Must Read Non-Fiction for November 2024

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, keyboardist for the mega pop band Maroon 5, and founder of Morton Records, PJ Morton details the inspiring journey that led to his unique sound and urges readers to follow their own dreams.

The son of pastors and gospel artists, PJ Morton grew up in church, singing gospel music, grounded by its soulful sound. As he was drawn to R&B and pop, PJ experimented in combining genres to create his own sound that record labels struggled to categorize. Pressured to align with industry standards but committed to his own dream of his original music, he defied expectations and risked launching his own label, Morton Records. Under it, he developed six self-released and self-produced albums that garnered twenty Grammy nominations and awards, and included collaborations with such acclaimed artists as Stevie Wonder, Kirk Franklin, and Lil Wayne.

PJ Morton is the rare artist who has straddled the tensions of life, whether in music or faith expressions, or in racial and cultural identities, while staying true to his New Orleans and Christian roots. A pioneer blazing his own path, he developed an independent sound without even knowing what that was in an industry he didn’t fully understand, setting the way for artists who follow him. Saturday Night, Sunday Morning captures his powerful, courageous journey of combining his two worlds, showing readers how to overcome obstacles as they seek their own dreams.

Recognizing and understanding the importance of kindness at work, written by the author of How to be a Productivity Ninja.

In the range of leadership skills, kindness is inherently quieter, more personal, harder to see – and yes, less interesting or cinematic than controversial tweets and ‘bullying boss’ behaviour. But the most successful leaders and organizations recognise that kindness builds empathy, trust and psychological safety, the cornerstones of so many desirable traits and outcomes in many businesses: more creativity; a better quality of decision-making; safer critical thinking; higher levels of staff loyalty, flexibility and retention; a heightened sense of engagement; and higher productivity and profitability.

The central premise of KIND is that if you want to create psychological safety in your organization, then there are no better approaches than to create a culture that encourages mindful kindness – or, as the author calls it, ‘kindfulness’. Kindness and empathy act in a sort of loop: acts of kindness inspire more empathy; empathy inspires acts of kindness. This in turn creates more trust between individuals, which ultimately leads to a collective sense of feeling safe to take interpersonal risks. Through this psychological safety, people communicate their riskier and more creative ideas, own their mistakes instead of trying to cover them up, give the feedback that helps people to grow (even when it risks upsetting them), and support each other with a sense of loyalty and reciprocity. By using the language of competency and performance, the author aims to convince the cynics, as well as helping already ‘kindful’ workers, to articulate the power of kindness and make a strong case for its greater profile in their organizations. The author argues that, far from being a ‘fluffy’ or nebulous idea, kindness and empathy should be seen – and used – as 21st century superpowers.

With exclusive band interviews and over a decade of deep research, in Melancholy Undercover, renowned music journalist Jan Gradvall explores the secret to ABBA’s success.

Over half a century after their songs were recorded, ABBA’s songs still make people the world over dance and sing every day, and their ability to evoke every emotion has made them the ultimate soundtrack to major life events, from birthday parties and weddings to heartbreaks and memorials.

Since interviewing the four members of ABBA for an article in 2013 – at which time the band had not been interviewed for 30 years – a relationship was sparked between writer Jan Gradvall and the band, and he was granted unique access for the next decade. He has interviewed each of them exclusively for Melancholy Undercover, and they share their thoughts and opinions with him here more openly than ever before.

Gradvall places ABBA at the centre of the musical universe, and alongside his fascinating interviews, he gives readers the socio-cultural context of how the band’s sound was formed – including the melancholic hints of Swedish folk music and the dansband culture of their formative years – and shows how the story of ABBA is also the story of Sweden and the internationalisation of pop culture.

With around 2 million tickets sold to the ABBA Voyage experience in London since it opened in May 2023, it is undeniable that, in the history of pop culture and music, there has never been a group like ABBA. This remarkably intimate, approved biography brings readers a few steps closer to one of the world’s most famously private bands.

The debut work by bestselling author of Demon Copperhead: a true story of female-led resilience during the Great Arizona Mine Strike of 1983.

It was the summer of 1983. Barbara Kingsolver had a day job as a scientific writer spending weekends cutting her teeth as a freelance journalist when she landed an assignment at a constellation of small, strike-gripped mining towns strung out across southern Arizona. Her mission was to cover the Phelps Dodge mine strike.

Over the year that followed Kingsolver stood with those miners and their families, increasingly engaged and heartbroken, as they cried out to a wide world that either refused to believe what was happening to them, or didn’t care, or simply could not know.

Kingsolver recorded stories of striking miners and their stunningly courageous wives, sisters, daughters. Sometimes visiting them in jail, witnessing the outrageous injustices they suffered. She saw rights she’d taken for granted denied to people she had learned to care about.

This book is not precisely about the mine strike of 1983, and not at all about copper. It is the true story of the families who held the line, and of Kingsolver’s commitment to tell the story of the women and girls who discovered themselves in their fight to keep their families from destitution.

Made in Dagenham meets Erin Brockovich, it is about the sparks that fly when the flint of force strikes against human mettle.

The book that launched a global phenomenon – updated, expanded and set to introduce a new generation to the power of Stoicism.

Since bestselling author Ryan Holiday re-introduced Stoicism to the world with The Obstacle Is the Way in 2014, this simple but powerful philosophy for life has become a global phenomenon. From professional athletes and world leaders to entrepreneurs and creatives just starting out, this brilliant and engaging book has been an invaluable source of wisdom for anyone who wants to become more successful at what they do. Now, Holiday has updated and expanded this modern classic with a new introduction and new chapters featuring a diverse set of inspiring characters.

Unpacking lessons from the lives of historical icons, and reframing them for today’s world, this book gives us an infinitely elastic formula for turning our toughest trials into triumphs. Success for the world’s greatest men and women has often come in the shape of their biggest obstacles – Stoicism, and this invaluable book, shows this can be true for us all.

An exploration of how we grow, make, buy and eat our food around the world that proposes a global philosophy of food; from the Sunday Times bestselling author of How the World Thinks.

How we live is shaped by how we eat. You can see this in the vastly different approaches to growing, preparing and eating food around the world – from the hunter gatherer Hadza in Tanzania whose traditionally sustainable lifestyle is being squeezed by a crowded planet, and the subsistence rice farmers of Bhutan who toil without machinery to feed themselves from their smallholdings, to Western societies whose food is mostly farmed or bred in vast intensive enterprises.

But while traditional approaches to providing food are often more in harmony with the natural environment, they cannot provide for a human population increasing to an historic peak. Most of us rely on a complex global food web of production, distribution, consumption and disposal, which is now contending with unprecedented challenges. We face both hunger and obesity, bumper crops and catastrophic environmental damage, food that is cheap for many and unaffordable for others. Julian Baggini expertly explores the best and worst food practices in a huge array of different societies past and present to identify the principles that can guide our future.

The need for a better understanding of how we feed ourselves has never been more urgent. Wide-ranging, eye-opening and definitive, How the World Eats advocates for a pluralistic, humane, resourceful and equitable global food philosophy, with food firmly at its centre, so we can build a food system fit for the twenty-first century and beyond.

Experience Africa’s vibrant food culture with 120 recipes from the continent’s most exciting culinary voices

Meet the culinarians who are setting the new African table. James Beard Award-winning author Alexander Smalls presents a vibrant library of home cooking recipes and texts contributed by 33 chefs, restaurateurs, caterers, cooks, and writers at the heart of Africa’s food movement.

Organized geographically into five regions, The Contemporary African Kitchen presents 120 warm and delicious dishes, each beautifully photographed and brought to life through historical notes, personal anecdotes, and serving suggestions.

Home cooks will discover a bounty of diverse, delicious dishes ranging from beloved classics to newer creations, all rooted in a shared language of ingredients, spices, and cooking traditions. Learn to make Northern Africa’s famed couscous and grilled meats; Eastern Africa’s aromatic curries; Central Africa’s Peanut Sauce Stew and Cocoyam Dumplings; Southern Africa’s fresh seafood and street food; and Western Africa’s renowned Chicken Yassa.

With text contributions from experts including Pierre Thiam, Selassie Atadika, Anto Cocagne, Coco Reinarhz, and Michael Adé Elégbèdé, the essay and recipe contributors to this ground-breaking survey are at the heart of the food movement of Africa, making it an essential addition to every cook and food lover’s library.

Inviting, instructive, accessible, and exciting, The Contemporary African Kitchen brings the conversation about Africa’s cuisine into homes around the world.

75th Anniversary Edition

The classic work on investing, filled with sound and safe principles that are as reliable as ever, now revised with an introduction and appendix by financial legend Warren Buffett—one of the author’s most famous students—and newly updated commentaries on each chapter from distinguished Wall Street Journal writer Jason Zweig.

“By far the best book about investing ever written.”—Warren Buffett

Since its original publication in 1949, Benjamin Graham’s revered classic, The Intelligent Investor, has taught and inspired millions of people worldwide and remains the most respected guide to investing. Graham’s timeless philosophy of “value investing” helps protect investors against common mistakes and teaches them to develop sensible strategies that will serve them throughout their lifetime.

Market developments over the past seven decades have borne out the wisdom of Graham’s basic policies, and in today’s volatile market, The Intelligent Investor remains essential. It is the most important book you will ever read on making the right decisions to protect your investments and make them grow.

Featuring updated commentaries which accompany every chapter of Graham’s book—leaving his original text untouched—from noted financial journalist Jason Zweig, this newly revised edition offers readers an even clearer understanding of Graham’s wisdom and how it should be applied by investors today.

The essential guide to pop’s unstoppable megastar

Since signing her first recording contract at just sixteen, Taylor Swift has gone from a well-regarded country singer to a global pop phenomenon. Dubbed the ‘world’s biggest pop star,’ she is the first woman to have four albums in the Billboard chart’s top ten at the same time, and as of 2023, thanks to her Eras Tour, the first live music billionaire.

Beyond music, her cultural impact is vast, with her life dominating column inches like no other celebrity this century. The ’Taylor Swift factor’ influences everything from regional economies through her ticket sales and tours, to guitar sales to women, and inspiring 65,000 people to register for voting ahead of the 2020 US elections.

With stunning images and insightful text, The Essential…Taylor Swift details the key to her phenomenal success; from her bestselling songwriting talent to her business acumen and ‘big sister’ personality, and how she shifted from country to pop and dominated the music industry, while facing down misogyny and the haters. A must-have book for all Swifties.

Ever wondered why we yawn and have eyebrows, what happens at absolute zero and why some tunes get stuck in our heads?

If you’ve spent your days searching for the answers to these and life’s other big questions then look no further.

Yawns Freeze Your Brain from the bestselling author of Does Anything Eat Wasps and Farts Aren’t Invisible is the gift of enlightenment that you never knew you needed! Shining a light on some of life’s trickiest questions across science, history, life and the universe. Uncover the mysteries woven into the fabric of our very existence with answers to questions such as;

How much fuel does the sun burn in a second?
What are the most misheard song lyrics?
Why does cheese smell?
Why is the Eiffel Tower 15cm taller in summer than winter?
Who on earth invented existentialism (and what is it)?

Increase your IQ and win pub quizzes with this perfect blend of wit, wisdom and wonder.

The perfect gift for brainiacs.

An accessible, fun and practical introduction to behavioural science, featuring insightful examples from the laboratory, advertising and marketing, as well as from daily life.

How do house flies help save millions of euros? Presented with the image of a fly in toilet bowls in airports, cafés and other public places, men – without realizing it – aim better and splash less, thereby reducing loads of cleaning costs.

In The Housefly Effect behavioral scientist Eva van den Broek and advertising expert Tim den Heijer explain how to recognize The Housefly Effect (and many other effects) in our everyday lives and how we can use it to our advantage. Sometimes the smallest things can have a surprisingly large effect.

We are not nearly as rational as we’d like to think – every day we overestimate our ability to resist temptation. Effective advertising experts use this to nudge us, making the most of our natural behaviour. In order to process the millions of decisions we make each day, our brains take shortcuts. We are fooled by drugs that don’t contain active ingredients, traffic light buttons that aren’t connected, and the obsolete ‘save’ feature in MS Word – these are all examples of placebos that can be surprisingly reassuring.

There are countless things that affect our behaviour: reward and punishment, beauty and attraction, and the human tendency to follow the crowd. This book offers an accessible, fun and practical introduction to behavioural science and features insightful examples from the laboratory, advertising, and marketing – as well as from daily life.

The West does not understand African economics. In a fearless, funny polemic, a historian exposes the blinkered assumptions of centuries of Western interventions on the continent.

We need to think differently about African economics.

For centuries, Westerners have tried to ‘fix’ African economies. From the abolition of slavery onwards, missionaries, philanthropists, development economists and NGOs have arrived on the continent, full of good intentions and bad ideas. Their experiments have invariably gone awry, to the great surprise of all involved.

In this short, bold story of Western economic thought about Africa, historian Bronwen Everill argues that these interventions fail because they start from a misguided premise: that African economies just need to be more like the West. Ignoring Africa’s own traditions of economic thought, Europeans and Americans assumed a set of universal economic laws that they thought could be applied anywhere. They enforced specifically Western ideas about growth, wealth, debt, unemployment, inflation, women’s work and more, and used Western metrics to find African countries wanting.

The West does not know better than African nations how an economy should be run. By laying bare the myths and realities of our tangled economic history, Africonomics moves from Western ignorance to African knowledge.

Artificial intelligence is headline news with the launch of the latest ChatGPT and Google Bard. But when did we start making computers mimic the human mind? And what is the reality of the capabilities of AI now, and in the future?

AI has always stirred emotions, and caused great excitement as well as great concern. Since the launch of large language models such as ChatGPT, the scope and capabilities of AI look set to transform our technology, in both good and bad ways. AI can help teach us how to write better or help us generate amazing artworks. But in the wrong hands, AI can create fake images and fake information that can be used to damage our societies.

A new addition to the popular Bite-sized Chunks series, this expert-led book will explore how AI has developed from humble beginnings in the 1950s to today’s extraordinary AIs that have more neurons than the human brain.

Focusing on specific AIs and their creators over the years, it explains the science and engineering behind each AI, discusses ethical issues and covers all the most fascinating information about one of the most important and contentious developments in human technology (including the latest on generative AI/ChatGPT), as well as what we can expect to see in the future of this field – all in short, accessible bite sized chunks.