Readers' Favorite History & Biography
Share on Twitter
New to Goodreads? Get great book recommendations! Start Now

The Bookshop by Evan Friss
Rate it:
WINNER 38,847 votes
Author Evan Friss’ loving chronicle of the American bookstore digs deep into history to illuminate the soft power of these irreplaceable literary institutions. He makes a persuasive case that bookstores nurture and create local communities, each of which branches out into our culture, discourse, and public policy. Also, cats love bookstores—and they’re always right about everything.

All Nominees •
242,126 votes total

38,847 votes
The Bookshop by Evan Friss
31,360 votes
The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon
26,235 votes
The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson
21,644 votes
The Elements of Marie Curie by Dava Sobel
18,934 votes
American Scary by Jeremy Dauber
17,443 votes
Women in the Valley of the Kings by Kathleen Sheppard
17,400 votes
Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari
16,640 votes
Ask Not by Maureen Callahan
12,631 votes
Challenger by Adam Higginbotham
11,334 votes
The Lost Tomb by Douglas Preston
4,309 votes
When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow
4,230 votes
Not Your China Doll by Katie Gee Salisbury
3,777 votes
Madness by Antonia Hylton
3,472 votes
By the Fire We Carry by Rebecca Nagle
3,051 votes
The Situation Room by George  Stephanopoulos
2,572 votes
The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides
2,450 votes
When the Sea Came Alive by Garrett M. Graff
2,166 votes
The Siege by Ben Macintyre
2,040 votes
Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here by Jonathan Blitzer
1,591 votes
Eden Undone by Abbott Kahler