September marks the beginning of the fall publishing season, and some outstanding nonfiction will be released this month! Check out these top nonfiction picks.
Bestselling biographer Walter Isaacson profiles fascinating and controversial innovator Elon Musk, while Anderson Cooper chronicles another legendary American family in Astor. Jill Duggar reveals the secrets behind the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting in Counting the Cost while Dancing With the Stars finalist Cody Rigsby chronicles his journey from North Carolina to New York City stardom in XOXO Cody. Kerry Washington, known to many as Olivia Pope on Scandal, shares the moving journey of her life so far in Thicker Than Water
and Melissa Etheridge looks back at the last 20 years of her life as a queer musician and mother in Talking to My Angels. Rory Stewart reflects on his life as an unlikely member of British Parliament in How Not to Be a Politician; comedian Maria Bamford shares hilarious stories about her mental illness and quest to belong anywhere in Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult; and Meg Kissinger presents an intimate family portrait of mental illness in While You Were Out. Bernie Taupin, who collaborated with Elton John for decades, looks back on a life in music in Scattershot while Donna Leon, author of the Guido Brunetti mystery series, recalls a life of adventure as she turns 80 in Wandering Through Life. Ruth J. Simmons recounts her journey from the daughter of sharecroppers in Texas to the first Black president of an Ivy League university in Up Home and Nobel Prize-winner Annie Ernaux recalls her affair with a man 30 years her junior in The Young Man.
Loren Grush tells the untold story of America’s first women astronauts in The Six while Jonathan Miles chronicles the dark and sparkling story of the French Riviera in The Once Upon a Time World. Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson presents the epic story of the AR-15 in American Gun. Michael Harriot retells the un-whitewashed story of America in Black AF History while Simon Schama untangles the complex history of pandemics and vaccines in Foreign Bodies. Rachel Chrastil revisits the Franco-Prussian War that made modern Europe in Bismarck’s War and Daniel Finkelstein shares how his family miraculously survived Hitler’s and Stalin’s camps in Two Roads Home.
Cenk Uygur, founder of the Young Turks, outlines how progressives are going to take over the country in Justice is Coming while Fredrik deBoer explores the lack of American policy reform following George Floyd’s murder in How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement. Meanwhile, Yascha Mounk questions whether elements of the social justice movement will accomplish its noble goals in The Identity Trap while economist Thomas Sowell cautions that the movement will have unintended consequences in Social Justice Fallacies. Steven Levitsky issues a call for reform as American democracy reaches the breaking point in Tyranny of the Minority; Mustafa Suleyman warns that the wave of fast-developing technologies is the world’s greatest dilemma in The Coming Wave; Brian Merchant traces the origins of the rebellion against Big Tech to 19th century Luddites in Blood in the Machine; and Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman reveal how American weaponized the world economy in Underground Empire. Cassidy Hutchinson, former special assistant to President Trump, shares what she risked following the insurrection at the Capitol in Enough while Franklin Foer goes inside the first two years of Joe Biden’s White House in The Last Politician. Bettina Love shows how school reform harms Black children in Punished for Dreaming. And Marisa Meltzer discusses why she stepped down from disruptive fashion brand Glossier in Glossy.
In science, Ben Goldfarb considers how road ecology is shaping the future of our planet in Crossings and Michael Mann shares how lessons from Earth’s past can help us survive the climate crisis in Our Fragile Moment. Neil deGrasse Tyson embarks on an illustrated journey of cosmic discovery in To Infinity & Beyond, and Sy Montgomery considers the wonder and wisdom of our long-lived cohabitants in Of Time & Turtles.
Sports fan? Join Joe Posnanski considers 50 legendary moments on the ballfield in Why We Love Baseball; Rich Cohen takes us back to 1987 and argues it was the NBA’s greatest season in When the Game Was War; and Michael Lombardi sets the record straight on coaches, players, and the history of the NFL in Football Done Right. Not into team sports? Then check out Raynor Winn’s remarkable story of a thousand-mile walk through Scotland’s most remote mountains and lochs in Landlines.
Ross Gay returns with more essays to bring a smile to your face in The Book of (More) Delights. Naomi Klein takes us on a trip into the mirror world as she reckons with being repeatedly confused for another Naomi whose views she abhors in Doppelganger while comedian Aparna Nancherla explores imposter syndrome in Unreliable Narrator. And America’s largest independent publisher, W.W. Norton, launches a new “Norton Short” imprint with two titles: Ashley Shew rethinks who needs improvement in Against Technoableism, and National Book Award winner Tiya Miles recalls how the outdoors shaped the women who challenged a nation in Wild Girls.
Does your home need a makeover? Consider the latest from Clea Shearer & Joanna Teplin as they help you stay organized in The Home Edit; Shea McGee helps you create and elevated yet approachable residence in The Art of Home; and Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk shows how good design is good for the mind in Right at Home.
Last but not least, cookbooks! Jake Cohen presents classic Jew-ish recipes revamped for every day in I Could Nosh while Adeena Sussman shares recipes and rituals from the traditional Jewish day of rest in Shabbat. Recipes and techniques for economical cooking are presented by a master in Jacques Pépin Cooking My Way and Michael Symon makes dinner simpler with recipes and menus for every week of the year in Simply Symon Suppers. Clarissa Wei explores the vibrant food and culture from an island nation in Made in Taiwan; Meryl Feinstein makes your homemade pasta dreams come true in Pasta Every Day; and Alex Guarnaschelli & Ava Clark cook their way through bold dishes in Cook it Up. Short on time? Consider Gina Homolka’s Skinnytaste Simple, which features easy, healthy recipes with 7 ingredients or fewer; Bee Wilson compiles 140 recipes for an easier life in the kitchen in The Secret of Cooking; and Robin Miller transforms cooking for busy families with 30-Minute Meal Prep.
And don’t forget to check out September’s Peak Picks!
~posted by Frank
Leave a Comment