Best 21st Century Non-Fiction

Non-fiction that you enjoyed reading. Books that changed your thinking, changed your mind, enlightened you, helped you move ahead, helped you heal, in short, made a difference. Just plain, good non-fiction.

Note: the 21st Century began on January 1st, 2001. Books originally published in 2000 or before are not eligible.

See also
Most Rated Book By Year
Best Books of the 21st Century
Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century
Best Historical Fiction of the 21st Century
Best Horror Books of the 21st Century
Best Science Fiction Books of the 21st Century
1

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4.21 avg rating — 387,490 ratings
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2

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4.36 avg rating — 1,036,331 ratings
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3

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4.08 avg rating — 436,997 ratings
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4

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4.12 avg rating — 737,882 ratings
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5

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4.01 avg rating — 853,042 ratings
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6

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4.38 avg rating — 936,997 ratings
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7

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4.47 avg rating — 1,538,415 ratings
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8

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 685,380 ratings
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9

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4.32 avg rating — 1,218,598 ratings
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10

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4.33 avg rating — 102,940 ratings
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11

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4.06 avg rating — 219,953 ratings
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12

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4.18 avg rating — 501,407 ratings
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13

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4.28 avg rating — 186,901 ratings
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14

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4.15 avg rating — 25,836 ratings
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15

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4.08 avg rating — 361,842 ratings
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16

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4.40 avg rating — 334,037 ratings
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17

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4.09 avg rating — 230,686 ratings
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18

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4.18 avg rating — 204,469 ratings
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19

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4.16 avg rating — 186,155 ratings
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20

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4.21 avg rating — 251,662 ratings
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21

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3.87 avg rating — 32,799 ratings
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22

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4.21 avg rating — 283,098 ratings
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22

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4.49 avg rating — 191,527 ratings
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24

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4.36 avg rating — 49,494 ratings
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25

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3.93 avg rating — 71,463 ratings
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26

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4.40 avg rating — 673,684 ratings
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27

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4.30 avg rating — 160,683 ratings
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28

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4.19 avg rating — 789,488 ratings
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29

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3.88 avg rating — 89,634 ratings
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30

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3.88 avg rating — 202,270 ratings
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31

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 20 ratings
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32

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4.05 avg rating — 78,350 ratings
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33

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3.96 avg rating — 1,007,748 ratings
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34

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4.22 avg rating — 181,666 ratings
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35

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4.15 avg rating — 577,924 ratings
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36

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4.21 avg rating — 75,063 ratings
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37

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4.19 avg rating — 67,890 ratings
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38

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4.47 avg rating — 102,460 ratings
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39

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4.30 avg rating — 214,395 ratings
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40

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4.39 avg rating — 315,690 ratings
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41

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3.95 avg rating — 57,813 ratings
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42

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4.47 avg rating — 490 ratings
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43

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 20 ratings
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44

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4.15 avg rating — 347,935 ratings
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45

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4.31 avg rating — 25,423 ratings
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46

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4.05 avg rating — 87,336 ratings
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47

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4.70 avg rating — 127 ratings
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48

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4.22 avg rating — 74,681 ratings
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48

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3.88 avg rating — 43,685 ratings
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50

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4.38 avg rating — 187,510 ratings
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51

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4.19 avg rating — 90,100 ratings
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52

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4.16 avg rating — 187,201 ratings
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53

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4.17 avg rating — 207,348 ratings
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54

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4.16 avg rating — 1,249,959 ratings
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55

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3.96 avg rating — 55,354 ratings
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56

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 17 ratings
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57

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4.22 avg rating — 21,231 ratings
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58

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4.05 avg rating — 55,764 ratings
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59

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3.96 avg rating — 112,201 ratings
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60

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4.13 avg rating — 38,672 ratings
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61

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4.23 avg rating — 55,159 ratings
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62

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4.46 avg rating — 1,053,925 ratings
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63

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4.15 avg rating — 40,267 ratings
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64

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3.69 avg rating — 101,825 ratings
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65

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3.98 avg rating — 109,973 ratings
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66

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4.35 avg rating — 119,407 ratings
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67

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3.87 avg rating — 413,539 ratings
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68

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4.01 avg rating — 2,008 ratings
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69

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4.09 avg rating — 220,038 ratings
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70

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3.73 avg rating — 117,459 ratings
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71

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4.16 avg rating — 9,865 ratings
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72

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4.42 avg rating — 44,198 ratings
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73

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3.90 avg rating — 165,211 ratings
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74

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4.06 avg rating — 20,536 ratings
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75

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4.21 avg rating — 1,676 ratings
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76

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 31,280 ratings
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77

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3.76 avg rating — 23,340 ratings
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78

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4.20 avg rating — 106,901 ratings
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79

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4.06 avg rating — 1,886 ratings
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80

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3.86 avg rating — 497,373 ratings
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81

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3.93 avg rating — 244,962 ratings
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82

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3.60 avg rating — 39,133 ratings
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83

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4.40 avg rating — 268 ratings
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84

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3.82 avg rating — 8,700 ratings
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85

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4.02 avg rating — 15,518 ratings
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86

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4.40 avg rating — 22,415 ratings
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87

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3.86 avg rating — 69,880 ratings
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88

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4.31 avg rating — 12,649 ratings
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89

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4.31 avg rating — 1,068 ratings
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90

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4.05 avg rating — 73,899 ratings
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91

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4.17 avg rating — 16,848 ratings
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92

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4.10 avg rating — 39,642 ratings
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93

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4.20 avg rating — 31,628 ratings
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94

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4.26 avg rating — 132,060 ratings
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95

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3.87 avg rating — 45,964 ratings
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96

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3.89 avg rating — 95,822 ratings
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97

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4.15 avg rating — 8,285 ratings
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98

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4.63 avg rating — 232,836 ratings
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99

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3.89 avg rating — 52,837 ratings
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100

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4.41 avg rating — 260,845 ratings
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31 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Steve 1526 books
33 friends
Ben 1082 books
71 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3370 books
864 friends
Jennifer 3576 books
998 friends
Bettie 15797 books
20 friends
Manu 2 books
7 friends
Virginia 847 books
15 friends
Sam 191 books
26 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-16 of 16 (16 new)

dateDown arrow    newest »

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Guns, Germs, and Steel, despite being terrific, was first published in 1997.


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Removed for being first published before 2000:

Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela (1990)
Seabiscuit, by Laura Hillenbrand (1999)
A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn (1980)
Natasha's Story, by Michael Nicholson (1997)
Song for the Blue Ocean, by Carl Safina (1998)
Gay New York, by George Chauncey (1994)
In Pursuit of Happiness, by Mark Kingwell (1998)
We Die Alone, by David Howarth (1955)

Removed for being fiction:

11/22/63, by Stephen King
Honolulu, by Alan Brennert
Killing Rommel, by Steven Pressfield


message 3: by Steve (new)

Steve Thanks for editing the list.


message 5: by Paul (new)

Paul Bowes I have removed six books from the top 100 that were ineligible by virtue of publication dates before January 1st, 2001.


message 6: by Elyse (new)

Elyse I removed The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat and Homicide. Both were published prior to 1/1/2001. Read them both and they are great books!


message 7: by Prince (new)

Prince Epic List!


message 9: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Mar 31, 2019 05:49AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Removed for not being first published in the 21st century:
A History of Western Philosophy (1945)
Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy (1918)
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (1991)
Letters, 1925-1975 (1998)
From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present (2000)
Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne (2000)
Legacy: A Biography of Moses and Walter Annenberg (1999)
George Eliot: The Last Victorian (1999)
Shakespeare's English Kings: History, Chronicle, and Drama (1977)
The Anthology and the Rise of the Novel: From Richardson to George Eliot (1996)
The True History of the Elephant Man (1980)
The Great Escape (1950)
Lakota Woman (1990)
Means of Ascent (1990)
A Remarkable Woman: A Biography of Katharine Hepburn (1985)
The Life of Elizabeth I (1996)
The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism (1988)
King Leopold's Ghost (1998)
Paris to the Moon (2000)
James Joyce (1959)
The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon (2000)
Anne Frank Remembered (1987)
Warranted Christian Belief (1999)
Mind in a Physical World: An Essay on the Mind-Body Problem and Mental Causation (1998)
The Lost Daughters of China (2000)
The Animal Rights Handbook: Everyday Ways to Save Animal Lives (1990)
The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (1999)
Discipline Without Punishment: The Proven Strategy That Turns Problem Employees into Superior Performers (1995)
Herk: Hero of the Skies: The Story of the Lockheed C-130 and Its Adventures Around the World ... (1983)
Knowledge and Its Limits (2000)
Multiple Sclerosis: A Guide for Patients and Their Families (1983)
Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe (2000)
The Problems of Philosophy (1912)
The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal (1991)
Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy (1985)
The Eat Right 4 Your Type (1991)
Chloe Plus Olivia: An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the Seventeenth Century to the Present (1994)
Yoga Mind and Body (1996)
The Lost Wolves of Japan (2000)
Leonardo Da Vinci (1996)
From Difficult to Disturbed: Understanding and Managing Dysfunctional Employees (1905)
Logic, Semantics, Metamathematics (1956)
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine (1990)
Tracking The Vanishing Frogs: An Ecological Mystery (1994)
The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (1997)
Introduction to Logic: and to the Methodology of Deductive Sciences (1993)
Historia de la Economia (1987)
A Measure of Danger (1991)
Anarchism and Other Essays (1910)
Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge (1998)
The Art of Happiness (1998)

The description clearly says "Books originally published in 2000 or before are not eligible."


message 10: by Elyse (new)

Elyse Booklovinglady wrote: "Removed for not being first published in the 21st century:
Booklovinglady - Thank you for all your hard work! I think this is an important list and your diligence is appreciated.



BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Elyse wrote: "Booklovinglady wrote: "Removed for not being first published in the 21st century:
Booklovinglady - Thank you for all your hard work! I think this is an important list and your diligence is apprecia..."


Thanks Elyse 😊


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Consider yourself reported for spam, "Kardi."


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Consider yourself flagged, you disgusting spammer.


message 14: by Vicki (last edited Sep 30, 2023 05:06PM) (new)

Vicki #1180 Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman = great book, but published in 1985.
Also, A Visit from the Goon Squad won the Pulitzer for fiction, thus doesn't belong here.


message 15: by Vicki (last edited Oct 01, 2023 10:03AM) (new)

Vicki Duplicates #339 & #366: The God Delusion (and/or #1455)


message 16: by Agnieszka (last edited Mar 24, 2024 12:38PM) (new)

Agnieszka Vicki wrote: "#1180 Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman = great book, but published in 1985.
Also, A Visit from the Goon Squad won the Pulitzer for fiction, thus doesn't belong here."


Thank you for the information. Deleted both.


The system found and removed 4 duplicates

Deleted Desert Flower - originally published 1998


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