Every season, the Next Big Idea Club editorial staff reviews dozens of upcoming books to identify the most exciting, must-read nonfiction titles. We start with a broad pool of nominees, and then share them with our curators—Adam Grant, Susan Cain, Daniel Pink, and Malcolm Gladwell—to identify six finalists and, ultimately, two official season selections.
And today, we’re excited to share our list of nominees for Spring 2021. Neither our staff nor our curators have read each and every title below, but we believe that the two best nonfiction books of the season are among them. So without further ado, the nominees are…
After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal About Life and Beyond
By Bruce Greyson
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
The world’s leading expert on near-death experiences reveals his journey toward rethinking the nature of death, life, and the continuity of consciousness. View on Amazon
ALIEN Thinking: The Unconventional Path to Breakthrough Ideas
By Cyril Bouquet, Jean-Louis Barsoux, and Michael Wade
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
From three top innovation experts at IMD Business School comes a smart new model for innovative thinking and problem-solving. View on Amazon
An Anatomy of Pain: How the Body and the Mind Experience and Endure Physical Suffering
By Abdul-Ghaaliq Lalkhen
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
An illuminating, authoritative, and in-depth examination of the fascinating science behind pain and the complexities of its treatment—from one of the internationally leading doctors in pain management. View on Amazon
The Art of Business Wars: Battle-Tested Lessons for Leaders and Entrepreneurs from History’s Greatest Rivalries
By David Brown
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Based on the chart-topping Business Wars podcast, stories and lessons from history’s greatest business rivalries. Using Chinese military genius Sun Tzu’s strategies as a guide, Brown examines why some companies triumph while others crumble. View on Amazon
Beating Burnout at Work: Why Teams Hold the Secret to Well-Being and Resilience
By Paula Davis
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
A first-of-its-kind, science-backed toolkit takes a holistic approach to burnout prevention by helping individuals, teams, and leaders build resilience and thrive at work. View on Amazon
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted
By Suleika Jaouad
Publication Date: February 9, 2021
A searing, deeply moving memoir of illness and recovery that traces one young woman’s journey from diagnosis to remission and, ultimately, a road trip of healing and self-discovery. View on Amazon
Black Magic: What Black Leaders Learned from Trauma and Triumph
By Chad Sanders
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
A powerful exploration of Black achievement in a white world based on honest, provocative, and moving interviews with Black leaders, scientists, artists, activists, and champions. View on Amazon
Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing
By Chris Bail
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
A revealing look at how user behavior is powering deep social divisions online―and how we might yet defeat political tribalism on social media. View on Amazon
Call of the Wild: How We Heal Trauma, Awaken Our Own Power, and Use It for Good
By Kimberly Ann Johnson
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
From trauma educator and somatic guide Kimberly Ann Johnson comes a cutting-edge guide for tapping into the wisdom and resilience of the body to rewire the nervous system, heal from trauma, and live fully. View on Amazon
The CEO Test: Master the Challenges That Make or Break All Leaders
By Adam Bryant and Kevin Sharer
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Leadership is getting harder as the speed of disruption across all industries accelerates. The CEO Test will better prepare you to succeed, whether you’re a CEO or just setting out to become one. View on Amazon
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
By Walter Isaacson
Publication Date: March 9, 2021
A gripping account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies. View on Amazon
Conflicted: How Productive Disagreements Lead to Better Outcomes
By Ian Leslie
February 23, 2021
Ian Leslie, a columnist for the New Statesman, shows us how to transform the heat of conflict, disagreement, and argument into the light of insight, creativity, and connection. View on Amazon
Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues
By David Bradford and Carole Robin
Publication Date: February 9, 2021
A transformative guide to building more fulfilling relationships with colleagues, friends, partners, and family, based on the landmark Interpersonal Dynamics course at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. View on Amazon
The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth About Racism Can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations
By Robert Livingston
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
An essential tool for individuals, organizations, and communities of all sizes to jump-start dialogue on racism and bias and to transform well-intentioned statements on diversity into concrete actions. View on Amazon
Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race
By Shanna Swan, with Stacey Colino
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
An urgent, meticulously researched, and groundbreaking book about the ways in which chemicals in the modern environment are changing—and endangering—human sexuality and fertility on the grandest scale. View on Amazon
A Cure for Darkness: The Story of Depression and How We Treat It
By Alex Riley
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
A fascinating look at the treatment of depression, blending journalism, science, history, and memoir, by an award-winning science writer. View on Amazon
The Delusions of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups
By William J. Bernstein
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
From the award-winning author of A Splendid Exchange, a fascinating new history of financial and religious mass manias over the past five centuries. View on Amazon
The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred
By Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Publication Date: March 9, 2021
From a star theoretical physicist, a journey into the world of particle physics and the cosmos—and a call for a more just practice of science. View on Amazon
Dream First, Details Later: How to Quit Overthinking and Make It Happen
By Ellen Bennett
Publication Date: April 27, 2021
This gutsy guidebook will help anyone who’s procrastinating on a goal, career change, or business idea stop the obsessive worrying and leap into action. View on Amazon
Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage
By Anne Lamott
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Drawing from her own experiences, Lamott shows us the intimate and human ways we can adopt to move through life’s dark places and toward the light of hope that still burns ahead for all of us. View on Amazon
Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters
By Greg McKeown
Publication Date: April 27, 2021
From the New York Times bestselling author of the million-copy bestseller Essentialism comes an empowering guide to achieving your goals. It all starts with a simple principle: not everything has to be so hard. View on Amazon
Einstein’s Fridge: How the Difference Between Hot and Cold Explains the Universe
By Paul Sen
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
An entertaining, eye-opening account of the extraordinary team of innovators who discovered the laws of thermodynamics essential to understanding the world today. View on Amazon
Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation
By Kevin Roose
Publication Date: March 9, 2021
New York Times technology columnist Kevin Roose lays out a hopeful, pragmatic vision for how humans can survive in the machine age. View on Amazon
Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought A.I. to Google, Facebook, and the World
By Cade Metz
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
Genius Makers dramatically presents the fierce conflict between national interests, shareholder value, the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and the very human concerns about privacy, security, bias, and prejudice. View on Amazon
The Genome Odyssey: Medical Mysteries and the Incredible Quest to Solve Them
By Euan Angus Ashley
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
Dr. Euan Ashley brings the breakthroughs of precision medicine to vivid life through the real diagnostic journeys of his patients and the tireless efforts of his fellow doctors and scientists as they hunt to prevent, predict, and beat disease. View on Amazon
Girlhood
By Melissa Febos
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
A gripping set of stories about the forces that shape girls and the adults they become. View on Amazon
Grand Transitions: How the Modern World Was Made
By Vaclav Smil
Publication Date: March 1, 2021
What makes the modern world work? The answer to this deceptively simple question lies in four “grand transitions” of civilization—in populations, agriculture, energy, and economics—which have transformed the way we live. View on Amazon
The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness
By Mark Solms
Publication Date: February 16, 2021
A revelatory new theory of consciousness that returns emotions to the center of mental life. View on Amazon
High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out
By Amanda Ripley
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
When we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side”—in our politics, at work, or at home—it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over. View on Amazon
Just Work: Get Sh*t Done, Fast & Fair
By Kim Scott
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
From the author of the revolutionary bestseller Radical Candor comes Just Work, all about how we can recognize, attack, and eliminate workplace injustice―and transform our careers and organizations in the process. View on Amazon
Let’s Be Reasonable: A Conservative Case for a Liberal Education
By Jonathan Marks
Publication Date: February 9, 2021
Let’s Be Reasonable recovers what is truly liberal about liberal education―the ability to reason for oneself and with others―and shows why the liberally educated person considers reason to be more than just a tool for scoring political points. View on Amazon
Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection
By Ximena Vengoechea
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
Now more than ever, we need to feel heard, connected, and understood in a world that keeps turning up the volume. Warm, funny, and immensely practical, this book shows you how. View on Amazon
The Lonely Century: How to Restore Human Connection in a World That’s Pulling Apart
By Noreena Hertz
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
A bold, hopeful, and thought-provoking account of how we built a lonely world, how the pandemic accelerated the problem, and what we must do to come together again. View on Amazon
The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships
By Susan McPherson, with Jackie Ashton
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
Filled with humor, humility, and wisdom, The Lost Art of Connecting is the handbook we all need to foster personal and professional relationships that blur the lines between work and play―and enrich our lives in every way. View on Amazon
Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives
By Michael Heller and James Salzman
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
A hidden set of rules governs who owns what—explaining everything from whether you can recline your airplane seat to why HBO lets you borrow a password illegally. In this lively and entertaining guide, two acclaimed law professors reveal how things become “mine.” View on Amazon
Mutualism: Building the Next Economy from the Ground Up
By Sara Horowitz
Publication Date: February 16, 2021
A profound look at the crisis of work and the collapse of the safety net—and a vision for a better way forward, rooted in America’s cooperative spirit. View on Amazon
My Inner Sky: On Embracing Day, Night, and All the Times in Between
By Mari Andrew
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
A collection of essays and illustrations, divided into phases of the sky—twilight, golden hour, night, and dawn—that serves as a loyal companion for life’s curveballs. View on Amazon
Never Enough: A Navy SEAL Commander on Living a Life of Excellence, Agility, and Meaning
By Mike Hayes
Publication Date: February 9, 2021
Mike Hayes―former Commander of SEAL Team TWO―helps readers apply high-stakes lessons about excellence, agility, and meaning across their personal and professional lives. View on Amazon
Power Moms: How Executive Mothers Navigate Work and Life
By Joann S. Lublin
Publication Date: February 16, 2021
A retired Wall Street Journal editor and mother compares two generations of women—boomers and GenXers—to examine how each navigates the emotional and professional challenges involved in juggling managerial careers and families. View on Amazon
Probable Impossibilities: Musings on Beginnings and Endings
By Alan Lightman
Publication Date: February 9, 2021
From the acclaimed author of Einstein’s Dreams, a collection of meditative essays on the possibilities, and impossibilities, of nothingness and infinity—and how our place in the cosmos falls somewhere in between. View on Amazon
Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual
By Luvvie Ajayi Jones
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
A hilarious and transformational book about how to tackle fear—that everlasting hater—and audaciously step into lives, careers, and legacies that go beyond even our wildest dreams. View on Amazon
Raceless: In Search of Family, Identity, and the Truth About Where I Belong
By Georgina Lawton
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
A moving examination of how racial identity is constructed—through the author’s own journey grappling with secrets and stereotypes, having been raised by white parents with no explanation as to why she looked black. View on Amazon
To Raise a Boy: Classrooms, Locker Rooms, Bedrooms, and the Hidden Struggles of American Boyhood
By Emma Brown
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
A journalist’s searing investigation into how we teach boys to be men—and how we can do better. View on Amazon
Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work
By Lindsey Pollak
Publication Date: March 23, 2021
A leading workplace expert provides an inspirational, practical, and forward-looking career playbook for recent grads, career changers, and transitioning professionals looking to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving workplace. View on Amazon
Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex, and Death in a World That’s Lost Its Mind
By Jamie Wheal
Publication Date: April 27, 2021
A peak-performance expert maps out a revolutionary new practice that combines the best of neuroscience and optimal psychology to help us wake up, grow up, and show up for a world that needs us all. View on Amazon
The Rejection That Changed My Life: 25+ Powerful Women on Being Let Down, Turning It Around, and Burning It Up at Work
By Jessica Bacal
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
The perfect book for anyone who needs inspiration after dealing with rejection, failure, or is searching for a new beginning in the workplace. View on Amazon
Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting
By Lisa Genova
Publication Date: March 23, 2021
A fascinating exploration of the intricacies of how we remember, why we forget, and what we can do to protect our memories, from the Harvard-trained neuroscientist and bestselling author of Still Alice. View on Amazon
Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere
By Tsedal Neeley
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
A Harvard Business School professor and leading expert in virtual and global work provides remote workers and leaders with the best practices necessary to perform at the highest levels in their organizations. View on Amazon
Risk Forward: Embrace the Unknown and Unlock Your Hidden Genius
By Victoria Labalme
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
Some people in life know exactly what they want to achieve. Risk Forward is a book for the rest of us. View on Amazon
Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself
By Nedra Glover Tawwab
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
End the struggle, speak up for what you need, and experience the freedom of being truly yourself. View on Amazon
Skip the Line: The 10,000 Experiments Rule and Other Surprising Advice for Reaching Your Goals
By James Altucher
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
Entrepreneur and angel investor James Altucher busts the 10,000-hour rule of achieving mastery, offering a new mindset and dozens of techniques that will inspire any professional to pursue their passions and acquire the skills they need to succeed. View on Amazon
Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less
By Leidy Klotz
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Blending evidence across science and design, Subtract offers a revolution in problem-solving, showing why we overlook subtraction and how we can access its true potential. View on Amazon
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
By Heather McGhee
Publication Date: February 16, 2021
A powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color. View on Amazon
This Is Not Normal: The Politics of Everyday Expectations
By Cass Sunstein
Publication Date: February 9, 2021
Leading governmental scholar Cass R. Sunstein examines shifting understandings of what’s normal, and how those shifts account for the feminist movement, the civil rights movement, the rise of Adolf Hitler, the rise of gun rights, the response to COVID-19, and changing understandings of liberty. View on Amazon
Toxic: A Guide to Rebuilding Respect and Tolerance in a Hostile Workplace
By Clive Lewis
Publication Date: April 20, 2021
Clive Lewis draws upon his decades of experience in HR and mediation to distill the problems and underlying causes of toxic workplaces before tackling the issue head-on. View on Amazon
Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation
By Panos Panay and R. Michael Hendrix
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
Featuring interviews with Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, T Bone Burnett, Gloria Estefan, Imogen Heap and many more, Two Beats Ahead shows us what the musical mind has to teach us about innovation. View on Amazon
Unbound: A Woman’s Guide to Power
By Kasia Urbaniak
Publication Date: March 9, 2021
Part manual, part manifesto, part behind the scenes look, Unbound is a how-to guide to the impossible, the outrageous, the unimaginable—a field guide to living your wildest, best, and most satisfying life. View on Amazon
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future
By Elizabeth Kolbert
Publication Date: February 9, 2021
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction returns to humanity’s transformative impact on the environment, now asking: After doing so much damage, can we change nature, this time to save it? View on Amazon
Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain
By Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
From the New York Times bestselling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look at the role of self-deception in human flourishing. View on Amazon
When You Wonder, You’re Learning: Mister Rogers’ Enduring Lessons for Raising Creative, Curious, Caring Kids
By Greg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski
Publication Date: April 20, 2021
When You Wonder, You’re Learning shows parents and educators the many ways they might follow in Rogers’ footsteps, sharing his “tools for learning” with digital-age kids. View on Amazon
Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon
By Colin Bryar and Bill Carr
Publication Date: February 9, 2021
Working Backwards is an insider’s breakdown of Amazon’s approach to culture, leadership, and best practices from two long-time Amazon executives. View on Amazon
The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources
Javier Blas and Jack Farchy
Publication Date: March 1, 2021
Two leading journalists lift the lid on one of the least scrutinized corners of the world economy: the workings of the billionaire commodity traders who buy, hoard, and sell the earth’s resources. View on Amazon
A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload
By Cal Newport
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
From New York Times bestselling author Cal Newport comes a bold vision for liberating workers from the tyranny of the inbox—and unleashing a new era of productivity. View on Amazon
You Are What You Risk: The New Art and Science of Navigating an Uncertain World
By Michele Wucker
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
The #1 international bestselling author of The Gray Rhino offers a bold new framework for understanding and re-shaping our relationship with risk and uncertainty to live more productive and successful lives. View on Amazon
Your Turn: How to Be an Adult
By Julie Lythcott-Haims
Publication Date: April 6, 2021
New York Times bestselling author Julie Lythcott-Haims is back with a groundbreakingly frank guide to being a grown-up. View on Amazon
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