Top history, memoir and other nonfiction for the first quarter of the year.
Last week we gave you a list of fiction to watch for in 2023. Now here is some good-looking nonfiction.
"Rough Sleepers," by Tracy Kidder. (Random House, Jan. 17) Kidder spent five years following a Boston doctor who brings health care to the unhoused.
"Jellyfish Age Backwards," by Nicklas Brendborg. (Little, Brown, Jan. 17) A scientific dive into aging and immortality, focusing on what animals and plants can teach us about longevity.
"In the Garden of the Righteous," by Richard Hurowitz. (Harper, Jan. 24) Profiles of people — including a circus ringmaster, a diplomat and a cycling champion — who saved countless lives during the Holocaust.
"The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself," by David Mura. (University of Minnesota Press, Jan. 31) Framed by the murders of Philando Castile and George Floyd, Mura's book examines the narratives that justify white supremacy.
"The Hidden Company That Trees Keep," by James B. Nardi. (Princeton University Press, Feb. 7) A deep look at creatures that live in and below trees — from squirrels and birds to the tiniest microbes.
"Chasing Icebergs: How Frozen Freshwater Can Save the Planet," by Matthew Birkhold. (Pegasus, Feb. 7) Birkhold examines whether harvesting the fresh water of icebergs could be the answer to the world's water problem.
"The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph," by Oksana Masters. (Scribner, Feb. 21) Born near Chernobyl, Masters was abandoned by her birth parents after she was born with several radiation-induced defects. She grew up in a Ukrainian orphanage, was adopted by an American woman and went on to become the country's most decorated winter Paralympic athlete ever.
"Wolfish," by Erica Berry. (Flatiron Books, Feb. 21) A graduate of the University of Minnesota's MFA program, Berry has written her first book about the cultural legacy of the wolf — and what it means to be both predator and prey.
"Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age," by Katherine May. (Riverhead, Feb. 28) The author of "Wintering" examines the anxiety and fear we live with on a daily basis and wonders if there is a way to reimagine how we interact with the world.
"War Diary," by Yevgenia Belorusets, translated by Greg Nissan. (New Directions, March 7) The daily journal of a young artist and writer in Kyiv, beginning Feb. 22, the day the Russians attacked Ukraine.
"Poverty, By America," by Matthew Desmond. (Crown, March 21) The author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Evicted" examines poverty in America, the richest country in the world, and concludes that the wealthy deliberately keep poor people poor in order to enrich themselves.
"The Best Strangers in the World," by Ari Shapiro. (HarperOne, March 21) In memoiristic essays, the host of "All Things Considered" tells the stories behind the stories he has reported.
"A Living Remedy," by Nicole Chung. (Ecco, April 4) In her second memoir, Chung writes about the deaths of her adoptive parents, both of whom suffered from lack of health care.
"I Can't Save You," by Anthony Chin-Quee. (Riverhead, April 4) In this memoir, Chin-Quee writes honestly about what it is like being a physician for a "not white, mostly Black, and questionably Asian man."
"The Wager," by David Grann. (Doubleday, April 18) A thrilling, true story of mutiny and shipwreck in the 1700s by the author of "Killers of the Flower Moon."
"White Burgers, Black Cash," by Naa Oyo A. Kwate. (University of Minnesota Press, May 2) The evolution of fast-food outlets, which started out in white neighborhoods and now are primarily marketed toward Blacks.
