Best Nonfiction Releases — May 2026

A searing memoir of love and grief from Siri Hustvedt, centered around the loss of her husband, Paul Auster — one of America's greatest novelists. The book weaves Hustvedt's reflections on their 43 years together with never-before-seen writing by Auster, including letters to Siri and his last unfinished book, addressed to his grandson. Named one of the most anticipated books of 2026 by the Guardian, Observer, and BBC Culture.

From the host of the "Fall of Rome" and "Tides of History" podcasts — a deep dig into the past to unearth lost worlds of individuals and societies. Wyman brings the same accessible, enthusiastic energy that made his podcasts popular to a sweeping exploration of civilizations that rose and fell, and what their stories mean for us today.

A book for adults about books for children. Beloved children's author Mac Barnett makes his adult nonfiction debut with a rallying cry for art, imagination, and the power of storytelling. Why do the stories we tell children matter? What do they teach us about truth, wonder, and what it means to be human? A celebration of make-believe as something fundamental, not frivolous.

Every great leader has an origin story. Lerone Martin, senior editor of Stanford's Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project, illuminates the early years of the Civil Rights icon — how his upbringing, education, and formative experiences shaped the man who would change the world. For readers who loved David McCullough, Jonathan Eig, and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term "intersectionality" and shaped critical race theory — two frameworks that reshaped how we think about gender and race. Her memoir walks through her life and shows how she developed these illuminating ideas. A rare look inside the mind of one of the most influential public intellectuals of our time.