National Book Award for Nonfiction

National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists are listed below. The star rating and number of reviews are from Amazon.com. In parentheses after the star rating and number of reviews are the number of pages in the book and any other awards that the book was a finalist for. Award names in red indicate the the book was the winner of that award. Click the buy from Amazon.com link to be taken to the Amazon.com website where you can purchase the book from the premier online bookseller.

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2012 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1945-1956 by Anne Applebaum 28 reviews (2012) (608p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=4 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=2 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo 264 reviews (2012) (288p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 4 by Robert A. Caro 243 reviews (2012) (736p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=4 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=2 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Boy Kings of Texas by Domingo Martinez 36 reviews (2012) (456p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East by Anthony Shadid 57 reviews (2012) (336p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2011 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt Winner! 640 reviews (2011) (356p) (PP Non) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=5 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=2 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=2 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Convert by Deborah Baker 15 reviews (2011) (224p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Love and Capital by Mary Gabriel 27 reviews (2011) (768p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Malcolm X by Manning Marable 206 reviews (2011) (608p) (PP Bio) (PP His) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) (NYTimes Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=4 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=2 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Radioactive by Lauren Redniss 50 reviews (2011) (208p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2010 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

Just Kids by Patti Smith Winner! 815 reviews (2010) (304p) (NBCCA Autobio) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick 319 reviews (2010) (336p) (NBCCA Non) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Cultures of War: Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, 9-11, Iraq by John W. Dower 17 reviews (2010) (596p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward by Justin Spring 49 reviews (2010) (496p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Every Man in This Village Is a Liar: An Education in War by Megan K. Stack 39 reviews (2010) (414p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2009 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T. J. Stiles Winner! 97 reviews (2009) (736p) (PP Bio) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Following the Water: A Hydromancer's Notebook by David M. Carroll 5 reviews (2009) (208p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species by Sean B. Carroll 40 reviews (2009) (352p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin 114 reviews (2009) (432p) (PP His) (NBCCA Non) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy by Adrienne Mayor 33 reviews (2009) (472p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2008 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed Winner! 205 reviews (2008) (800p) (PP His) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust 249 reviews (2008) (368p) (PP His) (NBCCA Non) (NBA Non) (NYTimes Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals by Jane Mayer 185 reviews (2008) (400p) (NBCCA Non) (NBA Non) (NYTimes Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives by Jim Sheeler 62 reviews (2008) (288p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Suicide Index: Putting My Father's Death in Order by Joan Wickersham 32 reviews (2008) (336p) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2007 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner Winner! 359 reviews (2007) (p) (NBCCA Non) (NBA Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat 77 reviews (2007) (624p) (NBA Non) (NBCCA AutoBio) Author: TotNom=5 UnqBooks=4 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=2 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=2 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens 1140 reviews (2007) (307p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution by Woody Holton 15 reviews (2007) (384p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Ralph Ellison: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad 14 reviews (2007) (672p) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2006 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan Winner! 378 reviews (2006) (352p) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68 by Taylor Branch 49 reviews (2006) (1056p) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran 184 reviews (2006) (336p) (NBA Non) (NYTimes Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China’s Past and Present by Peter Hessler 97 reviews (2006) (512p) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright 688 reviews (2006) (480p) (PP Non) (NBA Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2005 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Winner! 1596 reviews (2005) (240p) (NBCCA Autobio) (PP Bio) (NBA Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) (Amazon 05 C50) (Amazon 05 E50) (Amazon 05 CBio) Author: TotNom=4 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=2 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion by Alan Burdick 18 reviews (2005) (336p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius by Leo Damrosch 17 reviews (2005) (576p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer 203 reviews (2005) (352p) (NBA Non) (Amazon 05 C50) (Amazon 05 ENon) (Amazon 05 C50) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empires Slaves by Adam Hochschild 42 reviews (2005) (480p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2004 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle Winner! 127 reviews (2004) (448p) (PP His) (NBCCA Non) (NBA Non) (Amazon Dec EHis) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The 9/11 Commission Report by National Commission on Terrorist Attacks 229 reviews (2004) (0p) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Washington’s Crossing by David Hackett Fischer 381 reviews (2004) (384p) (PP His) (NBA Non) (NYTimes Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett by Jennifer Gonnerman 21 reviews (2004) (368p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt 329 reviews (2004) (384p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) (Amazon Dec EBio) (Amazon 04 E50) Author: TotNom=5 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=2 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=2 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2003 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy by Carlos Eire Winner! 114 reviews (2003) (400p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum 393 reviews (2003) (736p) (PP Non) (NBCCA Non) (NBA Non) (Amazon Dec EHis) Author: TotNom=4 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=2 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt 79 reviews (2003) (336p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin by John D'Emilio 12 reviews (2003) (592p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson 1297 reviews (2003) (464p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2002 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro Winner! 361 reviews (2002) (1200p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) (Amazon Dec CBio) (Amazon 02 C50) Author: TotNom=4 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=2 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of Environmental Deception and the Battle Against Pollution by Devra Davis 19 reviews (2002) (336p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande 504 reviews (2002) (0p) (NBA Non) (TIME Non) (ALA Non) (Amazon 02 E50) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert 131 reviews (2002) (271p) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Mapping Human History: Discovering the Past through Our Genes by Steve Olson 54 reviews (2002) (304p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2001 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon Winner! 316 reviews (2001) (576p) (PP Non) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood by Marie Arana 17 reviews (2001) (320p) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Lost Children of Wilder: The Epic Struggle to Change Foster Care by Nina Bernstein 22 reviews (2001) (496p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

My Story as Told by Water by David James Duncan 23 reviews (2001) (304p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland by Jan T. Gross 87 reviews (2001) (304p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

2000 National Book Award for Nonfiction Winners and Finalists

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick Winner! 973 reviews (2000) (320p) (NBA Non) (TIME Non) (Amazon Dec CHis) (Amazon 00 C50) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present by Jacques Barzun 170 reviews (2000) (912p) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Collaborator: The Trial and Execution of Robert Brasillach by Alice Kaplan 18 reviews (2000) (336p) (NBA Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

W.E.B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1963 by David Levering Lewis 10 reviews (2000) (608p) (PP Bio) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Darkness in El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon by Patrick Tierney 37 reviews (2000) (464p) (NBA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page