Ask HN: Best non-fiction book you read in 2024? ↗

The books people recommended

2024-11-23 · 63 points · 57 comments · 30 books named by at least one person here and at least 3 people overall. The number on the left is how many people named it in this thread.

6Endurance
Endurance
Alfred Lansing
6 here · 37 all-time · #135 overall
Buy on Amazon4.8 out of 5, 27,447 ratings on Amazon
3
Into Thin Air
Jon Krakauer
3 here · 22 all-time · #275 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 26,031 ratings on Amazon
2The Ray Tracer Challenge
The Ray Tracer Challenge
Jamis Buck
2 here · 8 all-time · #878 overall
2Material World
Material World
Ed Conway
2 here · 5 all-time · #1461 overall
1
Sapiens
Yuval Noah Harari
1 here · 197 all-time · #4 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 133,705 ratings on Amazon
1
Code
Charles Petzold
1 here · 147 all-time · #12 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 2,787 ratings on Amazon
1
Why We Sleep
Matthew Walker
1 here · 68 all-time · #54 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 34,551 ratings on Amazon
1
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Richard Rhodes
1 here · 42 all-time · #114 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 4,174 ratings on Amazon
1The Code Book
The Code Book
Simon Singh
1 here · 28 all-time · #204 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 2,217 ratings on Amazon
1Poor Charlie's Almanack
Poor Charlie's Almanack
Charlie Munger
1 here · 25 all-time · #230 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 2,930 ratings on Amazon
1Sophie's World
Sophie's World
Jostein Gaarder
1 here · 18 all-time · #364 overall
Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 7,501 ratings on Amazon
1The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
1 here · 17 all-time · #366 overall
Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 11,110 ratings on Amazon
1Chip War
Chip War
Chris Miller
1 here · 17 all-time · #382 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 9,953 ratings on Amazon
1Essentialism
Essentialism
Greg McKeown
1 here · 10 all-time · #620 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 21,193 ratings on Amazon
1Against the Gods
Against the Gods
Peter L. Bernstein
1 here · 10 all-time · #642 overall
1Six Pillars of Self-Esteem
Six Pillars of Self-Esteem
Nathaniel Branden
1 here · 10 all-time · #672 overall
1Money: The Unauthorised Biography
Money: The Unauthorised Biography
Felix Martin
1 here · 9 all-time · #695 overall
1The Body Keeps the Score
The Body Keeps the Score
Bessel van der Kolk
1 here · 9 all-time · #719 overall
1The Simple Path to Wealth
The Simple Path to Wealth
JL Collins
1 here · 8 all-time · #879 overall
1Into the Wild
Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer
1 here · 7 all-time · #940 overall
1Outlive
Outlive
Peter Attia
1 here · 7 all-time · #1014 overall
1The Wager
The Wager
David Grann
1 here · 6 all-time · #1213 overall
1Your Money or Your Life
Your Money or Your Life
Vicki Robbins
1 here · 5 all-time · #1242 overall
1The Rise and Fall of American Growth
The Rise and Fall of American Growth
Robert Gordon
1 here · 5 all-time · #1243 overall
1Braiding Sweetgrass
Braiding Sweetgrass
Robin Wall Kimmerer
1 here · 4 all-time · #1546 overall
1The Hot Zone
The Hot Zone
Richard Preston
1 here · 4 all-time · #1547 overall
1Fundamentals: Ten Keys To Reality
Fundamentals: Ten Keys To Reality
Frank Wilczek
1 here · 4 all-time · #1732 overall
1Silent Spring
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson
1 here · 4 all-time · #1733 overall
1Slouching Towards Utopia
Slouching Towards Utopia
J. Bradford DeLong
1 here · 3 all-time · #1967 overall
1After Virtue
After Virtue
Alasdair MacIntyre
1 here · 3 all-time · #1968 overall