13 of the Best Nonfiction Books Coming in January 2024

Bill Gates had high praise for this data scientist’s eye-opening and hopeful book that goes beyond the dire headlines to highlight signs of environmental progress, with the tech titan calling it “an essential antidote to environmental doomsday-ism.”

From a Karl Marx for the climate crisis, this well-reasoned argument for degrowth has garnered praise from across the spectrum (from philosopher Slavoj Žižek to the New York Times). Kaito, a University of Tokyo philosophy professor, makes the case for social ownership as the only way to combat the climate crisis. "Saito's clarity of thought, plethora of evidence, and conversational, gentle, yet urgent tone…are sure to win over open-minded readers,” observed Kirkus.

Time correspondent Simon Shuster chronicles the invasion through an intimate and complex profile of Volodymyr Zelensky, following him from his time as a maverick entertainer to his leadership in the war with Russia.

An inspiring essay collection by the beloved NPR science correspondent that blends memoir with explanatory science, original reporting, and personal experience. “The title is borrowed from a phrase in a Walt Whitman poem. He surely would be pleased to be linked to Greenfieldboyce's display of inquiry and imagination, inevitability, and possibilities,” remarked Booklist.

The bestselling author of Pandora's Jar returns with a “fun take on Greek myth” from the female perspective, delving into the complexities of Athene, Aphrodite, Hera, Demeter, Artemis, and the Muses with “lighthearted tone and humor [that] will keep even those already familiar with Greek mythology entertained through lengthy recaps of various legends, making the stories fresh and accessible for a new generation,” according to Publisher’s Weekly.

This New Yorker tech columnist’s “intriguing and distressing” investigation of the mathematical formulas that give shape to modern life shows “how we can reject the algorithms of the digital era and reclaim our humanity,” observed Kirkus.

Publisher’s Weekly was delighted by this “dexterous blend of science and cultural history” that reveals everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the big, mysterious ball of cheese in our night sky…but were afraid to ask. It’s an “excellent exploration of how the moon has shaped life on Earth” by an Atlas Obscura columnist that’s garnering praise from astronauts to bestselling science writers like Ed Yong and Neil Shubin.

The #1 New York Times-bestselling author of So You Want to Talk About Race and Mediocre returns with an inspirational look at the anti-racism activists creating positive change in American education, media, labor, health, housing, policing and other powerful systems. The San Francisco Chronicle called it “a remarkable, inviting and even comforting manual for how people can come together to build a more peaceful world."

The author of Devil's Bargain turns his attention across the aisle, with a “fast-paced, sober, yet hopeful” (The Atlantic) account of the rise of left-wing populist politics, led by Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Kirkus praised this “field-tested, practical guidebook for reclaiming health in the face of intergenerational trauma” by a Columbia University-trained trauma expert who explains how to break free from the painful emotions inherited from our relatives and ancestors.