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Best of 21st Century Non-fiction
A list of the best non-fiction books originally published in 21st Century.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
by
4.34 avg rating — 1,217,272 ratings
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| 2 |
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Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
by
4.19 avg rating — 281,337 ratings
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| 3 |
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A Short History of Nearly Everything
by
4.22 avg rating — 415,211 ratings
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| 4 |
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Thinking, Fast and Slow
by
4.17 avg rating — 570,762 ratings
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| 5 |
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Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
by
Susan Cain (Goodreads Author)
4.08 avg rating — 468,190 ratings
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| 6 |
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Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think
by
4.36 avg rating — 198,491 ratings
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| 7 |
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21 Lessons for the 21st Century
by
4.16 avg rating — 174,254 ratings
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| 8 |
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The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
by
Charles Duhigg (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 552,496 ratings
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| 9 |
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Outliers: The Story of Success
by
4.19 avg rating — 851,067 ratings
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| 10 |
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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
by
Mark Manson (Goodreads Author)
3.87 avg rating — 1,353,535 ratings
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| 11 |
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by
Rebecca Skloot (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 791,768 ratings
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| 12 |
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The Gene: An Intimate History
by
4.35 avg rating — 54,475 ratings
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| 13 |
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The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
by
4.34 avg rating — 111,981 ratings
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| 14 |
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We Should All Be Feminists
by
4.39 avg rating — 323,177 ratings
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| 15 |
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Man's Search for Meaning
by
4.37 avg rating — 843,289 ratings
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| 16 |
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The God Delusion
by
Richard Dawkins (Goodreads Author)
3.90 avg rating — 280,402 ratings
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| 17 |
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Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
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4.39 avg rating — 30,170 ratings
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| 18 |
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Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
by
4.04 avg rating — 448,137 ratings
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| 19 |
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The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
by
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 119,956 ratings
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| 20 |
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Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
by
4.46 avg rating — 355,513 ratings
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| 21 |
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Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
by
4.49 avg rating — 212,688 ratings
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| 22 |
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God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
by
3.96 avg rating — 111,456 ratings
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| 23 |
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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
by
4.01 avg rating — 888,925 ratings
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| 24 |
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Just Mercy
by
4.62 avg rating — 256,504 ratings
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| 25 |
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Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
by
Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author)
4.08 avg rating — 201,704 ratings
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| 26 |
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The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
by
Elizabeth Kolbert (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 77,868 ratings
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| 27 |
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Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
by
4.12 avg rating — 129,886 ratings
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| 28 |
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Between the World and Me
by
4.40 avg rating — 359,328 ratings
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| 29 |
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Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
by
4.37 avg rating — 218,453 ratings
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| 30 |
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Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World
by
Rutger Bregman (Goodreads Author)
4.21 avg rating — 41,975 ratings
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| 31 |
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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
by
Erik Larson (Goodreads Author)
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 744,794 ratings
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| 32 |
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On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
4.34 avg rating — 312,204 ratings
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| 33 |
|
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
by
Michael Pollan (Goodreads Author)
4.06 avg rating — 58,856 ratings
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| 34 |
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Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by
4.28 avg rating — 197,354 ratings
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| 34 |
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Moneyball
by
4.27 avg rating — 142,270 ratings
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| 36 |
|
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by
Michael Pollan (Goodreads Author)
4.19 avg rating — 209,305 ratings
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| 37 |
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The Wright Brothers
by
4.17 avg rating — 97,454 ratings
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| 38 |
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This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate
by
4.16 avg rating — 27,394 ratings
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| 39 |
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Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by
3.84 avg rating — 493,010 ratings
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| 40 |
|
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
by
Matthew Desmond (Goodreads Author)
4.47 avg rating — 111,037 ratings
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| 41 |
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Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
by
4.06 avg rating — 235,865 ratings
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| 42 |
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Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
by
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Goodreads Author)
4.10 avg rating — 56,421 ratings
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| 43 |
|
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by
Daniel James Brown (Goodreads Author)
4.39 avg rating — 355,215 ratings
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| 44 |
|
The Complete Persepolis
by
4.40 avg rating — 201,255 ratings
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| 44 |
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The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by
4.01 avg rating — 846,965 ratings
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| 46 |
|
The Glass Castle
by
Jeannette Walls (Goodreads Author)
4.32 avg rating — 1,335,243 ratings
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| 47 |
|
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
by
Robert B. Cialdini (Goodreads Author)
4.22 avg rating — 172,422 ratings
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| 48 |
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Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 27,020 ratings
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| 49 |
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Chokdoktrinen: katastrofe kapitalismens opkomst
by
4.29 avg rating — 52,421 ratings
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| 50 |
|
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World
by
4.07 avg rating — 86,335 ratings
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| 51 |
|
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
by
David Grann (Goodreads Author)
4.14 avg rating — 431,272 ratings
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| 52 |
|
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
by
3.96 avg rating — 616,717 ratings
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| 53 |
|
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
by
Steven Pinker (Goodreads Author)
4.16 avg rating — 29,347 ratings
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| 54 |
|
The Prophet
by
4.23 avg rating — 323,168 ratings
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| 55 |
|
Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
by
3.87 avg rating — 29,502 ratings
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| 56 |
|
Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions
by
Brian Christian (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 34,326 ratings
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| 57 |
|
Columbine
by
Dave Cullen (Goodreads Author)
4.29 avg rating — 100,506 ratings
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| 58 |
|
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
by
4.06 avg rating — 81,793 ratings
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| 59 |
|
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
by
Isabel Wilkerson (Goodreads Author)
4.48 avg rating — 114,230 ratings
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| 60 |
|
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
by
4.41 avg rating — 277,825 ratings
score: 885,
and
9 people voted
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| 61 |
|
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
by
Steven Pinker (Goodreads Author)
4.20 avg rating — 31,898 ratings
score: 877,
and
9 people voted
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| 62 |
|
Who Rules the World?
by
4.05 avg rating — 12,077 ratings
score: 859,
and
9 people voted
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| 63 |
|
The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom
by
4.09 avg rating — 44,031 ratings
score: 856,
and
9 people voted
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| 64 |
|
The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds
by
3.99 avg rating — 63,228 ratings
score: 823,
and
9 people voted
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| 65 |
|
Salt: A World History
by
3.75 avg rating — 75,582 ratings
score: 817,
and
9 people voted
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| 66 |
|
Alexander Hamilton
by
4.22 avg rating — 196,292 ratings
score: 816,
and
9 people voted
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| 67 |
|
Grant
by
4.50 avg rating — 42,546 ratings
score: 813,
and
9 people voted
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| 68 |
|
Just Kids
by
Patti Smith (Goodreads Author)
4.21 avg rating — 339,005 ratings
score: 788,
and
9 people voted
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| 69 |
|
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
by
Isabel Wilkerson (Goodreads Author)
4.53 avg rating — 157,461 ratings
score: 772,
and
8 people voted
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| 70 |
|
March: Book One (March, #1)
by
4.35 avg rating — 56,897 ratings
score: 748,
and
8 people voted
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| 71 |
|
An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 (World War II Liberation Trilogy, #1)
by
4.30 avg rating — 22,351 ratings
score: 746,
and
8 people voted
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| 72 |
|
Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall
by
4.20 avg rating — 21,599 ratings
score: 743,
and
8 people voted
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| 73 |
|
Educated
by
Tara Westover (Goodreads Author)
4.47 avg rating — 1,794,978 ratings
score: 737,
and
8 people voted
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| 74 |
|
The Body: A Guide for Occupants
by
4.31 avg rating — 96,319 ratings
score: 734,
and
8 people voted
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| 75 |
|
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
by
4.18 avg rating — 30,745 ratings
score: 733,
and
8 people voted
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| 76 |
|
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
by
Allie Brosh (Goodreads Author)
4.17 avg rating — 214,563 ratings
score: 721,
and
8 people voted
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| 77 |
|
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
by
Joshua Foer (Goodreads Author)
3.88 avg rating — 93,383 ratings
score: 710,
and
8 people voted
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| 78 |
|
Chasing the Devil: The Search for Africa's Fighting Spirit
by
Tim Butcher (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 1,940 ratings
score: 700,
and
7 people voted
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| 79 |
|
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
by
4.16 avg rating — 192,909 ratings
score: 694,
and
8 people voted
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| 80 |
|
Mindfulness for Beginners (Nonfiction for Beginners)
by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 18 ratings
score: 693,
and
7 people voted
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| 81 |
|
Deep Sleep for beginners: Sleep Smarter Book (Nonfiction for Beginners)
by
4.68 avg rating — 19 ratings
score: 688,
and
7 people voted
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| 82 |
|
Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them
by
4.02 avg rating — 3,271 ratings
score: 686,
and
7 people voted
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| 83 |
|
Into Siberia: George Kennan's Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia
by
Gregory J. Wallance (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 989 ratings
score: 680,
and
7 people voted
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| 84 |
|
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
by
Jon Krakauer (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 221,700 ratings
score: 669,
and
8 people voted
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| 85 |
|
Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success
by
Adam M. Grant (Goodreads Author)
4.07 avg rating — 39,196 ratings
score: 662,
and
7 people voted
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| 86 |
|
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
by
4.54 avg rating — 129,401 ratings
score: 653,
and
7 people voted
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| 87 |
|
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls
by
3.85 avg rating — 149,899 ratings
score: 650,
and
7 people voted
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| 88 |
|
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
by
Chris Voss (Goodreads Author)
4.35 avg rating — 201,557 ratings
score: 637,
and
7 people voted
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| 89 |
|
Washington: A Life
by
4.16 avg rating — 80,705 ratings
score: 635,
and
7 people voted
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| 90 |
|
The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
by
4.20 avg rating — 39,738 ratings
score: 633,
and
7 people voted
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| 91 |
|
She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth
by
4.04 avg rating — 8,448 ratings
score: 605,
and
7 people voted
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| 92 |
|
Optionality: How to Survive and Thrive in a Volatile World
by
Richard Meadows (Goodreads Author)
4.28 avg rating — 406 ratings
score: 600,
and
6 people voted
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| 92 |
|
Fabulous Female Musicians
by
4.92 avg rating — 13 ratings
score: 600,
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6 people voted
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| 94 |
|
Walls: A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick
by
David Frye (Goodreads Author)
3.80 avg rating — 694 ratings
score: 599,
and
6 people voted
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| 95 |
|
The Universal Mind: An exploration into life's biggest questions of existence, creation, evolution, consciousness, the mind, the universe, humanity, human psychology and the illusion of reality.
by
Peter Weisz (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 52 ratings
score: 587,
and
6 people voted
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| 96 |
|
The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life
by
4.18 avg rating — 5,802 ratings
score: 584,
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6 people voted
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| 97 |
|
The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge
by
3.92 avg rating — 3,436 ratings
score: 577,
and
6 people voted
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| 98 |
|
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
by
Malala Yousafzai (Goodreads Author)
4.16 avg rating — 614,744 ratings
score: 574,
and
7 people voted
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| 99 |
|
Hidden Figures
by
Margot Lee Shetterly (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 112,496 ratings
score: 563,
and
7 people voted
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| 100 |
|
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
by
4.01 avg rating — 36,645 ratings
score: 559,
and
6 people voted
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Comments Showing 1-14 of 14 (14 new)
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by
Elyse✨
(new)
Aug 23, 2017 04:46AM
I'm removing Under the Black Flag because it was written in the 20th century (1995). I'm also removing (8) eight John Grisham books because they are fiction.
reply
|
flag
Madhur wrote: "Thanks Elyse!"You're welcome, Madhur. Since Goodreads lets me be a librarian, I like to tidy things up when I see them.
I deleted The Red Queen and The People's History of the United States because they were written in the twentieth century.
Removed Voices from Chernobyl - originally published in 1997
Top 100 21st century Non fiction (with 299 books in the list)
For those definition-ally challenged, can we agree on a definition of 21st century. Specifically for this list are we calling the first date - Jan 1st, 2000 (what I prefer but is probably technically wrong), or Jan 1st, 2001?
@MitchellIn my book the 21st century is from 1 January 2001 up to and including 31 December 2100 🙂
What is the difference between this list and this one? Apart from the dates they were created, that is, as this one is about four years younger...
This list is great! I'm reading The AI-fication of Jobs which is an accessible and grounded approach to understanding the impact of AI as a technology on work. The AI-fication of Jobs: Preparing Ourselves for the Future of Work
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