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Nonfiction Books That Read Like Fiction (Reddit 2025)

In February 2025, on the Reddit sub r/suggestmeabook someone posted a call for "Non fiction books that read like fiction. I love reading nonfiction books, but hate when they feel like I'm reading a textbook. I love mystery, history, health, autobiographies, and anything else you throw at me! Please send me your recs!"
And the sub provided. This is a list of the responses- deduped and curated to only include nonfiction - as classified. The variety of opinions and recommendations is what makes this a great list.
I did not include books: where someone said "anything by" a specific author; an entire series; or an author was not given and I could not reasonably verify.
If I missed anything else, I apologize, I'm human and I make mistakes and things could have been added since I looked at the list.
I see many new books to add to my list! Enjoy!
73 users · 500 views
 
from reddit.com · made by Peggy
avg. score: 27 of 465 (6%)
required scores: 1, 8, 19, 29, 41 

How many have you read?

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1
The Year of Living Biblically (A.J. Jacobs)
The Year of Living Biblically (A.J. Jacobs)
2
Outwitting History (Aaron Lansky)
Outwitting History (Aaron Lansky)
3
Challenger (Adam Higginbotham)
Challenger (Adam Higginbotham)
4
Midnight in Chernobyl (Adam Higginbotham)
Midnight in Chernobyl (Adam Higginbotham)
5
American Midnight (Adam Hochschild)
American Midnight (Adam Hochschild)
6
Bury the Chains (Adam Hochschild)
Bury the Chains (Adam Hochschild)
7
To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 (Adam Hochschild)
To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 (Adam Hochschild)
8
The Frontiersman (Alan Eckert)
The Frontiersman (Alan Eckert)
9
The Blue Nile (Alan Moorehead)
The Blue Nile (Alan Moorehead)
10
A Life Discarded (Alexander Masters)
A Life Discarded (Alexander Masters)
11
Endurance (Alfred Lansing)
Endurance (Alfred Lansing)
12
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East (Amanda Podany)
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East (Amanda Podany)
13
Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA (Amaryllis Fox)
Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA (Amaryllis Fox)
14
Arrangements in Blue (Amy Key)
Arrangements in Blue (Amy Key)
15
Yes Please (Amy Poehler)
Yes Please (Amy Poehler)
16
The Earth Moved (Amy Stewart)
The Earth Moved (Amy Stewart)
17
Open (Andre Agassi)
Open (Andre Agassi)
18
Ranger Confidential (Andrea Lankford)
Ranger Confidential (Andrea Lankford)
19
The Invention of Nature (Andrea Wulf)
The Invention of Nature (Andrea Wulf)
20
Too Big to Fail (Andrew Sorkin)
Too Big to Fail (Andrew Sorkin)
21
Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers (Andy Greenberg)
Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers (Andy Greenberg)
22
Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency (Andy Greenberg)
Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency (Andy Greenberg)
23
Denali's Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America's Wildest Peak (Andy Hall)
Denali's Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America's Wildest Peak (Andy Hall)
24
In Deep: How I Survived Gangs, Heroin, and Prison to Become a Chicago Violence Interrupter (Angalia Bianca and Linda Beckstrom)
In Deep: How I Survived Gangs, Heroin, and Prison to Become a Chicago Violence Interrupter (Angalia Bianca and Linda Beckstrom)
25
The Lion Children (Angus McNeice)
The Lion Children (Angus McNeice)
26
There Is No Ethan (Anna Akbari)
There Is No Ethan (Anna Akbari)
27
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (Anne Fadiman)
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (Anne Fadiman)
28
Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
29
Yale Needs Women (Anne Gardiner Perkins)
Yale Needs Women (Anne Gardiner Perkins)
30
Nuclear War: A Scenario (Annie Jacobsen)
Nuclear War: A Scenario (Annie Jacobsen)
31
Marie Antoinette (Antonia Fraser)
Marie Antoinette (Antonia Fraser)
32
Royal Charles: Charles II and the Restoration (Antonia Fraser)
Royal Charles: Charles II and the Restoration (Antonia Fraser)
33
Berlin-The Downfall 1945 (Antony Beevor)
Berlin-The Downfall 1945 (Antony Beevor)
34
Stalingrad (Antony Beevor)
Stalingrad (Antony Beevor)
35
Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
36
Running With Scissors (Augusten Burroughs)
Running With Scissors (Augusten Burroughs)
37
What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator (Barbara Butcher)
What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator (Barbara Butcher)
38
Nothing to Envy (Barbara Demick)
Nothing to Envy (Barbara Demick)
39
Nickel and Dimed (Barbara Ehrenreich)
Nickel and Dimed (Barbara Ehrenreich)
40
Daily Life in Ancient Egypt (Barbara Mertz)
Daily Life in Ancient Egypt (Barbara Mertz)
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