These are the most fascinating non-fiction books of 2023
Whether it’s a meditation on time-keeping, a maritime true-life tale or an investigation into waste, these are the titles to add to your reading list this year…
Truth isn’t stranger than fiction — despite Mark Twain’s best efforts to convince you. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be extraordinarily exciting. Whether memoirs, oral histories or investigations, true-life tales may lack the more fantastical, escapist elements of novels, but they widen eyes and drop jaws just as consistently as even the most far-fetched fiction.
And 2023 is a bumper year for these factual titles. It’s a wordy whirlwind of tantalising subtitles; of scientific studies, travel writing and mind-bending meditations we’ve been pining to crack the spines of. Here are the nine non-fiction titles you must add to your bookshelf this year…
The Half Known Life by Pico Iyer
Has it got a subtitle? It does. Two, in fact. Depending on whether you pick up a British or American English edition, it’s ‘In Search of Paradise’ or ‘Finding Paradise in a Divided World’.
What’s it about? The acclaimed travel writer’s search for utopias. From the Australian Outback to a Benedictine monastery high above the Pacific, Iyer’s book introduces us to strangers and invites us on a journey — both inward and outward.
When’s it released? 23 January 2023
Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis
Has it got a subtitle? Yes — a long one. ‘The Dirty Truth About What We Throw Away, Where It Goes, and Why It Matters’.
What’s it about? Just that. The journeying journalist bravely dives headlong into the grimy world of landfills and littering, travelling from African dumps to the murky waters of London’s sewer system — meeting campaigners and waste-pickers along his rubbish-strewn way.
When’s it released? 18 July 2023
Traffic by Ben Smith
Has it got a subtitle? It does, and it’s an intriguing one: ‘Genius, rivalry, and delusion in the billion-dollar race to go viral’.
What’s it about? The rivalry between Jonah Peretti of HuffPost and BuzzFeed and Gawker’s Nick Denton, and the dizzying heights of misinformation and fake news the duo scaled in pursuit of internet-surfing supremacy.
When’s it released? 2 May 2023
Pathogenesis by Dr Jonathan Kennedy
Has it got a subtitle? ‘How Germs Made History’ — which tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this scientifically substantiated spin through centuries of illness, viruses and bacteria.
What’s it about? Specifically, the book argues that germs have done more to shape humanity than even the most prominent people and leaders; it uses eight plagues to demonstrate this, including the Black Death and a series of Roman Empire pandemics.
When’s it released? 13 April 2023
Saving Time by Jenny Odell
Has it got a subtitle? Yes — ‘Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock’, which perfectly captures Odell’s inquisitive, quest-like efforts to decode and dismantle one of humanity’s oldest constructs; time.
What’s it about? Ultimately, embracing a whole new concept of time. Investigating the pre-industrial, ecological and geological rhythms of our world, Odell posits more humane, hopefully — yet radical new models we could live by.
When’s it released? 23 March 2023
Palo Alto by Malcolm Harris
Has it got a subtitle? It does: ‘A History of California, Capitalism, and the World’.
What’s it about? Silicon Valley. Billed as ‘the first comprehensive, global history’ of the trend-setting, trailblazing region, US journalist Harris criticises the disruption and destruction of entrepreneurs that has earned the city its toxic infamy.
When’s it released? 14 February 2023
Rikers by Graham Rayman and Reuven Blau
Has it got a subtitle? ‘An Oral History’. It’s a simple title for a fascinating subject, and an unflinching portrait of the injustice and resilience fostered by the formidable American jail complex.
What’s it about? Everything and everyone even tangentially touched by the prison. The dual authors — both investigative journalists — interviewed more than 130 people (officers, prisoners, lawyers and more) to pen the most exhaustive, even-handed portrait of the jail ever put to paper.
When’s it released? 24 February 2023
The Wager by David Grann
Has it got a subtitle? ‘A tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder’ — possible the most titillating tagline on our list. That evocative cover art is also a treat.
What’s it about? The titular ship, a British vessel that washed ashore in Brazil after embarking on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. Grann’s retelling zhuzhes up historical fact with fresh, salt-sprayed insight. Expect a film to follow (his other books, The Old Man and the Gun, Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z, have all been adapted).
When’s it released? 11 May 2023
The Real Work by Adam Gopnik
Has it got a subtitle? It does — the rather enigmatic ‘On the Mastery of Mystery’.
What’s it about? How we learn new skills. To explore this, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik apprenticed himself to an artist, a dancer, a boxer, and even a driving instructor to try his late-middle-age hand at things he assumed were beyond him. It’s as rib-tickling as it is uplifting.
When’s it released? 2 March 2023
Want some more recommendations? Iconic boxer Mike Tyson reveals his must-read books…
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