The Top Reviewed Nonfiction of 2016

Yesterday I shared what novels were listed most on prominent lists of the best books of 2016 (you can find it here). Today I’m looking at the nonfiction books that were consistently named to help you find your next great read.

I’ve compiled seven of what I think are among the best lists and found what titles rose to the top. I used the lists from Publishers Weekly, Amazon, BookPage, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal (or School Library Journal for young adult titles). Click on the title to find the book in our catalog with book descriptions. Many of these books also made our staff favorites of 2016, and I indicated which one of us recommended the book.

Listed 6 Times:

Evicted: Poverty and Profit: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond; recommended by Publishers Weekly, Amazon, BookPage, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal. Also recommended by staffers Cyndi and Jean.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanthi; recommended by Publishers Weekly, Amazon, BookPage, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal. Also Recommended by staffers Ellen and Jane.

Listed 5 Times:

The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee; recommended by Amazon, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal.

Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, A Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill by Candice Millard; recommended by Amazon, BookPage, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal.. Also recommended by staffer Jean.

Listed 4 Times:

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen; recommended by Publishers Weekly, Amazon, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews. Also recommended by staffer Andrea.

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren; recommended by Amazon, BookPage, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews. Also recommended by staffer Joe.

Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich; recommended by Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews.

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin; recommended by Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews.

White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg; recommended by Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews. Also recommended by staffers Mary and Nate.

Listed 3 Times:

American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin; recommended by BookPage, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Library Journal. Also recommended by staffer Becky.

Blood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America by Patrick Phillips; recommended by Publishers Weekly, The New York Times, Library Journal.

Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy by Heather Ann Thompson. Recommended by Publishers Weekly, The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance; recommended by Amazon, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews. Also recommended by Jo and Dave.

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong; recommended by Publishers Weekly, The New York Times and Kirkus Reviews.

In the Darkroom by Susan Faludi; recommended by The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal.

John Aubrey: My Own Life by Ruth Scurr; recommended by Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews.

March, Book Three by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, art by Nathan Powell; recommended by Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, School Library Journal. Also recommended by staffers Jo, Nate, Haley and Cyndi.

My Father the Pornographer: A Memoir by Chris Offutt; recommended by Publishers Weekly, Amazon, BookPage.

Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness and Family Secrets by Luke Dittrich; recommended by BookPage, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews.

Sing for Your Life: A Story of Race, Music and Family by Daniel Bergner; recommended by Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post, The New York Times.

Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother’s Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South by Beth Macy; recommended by Amazon, BookPage, The New York Times.