Nonfiction That Reads Like Fiction
No really, 9 nonfiction books that read like fiction, featuring two staff picks—from Borrow. Read. Repeat.’s own Maureen and Rachel—that inspired this list.
Maureen’s Pick:
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
Maureen says:
“Until Say Nothing, I had only read a handful of nonfiction. This was a game-changer. I didn’t know nonfiction could be so thrilling until I took a chance on this book—and I’m so glad I did. It opened a whole new world of literature and inspired my new-and-improved TBR pile.”
From the author of Empire of Pain—a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions. Soon to be an FX limited series streaming on Hulu.
“A bracing, empathetic, heartrending work of storytelling.”—Colum McCann, New York Timesbestselling author of Transatlanticand Let the Great World Spin, Winner of the National Book Award
“Patrick Radden Keefe’s new book Say Nothing investigates the mystery of a missing mother and reveals a still-raw violent past . . . The book often reads like a novel, but as anyone familiar with his work for The New Yorker can attest, Keefe is an obsessive reporter and researcher, a master of narrative nonfiction . . . An incredible story.”—Rolling Stone
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, Audio, and Large Print Editions.
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Rachel’s Pick:
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
Rachel says:
“This fascinating exploration of J. Robert Oppeneimer’s life makes 500 pages feel like 50. It’s at once a humbling meditation on post-war nuclear policy and a transportive tale set during a tumultuous time in US history.”
The definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer—and inspiration for the Academy Award®-winning major motion picture—one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress.
“A work of voluminous scholarship and lucid insight, unifying its multifaceted portrait with a keen grasp of Oppenheimer’s essential nature . . . It succeeds in deeply fathoming his most damaging, self-contradictory behavior.”—The New York Times
“A riveting account of one of history’s most essential and paradoxical figures.”—Christopher Nolan
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, and eBook Editions.
New Must-Read Nonfiction (That Reads Like Fiction):
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
The author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War in this “riveting reexamination of a nation in tumult” (Los Angeles Times).
“Larson, one of today’s pre-eminent nonfiction storytellers, trawls a variety of archives to explore the historically momentous months between Abraham Lincoln’s election and the Battle of Fort Sumter.”—The New York Times
“[Larson] brings a welcome novelist’s sensibility to his writing. He has an eye for telling details, quick and potent character descriptions and a relentless narrative momentum.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Available in Hardcover, eBook, Audio, and Large Print Editions.
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The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides
A “thrilling and superbly crafted” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day.
“Hampton Sides, an acclaimed master of the nonfiction narrative, has taken on Cook’s story and retells it for the 21st century.”—Los Angeles Times
“Gripping . . . It isn’t possible in this short space to describe Side’s hair-raising accounts of the journey . . . Sides recreates the newness of the experience, the vast differences in and among Indigenous cultures, and natural phenomena that were as terrifying as they were wondrous.”—The Washington Post
Available in Hardcover, eBook, Audio, and Large Print Editions.
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The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective by Steve Johnson
A sweeping account of the anarchists who terrorized the streets of New York and the detective duo who transformed policing to meet the threat—a tale of fanaticism, forensic science, and dynamite from the bestselling author of The Ghost Map.
“Dynamite, cops, anarchists—what more could you ask for? With narrative élan, Johnson tells the story of how an ‘infernal’ invention forever disrupted our political world. It’s a fast-burning fuse of a book, every page bursting with revelatory detail.”—Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author ofThe Splendid and the Vile
“Drawing parallels with contemporary acts of terrorism and governmental abuses of power in monitoring citizens, Johnson makes history part of an ongoing story we all need to consider. Smart, accessible, and highly readable.”—Kirkus Reviews
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion by Julie Satow
A glittering portrait of the golden age of American department stores and of three visionary women who led them, from the award-winning author of The Plaza.
“Masterful. . . An essential read for anyone who loves New York history and the stories of complicated, brilliant women, Satow’s book is enthralling from start to finish. She brings the glorious department stores of the past to vivid life while offering compassionate, nuanced portraits of those who ran the show.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Spectacular
“Deliciously detailed and impeccably researched, a gripping and glamorous examination of the women who were the life force of what remains a beating heart of American culture: the department store. An exuberant read! I truly loved this book.”—Denise Kiernan,New York Times bestselling author of The Girls of Atomic City and The Last Castle
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty by Valerie Bauerlein
Power, privilege, and blood—this is the definitive and thrilling true story of Alex Murdaugh’s violent downfall, from a veteran Wall Street Journal reporter who has become an authority on the case.
“It’s all here: the audacity and the deceit, the desperation and the calculation, a family’s unbelievable legacy of utter venality. Valerie Bauerlein’s blistering, unforgettable account of the Murdaugh saga leaves no stone unturned, helping us finally truly understand the man at the center of one of the century’s wildest crime stories.”—Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road and Lost Girls
“When Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood, he had the story of the Clutter slayings all to himself. With The Devil at His Elbow, Valerie Bauerlein has achieved something far more difficult journalistically: Despite wall-to-wall media coverage, she’s managed to produce the definitive account of the Murdaugh murders. Forget the podcasts, the TV specials, and the documentaries—this is the version of the story you’ll want to read. And once you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down.”—John Carreyrou, Pulitzer Prize–winner and bestselling author of Bad Blood
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Shooter at Midnight: Murder, Corruption, and a Farming Town Divided by Sean Patrick Cooper
The harrowing true story of a cold-blooded murder and the campaign to bring justice to a suffering Midwestern town.
“Riveting from the offset, The Shooter at Midnight is an expertly woven story of a crime that tore a small-town asunder and its devastating fallout in an already fractured community. With an extraordinary eye for detail, Cooper navigates the many legal complexities of the case with ease and empathy, never losing sight of the very human tragedy that lies at its core.”—Susan Jonusas, author of Hell’s Half-Acre
“Gripping . . . A potent account of the crime and its aftermath, placing its story of heartbreaking violence and injustice in a larger portrait of a rural American town.”—The Wall Street Journal
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity by Timothy C. Winegard
From New York Times bestselling author of The Mosquito, the incredible story of how the horse shaped human history.
Timothy C. Winegard’s The Horse is an epic history unlike any other. Its story begins more than 5,500 years ago on the windswept grasslands of the Eurasian Steppe; when one human tamed one horse, an unbreakable bond was forged and the future of humanity was instantly rewritten, placing the reins of destiny firmly in human hands.
Driven by fascinating revelations and fast-paced storytelling, The Horse is a riveting narrative of this noble animal’s unrivaled and enduring reign across human history. To know the horse is to understand the world.
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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