Brendan Stern

Hello, humans, humanoids, Hungarians, and other groups starting with “h.” It’s been over a year since my last post about the best nonfiction books I read in 2020.

And what a year it’s been.

From the insurrection on January 6 to the Afghanistan withdrawal fiasco, from losing Michael K. Williams to Joan Didion, it was a year of disenchanting thoughts. But it could have been far worse without the wisest and most dependable of friends: books.

For the fourth year running, I’m reviewing five of the best nonfiction books I read over the past 365 days. (You can find my 2018, 2019, and 2020 reviews here, here, and here.) And I’m hoping to make it five straight next year on 5tern.com.

Since I preach distillation—the art of cutting through fat to get to the meat—to my students, it seems only right to review these books in five sentences each.

(If I had more time, I’d have done it in three sentences. Or at least in five shorter ones with fewer parentheses.)

Anyway, in no particular order, here goes:

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Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency, Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen

Is it better to be lucky than good?

Unexpected circumstances may have stacked the deck for Biden, like that fiasco with the Iowa caucuses, which deflected attention from his dismal showing, and the pandemic lockdowns, which minimized his gaffe potential. But luck alone didn’t win him the presidency—his decency and empathy helped, as did Sanders, Buttigieg, Warren, and Klobuchar dropping out early to unite behind him.

In short, it’s best to be lucky, stand for goodness, and play on a strong team.

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Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, David Grann

Until I read this, I thought the wealthiest people per capita during the Roaring Twenties lived in New York City. Actually, it was members of the Osage Nation, who were raking in what would be over $400 million today after discovering oil beneath their reservation—until they started being murdered, with no justice in sight.

David Grann weaves characters too sinister and events too shocking to seem real, shining a harsh light on what happens when greed and racism meet ambition.

(It’s no wonder Scorsese is directing the film adaptation, starring DiCaprio and Jesse Plemons.)

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Atomic Habits, James Clear

In Clear’s words:

“Problem #1: Winners and losers have the same goals.”
“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”
“To create a good habit, make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.”

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You Ought to Do a Story About Me: Addiction, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Endless Quest for Redemption, Ted Jackson

At first glance, this is the story of an award-winning photojournalist who, while shooting under a bridge in New Orleans, stumbled on a homeless addict who said, “You ought to do a story about me.” That addict was Jackie Wallace, a former University of Arizona star and NFL player who competed in three Super Bowls before losing everything to trauma and drugs.

Look closer, though, and it’s a love story—two people trying to rewrite the final chapters of their lives through friendship.

Heartbreaking and gripping, this book captures the tension between addiction and recovery, squandered potential and relentless hope.

And it’s all brought to life not just by words but by photographs that add depth, proof, and weight.

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The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier’s Education, Craig Mullaney

At its core, this is about one young man’s search for meaning and belonging in a nasty, brutish, short world. Mullaney journeys from West Point—where as a plebe he could only say, “Yes, sir,” “No, sir,” and “No excuses, sir”—to Ranger School with an 80-pound pack, to Oxford where “conversation is an end in itself,” to Afghanistan leading a platoon, and finally to civilian life where he marries his college sweetheart.

At times overearnest and dramatic, it’s still a compelling read. Through philosophy and experience, Mullaney argues that the secret to surviving an unforgiving world is a healthy body, mind, and spirit.

Though whether he’s fully achieved that balance remains an open question.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, Eddie S. Glaude
As Baldwin exhorted at Howard in 1963, “We must tell the truth till we can no longer bear it.”

The Lost City of Z, David Grann
Percy Fawcett’s swashbuckling Amazon expeditions—and his disappearance—show how obsession can elevate and madden the best of us.

The Hot Hand, Ben Cohen
Seeing patterns in randomness is what makes us human—and flawed.

Basketball (and Other Things), Shea Serrano
Disrespectful dunks and trash talk in pickup games are funnier than you’d think.

Peril, Bob Woodward and Robert Costa
The last days of Trump’s presidency could have ended far worse if not for unexpected heroes who honored their oaths.

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What about you? Have you read these books? If so, what did you think? Do you have a book to recommend? If so, let me know.   

Until next time, wishing you a tranquil New Year and a brighter 2022.