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Hardcover Nonfiction

Data from The New York Times · Updated weekly · Week of May 16

The New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction bestseller list, week of May 16, 2026.

15 books
Suicidal Empathy - Dying to Be Kind by Gad Saad
Strangers A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden
Take Me to Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter by Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Case for America: An Argument on Behalf of Our Nation by Bret Baier
Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About A Memoir by Isabel Klee
1
Suicidal Empathy - Dying to Be Kind by Gad Saad
Suicidal Empathy - Dying to Be Kind
by Gad Saad

The host of the podcast “The Saad Truth” argues that what he considers misguided compassion is having a negative impact on society.

Weeks on list
1
2
Strangers A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden
Strangers A Memoir of Marriage
by Belle Burden

Burden retraces her marriage of 20 years in search of clues to help shape her understanding about its demise and to find a way forward.

Weeks on list
17
3
Take Me to Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Take Me to Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter
by Neil deGrasse Tyson

The astrophysicist depicts what potential encounters with aliens from outer space might be like.

Weeks on list
1
4
The Case for America: An Argument on Behalf of Our Nation by Bret Baier
The Case for America: An Argument on Behalf of Our Nation
by Bret Baier

The chief political anchor for Fox News shares his perspectives on our national character during divisive times.

Weeks on list
2
5
Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About A Memoir by Isabel Klee
Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About A Memoir
by Isabel Klee

Klee helps foster dogs overcome challenges while she faces her own complications.

Weeks on list
3
6
Famesick A Memoir by Lena Dunham
Famesick A Memoir
by Lena Dunham

The author of “Not That Kind of Girl” evaluates the effects that pursuing her creative endeavors had on her.

Weeks on list
5
7
True Crime - A Memoir by Patricia Cornwell
True Crime - A Memoir
by Patricia Cornwell

The author, known for her Kay Scarpetta thrillers, shares moments from her life that shaped her writing career.

Weeks on list
2
8
The U.S. Constitution - A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader by Melissa Murray
The U.S. Constitution - A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
by Melissa Murray

The co-author of “The Trump Indictments” gives historical context for each of the amendments in the Constitution.

Weeks on list
2
9
London Falling A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe
London Falling A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth
by Patrick Radden Keefe

The author of “Say Nothing” details the efforts by the parents of a 19-year-old Londoner to uncover the truth about his mysterious death and secret life.

Weeks on list
6
10
The Anxious Generation How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
The Anxious Generation How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
by Jonathan Haidt

A co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind” looks at the mental health impacts that a phone-based life has on children.

Weeks on list
107
11
I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything and Replace (Almost) Everyone by Joanna Stern
I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything and Replace (Almost) Everyone
by Joanna Stern

The Emmy-winning tech journalist describes using artificial intelligence for a myriad of activities over the course of a year.

Weeks on list
1
12
American Rambler On the Trail with Johnny Appleseed by Isaac Fitzgerald
American Rambler On the Trail with Johnny Appleseed
by Isaac Fitzgerald

The author of “Dirtbag, Massachusetts” goes on a yearlong journey that follows in the footsteps of the pioneer nurseryman known as Johnny Appleseed.

Weeks on list
1
13
Vengeance The Last Stands of Custer, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull by Tom Clavin
Vengeance The Last Stands of Custer, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull
by Tom Clavin

A co-author of “The Heart of Everything That Is” examines the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which is nearing its 150th anniversary.

Weeks on list
1
14
This Vast Enterprise A New History of Lewis & Clark by Craig Fehrman
This Vast Enterprise A New History of Lewis & Clark
by Craig Fehrman

A revisionist history of the Lewis and Clark expedition viewed from the perspectives of 10 people connected to it.

Weeks on list
3
15
Inside the Box How Constraints Make Us Better by David Epstein
Inside the Box How Constraints Make Us Better
by David Epstein

The author of “Range” evaluates the benefits of limitations and constraints.

Weeks on list
2