Best nonfiction books of June 2024, as chosen by the Amazon Editors
Dreams, dictators, despots…! The Amazon Editors’ recommended nonfiction books this month will keep you furiously flipping pages, as you absorb the secret meaning of frequent dreams, or the wild stories of a public relations “hit man.” Parenting books are also on fire lately (see also: our April “Best of” pick, The Anxious Generation); BoyMom, out this month, raises just as many important questions. Read our reviews below, in addition to checking out our full list of the Best Nonfiction of June 2024, as well as in every genre.
“You are never more alive than when you’re dreaming,” writes neuroscientist Rahul Jandial in his page-turning look at the magical way the brain functions every night. Fascinating insights abound: dreams’ evolutionary purpose, certain types of dreams men often have 15 years before they’re diagnosed with Parkinson’s or dementia, how dreams can serve as a gauge of psychological wellbeing (including, surprisingly, visions of divorce, drugs, and cheating), and why everyone dreams about school, even decades after graduating. Zooming out, Jandial reveals how dreams have changed the world for the better—and how they’ve been weaponized by companies to convince us to spend more money. Understanding our dreams (and nightmares) opens a window to our deepest thoughts and desires, and Jandial explains just how easy it is to better remember, and even shape, what we see as we snooze. From your wildest dreams to your dying dreams, don’t sleep on this revelatory read about your slumbering brain’s power. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
All the Worst Humans will make your jaw drop: it’s a juicy, salacious memoir that confirms just how seedy the world is when money, politics, and power come into play. With the vibes of the propulsive Liar’s Poker, Elwood dishes on his decades as a public relations hitman, a hired gun known for pulling off (or hiding) the treacherous, outlandish requests of “dictators, tycoons, and politicians,” as the catchy subtitle promises. From dishing on how he helped Qatar land their first FIFA World Cup by sabotaging the United States’ bid to how he babysat Gaddafi’s son during a Las Vegas boondoggle filled with drugs, guns, and women, Elwood sets dynamite to his career. And that’s what makes this memoir so page-turning; it’s not just his astonishing stories of danger, manipulation, and questionable ethics—but his determination to expose it all, ultimately confronting the choices he made, and revealing how easily we (anyone, politicians, reporters, governments, and countries) can be puppets in a fragile world of egos and power grabs. A wild, oh-my-god-ride that you won’t be able to stop talking about. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
I loved this book—and I’m not just saying that as the mother of two boys. Although, as somebody who rolls my eyes at the cliche “boys will be boys,” it felt like Ruth Whippman was talking directly to me. That said, every caregiver, man, and woman should read this fascinating narrative, which applies the cultural debates around gender and #MeToo to parenthood. Whippman deftly pulls together research, expert interviews, and her own experience to call out instances when our society lets boys down, how we can do better, and why it’s necessary to treat them as “full, complex humans, finding their way” as opposed to limiting them to the “chokehold of masculine expectations.” A worthy, thought-provoking conversation. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
“This is a book by a Black man about white poverty in America,” writes Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II in the opening line of his introspective—and expansive—treatise on the vital issue of solving poverty. His goal: to counteract “the racist images of Black mothers on welfare that have dominated the imaginations of Americans” as “they are based on a myth that obscures the poverty of tens of millions of white people.” Myths are powerful, Barber posits: they help people make sense of a loud world, but they also blind us to reality. Barber writes like he’s delivering a sermon, stating the challenge (140 million Americans are poor or low income, a full 43% of the country), and then delivering the inspiration to overcome (“the billions of dollars that have been invested to divide us may seem overwhelming, but I’ve come to believe they are a sign of our strength”). Reading White Poverty is like communing with a trusted friend, a wise mentor, an elder neighbor—Barber is thoughtful, sensible, and above all, uplifting. For anyone who’s ever felt their voice didn’t matter, or that they couldn’t make a difference, this book may change your mind. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Samhita Mukhopadhyay is living the dream, at least on paper. She’s the executive editor of Teen Vogue. She lives in New York City. She’s sitting front row at glitzy fashion shows. “This is what making it feels like,” she whispers to herself. But, then, why is she exhausted, battling never-ending health issues, and lonely because she’s too busy working to hang with her friends? These contradictions force Mukhopadhyay into a #GirlBoss reckoning, and then a larger interrogation into the cultural voices shaming women to strive to “have it all,” and the entrenched structural forces holding us back from ever achieving this elusive balance. But this book isn’t a depressing polemic or some rah-rah “Lean In” manual. Instead, it’s an exploration, led by Mukhopadhyay, to change the definition of success, and what the future of work could look like. This is a necessary discussion as companies reframe policies post-pandemic, and with Mukhopadhyay, we’re in good hands. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Alan Townsend’s writing is breathtakingly meditative—and also heart wrenching. Townsend is a scientist, uncovering the brilliance and brutalities of life as a field researcher in the Amazon jungle. But the lessons from his work take on a more personal meaning much closer to home, when his beloved 4-year-old daughter, and then his whip-smart, radiant wife, are diagnosed with cancer one after the other. One will not survive, while the other will flourish and stun you with her resilience. In the vein of When Breath Becomes Air, Townsend’s story—which gives medicine and memoir equal billing—will make you embrace the chaos and awe of life, and wipe away tears. We all have such an expansive capacity for love and wonder, but also deep sorrow at what we stand to lose. Townsend continues to put one foot in front of the other, and in the process, teaches us to bravely do the same, no matter what we’re up against. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
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