Non-fiction books I read from cover to cover in 2024

These books were so valuable I didn't even skip the bibliographies

There’s a word in Japanese for when you have more books than you’ll ever finish, tsundoku (積ん読). It certainly applies to me.

Each holiday season, I spend a considerable amount of time reorganizing my physical books, accounting for unfinished audiobooks, and making lists of half-read digital editions. Before January 1st, I rededicate myself to the hopeless task to finish all I’ve started.

a real photo of me, not a copyright-free picture at all…

In my home stacks, long forgotten bookmarks poke up from spines, mocking my lack of dedication. I reopen their hosts, only to find I have no clue anymore of what came before. Best to start again.

However imperfect my reading habit, I keep at it. And for every few books I reference or leave incomplete, there’s one I finish - not only each chapter, but dedication, prologue, notes and bibliography too. Such was the quality that I seek to understand the author’s mind; how can I know what they knew before setting type to page? I need more.

Those non-fiction books I eagerly devoured in 2024, I now present for your consideration. Some I admired for prose, others for an author’s effort and erudition. They cover Chinese History, failed infrastructure projects, rising authoritarianism, Irish History and the darkness of Cobalt Mining in the Congo.

Here’s my hope: if you retrace a few of my steps, you’ll find value too.

So what are we doing in this post? See this 3 minute video I recorded during my bookshelf rearrange.

As the video above explains, I want the large majority of what I share on Present Prologue History to be paywall free. But I have made this list an extra goodie for paid subscribers. Here is my full motivation:

I quit my job to write. Here's a transparent pitch for support.

If you’re super eager to see this list, but unable to upgrade due to financial constraint, use your free unlock. If you’ve already done that, send me a DM.