Wednesday, August 05, 2026

This season’s best nonfiction releases

 
Readworthy by BookBub
This Month’s Best New Top Nonfiction Picks
What were Readworthy’s biggest, buzziest nonfiction picks this season? Keep reading to discover the titles everyone is talking about — and find your next unputdownable book.
 
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Book cover for The Black Death by Thomas Asbridge
‘A vivid and sweeping new history’ (The Wall Street Journal) of a notorious 14th-century plague
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • The outbreak of the Black Death killed up to half of all Europeans — but how did it affect the rest of the world?
  • Contrasts the varied experiences of peasants, royals, merchants, and more, tracing the pandemic’s catastrophic impact across continents
  • “Gripping and authoritative… Its impeccable, wide-ranging scholarship and its suitability for general readers make it an impressive achievement” (Financial Times)
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Media mentions for The Black Death by Thomas Asbridge MEDIA MENTIONS: The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Literary Hub
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Book cover for Biological War by Annie Jacobsen
What would happen if the world experienced a biological war?
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • One of summer’s must-read books, according to People, The New York Times, Next Big Idea Club, and more
  • The New York Times bestselling author of Nuclear War draws on interviews with dozens of high-level experts to consider what would happen in the immediate aftermath of the release of a biological agent
  • “A scrupulously realistic book about the inconceivable… This is important work” (The New Yorker)
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Media mentions for Biological War by Annie Jacobsen MEDIA MENTIONS: The New Yorker, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, Next Big Idea Club, People, The Economist, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Times, The Boston Globe, New York Post, Variety, Literary Hub
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Book cover for Gowanus Crossing by Vincent Coppola
‘This portrait of a bygone era is difficult to put down’ (Publishers Weekly)
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • An award-winning writer brings his childhood in mid-century Gowanus — a Brooklyn neighborhood dominated by the Mafia and the Catholic Church — vividly to life
  • Fans of Frank McCourt shouldn’t miss this “moving and unputdownable memoir” (Booklist)
  • “Elegiac and eloquent, hilarious and harrowing, Gowanus Crossing is a tribute to a lost, rough, but sometimes magical time and place” (Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle)
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Media mentions for Gowanus Crossing by Vincent Coppola MEDIA MENTIONS: The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist
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Book cover for Lost Worlds by Patrick Wyman
This sweeping account of human prehistory is ‘nonfiction storytelling at its finest’ (Eric H. Cline)
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • How much of human prehistory was just trial and error? Follow a popular history podcaster on a rollicking journey into the past in this “remarkable achievement” (Publishers Weekly)
  • Illuminates the 10,000-year period between the Ice Age’s end and the Bronze Age’s decline, as humans moved from foraging to agriculture, social hierarchies, and cities
  • “A meticulously researched and refreshingly approachable view of humanity’s past” (New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Raff)
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Media mentions for Lost Worlds by Patrick Wyman MEDIA MENTIONS: Next Big Idea Club, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, BookPage
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Book cover for The Kennedys and the Windsors by Caroline Hallemann
A juicy look at how two storied families have mirrored each other over the years
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • “Hallemann’s deeply researched and engaging debut book intertwines the histories of the iconic Kennedy and Windsor dynasties and captivates with its literary quality” (Library Journal starred review)
  • With compelling new details about each family’s scandals, deaths, social calendars, and more, this dual portrait breaks new ground
  • “A meticulous feat of research and reporting that’s also incredibly entertaining to read” (New York Times bestselling author Kate Storey)
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Media mentions for The Kennedys and the Windsors by Caroline Hallemann MEDIA MENTIONS: NPR, Oprah Daily, Entertainment Weekly, People, Town & Country, Parade, The Times, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist
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Book cover for Freedom Round the Globe by Sarah M. S. Pearsall
This New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice sheds new light on the American Revolution
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • Learn how the defiant fight of marginalized people around the world seeded the roots of rebellion in the 13 colonies
  • The Financial Times calls it a “thought-provoking revisiting of the defining moment of US history”
  • “A remarkably clarifying picture of the revolutionary spirit that swept the world in the 1770s” (Publishers Weekly starred review)
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Media mentions for Freedom Round the Globe by Sarah M. S. Pearsall MEDIA MENTIONS: The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Boston Globe, New York Post, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Literary Hub
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Book cover for Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About by Isabel Klee
This #1 New York Times bestselling memoir already has a screen adaptation on the way
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • As Isabel Klee searched for love and purpose in New York City, she discovered her life’s true passion: rehabilitating rescue dogs and helping them find their forever homes
  • If you’ve ever loved a furry friend, you’ll be moved by this candid and heartfelt read
  • Publishers Weekly declares, “Readers will be charmed”
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Media mentions for Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About by Isabel Klee MEDIA MENTIONS: NPR, TODAY Show, People, Elle, Parade, Rolling Stone, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews
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Book cover for Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan
A behind-the-scenes look at the Oval Office that’s making waves in the news
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • Two White House correspondents for The New York Times chronicle the first year of President Trump’s second term in this “exceptional” read (The New Yorker)
  • This eye-opening, real-time history of an unprecedented modern presidency is based on hundreds of interviews and deep access within the administration
  • Get insight into deliberations on the war in the Middle East, the deployment of immigration agents, and other pivotal events in this instant #1 New York Times bestseller
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Media mentions for Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan MEDIA MENTIONS: The New Yorker, NPR, PBS, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic, People, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, New York Magazine, Financial Times, Vanity Fair, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, The Times, The Boston Globe, New York Post, Rolling Stone, Politico, Variety, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Literary Hub
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Book cover for Data Empire by Roopika Risam
Discover humanity’s use of data across centuries and continents in this ‘easy must-read’ (NPR)
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • A Next Big Idea Club pick named a best book of the month by NPR, New Scientist, and more
  • This “brilliant history” (Publishers Weekly) considers how data has functioned as the root of power — from the clay tablets of Mesopotamia to today’s Information Age — and how we can resist the powers that seek to control it
  • “The author’s arguments will resonate with readers of Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari” (Library Journal)
  • Landed on Barack Obama’s summer reading list
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Media mentions for Data Empire by Roopika Risam MEDIA MENTIONS: NPR, New Scientist, Next Big Idea Club, Recommended by Barack Obama, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist, The Millions, Electric Literature
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Book cover for The Housewives Underground by Kaitlyn Tiffany
Meet the unlikely women who started their own investigation into JFK’s assassination
WHY IT’S READWORTHY:
  • Maggie Field, Shirley Martin, and Sylvia Meagher dedicated their lives to challenging the Warren Report — interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence, and chasing new leads across the country
  • “An extraordinary account of a relentless search for truth” (Publishers Weekly starred review)
  • “Tiffany gives a panoramic view, not just of the assassination, but of American society at the time” (The New York Times)
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Media mentions for The Housewives Underground by Kaitlyn Tiffany MEDIA MENTIONS: The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic, New York Post, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Literary Hub
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