Genre typing hub
Type Nonfiction books
126 titles tagged Nonfiction. Practice typing with real literature — not random drills. Showing 120 featured books.
A Yankee in the Trenches
Robert Derby Holmes
An American describes his experiences in the British Army in the First World War.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Linda Brent
The autobiography of a woman who grew up in, and escaped from, slavery.
The Way to God and How to Find It
D. L. Moody
An evangelical preacher shares his theological framework.
My Four Weeks in France
Ring Lardner
A sports columnist and humorist travels to France as a war correspondent during World War I and recounts his experiences on the assignment.
Yashka
Maria Bochkareva
A Russian peasant leaves exile in Siberia to fight for her country in World War I.
Sailing Alone Around the World
Joshua Slocum
A sailor gives his account how he completed the first solo sailing voyage around the world.
The Journal of a Disappointed Man
W. N. P. Barbellion
A young naturalist with multiple sclerosis describes his life and love of nature.
Unspoken Sermons
George MacDonald
George MacDonald presents a set of interlocking sermons designed to shape the perception and life of the Christian disciple.
The Path to Rome
Hilaire Belloc
Hilaire Belloc takes a walking pilgrimage to Rome from his hometown in France, writing of the journey, sketching the sights, and digressing on a wide variety of subjects.
The Diary
Samuel Pepys
The diary of a man living in London in the 17th century.
South!
Ernest Shackleton
A British expedition sets off to cross Antarctica, but when their ship is wrecked they have to face a long struggle for survival.
In Darkest London
Ada Elizabeth Chesterton
A social campaigner describes her experiences living on the streets of 1920s London.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass describes his youth as a slave in Maryland and his desire to be a free man.
Darkwater
W. E. B. Du Bois
A collection of essays, short fiction, and poetry related to the lives of black people in Jim Crow-era America.
The Art of War
Sun Tzu
An ancient Chinese classic discussing the art of war.
The Autobiography of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
A collection of reminiscences and reflections from the author’s experiences.
Twelve Years a Slave
Solomon Northup
The account of a free black man kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery, from which it took twelve years to free himself.
Now It Can Be Told
Philip Gibbs
A British war correspondent recalls his experiences during the Great War.
Legends of Vancouver
E. Pauline Johnson
E. Pauline Johnson’s collection of legends and myths of the Squamish people.
Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860–69
Edward Whymper
A classic in early mountaineering literature, describing the first ascent of the Matterhorn and other climbs in the Alps.
Bulfinch’s Mythology
Thomas Bulfinch
An American classicist collects and explains myths and legends ranging from those of the ancient Greeks and Romans, through stories of King Arthur, to the legends of Charlemagne.
The Worst Journey in the World
Apsley Cherry-Garrard
The travelogue of a member of Robert Scott’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition of 1910.
A Daughter of the Samurai
Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto
The autobiography of Etsu Sugimoto, a girl born into a samurai family in a time of great cultural changes.
“We”
Charles A. Lindbergh
Legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh gives an account of his early life, how he got into flying, and his famous transatlantic flight.
A Personal Record
Joseph Conrad
Conrad recounts his childhood in Poland, his sailing experiences, and the work on his debut novel.
Essays
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A collection of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essays.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence’s memoir of leading the Arab revolt against the Ottoman empire during World War I.
The Innocents Abroad
Mark Twain
Mark Twain travels abroad, offering witty observations on the places and cultures he encounters and commentary on the habits and foibles of his fellow travelers.
How the Other Half Lives
Jacob Riis
A social reformer documents the living conditions of the poor in the tenements of New York City.
The Art of Money Getting
P. T. Barnum
A short guide on achieving financial success.
The Story of My Experiments with Truth
Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi relates his life experiences from his birth in Gujarat in 1869 through the Indian National Congress of 1915.
A Negro Explorer at the North Pole
Matthew Henson
The self-told story of the black man who accompanied Robert Peary during the first trip to the North Pole.
The Mirror of the Sea
Joseph Conrad
An autobiographical memoir on Joseph Conrad’s maritime experiences and his relationship with the sea.
The Life of Buffalo Bill
William F. Cody
The 1879 autobiography of William F. Cody, more commonly known as Buffalo Bill, detailing his early life in the American West.
Disenchantment
C. E. Montague
A World War I veteran analyzes how the war affected the collective British psyche.
Up from Slavery
Booker T. Washington
The autobiography of Booker T. Washington, former slave and founder of the Tuskegee Institute.
Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom
William Craft
The authors escape from slavery by posing as a slaveowner and his slave.
My First Summer in the Sierra
John Muir
The influential Scottish-American naturalist spends a summer exploring the high country surrounding the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne rivers in the Sierra Nevada, and records what he sees in a diary.
The Land of Little Rain
Mary Austin
Short stories and essays detailing the landscape and inhabitants of the American Southwest.
Travel Essays
Robert Louis Stevenson
A collection of Robert Louis Stevenson’s travel essays.
Essays
Henry David Thoreau
A collection of Henry David Thoreau’s essays.
Red Dusk and the Morrow
Paul Dukes
A newly-minted secret agent is sent to pick up the pieces of Britain’s spy networks after they are shattered by the Red Terror.
Bashan and I
Thomas Mann
A renowned novelist describes the unique relation that links him to his dog.
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
Henry David Thoreau
On a rowboat excursion with his brother, Thoreau lets his thoughts meander with the river.
The Rough Riders
Theodore Roosevelt
The First United States Volunteer Cavalry fights in the Spanish–American War.
On the Art of Reading
Arthur Quiller-Couch
Quiller-Couch argues for the study and appreciation of classic English literature.
The Cruise of the Nona
Hilaire Belloc
Hilaire Belloc cruises around Wales and the English Channel on his sailboat, writing on a variety of topics.
The Book of Tea
Okakura Kakuzō
The Book of Tea is a long essay exploring the relationship between teaism, taoism, and the aesthetics of Japanese culture.
The Cruise of the Alerte
E. F. Knight
An English journalist sets sail in search of treasure buried on a remote desert island.
Walden
Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau’s report on his social experiment of solitude, simplicity, and self-reliance.
Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands
Mary Seacole
A British Creole woman provides medical assistance during the Crimean War after her travels around Panama.
Journals
Alexander Mackenzie
Explorer Alexander Mackenzie details his journeys to both the Arctic and Pacific Oceans in his personal journals.
Heretics
G. K. Chesterton
A collection of essays in which G. K. Chesterton debates the intellectuals of his day on a range of topics.
The Religion of Nature Delineated
William Wollaston
Wollaston attempts to derive ethics and religion by using rational thought and observation of the natural world, without resorting to revelation or received religion.
Aspects of the Novel
E. M. Forster
E. M. Forster offers an analysis of aspects of the novel.
Queen Victoria
Lytton Strachey
A sardonic and generally unflattering biography of Victoria Alexandrina, Queen of England.
Eminent Victorians
Lytton Strachey
Four witty and biting biographies of Victorians that take aim at the moral superiority of their subject’s time.
What’s Wrong with the World
G. K. Chesterton
Philosopher G. K. Chesterton comments on various social issues of his day, including property, imperialism, feminism, and education.
Through the Brazilian Wilderness
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt’s autobiographical account of his expedition into the uncharted depths of the Brazilian rainforest.
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
One of the greatest generals of the United States tells the story of his life and details his key role in winning the Civil War.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano
An autobiography of an ex-slave in the mid 1700s.
Representative Men
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A collection of seven lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson on great men and their role in society.
The Humbugs of the World
P. T. Barnum
American archetype and cultural founding father P. T. Barnum shares a collection of anecdotes that he deems “humbugs”—fodder for the gullible, deserving of skepticism—with the goal of making his fellow citizens a little wiser and more skeptical.
The Bolshevik Myth
Alexander Berkman
A left-wing radical records his experiences in revolutionary Russia.
The City of God
Augustine of Hippo
Bishop Augustine of Hippo provides a defense of the Christian faith against its pagan critics, as well as explaining God’s work and purposes in world history, from beginning to end.
With the Empress Dowager of China
Katharine A. Carl
A female painter becomes the court artist of the Empress Dowager of China.
The Education of Henry Adams
Henry Adams
A prominent and caustic historian reflects on the reasons that “the more he was educated, the less he understood,” and what he believes the future holds for American society.
The English Constitution
Walter Bagehot
The nature and operation of British governance in the Victorian era is explained.
The Varieties of Religious Experience
William James
A philospher and psychologist surveys direct religious experiences, including healthy-mindedness, saintliness, conversion and mysticism.
Struggles and Triumphs
P. T. Barnum
The world’s greatest showman tells the story of his life.
Memoirs of a Revolutionist
Peter Kropotkin
A Russian revolutionary tells of his life from early childhood, his adventures as a geographer, and how he turned into an anarcho-communist.
My Life in China and America
Yung Wing
A Chinese-American graduate of Yale recounts his experiences as a student and civil servant.
The Everlasting Man
G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton takes us through the history of man, rebuking common secular views and presenting the case for the Catholic Church.
Recollections of Full Years
Helen Herron Taft
Helen Herron Taft, wife of William Howard Taft, the twenty-seventh President of the United States, recalls her life married to one of America’s most influential political figures.
The Voyage of the Beagle
Charles Darwin
Darwin’s personal account of his 1831 voyage around the world investigating the geology, botany, and zoology of various lands.
The Souls of Black Folk
W. E. B. Du Bois
A seminal collection of essays on the African-American experience.
Ten Days That Shook the World
John Reed
Journalist John Reed gives a first-hand account of Russia’s 1917 October Revolution, which lead to the formation of the Soviet Union.
A Voice from the South
Anna Julia Cooper
A Black woman from the American South philosophizes on various subjects.
Polynesian Mythology
George Grey
A collection of Māori mythology covering the start of the universe through to the spread of Māori tribes through New Zealand’s North Island.
My Disillusionment in Russia
Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman recounts her experiences living in the early Soviet Union.
The New Freedom
Woodrow Wilson
The 28th president of the United States presents the risks and opportunities for freedom and democracy through a series of campaign speeches.
Table-Talk
William Hazlitt
A collection of essays on art, literature, philosophy, society, and culture.
The Problems of Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
A beginner’s guide to problems in various fields of philosophy.
The Secret History
Procopius
Procopius recounts the supposed true history of Justinian’s reign.
On the Art of Writing
Arthur Quiller-Couch
Quiller-Couch surveys the history of English prose while dispensing advice for writing tastefully.
The Social Contract
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau explores the political philosophy of authority originating from the consent of the people.
Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft’s account of her travels through Scandinavia.
The Condition of the Working Class in England
Friedrich Engels
A philosopher reports on the state of the proletariat in Victorian England.
Leviathan
Thomas Hobbes
Hobbes explores a vision of the ideal state, in which people cede certain freedoms to a sovereign power in exchange for security and stability.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin writes about his youth, adventures, and achievements.
The Conscience of a Conservative
Barry Goldwater
A U.S. Senator and future presidential nominee outlines key principles of the 20th century American conservative movement.
Pragmatism
William James
James introduces the philosophy of pragmatism and applies it to some metaphysical problems.
The New State
Mary Parker Follett
The theory of group organization is formulated and applied in an attempt to design a truly democratic political state.
Practical Mysticism
Evelyn Underhill
Evelyn Underhill makes the case that mysticism is accessible and beneficial to everyone.
The Lives of the Caesars
Suetonius
The lives of the twelve emperors called Caesar are described in detail by a near-contemporary Roman historian.
Unto This Last
John Ruskin
A philosophical discussion on the nature of wealth and labor.
A Pluralistic Universe
William James
A philosopher gives an introduction to radical empiricism and how it relates to the experienced world.
Liberalism
L. T. Hobhouse
An early twentieth century description of the philosophy of liberal socialism.
Progress and Poverty
Henry George
An explanation on why increased productivity has not led to increased wages, and how the application of a single land value tax can fix this and lead to a more just society.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Mary Wollstonecraft
Wollstonecraft argues for equal treatment of women in society, especially in matters of education.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Edward Gibbon
A narrative history of the Roman Empire from the time of Trajan to the fall of Constantinople.
Religion and the Rise of Capitalism
R. H. Tawney
A tracing of the development of religious thought from the Middle Ages to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell travels to post-revolutionary Russia to see if Bolshevism achieves its communist aspirations.
Roads to Freedom
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell investigates the merits and potential shortcomings of different socialist tendencies.
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Thomas De Quincey
A portrait of the life of a drug addict in Georgian-era London.
The National Being
George William Russell
An Irish writer presents his vision of an independent Irish nation.
Histories
Herodotus
Herodotus recounts the history and geography of the ancient world.
The Economic Consequences of the Peace
John Maynard Keynes
Keynes presents a first-hand account of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and an analysis of the resulting Versailles treaty.
Culture and Anarchy
Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold describes what he considers to be the flaws in Victorian British society.
The Kingdom of God Is Within You
Leo Tolstoy
Tolstoy describes true Christianity as a non-hierarchical, nonviolent, non-coercive pursuit, and criticizes institutional Christianity as a deceptive corruption.
A Journal of the Plague Year
Daniel Defoe
An account of one man’s survival in London during the Great Plague of 1665.
The Great Illusion
Norman Angell
A philosopher and M.P. argues that the financial and commercial interdependence of modern nations renders military conquest economically futile and traditional empire-building self-defeating.
Human Nature and Conduct
John Dewey
Dewey applies the theory of pragmatism to morality, reason, and society.
History of the Peloponnesian War
Thucydides
A contemporary history of the ancient Greek war between Athens and Sparta and their allies.
The Story of Utopias
Lewis Mumford
An American historian reviews the literature surrounding utopias and how they relate to contemporary society.
Essays
Errico Malatesta
A collection of essays by Errico Malatesta.
A General History of the Pirates
Captain Charles Johnson
The lives and stories of the daring pirate outlaws who terrorized the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea in the 18th century.
Democracy and Education
John Dewey
A critical survey of the philosophy and aims of education in a democratic society.
Democracy and Social Ethics
Jane Addams
Jane Addams argues that addressing social issues like poverty and inequality requires shifting from individual morality to a collective understanding of social responsibility.
Sticks and Stones
Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford discusses the effects of architecture on American society throughout history.