TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of the Year

The TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of the Year 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.

Don't understand the data? View the key.

TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of 2009

The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes 45 reviews (2009) (576p) (NBCCA Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

D-Day: The Battle for Normandy by Antony Beevor 88 reviews (2009) (608p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Lit: A Memoir by Mary Karr 120 reviews (2009) (400p) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays by Zadie Smith 16 reviews (2009) (320p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed 90 reviews (2009) (576p) (PP His) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth by Apostolos Doxiadis 81 reviews (2009) (352p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son by Michael Chabon 38 reviews (2009) (320p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder 129 reviews (2009) (304p) (NBCCA Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Cooking Dirty: A Story of Life, Sex, Love and Death in the Kitchen by Jason Sheehan 15 reviews (2009) (368p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

John Cheever: A Life by Blake Bailey 30 reviews (2009) (784p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=2 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of 2008

The Forever War by Dexter Filkins 143 reviews (2008) (384p) (NBCCA Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=1 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V. S. Naipaul by Patrick French 16 reviews (2008) (576p) (NBCCA Bio) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Thief at the End of the World by Joe Jackson 10 reviews (2008) (432p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder 230 reviews (2008) (976p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale 100 reviews (2008) (384p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of 2007

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman 308 reviews (2007) (336p) (NBCCA Non) (TIME Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years, 1917-1932 by John Richardson 13 reviews (2007) (608p) (NBCCA Bio) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah 504 reviews (2007) (240p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner 177 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

The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross 87 reviews (2007) (640p) (PP Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of 2006

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel 117 reviews (2006) (240p) (NBCCA Mem) (TIME Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Heat by Bill Buford 178 reviews (2006) (336p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas E. Ricks 332 reviews (2006) (496p) (PP Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West by Hampton Sides 162 reviews (2006) (480p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright 339 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

TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of 2005

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird Winner! 93 reviews (2005) (736p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (TIME Non) (Amazon Dec EBio) (Amazon 05 EBio) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq by George Packer 127 reviews (2005) (480p) (PP Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) (ALA Non) (Amazon 05 ECE) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt 75 reviews (2005) (896p) (PP Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) (Amazon 05 EHis) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion 549 reviews (2005) (240p) (NBCCA Mem) (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

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann 250 reviews (2005) (480p) (TIME Non) (Amazon Dec EHis) (Amazon 05 E50) (Amazon 05 EHis) (Amazon 05 CHis) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of 2004

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt Winner! 38 reviews (2004) (384p) (PP Bio) (NBCCA Bio) (NBA Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) (Amazon Dec EBio) (Amazon 04 E50) Author: TotNom=3 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Blue Blood by Edward Conlon 119 reviews (2004) (512p) (NBCCA Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

THe Gourmet Cookbook by Ruth Reichl 142 reviews (2004) (1056p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris 333 reviews (2004) (272p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi 69 reviews (2004) (192p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of 2003

GAME TIME by Roger Angell Winner! 11 reviews (2003) (192p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

ABSOLUTELY AMERICAN by David Lipsky 76 reviews (2003) (336p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

REDS by Ted Morgan 15 reviews (2003) (704p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America, October 1967 by David Maraniss 64 reviews (2003) (592p) (PP His) (TIME Non) (Amazon 03 E50) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

KRAKATOA by Simon Winchester 233 reviews (2003) (432p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of 2002

HEART OF A SOLDIER by James Stewart Winner! 35 reviews (2002) (320p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

THE PIRATE HUNTER by Richard Zacks 74 reviews (2002) (434p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry 21 reviews (2002) (224p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

NINETY DEGREES NORTH by Fergus Fleming 8 reviews (2002) (496p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande 176 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

TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of 2001

John Adams by David McCullough Winner! 878 reviews (2001) (736p) (PP Bio) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) (Amazon Dec EBio) (ALA Non) (Amazon Dec CBio) (Amazon Dec C50) (Amazon 01 C50) (Amazon 01 E50) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

HOW I CAME INTO MY INHERITANCE by Dorothy Gallagher 14 reviews (2001) (208p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution by Diane McWhorter 33 reviews (2001) (700p) (PP Non) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=1 PPWin=1 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand 659 reviews (2001) (480p) (TIME Non) (ALA Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

PRESIDENT NIXON: ALONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE by Richard Reeves 41 reviews (2001) (704p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

TIME Magazine Best Nonfiction Books of 2000

NOTHING LIKE IT IN THE WORLD by Stephen Ambrose Winner! 226 reviews (2000) (432p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

ROBERT KENNEDY by Evan Thomas 48 reviews (2000) (512p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=0 UnqBooks=0 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers 943 reviews (2000) (496p) (PP Non) (NYTimes Non) (TIME Non) (ALA Non) (Amazon 00 C50) Author: TotNom=2 UnqBooks=2 PPNom=1 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=1 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

EXPERIENCE by Martin Amis 38 reviews (2000) (432p) (TIME Non) Author: TotNom=1 UnqBooks=1 PPNom=0 PPWin=0 NBCCANom=0 NBCCAWin=0 NBANom=0 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick 317 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