING OF THE ENGLISH WORKING CLASS by E. P. Thompson
19
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (Dee Brown)
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
20
Dee Brown
Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (Studs Terkel)
Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression
21
Studs Terkel
Shah of Shahs
Shah of Shahs
22
The Age of Extremes a History of the World 1914 - 1991 (Eric Hobsbawm)
The Age of Extremes a History of the World 1914 - 1991
23
Eric Hobsbawm
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families (Philip Gourevitch)
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families
24
Philip Gourevitch
Postwar (Tony Judt)
Postwar
25
Tony Judt
THE JOURNALIST AND THE MURDERER by Janet Malcolm
THE JOURNALIST AND THE MURDERER by Janet Malcolm
26
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (Tom Wolfe)
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
27
Tom Wolfe
Dispatches (Michael Herr)
Dispatches
28
Michael Herr
The Lives of the English Poets (Samuel Johnson)
The Lives of the English Poets
29
Samuel Johnson
An Image of Africa (Chinua Achebe)
An Image of Africa
30
Chinua Achebe
The Uses of Enchantment
The Uses of Enchantment
31
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
32
Confessions (Saint Augustine)
Confessions
33
Saint Augustine
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Frederick Douglass)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
34
Frederick Douglass
De Profundis (Oscar Wilde)
De Profundis
35
Oscar Wilde
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (T.E. Lawrence)
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
36
T.E. Lawrence
The Story of My Experiments With Truth (Mohandas K. Gandhi)
The Story of My Experiments With Truth
37
Mohandas K. Gandhi
Homage to Catalonia (George Orwell)
Homage to Catalonia
38
George Orwell
The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
The Diary of a Young Girl
39
Anne Frank
Speak, Memory (Vladimir Nabokov)
Speak, Memory
40
Vladimir Nabokov
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