The bookshelf · 1000 books

Big books, distilled❦

The world's best non-fiction, re-told in our own words — a handful of ideas per book, minutes per idea. Read the summary, then buy the ones that deserve your shelf.

The Fifth RiskMichael Lewis8 ideas · 8 min The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North AmericaMatt Kracht9 ideas · 9 min The Faith of a WriterJoyce Carol Oates8 ideas · 8 min The Face of BattleJohn Keegan9 ideas · 9 min The Fabric of the CosmosBrian Greene9 ideas · 9 min The Fabric of RealityDavid Deutsch9 ideas · 9 min The Extended PhenotypeRichard Dawkins8 ideas · 8 min The Examined LifeStephen Grosz8 ideas · 8 min The Everything StoreBrad Stone9 ideas · 9 min The EtymologiconMark Forsyth9 ideas · 9 min The Ethics of AmbiguitySimone de Beauvoir9 ideas · 9 min The EnchiridionEpictetus10 ideas · 10 min The Emperor's New MindRoger Penrose9 ideas · 9 min The Emperor of All MaladiesSiddhartha Mukherjee10 ideas · 10 min The ElementsTheodore Gray8 ideas · 8 min The Elements of Typographic StyleRobert Bringhurst8 ideas · 8 min The Elements of StyleWilliam Strunk Jr., E.B. White10 ideas · 10 min The Elements of EloquenceMark Forsyth9 ideas · 9 min The Elements of DrawingJohn Ruskin8 ideas · 8 min The Elegant UniverseBrian Greene8 ideas · 8 min The Effective ExecutivePeter F. Drucker9 ideas · 9 min The E-Myth RevisitedMichael E. Gerber8 ideas · 8 min The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our LivesLeonard Mlodinow8 ideas · 8 min The Dream of ReasonAnthony Gottlieb9 ideas · 9 min