Don’t miss the best new popular nonfiction from the past month, hand-picked by our editors! This month’s popular nonfiction picks have something for everyone — including a gripping exploration of the Appalachian Trail, an eye-opening analysis of social media’s effects on storytelling, and more!

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	Amy Lynn Bradley disappeared from a cruise ship in 1998. Why is her story still making news today? WHY IT’S READWORTHY: “A page-turning yarn” (New York Times bestselling author Howard Blum) from the acclaimed author of True Crime Addict From theories of a fall overboard to rumors of human trafficking, confusion and mystery have plagued Amy’s case from the beginning Discover the definitive details of a case that’s the subject of a 2025 Netflix documentary Learn more... GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers ‘A great read for all sports fans’ (Billie Jean King) WHY IT’S READWORTHY: A journalist with unprecedented inside access delivers a breathtaking exposé of professional tennis Featuring interviews with major stars, this comprehensive book looks at everything from private practice courts to the mental and physical strain of a demanding game “Enthralling… Mixing entertaining reportage with convincing psychoanalysis, Futterman reveals the inner lives of premier athletes” (Publishers Weekly) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers For 30 years, Earl Swift has been haunted by a double murder on the Appalachian Trail WHY IT’S READWORTHY: Receiving praise from John Grisham (“a helluva book”) and Beth Macy (“masterful, propulsive”) While hiking in 1990, Swift crossed paths with two people who wound up murdered. Now in his 60s, he returns to the trail to continue his search for meaning in this “deeply personal meditation on death, aging, and nature” (The New York Times) A New York Times bestselling author delivers “an extraordinary portrait of the AT” (Outside) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers What if the wisdom from 106 self-help books boiled down to 12 key points? WHY IT’S READWORTHY: This Next Big Idea Club pick is “the mother of all self-help books” (New York Times bestselling author A.J. Jacobs) From clarifying your intrinsic values to overcoming fear and anxiety, you’ll learn 12 practical, proven ways to improve your day-to-day life Cowritten by two scientists and researchers with long track records in psychology and self-help Learn more... MEDIA MENTION: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers Follow a psychedelic guru on humanity’s dark, dangerous quest for transcendence WHY IT’S READWORTHY: With praise from Susan Orlean (“strange and wonderful”) and Patrick Radden Keefe (“entirely mesmerizing”) Physician Octavio Rettig’s claims about smoking the secretions of the Sonoran Desert toad sparked a global psychedelic movement. But with his growing fame came disturbing reports… “Propulsive and rigorously reported, this wild work of true crime grips from first page to last” (Publishers Weekly) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers A ‘witty, razor-sharp exposé’ (Kirkus Reviews) from an ex-Googler turned Big Tech dissenter WHY IT’S READWORTHY: Claire Stapleton was key in weaving the mythic story of Google from the inside — but as the company’s ideals and reality diverged, she became the face of employee revolt “The author’s blend of righteousness and gallows humor will resonate with readers who are disenchanted with big tech or their own high-pressure work environments” (Publishers Weekly) Asks probing questions about power, purpose, and identity Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers This revelatory look at symbiosis in nature makes for ‘thrilling reading’ (New Scientist) WHY IT’S READWORTHY: An evolutionary biologist shows how life on Earth hinges on collaboration — from the gut microbes that affect our mood to the sustaining relationship between corals and algae Bill Bryson calls it “absolutely enthralling” and raves, “I was hooked from the first sentence” “Written with immense charm and passion, and packed with eye-popping facts” (The Guardian) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers What would happen if the world experienced a biological war? WHY IT’S READWORTHY: One of summer’s must-read books, according to People, The New York Times, Next Big Idea Club, and more This instant New York Times bestseller draws on interviews with dozens of high-level experts to consider what would happen in the immediate aftermath of the release of a biological agent “A scrupulously realistic book about the inconceivable… This is important work” (The New Yorker) Learn more... MEDIA MENTIONS: GET EBOOK ON: Amazon Other formats and retailers How does social media shape the stories we tell — and how we experience life? WHY IT’S READWORTHY: Highly anticipated by The New York Times, Marie Claire, Literary Hub, and more In “a lively, irreverent journey” (Kirkus Reviews), a columnist for The Cut dissects our desire to document our lives on social media, uncovering ripple effects far beyond each individual post Jia Tolentino calls it “an essential study” from “one of our greatest chroniclers of the norms of American domestic life” Learn more... 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