Diverse Nonfiction
Here’s a list of nonfiction that I’ve read in the last few years that I would consider diverse.
Most is memoir/biography so I’d love any other general nonfiction suggestions.
General NonFiction
Brazillionaires by Alex Cuadros
On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, with Love and Pasta By Jen Lin-liu
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America by Jeff Chu
Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed by Terry Bryant – Yeah, it’s a cookbook but recipes sometimes have BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King
A Path Appears by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn
Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye: A Journey by Marie Mutsuki Mockett – part memoir, part exploration of religion in Japan post-tsunami
Rejection Proof: 100 Days of Rejection, or How to Ask Anything of Anyone at Anytime by Jia Jiang
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
The Ebony Exodus Project: Why Some Black Women Are Walking Out on Religion–and Others Should Too by Candace R.M. Gorham
Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy – Part memoir, part issues
Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution by Mona Eltahawy
A World of Three Zeros: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Net Carbon Emissions by Muhammad Yunus
Racial issues with white authors discussing privilege
Tomlinson Hill: Sons of Slaves, Sons of Slaveholders by Chris Tomlinson
Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Rights Battle by Kristen Green
Some of My Best Friends Are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America by Tanner Colby
Memoirs/Biography – some biographers are white
Mighty Be Our Powers by Leymah Gbowee
My Own Country by Abraham Verghese
Nujeen: One Girl’s Incredible Journey from War-torn Syria in a Wheelchair by Nujeen Mustafa
Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt
Marching Powder by Rusty Young and Thomas McFadden
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege
No Excuses: A Memoir by Derrick Coleman – black and deaf man in the NFL
Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary by Anita Anand – about an Indian princess raised in England
Truffle Boy: My Unexpected Journey Through the Exotic Food Underground by Ian Purkayastha
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock
Belle: The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice by Paula Byrne
Devotion and Defiance: My Fight for Justice for Women by Humaira Awais Shahid
In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Qanta A. Ahmed
King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village by Peggielene Bartels
Serving in Silence by Margarethe Cammermeyer – An old one but one that was important to my education on LGBT issues
Saving Delaney by Andréa Ott-Dahl, Keston Ott-Dahl – Lesbian couple with a baby with Down’s Syndrome
My (Underground) American Dream: My True Story as an Undocumented Immigrant Who Became a Wall Street Executive by Julissa Arce
Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America by Linda Furiya
Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home by Lisa and Laura Ling
Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina by Michaela DePrince, Elaine DePrince
Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
Power Forward: My Presidential Education by Reggie Love
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis
Victoria and Abdul:Â The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant by Shrabani Basu
Daring to Drive:Â A Saudi Woman’s Awakening by Manal al-Sharif
How Dare the Sun Rise:Â Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Diary of a Tokyo Teen: A Japanese-American Girl Travels to the Land of Trendy Fashion, High-Tech Toilets and Maid Cafes by Christine Mari Inzer
Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation by Susan Williams
Revolution for Dummies by Bassem Youssef
The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines
Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum by Kennedy Odede, Jessica Posner
Never Stop Walking: A Memoir of Finding Home Across the World by Christina Rickardsson, Tara F. Chace
POC subjects by white (or unknown) authors
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer
Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town by Warren St. John – an all refugee soccer team in Georgia
A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in America by Alysson Hobbs
Freedom’s Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1970 by Lynne Olson
The Newcomers: Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom by Helen Thorpe
Disability Representation
If at Birth You Don’t Succeed: My Adventures with Disaster and Destiny by Zach Anner – Get the audio!