Listas: 15 melhores livros de não-ficção

1.'The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America,' by George Packer

Is America coming undone? “New Yorker” writer George Packer explores a slow meltdown. (You can read the Monitor's full review of "The Unwinding" here.)

2.'The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism,' by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Pulitzer Prize winner Doris Kearns Goodwin chronicles the intense friendship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "The Bully Pulpit" here.)

3.'Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East,' by Scott Anderson

Veteran war correspondent Scott Anderson traces T.E. Lawrence’s participation in the Arab Revolt (1916-18) that helped to shape today’sMiddle East. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "Lawrence in Arabia" here.)

4.'Thank You For Your Service,' by David Finkel

Washington Post correspondent David Finkel takes a troubling look at the lives of soldiers after war. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "Thank You For Your Service" here.)

5.'The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914,' by Margaret MacMillan

Oxford University historian Margaret MacMillan explains why Europe “walked off a cliff” in 1914. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "The War that Ended Peace" here.)

6.'Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital,' by Sheri Fink

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sheri Fink examines the panicked decisions made in New Orleans’ Memorial Hospital during hurricane Katrina. (You can see a Monitor feature on "Five Days at Memorial" here.)

7.'Engineers of Victory: The Problem Solvers Who Turned the Tide in the Second World War,' by Paul Kennedy

Yale historian Paul Kennedy profiles the engineers, scientists, technicians, and logistical experts whose innovations helped the Allies win World War II. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "Engineers of Victory" here.)

8.'Men We Reaped: A Memoir,' by Jesmyn Ward

Award-winning novelist Jesmyn Ward tells the stories of five young African-American men – her brother included – and their lost opportunities. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "Men We Reaped" here.)

9.'The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World’s Greatest Piece of Cheese,' by Michael Paterniti

This memoir/travelogue about a Spanish farmer who makes a sublime cheese is nonfiction at its best. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "The Telling Room" here.)

10.'For a Song and a Hundred Songs: A Poet’s Journey through a Chinese Prison,' by Liao Yiwu

Poet Liao Yiwu’s account of four years spent in a Chinese prison is raw and disturbing yet also a deeply human and essential read. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "For a Song and a Hundred Songs" here.)

11.'Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing,' by Anya Von Bremzen

Food writer Anya Von Bremzen tells the story of three generations of Soviet life through her memories at the table. You see the Monitor's full review of "Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking" here.

12.'The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind – and Changed the History of Free Speech in America,' by Thomas Healy

This stirring intellectual biography traces the evolution of US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’s ideas about free speech. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "The Great Dissent" here.)

13.'The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster,' by Jonathan M. Katz

Journalist Jonathan Katz considers why well-intentioned foreigners have done so little for post-quake Haiti. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "The Big Truck That Went By" here.)

14.'Wave,' by Sonali Deraniyagala

In her remarkable memoir, Sonali Deraniyagala writes with aching beauty of the family she lost – her husband, two young sons, and parents – in the 2004 tsunami that hit Sri Lanka. (You can see the Monitor's review of "The Wave" here.)

15.'Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven,' by John Eliot Gardiner

This well-crafted biography is enriched by the expertise and enthusiasm of John Eliot Gardiner, a conductor and music historian. (You can see the Monitor's full review of "Bach" here.) -