Jon Ronson is a celebrated nonfiction author, screenwriter, and documentary maker. In books like The Psychopath Test, Them: Adventures with Extremists, The Butterfly Effect, and So You've Been Publicly Shamed, Ronson tells extraordinary stories of life just outside the mainstream. Here are his favorite nonfiction titles.
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Nonfiction writers are often not adventurous enough. Craig Brown’s brilliant book shows the possibilities of what we can do. This is a portrait of the Beatles via snippets, chance encounters, people who brushed past them. It’s wonderful, like he’s reinventing the memoir.
This is the fantastically batty culmination of a lifetime of research into alternate theories on the Manson murders. He obsessively dives down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. Some of his conclusions are compelling, others seem nuts, but it’s always riveting.
This is Tarantino at his most passionate and nerdy. He narrates it himself at first, but then a different voice takes over. No offense to the other guy, but Tarantino is fantastic and should have done it all. Carve out a few days! What’s the problem?! All nonfiction writers should narrate themselves.
I once made a short film with Matthew Perry called The Dog Thrower—which no one will, or should, ever see. But working with him was a delight. This book is so painful and honest and funny and hopeful. "I laughed and cried" is a cliche, but both happened to me.
It feels like Patrick Radden Keefe has, from out of the blue, suddenly become one of the world’s most exciting nonfiction writers. This history of the Sackler dynasty is typically thoughtful and impeccably researched.
