20 Ridiculously Fast-Paced Nonfiction Books
From the 1,100+ books I've read, these page-turners are some of my absolute favorites
Glasp’s note: At Glasp, we value the close personal relationships we’ve built with thinkers, creators, and doers who fuel curiosity and growth. This week, we spotlight Bobby Powers —a lifelong learner passionate about leadership development and continuous improvement. With more than a decade of experience leading teams and developing learning and development at startups, Bobby understands the transformative power of curiosity and mentorship. You might remember him from his Glasp Talk appearance, where he shared insights on leadership and personal growth, inspiring thousands. We’re honored to continue learning from Bobby and are thrilled to share his thoughtful reflections with our community.
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I’m Bobby Powers, and I run the Leader & Learner publication on Substack. I write two posts per week that will help you become a more curious leader and learner.
For the past decade, I’ve been reading at least 70 books per year (mostly nonfiction). I love page-turning true stories, and these 20 books are the fastest-paced ones I’ve found. I included a three-sentence summary of each.
20. A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Walter Lord invites you on board the world’s largest and fanciest ship. You’ll feel the excitement of its 1912 maiden voyage, blissful ignorance while the ship scrapes an iceberg, and an icy chill when you plunge into 28°F water. I didn’t know it was possible to write a historical book so short (182 pages) yet so impactful—especially about a disaster I thought I already knew (the Titanic).
19. Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton
Many companies have fascinating founding stories, but Twitter’s is the craziest I’ve ever read. One-by-one, each Twitter co-founder was stabbed in the back by their co-workers and/or investors. I was also surprised to learn that the company essentially began as a podcasting company called Odeo, then pivoted into the social media platform we know today.
18. Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale
Eighteen-year-old Frank Abagnale allegedly impersonated a pilot, a lawyer, and a doctor while pulling off cons for millions of dollars. Confidence can be a superpower, and Abagnale got away with most of his cons through sheer audacity. Even though the veracity of his story has been called into question, the book remains a page-turner about a young kid lying his ass off and taking advantage of the system.
17. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Fourteen years ago, I asked one of the senior leaders at my company about his favorite leadership books, and his #1 book caught me by surprise: Into Thin Air. Krakauer’s memoir about a disastrous hike on Mount Everest is not only fast-paced, it’s also a manual on how to make better decisions, listen to wise counsel, and prepare for difficult projects. I read it and have been a Krakauer fan ever since.
16. Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich
Mezrich’s book about Ivy Leaguers fleecing casinos became the Hollywood blockbuster 21. But it’s more than just a blackjack story. Bringing Down the House shows what happens when powerful people find out you’ve found a way to rig the system ever-so-slightly in your favor.
15. The River of Doubt by Candice Millard
When he lost his final bid for the U.S. presidency, Teddy Roosevelt defaulted to his standard response amidst failure: tackling an immense new challenge—one that would help him re-prove exactly how badass he was. Roosevelt set his sights on the Amazon to explore a dangerous, previously uncharted river mysteriously called “The River of Doubt.” Millard’s tale is a nonfiction triumph.
14. The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton & Daniel Coyle
Olympic gold medal cyclist Tyler Hamilton teamed up with author Daniel Coyle to write this tell-all book about Lance Armstrong and doping in U.S. cycling. Hamilton explains that Armstrong not only used performance-enhancing drugs but also pushed them on teammates. It’s one thing to hear accusations from reporters and critics, but it’s another for a teammate to write a book exposing the scandal from the inside.
13. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
Krakauer makes the list again with this investigative journalism tale about a double murder with ties to the Fundamentalist LDS church. The tale is gritty, violent, and unbelievable, touching on modern-day polygamy and FLDS history. FX later dramatized the story with a TV series starring Andrew Garfield and Sam Worthington.
12. Foxcatcher by Mark Schultz
The du Pont family earned billions from gunpowder, chemicals, and automotives, turning them into one of America’s richest families. A chunk of the family fortune passed down to John du Pont, who established a world-class training facility (“Foxcatcher”) for Olympic wrestlers like Dave and Mark Schultz. The brothers tolerated du Pont’s eccentric behavior so they could use the facility, but they came to regret that choice (in a big way).
11. The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
While working at a Seattle crisis clinic, Rule befriended a nice guy named Ted. Years later, she was tasked with writing a book about the serial killings that had ravaged Washington and the Northwest. She was shocked when the police investigations led to a familiar face: her friend Ted Bundy.
10. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Throughout the 1910s-1930s, dozens of Native Americans from Osage Nation were systematically killed by people trying to claim their oil rights. The flurry of murders prompted a federal government investigation, which later led to the creation of the FBI. Grann’s book pulls back the covers on this sad but true story that never showed up in any of my American history textbooks.
9. Blind Eye by James Stewart
Death followed Dr. Michael Swango everywhere. As soon as he arrived in a hospital, patients’ conditions would inevitably worsen, which led some hospital employees to joke about Swango’s bad luck—while others suspected something more sinister. In addition to being a fascinating story about a morbid serial killer, this book reveals the massive flaws in our medical system that allowed Swango to bounce from one hospital to another, even after colleagues caught on to his tactics.
8. Educated by Tara Westover
Westover graduated with a PhD from Cambridge in 2014. Based on her resume, you’d never guess she was raised by a family that feared the government, refused medical treatment, practiced abuse and neglect, and spurned education. Her book is arguably the craziest memoir I’ve ever read.
7. Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
Ronan Farrow, an investigative journalist for The New Yorker, broke the story about Harvey Weinstein’s long history of sexual abuse in Hollywood. The most depressing part of this story is that multiple media executives and corporations tried to protect Weinstein and bury the scandal, even after learning the truth of the allegations. Read this book as a cautionary tale about money, power, and hierarchy.
6. Flash Boys by Michael Lewis
Lewis unearths the hidden secrets of high-frequency traders who rigged financial markets in their favor. His revelations caused quite a splash when Flash Boys came out in 2015, prompting Wall Street executives to try to cover up the various ways they’d been taking advantage of clients. Lewis has written some incredible books (Moneyball, The Big Short, The Blind Side, etc.), but this is the most gripping of them all.
5. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Larson tells the story of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the stage for feats of architectural wonder as well as diabolical acts of crime. Serial killer H.H. Holmes used the fair as a chance to lure victims to a hotel he outfitted for torture. Larson weaves historical nonfiction with artistic license, similar to Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.
4. Molly’s Game by Molly Bloom
Through her raw determination, quick wit, and hard work, outsider Molly Bloom infiltrated the most elite circles of power in LA and NY to run high-stakes poker games for Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alex Rodriguez, Nelly, and other celebs. Even if you’ve seen the Aaron Sorkin movie, the book is well worth a read. This story is wild.
3. The Wager by David Grann
Grann skyrocketed to fame with bestsellers like Killers of the Flower Moon (mentioned earlier in this list) and The Lost City of Z. Those books are amazing, but his newest one is even better. It’s about a tragic shipwreck, life-or-death decisions, lies, mutiny, and murder.
2. American Kingpin by Nick Bilton
In February 2011, a new website called The Silk Road launched on the dark web and provided an online marketplace where people could purchase illegal drugs, weapons, and even paid assassins. The man behind the “Amazon for crime” turned out to be mild-mannered Ross Ulbricht, an Eagle Scout turned computer hacker who broke bad to become an online drug kingpin. The FBI had a hell of a time trying to track down Ulbricht, and Bilton provides the lurid details.
1. Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Stanford student Elizabeth Holmes’s company Theranos was the talk of Silicon Valley after she landed a $10 billion valuation. But because she and her right-hand man knew their medical technology couldn’t do the things they promised, they lied about their product, then fired, harassed, and sued anyone who threatened to turn whistleblower. While writing Bad Blood, WSJ reporter John Carreyrou was tailed and threatened multiple times.
I hope you enjoy these great books. Each one includes an affiliate link from Bookshop.org. (If you buy one, you’ll support me as well as local bookstores. Win-win!)
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Glasp Talk features intimate interviews with luminaries, revealing their emotions, experiences, and stories. The guest, Bobby Powers, is a dedicated learner passionate about leadership and personal development. With over a decade of experience managing teams, leading onboarding, and Learning and Development programs at various startups and SMBs, Bobby is also an avid reader, having read over a thousand books in the last 15 years.
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Thank you for your great post, Bobby!
Actually, I haven't read any of the books listed. I should read more.
Looking forward to reading your next post.
Also, Jon Krakauer is wonderful as well. Under the Banner of Heaven lived in my head for weeks after I read it, i just couldn't stop churning it over. I've liked every book of his I've ever read, but that one really burrowed in deep.