The Best Nonfiction of 2010

by Charles Bowden

A potent book that readers won’t soon forget, and a warning of what can come of an insatiable market that knows no borders. Full review >

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by Alan Brinkley

A thoroughly researched, nuanced appreciation of a complex, talented and troubled man. Full review >

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by Bill Bryson

Informative, readable and great fun. Full review >

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by Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg

A superb book that greatly deepens our understanding of these founders. Full review >

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by Rosanne Cash

An excellent memoir that ends on an encouraging note: “More to come.” Full review >

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by Richard Cohen

Apollo, Ra, Inti or Huitzilopochtli—all would rock with delight at Cohen’s sweeping endeavor. Full review >

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by George Dohrmann

A landmark achievement in basketball journalism. Full review >

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by Philip Dray

In the end, Dray’s account is evenhanded—not all bosses are bad, not all activists good—but it is clear where his sympathies... Full review >

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by Ian Frazier

A dense, challenging, dazzling work that will leave readers exhausted but yearning for more. Full review >

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by Christopher Hitchens

Revealing and riveting. There's little about his brother, his two marriages or his children, but other memoirs may follow. Full review >

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by Yunte Huang

Multilayered, provocative and highly accessible, this will appeal to Chan fans, scholars and general readers. Full review >

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by Daniel Lanois

There’s really nothing like this oft-rapturous work in the canon of musical memoirs. Full review >

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by Daniel Okrent

Intoxicating. Full review >

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by Nathaniel Philbrick

A stirring, perceptive retelling of an endless fascinating battle. Full review >

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by David Remnick

Remnick’s fluent writing makes this expansive, significant book move along swiftly. Readers will look forward to the sequel,... Full review >

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by Randy Roberts

All legendary athletes should hope for treatment by such capable, compassionate hands. Full review >

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by Stacy Schiff

Successfully dissipating all the perfume, Schiff finds a remarkably complex woman—brutal and loving, dependent and... Full review >

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by David Shields

As nonfiction increasingly verges on novelistic narrative and fiction continues to draw inspiration from “real life”... Full review >

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by Rebecca Skloot

Skloot's meticulous, riveting account strikes a humanistic balance between sociological history, venerable portraiture and... Full review >

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by Larry Stempel

Not just a catalog or reference book, but a highly astute, integrative cultural history. Full review >

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by Gene Weingarten

Every page is a pleasure. Full review >

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by Isabel Wilkerson

An impressive take on the Great Migration, and a truly auspicious debut. Full review >

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