Top 10 Non-Fiction Books of 2025: Must-Reads That Shaped the Year

As 2025 draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the non-fiction books that captured our collective imagination, sparked debates, and deepened our understanding of the world. From gripping memoirs and groundbreaking science to urgent political analyses and historical deep dives, this year’s standout titles tackled pressing issues like global health inequities, technological disruption, climate crises, and societal divisions. Drawing from acclaimed lists—including Goodreads Choice Awards, New York Times notables, NPR’s Books We Love, and expert recommendations—these 10 books rose to the top for their insightful prose, rigorous research, and timely relevance.

Here’s my curated list of the top 10 non-fiction books of 2025, in no particular order, with a brief overview of why each one deserves a spot on your shelf.

1. Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green

Genre: Public Health / History

John Green’s second nonfiction work debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list and won the Goodreads Readers’ Choice Nonfiction Award. In this urgent and compassionate work, the beloved YA author tackles an unlikely subject: tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest infectious disease.

Green interweaves the story of Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient he met in Sierra Leone in 2019, with the scientific and social histories of how the disease has shaped humanity. The book makes a powerful case that tuberculosis persists not because we lack cures, but because of the healthcare inequities and choices we’ve made as a global society. Green’s signature blend of empathy, wit, and thorough research makes this essential reading about a preventable disease that still kills over a million people annually.

2. The Fate of the Day by Rick Atkinson

Genre: American History

The second volume in Rick Atkinson’s landmark American Revolution trilogy covers the years 1777-1780, when George Washington’s army fought on the knife edge between victory and defeat. Pulitzer Prize winner Atkinson brings his masterful storytelling to this tumultuous period, timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Revolution’s beginning.

Atkinson makes extensive use of letters and diaries, creating visceral battle scenes complete with waxed Hessian mustaches, rum barrels for weary troops, and the grim realities of makeshift hospitals. He carefully examines the successes, mistakes, and missed opportunities on both sides, offering fresh perspectives on the demands democracy makes on its citizens.

3. 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin

Genre: Financial History

From the author of “Too Big to Fail,” this book delivers the definitive history of the 1929 stock market crash that wiped out fortunes and sparked a worldwide depression. Sorkin weaves a compelling narrative about money, power, and psychology, profiling the historical figures who naively believed the market could only go up.

The book draws striking parallels between the crash of 1929 and today’s financial landscape, examining the ongoing tensions between Wall Street and Washington. It’s both a cautionary tale and an illuminating look at how human psychology drives economic catastrophe.

4. Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert

Genre: Cultural Criticism / Feminism

This book examines how turn-of-the-millennium pop culture was molded by those in power to sell a generation of girls and young women reality-warping lies. Gilbert compiles perhaps the first comprehensive examination of early 2000s mainstream trends and ephemera, analyzing everything from purity culture to “Girls Gone Wild,” from reality TV’s beauty standards to contradictory media messages.

The result is a searing, rigorously researched exploration of how young women navigating the path to adulthood faced an onslaught of conflicting and often damaging cultural messages.

5. A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst

Genre: Memoir / Adventure

This electrifying true story follows a young couple shipwrecked at sea, combining an adrenaline-fueled high seas adventure with a gutting love story. Taut and propulsive, Elmhirst’s narrative explores why we love difficult people and who we become under the most extreme conditions imaginable.

When Elmhirst comes close to breaking the fourth wall, it contributes to the pleasure of this exciting book, as readers know they’re in very capable hands. It’s far more than a shipwreck tale—it’s a story of love, strength, and a portrait of a partnership tested to its absolute limits.

6. Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Genre: Memoir

This heartrending memoir of sudden loss and a journey toward peace comes from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Horse.” Brooks confronts the deaths, grief, and guilt that have animated her work for nearly 30 years, providing haunting insights on how to live after tragic loss.

Brooks frames her book as a book of days, tracking the geography of grief with patience and grace as she comes to terms with outliving those she loved most. Without the constraints of fiction, Brooks lets her mind explore the ongoing nature of grief with raw honesty and literary grace.

7. Mark Twain by Ron Chernow

Genre: Biography

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow illuminates the full, fascinating, and complex life of the writer long celebrated as the father of American literature. More than one hundred years after his death, Twain’s writing continues to be read, debated, and quoted.

Described as flowing “like the Mississippi,” this comprehensive biography earned acclaim from The Wall Street Journal and was named a best book of 2025 by multiple publications. Chernow brings his biographical mastery to America’s most beloved humorist and sharpest social critic.

8. America and the South by Greg Grandin

Genre: History / Politics

This monumental work from Pulitzer winner Grandin reconsiders the story of the Americas as a push-and-pull between the Northern and Southern continents, rather than between the Old and New Worlds. In a sweeping paradigm shift, he traces how ideas about democracy, freedom, and colonialism ricocheted between the two Americas.

This is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the interconnected history of the Western Hemisphere and how it has shaped contemporary politics and culture.

9. The Last Torture by Philippe Sands

Genre: True Crime / History

Legal scholar Philippe Sands profiles two mass murderers who found sanctuary in Chile—dictator Augusto Pinochet and Walter Rauff, an early architect of the Holocaust—slowly unraveling the shocking revelation that Rauff likely worked as a torturer under the Pinochet regime.

It’s a hard, chilling view of a world where evil not only goes unpunished but flourishes. Sands combines meticulous research with compelling narrative to expose how war criminals escaped justice.

10. Cooking as We Are by Ruby Tandoh

Genre: Food Writing / Cultural History

In this dazzling cultural history, bestselling food writer Ruby Tandoh traces how—and why—we’ve all become foodies. From hype restaurants to “The Great British Bake Off,” food dominates our waking hours in unprecedented ways.

Tandoh explores the social, economic, and cultural forces that have transformed our relationship with food, cooking, and eating. It’s both a celebration of food culture and a critical examination of how it shapes our identities and daily lives.

The best nonfiction of 2025 shares several key characteristics. These books don’t just inform—they challenge us to reconsider our assumptions about history, society, and ourselves. They blend rigorous research with compelling storytelling, making complex subjects accessible without sacrificing depth.

From John Green’s advocacy for global health equity to Sophie Gilbert’s examination of how media shaped a generation, from Rick Atkinson’s military history to Ron Chernow’s literary biography, these books demonstrate that nonfiction can be as gripping as any novel while teaching us something vital about our world.

Whether you’re drawn to memoir, history, cultural criticism, or biography, 2025 has offered an embarrassment of riches. These ten books represent the year’s finest nonfiction—works that will continue to be read, discussed, and referenced for years to come.

What’s your pick? Have you read any of these titles? Which one are you most excited to add to your reading list? The beauty of this year’s nonfiction is that there’s truly something for every reader, whether you’re looking to be moved, informed, challenged, or all of the above.