Best Narrative Nonfiction

This list of best narrative nonfiction books could also be titled my favorite narrative nonfiction books because they are all books that I have read.

What Is Narrative Nonfiction?

Narrative nonfiction books are well researched nonfiction books that read a lot like fiction, because they are written more in the style of fiction.

Narrative nonfiction is also known as creative nonfiction or literary nonfiction. A good narrative nonfiction book is a book that you cannot put down.

It is not textbook-like. It is not full of dry facts. It is a book that describes history or events in such a way that you cannot wait to read more.

Narrative nonfiction books can be memoirs that are so bizarre it is hard to believe they are true.

They can be a true crime book that reads more like a thriller. Or a real-life spy story that reads like a spy novel or James Bond movie.

They can also be history or war stories that are so well written that they make history come alive.

But they all have one thing in common. They read a lot like a fiction book.

If you read a lot of fiction but want to read more nonfiction, a narrative nonfiction book is precisely what you need.

Best Narrative Nonfiction

Best books lists can really vary. What one person thinks is the best book may not be what someone else feels is the best book to read.

Not everyone will consider all of these the best narrative nonfiction books, but they are all nonfiction books that I could not put down. I hope this list helps you find an unputdownable book to read

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson was published in 2003. This is the book that made me fall in love with Erik Larson’s writing. It is a true crime book that I could not put down. It combines the 1893 World’s Fair, architecture, medicine, murder, detective work, famous people, and so much more.

I have recommended this book to so many people over the years. If you have thought about reading Erik Larson, but have not picked one up yet, you should give it a try.

Red Notice by Bill Browder was published in 2015. This book is a fact is stranger than fiction book. It is a true crime book about finance and how Russia and Russian politics work. This book was published ten years ago, but it still helped me understand Russia and current events more.

The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre was published in 2018. It is about Russia, Britain, and the U.S. during the Cold War. It includes spies, double agents, the KGB, MI6, and the CIA.

I loved this book. It took me a few chapters to get into the book, but once I did, I could not put it down.  

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann was published in 2017. I feel like a list of the best narrative nonfiction books has to include this book.

This book is a true crime book about the Osage Indians in Oklahoma. It is about true crime in the Osage Nation, but it has a lot of information about the FBI back in the 1920s.

This is such a sad part of Oklahoma history, but it is a story people need to know about.

The Stranger In the Woods by Michael Finkel was published in 2017. This is such an odd, yet fascinating story about a hermit in Maine.

In 1986, Christopher Knight left his Massachusetts home and disappeared in the woods in Maine for thirty years.

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe was published in 2021. This is the story of three generations of the Sackler family and how they changed medicine and caused the opioid epidemic.

If you work in the medical world, this book is a must-read. The Sackler family truly did change the medical world and how medicine was prescribed. If you like true crime or books about science and medical ethics, this is a great one.

In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick was published in 2000. This book inspired the famous story Moby Dick. Grace read and loved this book back in 2017. She convinced me to read it, and I loved it too. I had no idea that a book about whaling in the early 1800s could be so interesting.

If you are looking for a nonfiction book that is a little different, give this one a try. I will say that it took me a bit to get into this one, but once I did, I could not put it down.

Devotion by Adam Makos was published in 2015. It is about two Navy pilots, Tom, a white New Englander, and Jesse, the son of a sharecropper from Mississippi, and the Marines they fought to defend during the Korean War.

There are a lot of books about WWII, but there has been significantly less written on the Korean War. If you are looking for a historical type of read that you can’t put down, give this one a try.

The Boys In the Boat by Daniel James Brown was published in 2013. It is the story of a rowing team from Washington state that went to the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

The team was a group of rugged, hardy loggers, farmers, and shipyard workers who struggled through the nasty weather of the Pacific Northwest to achieve their goal. It is a powerful story of overcoming hardship, difficulty, and not giving up.

The Boys In the Boat is on my list of favorite books of all time.

Syria’s Secret Library by Mike Thomas was published in 2019. This book will have you asking yourself if you would risk your life for a book.

Syria’s Secret Library did not get the attention that it deserved.

This book is about a secret library in the middle of war-torn Daraya. It is the story of a group of people in the middle of a war who risked their lives to save books and stay educated.

This is a great book if you enjoy books about books or books about little-known history.

Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson was published in 1999. It is about a hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, in 1900. Over 6,000 people lost their lives when the storm hit. Isaac’s Storm tells the story of the hurricane, what led up to it, and its aftermath.

This is a great narrative nonfiction book for those who like books about science or weather.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand was published in 2010. This book is a true story that reads like a novel. It is another book that has been super popular for years. If you haven’t read it, it might be time to pick it up.

Unbroken is the story of Louis Zamperini, from his childhood, to the Berlin Olympics, to WWII. This is a story of survival, strength, faith, and forgiveness.

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou was published in 2018, and it was one of my favorite books of 2018.

This is true crime meets medicine and Silicon Valley. It is the story of Elisabeth Holmes, the CEO of Theranos, and how she made millions of dollars from medical technology that didn’t work.

This book has a lot of information about medicine, science, and technology, but it is written in such a way that it makes it very readable. I read this book in just a couple of days. When I finished it, I told my husband he had to read it.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot was published in 2010. It is a backlist book that is well worth reading. I read this book and told my husband he had to read it because I needed to discuss it with someone.

It is the story of Henrietta Lacks and how she changed medicine and the medical world. This is a fascinating look at the world of medicine, medical ethics, and more.

Tree Thieves by Lyndsie Bourgon was published in 2022. Tree Thieves mixes true crime, logging, and nature in the woods of the Western U.S.

I grew up in a logging town in NW Oregon. I thought this book did a pretty good job describing the logging industry, logging towns, and the loggers that live in them.

Not everyone will think of this as an unputdownable book, but I really enjoyed it.

Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson was published in 2018. The Feather Thief is a great book for those who love non-murder true crime.

This book combines feathers, London’s Royal Academy of Music, a twenty-year-old American flautist, Edwin Rist, fly fishing, a bizarre crime, and so much more!

I read this book a couple of years ago and immediately recommended it to Grace and my husband. Both of them loved it. My husband has now recommended it to so many people.

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist by Radley Balko and Tucker Carrington was published in 2018. This is another book where fact is stranger than fiction.

It is a shocking account of racism and junk forensic science in our criminal justice system, and its devastating effect on innocent people. It also happened in my generation, which means it happened not all that long ago.

If you like true crime, this is a tough story, but well worth reading.

It is also another book that both my husband and I loved.

Forty Autumns by Nina Willner was published in 2016. This is Nina Willner’s family’s story of living on both sides of the Berlin Wall. It follows multiple generations from World War II to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

I read this book in just a couple of days. I loved it and do not think it has gotten the attention it should. It is an excellent book for those who grew up during the Cold War.

Endurance by Alfred Lansing is a nonfiction classic that was published in 1959. It is the story of Ernest Shackleton as he and his crew set sail on The Endurance for Antarctica.

My father-in-law gave us this book years ago. My husband and I read it and then had our kids read it when they were in high school.

Endurance is a story of leadership, survival, and endurance during tragedies.

If you love narrative nonfiction and have not read this one, I highly recommend it.

Empire of Ice and Stone by Buddy Levy was published in 2022. My husband describes Empire of Ice and Stone as the opposite of the book Endurance.  

It is about leadership, both good and bad. It is about human nature, survival, and how a desire for fame can blind you to both common sense and the care of others. 

My husband and I both described this book as narrative nonfiction at its best.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls was published in 2006. It is the memoir of Jeanette Walls’ severely dysfunctional childhood.

I have heard some people say that this book is hard to believe because the events are so bizarre and horrific. While I understand that point, I disagree with it. I think this book covers reality for far too many people. Most people either don’t realize it is going on or they don’t want to see it.

This is a tough book to read, but it is one of my all time favorite memoirs.

Educated by Tara Westover was published in 2018. It is Tara Westover’s memoir of growing up in rural Idaho in a dysfunctional, abusive family. This is another book that people say is too unrealistic to be true, and again I disagree with that.

I think books like this are important because they open our eyes to the lives around us and how others live. We might not be able to relate to stories like Tara’s, but they are important to know about because they are more common than we realize.

Have you read any of these narrative nonfiction books? Do you have any favorites that are not on the list that I need to read?