9 of the Top 10 New York Times nonfiction bestsellers are currently about racism in America


The four top-selling nonfiction books in the U.S. right now are about how Americans — specifically white Americans — can better learn what it means to be black in America, according to The New York Times bestseller list. Out of the Top 10 books, only Glennon Doyle's Untamed isn't primarily about racism in the U.S. — though she does dedicate a large chapter to the topic, too.
The police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and resultant protests around the country have unearthed a significant shift in the percentage of Americans who see systemic racism as a real and enduring problem. Now many of those people, it appears, would like some more information about racism and their part in the system.
The No. 1 nonfiction bestseller right now is White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, an analysis of why white people get counterproductively defensive about race, followed by So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo, How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi — whose book Stamped, with Jason Reynolds, is also No. 2 on the young adult hardcover list — Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Doyle's Untamed, Stamped From The Beginning by Kendi, and at No. 10, Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson's exploration of criminal and racial justice.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If people actually read their newly purchased books, that's probably even better.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Rebrands: Bringing back the War Department
Feature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
-
Supreme Court: Will it allow Trump’s tariffs?
Feature Justices fast-track Trump’s appeal to see if his sweeping tariffs are unconstitutional
-
Democrats’ strategy to woo voters for 2026: religion
The Explainer Politicians like Rob Sand and James Talarico have made a name for themselves pushing their faith
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year