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The 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Past 25 Years

Slate's list of the definitive nonfiction books written in English in the past quarter-century includes beautifully written memoirs but also books of reportage, collections of essays, travelogues, works of cultural criticism, passionate arguments, even a compendium of household tips. What they all share is a commitment to "mostly truth" and the belief that digging deep to find a real story—whether it's located in your memory, on dusty archive shelves, in Russian literature, in a slum in Mumbai—is a task worth undertaking.
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Mr Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder
Mr Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder
1
Into the Wild (Jon Krakauer)
Into the Wild
2
Jon Krakauer
Madeleine's World (Brian Hall)
Madeleine's World
3
Brian Hall
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (Anne Fadiman)
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
4
Anne Fadiman
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (David Foster Wallace)
A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
5
David Foster Wallace
Out of Sheer Rage
Out of Sheer Rage
6
The Tennis Partner (Verghese)
The Tennis Partner
7
Verghese
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
8
Philip Gourevitch
Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House (Cheryl Mendelson)
Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House
9
Cheryl Mendelson
The Battle for God (Karen Armstrong)
The Battle for God
10
Karen Armstrong
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (Dave Eggers)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
11
Dave Eggers
Borrowed Finery, Paula Fox
Borrowed Finery, Paula Fox
12
American Ground (William Langewiesche)
American Ground
13
William Langewiesche
Random Family
Random Family
14
Can't Stop Won't Stop
Can't Stop Won't Stop
15
Fun Home (Alison Bechdel)
Fun Home
16
Alison Bechdel
The World Without Us (Alan Weisman)
The World Without Us
17
Alan Weisman
The Night of the Gun (David Carr)
The Night of the Gun
18
David Carr
Age of Wonder : How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty And
Age of Wonder : How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty And
19
Columbine (Dave Cullen)
Columbine
20
Dave Cullen
The Lost City of Z (David Grann)
The Lost City of Z
21
David Grann
Finishing the Hat (Stephen Sondheim)
Finishing the Hat
22
Stephen Sondheim
Look, I Made a Hat (Stephen Sondheim)
Look, I Made a Hat
23
Stephen Sondheim
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
24
Rebecca Skloot
The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires (Tim Wu)
The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires
25
Tim Wu
The New Jim Crow (Alexander)
The New Jim Crow
26
Alexander
The Possessed (Elif Batuman)
The Possessed
27
Elif Batuman
Travels in Siberia (Ian Frazier)
Travels in Siberia
28
Ian Frazier
The Warmth of Other Suns (Isabel Wilkerson)
The Warmth of Other Suns
29
Isabel Wilkerson
Harlem Is Nowhere (Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts)
Harlem Is Nowhere
30
Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts
The Information (James Gleick)
The Information
31
James Gleick
Behind the Beautiful Forevers (Katherine Boo)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
32
Katherine Boo
Far From the Tree (Andrew Solomon)
Far From the Tree
33
Andrew Solomon
The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot (Robert MacFarlane)
The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot
34
Robert MacFarlane
People Who Eat Darkness
People Who Eat Darkness
35
Going Clear
Going Clear
36
Lost Girls (Robert Kolker)
Lost Girls
37
Robert Kolker
The Trip to Echo Spring (Olivia Laing)
The Trip to Echo Spring
38
Olivia Laing
The Unwinding
The Unwinding
39
Wave
Wave
40
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