TheBestseller
Observatory

Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of October 6, 2024

FictionNonfiction
WeekMonth
Jump to
2
1
CONFRONTING THE PRESIDENTS
Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
Cover of CONFRONTING THE PRESIDENTS

CONFRONTING THE PRESIDENTS

by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard · St. Martin's

2 wks on list

Instant #1 New York Times and USA Today nonfiction bestseller! Every American president, from Washington to Biden: Their lives, policies, foibles, and legacies, assessed with clear-eyed authority and wit. Authors of the acclaimed Killing books, the #1 bestselling narrative history series in the world, Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard begin a new direction with Confronting the Presidents. From Washington to Jefferson, Lincoln to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Kennedy to Nixon, Reagan to Obama and Biden, the 45 United States presidents have left lasting impacts on our nation. Some of their legacies continue today, some are justly forgotten, and some have changed as America has changed. Whether famous, infamous, or obscure, all the presidents shaped our nation in unexpected ways. The authors' extensive research has uncovered never before seen historical facts based on private correspondence and newly discovered documentation, such as George Washington's troubled relationship with his mother. In Confronting the Presidents, O’Reilly and Dugard present 45 wonderfully entertaining and insightful portraits of each president, with no-spin commentary on their achievements—or lack thereof. Who best served America, and who undermined the founding ideals? Who were the first ladies, and what were their surprising roles in making history? Which presidents were the best, which the worst, and which didn’t have much impact? How do decisions made in one era, under the pressure of particular circumstances, still resonate today? And what do presidents like to eat, drink, and do when they aren’t working—or even sometimes when they are? These and many more questions are answered in each fascinating chapter of Confronting the Presidents. Written with O’Reilly and Dugard’s signature style, authority, and eye for telling detail, Confronting the Presidents will delight all readers of history, politics, and current affairs, especially during the 2024 election season.

4
1
THE ANXIOUS GENERATION
Jonathan Haidt
Cover of THE ANXIOUS GENERATION

THE ANXIOUS GENERATION

by Jonathan Haidt · Penguin Press

26 wks on list

THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A Wall Street Journal Top 10 Book of 2024 • A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book • One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2024 • A TIME 100 Must-Read Book of 2024 • Named a Best Book of 2024 by the Economist, the New York Post, and Town & Country • The Goodreads Choice Award Nonfiction Book of the Year • Finalist for the PEN Literary Awards A must-read for all parents: the generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood. “With tenacity and candor, Haidt lays out the consequences that have come with allowing kids to drift further into the virtual world . . . While also offering suggestions and solutions that could help protect a new generation of kids.” —Shannon Carlin, TIME, 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why? In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (pronounced "height") lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the “play-based childhood” began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the “phone-based childhood” in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this “great rewiring of childhood” has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies. Most important, Haidt issues a clear call to action. He diagnoses the “collective action problems” that trap us, and then proposes four simple rules that might set us free. He describes steps that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments can take to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood. Haidt has spent his career speaking truth backed by data in the most difficult landscapes—communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the public health emergency faced by Gen Z. We cannot afford to ignore his findings about protecting our children—and ourselves—from the psychological damage of a phone-based life.

5
NEW
ON FREEDOM
Timothy Snyder
Cover of ON FREEDOM

ON FREEDOM

by Timothy Snyder · Crown

1 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “visionary” (The Guardian) exploration of freedom—what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it’s our only chance for survival—by the acclaimed Yale historian and author of On Tyranny “[Snyder’s] deep political and philosophical examination of how to . . . create and sustain freedom provides a hopeful view for the future.”—Los Angeles Times Timothy Snyder has been called “the leading interpreter of our dark times.” As a historian, he has given us startling reinterpretations of political collapse and mass killing. As a public intellectual, he has turned that knowledge toward counsel and prediction, working against authoritarianism here and abroad. His book On Tyranny has inspired millions around the world to fight for freedom. Now, in this tour de force of political philosophy, he helps us see exactly what we’re fighting for. Freedom is the great American commitment, but as Snyder argues, we have lost sight of what it means—and this is leading us into crisis. Too many of us look at freedom as the absence of state power: We think we're free if we can do and say as we please, and protect ourselves from government overreach. But true freedom isn’t so much freedom from as freedom to—the freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible. On Freedom takes us on a thrilling intellectual journey. Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers, and his own experiences coming of age in a time of American exceptionalism, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudes—the habits of mind—that will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish. We come to appreciate the importance of traditions (championed by the right) but also the role of institutions (the purview of the left). Intimate yet ambitious, this book helps forge a new consensus rooted in a politics of abundance, generosity, and grace.

6
4
NEXUS
Yuval Noah Harari
Cover of NEXUS

NEXUS

by Yuval Noah Harari · Random House

2 wks on list

‘If you read only one non-fiction book this year, consider this one’ TOM HANKS ‘If there’s one book that I would urge everyone to read – it is Nexus’ STEPHEN FRY The mind-blowing story of how information networks – from the stone age to AI - have shaped our world from the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Sapiens Stories brought us together. Books spread our ideas – and our mythologies. The internet promised infinite knowledge. The algorithm learned our secrets – and then turned us against each other. What will AI do? Nexus is the thrilling account of how we arrived at this moment, and the urgent choices we must now make to survive – and to thrive. **NOW FEATURING EXCLUSIVE NEW MATERIAL FOR PAPERBACK AND EBOOK** 'One of the most remarkable intellects of our generation' RORY STEWART 'A wake-up call in the gentlest, most urgent way' YOTAM OTTOLENGHI 'This deeply important book comes at a critical time as we all think through the implications of AI’ MUSTAFA SULEYMAN 'A super narrative writer' GUARDIAN ‘[Harari] sticks the world together in a gleaming shape that inspires and excites' TELEGRAPH

7
NEW
LUCKY LOSER
Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig
Cover of LUCKY LOSER

LUCKY LOSER

by Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig · Penguin Press

1 wks on list

An Instant New York Times Bestseller • A Washington Post Notable Book • A Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year “A first-rate financial thriller . . . Lucky Loser is one of those rare Trump books that deserve, even demand, to be read.” –Alexander Nazaryan, The New York Times From the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters behind the 2018 bombshell New York Times exposé of then-President Trump’s finances, an explosive investigation into the history of Donald Trump’s wealth, revealing how one of the country’s biggest business failures lied his way into the White House Soon after announcing his first campaign for the US presidency, Donald J. Trump told a national television audience that life “has not been easy for me. It has not been easy for me.” Building on a narrative he had been telling for decades, he spun a hardscrabble fable of how he parlayed a small loan from his father into a multi-billion-dollar business and real estate empire. This feat, he argued, made him singularly qualified to lead the country. Except: None of it was true. Born to a rich father who made him the beneficiary of his own highly lucrative investments, Trump received the equivalent of more than $500 million today via means that required no business expertise whatsoever. Drawing on over twenty years’ worth of Trump’s confidential tax information, including the tax returns he tried to conceal, alongside business records and interviews with Trump insiders, New York Times investigative reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig track Trump's financial rise and fall, and rise and fall again. For decades, he squanders his fortunes on money losing businesses, only to be saved yet again by financial serendipity. He tacks his name above the door of every building, while taking out huge loans he’ll never repay. He obsesses over appearances, while ignoring threats to the bottom line and mounting costly lawsuits against city officials. He tarnishes the value of his name by allowing anyone with a big enough check to use it, and cheats the television producer who not only rescues him from bankruptcy but casts him as a business savant – the public image that will carry him to the White House. A masterpiece of narrative reporting, Lucky Loser is a meticulous examination spanning nearly a century, filled with scoops from Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago, Atlantic City, and the set of The Apprentice. At a moment when Trump’s tether to success and power is more precarious than ever, here for the first time is the definitive true accounting of Trump and his money – what he had, what he lost, and what he has left – and the final word on the myth of Trump, the self-made billionaire.

8
NEW
WANT
Gillian Anderson
Cover of WANT

WANT

by Gillian Anderson · Abrams

1 wks on list

A collection of confessions from women around the world, Want is a revelatory, sensational and game-changing exploration of women's sexuality that asks, and answers: How do women feel about sex when they have the freedom to be totally anonymous? What do you want, when no one is watching? What do you want, when the lights are off? What do you want, when you are anonymous? When we talk about sex, we talk about womanhood and motherhood, infidelity and exploitation, consent and respect, fairness and egalitarianism, love and hate, pleasure and pain. And yet for many reasons--some complicated, some not--so many of us don't talk about it. Our deepest, most intimate fears and fantasies remain locked away inside of us, until someone comes along with the key. Here's the key. In this generation-defining book, Gillian Anderson collects and introduces the anonymous letters of hundreds of self-identifying women from around the world (along with her own anonymous letter). From a Sikh woman who writes about her secret lust for her brother-in-law, an Apache American woman who wants to be worshipped like a divine creature, a white British woman who just wants to be properly kissed one last time, another who likes to role play as a panther, or a Hispanic Jewish woman living in Bangladesh, for whom the pinnacle of sexual arousal is a doorknob, Want reveals how women feel about sex when they have the freedom to be totally anonymous. What do you want?

9
5
LOVELY ONE
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Cover of LOVELY ONE

LOVELY ONE

by Ketanji Brown Jackson · Random House

3 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In her “vulnerable, tender, and infinitely inspirational” (Oprah Daily) memoir, the first Black woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States chronicles her extraordinary life story. “A billowingly triumphant American tale.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice) A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR With this unflinching account, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson invites readers into her life and world, tracing her family’s ascent from segregation to her confirmation on America’s highest court within the span of one generation. Named “Ketanji Onyika,” meaning “Lovely One,” based on a suggestion from her aunt, a Peace Corps worker stationed in West Africa, Justice Jackson learned from her educator parents to take pride in her heritage since birth. She describes her resolve as a young girl to honor this legacy and realize her dreams: from hearing stories of her grandparents and parents breaking barriers in the segregated South, to honing her voice in high school as an oratory champion and student body president, to graduating magna cum laude from Harvard, where she performed in musical theater and improv and participated in pivotal student organizations. Here, Justice Jackson pulls back the curtain, marrying the public record of her life with what is less known. She reveals what it takes to advance in the legal profession when most people in power don’t look like you, and to reconcile a demanding career with the joys and sacrifices of marriage and motherhood. Through trials and triumphs, Justice Jackson’s journey will resonate with dreamers everywhere, especially those who nourish outsized ambitions and refuse to be turned aside. This moving, openhearted tale will spread hope for a more just world, for generations to come.

11
6
WHO COULD EVER LOVE YOU
Mary L. Trump
Cover of WHO COULD EVER LOVE YOU

WHO COULD EVER LOVE YOU

by Mary L. Trump · St. Martin's

2 wks on list

Instant New York Times and USA Today nonfiction bestseller! A New York Times Nonfiction Book to Read this Fall A People Magazine Best Book of September The Week Five Riveting Books to Take You Through September Mary L. Trump grew up in a family divided by its patriarch’s relentless drive for money and power. The daughter of Freddy Trump, the highly accomplished, dashing eldest son of wealthy real estate developer Fred Trump, and Linda Clapp, a flight attendant from a working-class family, Mary lived in the shadow of Freddy’s humiliation at the hands of his father. Fred Trump embodied the ethos of the zero-sum game and among his five children, there could only be one winner. That was supposed to be Freddy, his namesake, but Fred found him wanting—too sensitive, too kind, too interested in pursuits beyond the realm of the real estate empire he was meant to inherit. In Donald, Fred found a kindred spirit, a “killer,” who would stop at nothing to get his own way. Even after Freddy’s short-lived career as a professional pilot for TWA came to an end, he never stopped trying to gain his father’s approval. Finally, at the age of forty-two, he succumbed to Fred’s lethal contempt and died alone in an emergency room, with no family by his side. In WHO COULD EVER LOVE YOU, Mary L. Trump brings us inside the twisted family whose patriarch ignored, froze out, and eventually destroyed his own. Freddy Trump’s decline into alcoholism and illness, along with Linda’s suffering after their divorce, left Mary dangerously vulnerable as a very young girl. Inadequately and only conditionally loved, there were no adults in her life except for the father she loved, but lost before she could know him; and a mother abandoned by her ex-husband’s rich and powerful family who demanded her loyalty but left her with nothing. With searching insight, poignant detail, and unsparing prose, Mary L. Trump reveals the cold, selfish cruelty that has come to define the Trump family thanks in large part to her uncle, whose malignant ambition has riven our nation and threatens the world.

12
NEW
OVER THE INFLUENCE
Joanna "JoJo" Levesque
Cover of OVER THE INFLUENCE

OVER THE INFLUENCE

by Joanna "JoJo" Levesque · Hachette

1 wks on list

‘I just needed something to take me out of my mind. And the pattern of telling myself I was going to stop but not being able to eroded any sliver of self-trust I still had . . . I felt ashamed. I couldn’t get over this idea that I was letting everyone down.’ In her breathtakingly candid memoir, JoJo reveals for the first time the personal adversity and public expectations she has overcome, from being recognised worldwide as a teenager to processing mental health, addiction and trauma. Holding nothing back, JoJo shares her against-the-odds story of adversity and resilience, from being raised by parents who were both battling addiction and depression to the seven-year law suit she found herself locked in with her label, to eventually finding the strength to put the fragmented pieces of herself back together after a period of rebellion and self-betrayal. Over the Influence invites readers on a journey of self-redemption to discover what it truly means to find yourself.

13
NEW
WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT?
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Cover of WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT?

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT?

by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson · One World

1 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “With a thoughtfully curated series of essays, poetry, and conversations, the brilliant scientist and climate expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has assembled a group of dynamic people who are willing to imagine what seems impossible, and articulate those visions with enthusiastic clarity.”—Roxane Gay Our climate future is not yet written. What if we act as if we love the future? A SMITHSONIAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Sometimes the bravest thing we can do while facing an existential crisis is imagine life on the other side. This provocative and joyous book maps an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures. Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create. If you haven’t yet been able to picture a transformed and replenished world—or to see yourself, your loved ones, and your community in it—this book is for you. If you haven’t yet found your role in shaping this new world or you’re not sure how we can actually get there, this book is for you. With grace, humor, and humanity, Johnson invites readers to ask and answer this ultimate question together: What if we get it right? On possibility and transformation with: Paola Antonelli • Xiye Bastida • Jade Begay • Wendell Berry • Régine Clément • Steve Connell • Erica Deeman • Abigail Dillen • Brian Donahue • Jean Flemma • Kelly Sims Gallagher • Rhiana Gunn-Wright • Olalekan Jeyifous • Corley Kenna • Bryan C. Lee Jr. • Franklin Leonard • Adam McKay • Bill McKibben • Kate Marvel • Samantha Montano • Kate Orff • Leah Penniman • Marge Piercy • Colette Pichon Battle • Kendra Pierre-Louis • Judith D. Schwartz • Jigar Shah • Ayisha Siddiqa • Bren Smith • Oana Stănescu • Mustafa Suleyman • Jacqueline Woodson

14
NEW
CONNIE
Connie Chung
Cover of CONNIE

CONNIE

by Connie Chung · Grand Central

1 wks on list

"This delightful memoir is filled with Connie Chung’s trademark wit, sharp insights, and deep understanding of people. It’s a revealing account of what it’s like to be a woman breaking barriers in the world of TV news, filled with colorful tales of rivalry and triumph. But it also has a larger theme: how the line between serious reporting and tabloid journalism became blurred." - Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author In a sharp, witty, and definitive memoir, iconic trailblazer and legendary journalist Connie Chung delves into her storied career as the first Asian woman to break into an overwhelmingly white, male-dominated television news industry. Connie Chung is a pioneer. In 1969 at the age of 23, this once-shy daughter of Chinese parents took her first job at a local TV station in her hometown of Washington, D.C. and soon thereafter began working at CBS news as a correspondent. Profoundly influenced by her family’s cultural traditions, yet growing up completely Americanized in the United States, Chung describes her career as an Asian woman in a white male-centered world. Overt sexism was a way of life, but Chung was tenacious in her pursuit of stories – battling rival reporters to secure scoops that ranged from interviewing Magic Johnson to covering the Watergate scandal – and quickly became a household name. She made history when she achieved her dream of being the first woman to co-anchor the CBS Evening News and the first Asian to anchor any news program in the U.S. Chung pulls no punches as she provides a behind-the-scenes tour of her singular life. From showdowns with powerful men in and out of the newsroom to the stories behind some of her career-defining reporting and the unwavering support of her husband, Maury Povich, nothing is off-limits – good, bad, or ugly. So be sure to tune in for an irreverent and inspiring exclusive: this is CONNIE like you’ve never seen her before.

15
NEW
A RETURN TO COMMON SENSE
Leigh McGowan
Cover of A RETURN TO COMMON SENSE

A RETURN TO COMMON SENSE

by Leigh McGowan · Atria/One Signal

1 wks on list

This instant New York Times bestselling political book is “an essential companion for anyone who suspects that politics is in fact for everyone, and that the time to put skin in the game is right now” (Dahlia Lithwick, New York Times bestselling author)—from viral TikTok sensation PoliticsGirl. Something’s gone wrong in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. We can all feel it, but if we’re being honest, most of us don’t understand it. At the end of the day, we don’t have all the facts, and if you don’t know how something works, how do you fix it? A Return to Common Sense is an “accessible and urgent” (Kirkus Reviews), dare we say fun, guide to how America works and a roadmap to reclaiming a government of, by, and for the people. We fought a revolutionary war for the idea of self-governance and pursuit of happiness—we can’t just give up on it now. To address the crisis, Leigh McGowan offers Six American Principles, rooted in history, that we can all agree make America, America. 1. America is a land of freedom. 2. Everyone should have the opportunity to rise. 3. Every citizen should have a vote, and that vote should count. 4. Representatives should represent the people who elected them. 5. The law applies to all of us. 6. Government should be a force for good. Using the Six Principles as guideposts, this book lays out suggestions for America, to not only find its way out of the mess it’s currently in, but to set a course for a future of which we can all be truly proud.

Historical bestseller data sourced from the New York Times Book Review, archived by Hawes Publications.