Nonfiction at Northland Discussion Group – Selections Archive

2025

1. Strangers to Ourselves: unsettled minds and the stories that make us by Rachel Aviv
2. Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain
3. The Bookshop: a history of the American bookstore by Evan Friss
4. Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow 
5. Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper
6. Master, Slave, Husband, Wife: an epic journey from slavery to freedom by Ilyon Woo 
7. Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson
8. In My Time of Dying: how I came face to face with the idea of an afterlife by Sebastian Junger
9. Fight Like Hell: the untold history of American labor by Kim Kelly

2024

1. Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything by Kelly Weill
2. A Fever in the Heartland: the Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan
3. Think Again: the Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant
4. American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics by Kevin Hazzard
5. The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor by Eddie Jaku
6. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
7. Fen, Bog, and Swamp by Annie Proulx
8. How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler
9. The Art Thief by Michal Finkel
10. From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty
11. The Wager by David Grann
12. Steel City Mafia by Paul Hodosl

2023

1. Spook: science tackles the afterlife by Mary Roach
2. How the Word Is Passed: a reckoning with the history of slavery across America by Clint Smith
3. Cultish: the language of fanaticism by Amanda Montell
4. Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: four women undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott
5. The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
6. Rogues: true stories of grifters, killers, rebels and crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe
7. River of the Gods: genius, courage, and betrayal in the search for the source of the Nile by Candice Millard
8. The Unfit Heiress: the tragic life and scandalous sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt by Audrey Clare Farley
9. Dinners with Ruth: a memoir on the power of friendships by Nina Totenberg
10. Kaufmann’s: the family that built Pittsburgh’s famed department store by Marylynne Pitz
11. All the Beauty in the World: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley

2022

1. Ghosting the News: local journalism and the crisis of American democracy by Margaret Sullivan
2. We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper
3. Memorial Drive: a daughter’s memoir by Natasha D. Trethewey
4. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
5. The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson
6. Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
7. Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
8. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
9. A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell
10. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
11. Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard

2021

1. Pandemic Century by Mark Honigsbaum
2. American Dialogue by Joseph Ellis
3. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
4. Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
5. Made in China: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Cost of America’s Cheap Goods by Amelia Pang
6. Down Along With That Devil’s Bones by Connor Towne O’Neill
7. Becoming by Michelle Obama
8. The Curse of Sherlock Holmes: The Basil Rathbone Story by David Clayton
9. Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me by Adrienne Brodeur

2020

1. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
2. It’s Even Worse Than It Looks by Thomas Mann & Norman Ornstein
3. Elderhood by Louise Aronson
4. Leadership by Doris Kearns
5. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
6. American Dialogue by Joseph Ellis

2019

1. Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance by Mark Whitaker
2. American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures edited by America Ferrera
3. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
4. Calypso by David Sedaris
5. The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham
6. The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
7. Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures by Nick Pyenson
8. The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre
9. American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer
10. Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America by Eliza Griswold
11. All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
12. The Library Book by Susan Orlean

2018

1. The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars
2. The Black Hand: The Epic War between a Brilliant Detective and the Deadliest Secret Society in American History
3. Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady Susan Quinn
4. The Blood of Emmett Till Timothy B. Tyson
5. An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back Elisabeth Rosenthal
6. Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom Thomas E. Ricks
7. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow Yuval Noah Harari
8. The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women Kate Moore
9. No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America Ron Powers
10. I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad  Souad Mekhennet.
11. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI  David Grann
12. The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II  Svetlana Alexievich

2017

1. The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero 
2. The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain
3. Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
4. ADHD Nation: Children, Doctors, Big Pharma and the Making of an American Epidemic
   
5. At the Existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sarte, Simone de Beauvoir…
6. Born to Run
7. His Final Battle: The Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt
8. Sing for Your Life: A Story of Race, Music and Family
9. When Breath Becomes Air Paul Kalanithi
10. Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War Fred M. Kaplan
11. The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria Janine Di Giovanni
12. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis  J. D. Vance

2016

1. Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War Helen Thorpe
2. Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Freeby Hector Tobar
3. The Empathy Exams: Essays Leslie Jamison
4. The Wright Brothers David McCullough
5. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson
6. Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery Henry Marsh
7. Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War Susan Southard
8. Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget Sarah Hepola
9. The Witches: Salem, 1692 Stacy Schiff
10. Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS Joby Warrick
11. Ghettoside: The Story of a Murder in America Jill Leovy
12. H is for Hawk Helen Macdonald

2015

1. The Wolf and the Watchman Scott C. Johnson
2. The Unwinding George C. Packer
3. Little Failure Gary Shteyngart
4. A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal Ben Macintyre
5. The Sixth Extinction Elizabeth Kolbert
6. Just Mercy Bryan Stevenson
7. The Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder and the Battle for Modern New Orleans Gary Krist
8. Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt Michael Lewis
9. Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery and a Masquerade Walter Kirn
10. Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism and Michael Rockefeller’s Tragic Quest for Primitive Art Carl Hoffman
11. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End Atul Gawande
12. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics Daniel James Brow

2014

1. Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis Tim Egan
2. After Visiting Friends Michael Hainey
3. Thank You for Your Service  David Finkel
4. Detroit: An American Autopsy Charlie LeDuff
5. On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes Alexandra Horowitz
6. Frozen in Time:  An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II  Mitchell Zuckoff
7. The Good Nurse:  A True Story of Medicine, Madness and Murder  Charles Graeber
8. David and Goliath:  Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants Malcolm Gladwell
9. The Smartest Kids in the World:  And How They Got That Way Amanda Ripley
10. Lost Girls:  An Unsolved American Mystery Robert Kolker
11. How to Create the Perfect Wife Wendy Moore
12. The End-of-Your-Life Book Club Will Schwalbe

2013

1. That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum
2. What It Is Like to Go to War Karl Marlantes
3. Townie: A Memoir Andre Dubus III
4. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail Cheryl Strayed
5. How Music Works David Byrne
6. Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies  Ben Macintyre
7. Hallucinations Oliver Sacks
8. How Children Succeed : Grit Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character Paul Tough
9. Darwin’s Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution Rebecca Stott
10. Quiet: The Power of Introverts Susan Cain
11. The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court Jeffrey Toobin
12. The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo Tom Reiss

2012

1. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void Mary Roach
2. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption Laura Hillenbrand
3. Blue Nights Joan Didion
4. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President Candice Millard
5. The Psychopath Test: A Journey through the Madness Industry Jon Ronson
6. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin Erik Larson
7. Moby-Duck Donovan Hohn
8. Bossypants Tina Fey
9. The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris David McCullough
10. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey Candice Millard
11. American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation Eric Rutkow
12. Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness Alexandra Fuller

 2011

1. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
2. Lit: A Memoir Mary Karr
3. Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory Ben Macintyre.
4. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea Barbara Demick
5. Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives Annie Murphy Paul
6. Hitch-22: A Memoir Christopher Hitchens
7. Pearl Buck in China : Journey to The Good Earth Hilary Spurling
8. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival John Vaillant
9. The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line between Christianity and Islam Eliza Griswold
10. At Home: A Short History of Private Life Bill Bryson
11. Cleopatra: A Life Stacy Schiff
12. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot

 2010

1. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House Jon Meacham
2. The Forever War Dexter Filkins
3. Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) Tom Vanderbilt
4. The Case for God Karen Armstrong
5. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen Christopher McDougall
6. Strength in What Remains Tracy Kidder
7. Fool’s Gold: How the Bold Dream of a Small Tribe at J.P. Morgan Was Corrupted by Wall Street Greed and Unleashed a Catastrophe Gillian Tett
8. Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou
9. Born Round: A Story of Family, Food and a Ferocious Appetite Frank Bruni
10. Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability David Owen.
11. Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America Barbara Ehrenreich.
12. Zeitoun Dave Eggers

 2009

1. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court Jeffrey Toobin
2. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain Oliver Sacks
3. The Zookeepers Wife Diane Ackerman
4. The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America David Hajdu
5. Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches With Teach for America Donna Foote
6. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective Kate Summerscale
7. This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War Drew Gilpin Faust
8. Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives Jim Sheeler
9. American Eve: Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White, the Birth of the “It” Girl and the Crime of the Century Paula Uruburu
10. Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body Neil Shubin
11. The Post-American World Fareed Zakaria
12. Nothing to Be Frightened Of Julian Barnes

 2008

1. The Demon in the Freezer: A True Story Richard Preston
2. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Malcom Gladwell
3. Putin’s Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy Anna Politkovskaya
4. Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife Mary Roach
5. Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog John Grogan
6. Oil on the Brain: Petroleum’s Long, Strange Trip to Your Tank Lisa Margonelli
7. The Baby Thief: The Untold Story of Georgia Tann, the Baby Seller Who Corrupted Adoption Barbara Bisantz Raymond
8. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life Barbara Kingsolver
9. Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: Training Your Brain for Peak Performance Daniel G. Amen
10. The World Without Us Alan Weisman
11. Here If You Need Me: A True Story Kate Braestrup
12. Sweet and Low: A Family Story Rich Cohen

 2007

1. Salt: A World History Mark Kurlansky
2. Flags of Our Fathers James Bradley
3. An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It Al Gore
4. Letter to a Christian Nation Sam Harris
5. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl Timothy Egan
6. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors and the Collision of Two Cultures Anne Fadiman
7. Polio: An American Story David M. Oshinsky
8. Human Cargo: A Journey Among Refugees Caroline Moorehead
9. Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero David Maraniss
10. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War Nathaniel Philbrick
11. Electric Universe: How Electricity Switched on the Modern World David Bodanis
12. Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science Atul Gawande