The 14 most life-changing nonfiction books of all time
Few bibliophiles would need convincing that books have the power to change lives – none more so than nonfiction. Memoirs can move us and compel us to see the world afresh, while self-improvement can give us the tools to truly alter our days for the better. History, science, and social politics books help us understand things we wouldn’t otherwise, and use that knowledge to shape our futures. From a book about how to manage your time better to a personal account that will leave you breathless, here is our pick of the most life-changing nonfiction of all time.
Four Thousand Weeks / Educated / When Breath Becomes Air
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman (Vintage, £10.99): This is ostensibly a book about time-management, but not in the way you think. Its message is in fact a little bleak: our lives are comically short, and we will never get everything done. Yet in showing us how to embrace this, Burkeman teaches us to let go of perfectionism, come unstuck, do more of what we love. / Educated by Tara Westover (Cornerstone, £10.99): This book should be prescribed to all secondary school children (if only they would appreciate it). Charting the author’s experiences growing up in a strict Mormon household, not allowed to go to school or the doctors, yet eventually making her own path, this book is one of the most powerful memoirs of the last decade. / When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (Vintage, £10.99): A doctor one day and a patient the next, Paul Kalanithi was a 36-year-old neurosurgeon when he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. In reflecting on dying in this memoir, he reminds us how to live. You’ll read with goosebumps.
How to Win Friends and Influence People / Invisible Women / The Book Your Wish Your Parents Had Read
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (Vermillion, £12.99): The influence of this book, often cited in the original self-help manual and certainly a classic of its genre, cannot be understated. Having sold more than 30 million copies since it was first published in 1936, Carnegie’s guide to confidence and communication is filled with strategies that are still useful today. / Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez (Vintage, £12.99): Eye-opening and enraging in equal measure, this is a deep-dive into how gender bias affects every facet of a woman’s life – from phones being designed according to the size of male hands to healthcare and workplaces being set up for men. It makes you look at the world anew. / The Book Your Wish Your Parents Had Read by Philippa Perry (Penguin Life, £10.99): Other than being brilliantly titled, the psychotherapist’s guide to raising happy, healthy children is one of the most practical and genuinely useful books out there. Warm and judgement-free, every parent should read this book.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings / Sapiens / All About Love
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Virago, £9.99): The first volume of Angelou’s seven volumes of autobiography is a blisteringly good read. Tracing her life growing up in 30s American south, facing all the racism and cruelty of that world, it is also ultimately a hopeful book – one of resilience and grace. / Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari (Vintage, £12.99): With Bill Gates and Barack Obama among its fans, this worldwide bestseller is one of those books that one might feel smug for having on their bookshelves. Sapiens chronicles human history from the Stone Age to now, all while making it compelling and teaching us a huge amount about ourselves. / All About Love by bell hooks (HarperCollins, £11.99): “The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb,” the late, great scholar and cultural critic famously wrote in this book. A concise, nuanced look at what makes meaningful relationships.
Thinking, Fast and Slow / The Year of Magical Thinking / The Tipping Point
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (Penguin, £14.99): The Nobel Prize winner and ‘godfather of behavioural science’ changed the way we think about thinking in this book. In teaching us how the mind really works when it comes to making choices, it enables us to make far better decisions – the ripple effects of which you will feel forever. / The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (HarperCollins, £10.99): A memoir of a family ravaged by tragedy isn’t exactly light reading: first Didion’s daughter fell gravely ill, then her husband suffered a fatal heart attack. But in reflecting on such a brutal year with her typically incisive, beautiful words, she helps others through grief and suffering. / The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Little Brown, £10.99): When, exactly, does a scattering of something become a phenomenon? Delving into social epidemics for a read that is at once illuminating and page-turning, The Tipping Point helps you understand the world around you really works.
Not the End of the World / Why Has No One Told Me This Before?
Not the End of the World by Hannah Ritchie (Vintage, £10.99): In a world where it is easy to give up hope on the planet, this book is utterly necessary. Not only does its data scientist author pour all her research into showing how much progress we’ve already made, but it also offers a path forward to actually tackling climate change. / Why Has No One Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith (Michael Joseph, £20): One of the bestselling books of the last few years, for good reason. In it the therapist distills all of her most useful mental health advice into a book which is deceptively digestible – and quietly life-changing.
