Nonfiction, A L-EME
The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! Or that's the idea, at least. Nonfiction works center on facts and real events. Although there is some debate about which kinds of literature qualify as nonfiction, the genre typically includes books in the categories of biography, memoir, science, history, self-help, cooking, health and fitness, business, and more.
Nonfiction Encyclopedia Articles By Title
A Letter Concerning Toleration
A Letter Concerning Toleration, in the history of political philosophy, an important essay by the English philosopher......
A Plea for Captain John Brown
On October 16, 1859, staunch abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia......
A Theory of Justice
A Theory of Justice, the major work of the American political and ethical philosopher John Rawls (1921–2002), is......
Abolition of Man, The
The Abolition of Man, a book on education and moral values by C.S. Lewis, published in 1943. The book originated......
Abraham Lincoln: The War Years
Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, four-volume biography by Carl Sandburg, published in 1939. It was awarded the 1940......
Acta Sanctorum
Acta Sanctorum, vast collection of biographies and legends of the Christian saints. The idea was conceived by Heribert......
Air-Conditioned Nightmare, The
The Air-Conditioned Nightmare, nonfiction account by Henry Miller of his travels through the United States, published......
All the President’s Men
All the President’s Men, nonfictional book written by The Washington Post journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward......
American Notes
American Notes, nonfiction book written by Charles Dickens, published in 1842. It is an account of his first visit......
American Press Institute
American Press Institute (API), an academic nonprofit institution established in 1946. Located in Reston, Virginia,......
Anabasis
Anabasis, prose narrative, now in seven books, by Xenophon, of the story of the Greek mercenary soldiers who fought......
Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays
Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays, work of literary criticism by Northrop Frye, published in 1957 and generally......
Anatomy of Melancholy, The
Anatomy of Melancholy, The, exposition by Robert Burton, published in 1621 and expanded and altered in five subsequent......
Ancrene Wisse
Ancrene Wisse, anonymous work written in the early 13th century for the guidance of women recluses outside the......
Angel at My Table, An
An Angel at My Table, autobiography, published in 1989, by New Zealand writer Janet Frame. The work contains the......
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, chronological account of events in Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, a compilation of seven......
Antiquities of the Jews, The
The Antiquities of the Jews, an account of Jewish history from its early beginnings to the revolt against Rome......
Aparimitayus-sutra-shastra
Aparimitayus-sutra-shastra, in Buddhism, a short treatise (shastra) on the Aparimitayus-sutra, one of the major......
aphorism
aphorism, a concise expression of doctrine or principle or any generally accepted truth conveyed in a pithy, memorable......
Apology
Apology, early dialogue by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, purporting to represent the speech given by Socrates,......
apology
apology, autobiographical form in which a defense is the framework for a discussion by the author of his personal......
Areopagitica
Areopagitica, pamphlet by John Milton, published in 1644 to protest an order issued by Parliament the previous......
Aristeas, Letter of
Letter of Aristeas, pseudepigraphal work of pseudo-history produced in Alexandria, probably in the mid-2nd century......
Ars poetica
Ars poetica, work by Horace, written about 19–18 bce for Piso and his sons and originally known as Epistula ad......
Art of Fiction, The
The Art of Fiction, critical essay by Henry James, published in 1884 in Longman’s Magazine. It was written as a......
Artha-shastra
Artha-shastra, singularly important Indian manual on the art of politics, attributed to Kautilya (also known as......
Ashtadhyayi
Ashtadhyayi, Sanskrit treatise on grammar written in the 6th to 5th century bce by the Indian grammarian Panini.......
Aspects of the Novel
Aspects of the Novel, collection of literary lectures by E.M. Forster, published in 1927. For the purposes of his......
Augustan History
Augustan History, a collection of biographies of the Roman emperors (Augusti) from Hadrian to Numerian (117–284),......
autobiography
autobiography, the biography of oneself narrated by oneself. Autobiographical works can take many forms, from the......
Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, The
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, book by Gertrude Stein, written in the voice of her lifelong companion, Alice......
Autobiography of Malcolm X, The
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, biography, published in 1965, of the American Black militant religious leader and......
Axel’s Castle
Axel’s Castle, book of critical essays by Edmund Wilson, published in 1931. Subtitled “A Study in the Imaginative......
Babi Yar
Babi Yar, prose work by Anatoly Kuznetsov, published serially as Babi Yar in 1966. This first edition, issued in......
Bamboo Annals
Bamboo Annals, set of Chinese court records written on bamboo slips, from the state of Wei, one of the many small......
Barnabas, Letter of
Letter of Barnabas, an early Christian work written in Greek by one of the Apostolic Fathers (Greek Christian writers......
Being and Time
Being and Time, work by the German existentialist philosopher Martin Heidegger, first published in German (as Sein......
Bianzong lun
Bianzong lun, treatise by Xie Lingyun, an early Chinese Buddhist intellectual and renowned poet, valued chiefly......
Biographia Literaria
Biographia Literaria, work by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, published in two volumes in 1817. Another edition of the......
biography
biography, form of literature, commonly considered nonfictional, the subject of which is the life of an individual.......
Black Boy
Black Boy, autobiography by Richard Wright, published in 1945 and considered to be one of his finest works. The......
Black Elk Speaks
Black Elk Speaks, the autobiography of Oglala Lakota (Oceti Sakowin, or Sioux) warrior and holy man Black Elk,......
Black like Me
Black like Me, nonfiction book, published in 1961, by American journalist John Howard Griffin, describing his experiences......
blog
blog, online journal where an individual, group, or corporation presents a record of activities, thoughts, or beliefs.......
blogs and bloggers
A blog (short for weblog) is a type of webpage format that generally utilizes a reverse-chronological order. However,......
Blue Book, The
The Blue Book, annually revised publication listing notable persons in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia,......
Bollandist
Bollandist, member of a small group of Belgian Jesuits who edit and publish the Acta Sanctorum, the great collection......
Book of Margery Kempe, The
The Book of Margery Kempe, medieval memoir that is widely believed to be the first autobiography written in English.......
Borstal Boy
Borstal Boy, autobiographical work by Irish writer Brendan Behan, published in 1958. The book portrays the author’s......
Bronx Primitive
Bronx Primitive, memoir by Kate Simon, published in 1982. It evokes working-class Jewish immigrant life in the......
Brundtland Report
Brundtland Report, publication released in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) that......
Brut
Brut, any of several medieval chronicles of Britain tracing the history and legend of the country from the time......
Casket Letters
Casket Letters, the eight letters and a series of irregular sonnets asserted by James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton,......
casual
casual, an essay written in a familiar, often humorous style. The word is usually associated with the style of......
causerie
causerie, in literature, a short informal essay, often on a literary topic. This sense of the word is derived from......
Causeries du lundi
Causeries du lundi, series of informal essays by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve. The 640 critical and biographical......
character writer
character writer, any writer who produced a type of character sketch that was popular in 17th-century England and......
Charaka Samhita
Charaka Samhita, comprehensive text on ancient Indian medicine credited to Charaka, who was a practitioner of the......
Chronica Hungarorum
Chronica Hungarorum, the first book printed in Hungary, issued from the press of András Hess in Buda, now Budapest,......
chronicle
chronicle, a usually continuous historical account of events arranged in order of time without analysis or interpretation.......
Chunqiu
Chunqiu, the first Chinese chronological history, said to be the traditional history of the vassal state of Lu,......
Cider with Rosie
Cider with Rosie, autobiographical novel by Laurie Lee (1914–1997), published in 1959. An account of the author’s......
City of God, The
The City of God, philosophical treatise vindicating Christianity, written by the medieval philosopher St. Augustine......
Civic Culture, The
The Civic Culture, book by Gabriel Abraham Almond and Sidney Verba, published in 1963, that explored the relationship......
Civil Disobedience
In July 1846 Transcendentalist author Henry David Thoreau was arrested in Concord, Massachusetts, for refusing......
Clement, First Letter of
First Letter of Clement, a letter to the Christian church in Corinth from the church of Rome, traditionally ascribed......
comment sections
Comment sections are online spaces where people discuss a wide variety of topics, including the news. While often......
Common Reader, The
The Common Reader, collection of essays by Virginia Woolf, published in two series, the first in 1925 and the second......
Common Sense
On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine’s, Common Sense was published and became America’s first best-seller with some......
confession
confession, in literature, an autobiography, either real or fictitious, in which intimate and hidden details of......
confessional poetry
confessional poetry, literary movement that emerged in American poetry in the 1950s and ’60s and remained influential......
Confessions
Confessions, spiritual self-examination by St. Augustine, written in Latin as Confessiones about 400 ce. The book......
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, autobiographical narrative by English author Thomas De Quincey, first published......
Costa Book Awards
Costa Book Awards, series of literary awards that were given annually to writers resident in the United Kingdom......
Crack-Up, The
The Crack-Up, essay by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published serially in Esquire magazine in 1936 and posthumously, in......
Critique of Judgment
Critique of Judgment, treatise on the human faculty of judgment as it relates to aesthetics and teleology, by the......
Critique of Practical Reason
Critique of Practical Reason, foundational study of the nature and scope of human reason as it relates to ethics......
Culture and Anarchy
Culture and Anarchy, major work of criticism by Matthew Arnold, published in 1869. In it Arnold contrasts culture,......
Cūlavaṃsa
Cūlavaṃsa, (Pāli: “Little Chronicle”), Ceylonese historical chronicle that details the history of the island of......
De claris mulieribus
De claris mulieribus, work by Giovanni Boccaccio, written about 1360–74. One of the many Latin works the author......
De Jure Praedae
De Jure Praedae, comprehensive 17th-century work by Hugo Grotius that examines the historical, political, and legal......
De Profundis
De Profundis, letter written from prison by Irish writer Oscar Wilde to his lover, the English poet Lord Alfred......
Debrett’s Peerage
Debrett’s Peerage, guide to the British peerage (titled aristocracy), first published in London in 1802 by John......
Democratic Vistas
Democratic Vistas, prose pamphlet by Walt Whitman, published in 1871. The work comprises three essays that outline......
dialogue
dialogue, in its widest sense, the recorded conversation of two or more persons, especially as an element of drama......
diary
diary, form of autobiographical writing, a regularly kept record of the diarist’s activities and reflections. Written......
Diary of a Young Girl, The
The Diary of a Young Girl, journal by Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager who chronicled her family’s two years (1942–44)......
Diary of Alice James, The
The Diary of Alice James, journal kept by Alice James for the last four years of her life, beginning in 1889, until......
Diary of Samuel Pepys, The
The Diary of Samuel Pepys, one of the most famous and comprehensive memoirs ever written in English. In the nine......
Dindshenchas
Dindshenchas, (Gaelic: “Lore of Places”), studies in Gaelic prose and verse of the etymology and history of place-names......
Diognetus, Letter to
Letter to Diognetus, early Christian apologetic work probably dating from the 2nd or 3rd century ce. An insightful......
Down and Out in Paris and London
Down and Out in Paris and London, autobiographical work by George Orwell, published in 1933. Orwell’s first published......
Dust Tracks on a Road
Dust Tracks on a Road, autobiography of Zora Neale Hurston, published in 1942. Controversial for its refusal to......
Dīpavaṃsa
Dīpavaṃsa, (Pāli: “History of the Island”), oldest extant historical record of Sri Lanka, compiled in the 4th century.......
Ebony
What if there were a magazine like Life or Look with beautiful, immersive photography and comprehensive coverage......
Education of Henry Adams, The
The Education of Henry Adams, autobiographical work by Henry Adams that was privately printed in 1906 and published......
Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, The
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, nonfiction book by American writer Tom Wolfe, published in 1968, that became a......
Elements
Elements, treatise on geometry and mathematics written by the Greek mathematician Euclid (flourished 300 bce).......
Elizabeth and Essex
Elizabeth and Essex, biography of Elizabeth I, queen of England, by Lytton Strachey, published in 1928. Subtitled......
Emerald Tablet
Emerald Tablet, short, cryptic text traditionally attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. It became foundational within......