Best Nonfiction of 2021

What a year. If 2020 was the longest year ever, 2021 must be a contender for the shortest. The promise of "hot vax summer" faded away in a haze of boiling temperatures, continued worry, and safety precautions, and time slipped away like a field mouse not shaking the grass...*

On the bright side, authors have stepped into the breach to fill our time during the unanticipated continuation of our voluntary home confinement. From incredible graphic memoirs and pop culture deep dives to urgent reckonings with racism and poetic reflections on our Anthropocenic age, 2021 has offered up some amazing nonfiction books. They've instructed us, engrossed us, sustained us, opened our minds, and diversified our points of view. We hope you love them as much as we do.