
#1 THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE
Bessel van der Kolk
How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.
On the bestsellers list for 191 weeks
New York Times Review
#2 EDUCATED
Tara Westover
The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for university.
On the bestsellers list for 19 weeks
New York Times Review
#3 THE BOMBER MAFIA
Malcolm Gladwell
A look at the key players and outcomes of precision bombing during World War II.
On the bestsellers list for 2 weeks

#4 BRAIDING SWEETGRASS
Robin Wall Kimmerer
A botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation espouses having an understanding and appreciation of plants and animals.
On the bestsellers list for 114 weeks

#5 ALL ABOUT LOVE
bell hooks
The late feminist icon explores the causes of a polarized society and the meaning of love.
On the bestsellers list for 28 weeks

#6 TALKING TO STRANGERS
Malcolm Gladwell
Famous examples of miscommunication serve as the backdrop to explain potential conflicts and misunderstandings.
On the bestsellers list for 38 weeks
New York Times Review
#7 KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
Anthony Bourdain
A memoir-exposé of the restaurant world. Originally published in 2000.
On the bestsellers list for 80 weeks

#8 BORN A CRIME
Trevor Noah
A memoir about growing up biracial in apartheid South Africa by the host of “The Daily Show.”
On the bestsellers list for 161 weeks

#9 UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN
Jon Krakauer
Two brothers who subscribed to a fundamentalist version of Mormonism killed a woman and her daughter; the basis of the TV series.
On the bestsellers list for 8 weeks

#10 SAPIENS
Yuval Noah Harari
How Homo sapiens became Earth’s dominant species.
On the bestsellers list for 188 weeks

#11 THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE
Erik Larson
An examination of the leadership of the prime minister Winston Churchill.
On the bestsellers list for 16 weeks
New York Times Review
#12 JUST MERCY
Bryan Stevenson
A civil rights lawyer and MacArthur grant recipient’s memoir of his decades of work to free innocent people condemned to death.
On the bestsellers list for 281 weeks

#13 WALK IN MY COMBAT BOOTS
James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney
A collection of interviews with troops who fought overseas.
On the bestsellers list for 6 weeks

#14 THE CODE BREAKER
Walter Isaacson
How the Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues invented CRISPR, a tool that can edit DNA.
On the bestsellers list for 7 weeks

#15 OUTLIERS
Malcolm Gladwell
Unexpected factors that explain why some people succeed, such as upbringing, timing and 10,000 hours of deliberate practice.
On the bestsellers list for 346 weeks
New York Times Review