Explore our Top 20 Non-Fiction bestsellers—a curated selection of the most popular, thought-provoking books across a variety of genres. From inspiring memoirs and historical deep-dives to groundbreaking self-help and investigative journalism, these top picks showcase today’s most engaging non-fiction reads. Whether you’re seeking insight, inspiration, or a new perspective, our bestseller chart has something for every reader. Discover the stories and ideas capturing readers’ imaginations this season.
1. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City, and a Family's Search for Truth
by Patrick Radden Keefe
€16.99
In 2019, teenager Zac Brettler mysteriously fell to his death from a luxury apartment balcony into the Thames. As his grieving parents began to investigate his final days, they were shocked to learn that he’d been leading a double life, in which he was posing as the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. This unsolved case is at the heart of London Falling – at once a family tragedy, a psychological portrait of a young fabulist, and an indictment of the greed for extreme wealth that has transformed one of the world’s great cities: London. Hiding in the shadows of its great architecture and imperial history are the malignant, mercenary forces that have come to influence us all – whether we realise it or not. In his inimitably gripping and forensic style, Baillie Gifford winner and New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe explores what brought Zac Brettler (the grandson of famous rabbi Hugo Gryn) to the balcony that night – and how he became involved with some of London’s most notorious gangsters. Following Zac’s parents on a dark journey of investigation, London Falling unearths the unsettling truths they discovered – both about the sinister underworld on their doorstep, and about their son’s secret world. Ideal for readers who: Read true stories where family tragedy opens into a larger investigation. Are interested in hidden wealth, reinvention and London’s darker networks. Appreciate mysteries rooted in privilege, deception and unanswered questions. Value forensic narrative non-fiction with emotional pull and momentum.
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2. The Shortest History of Ireland
by James Hawes
€14.99
James Hawes’s The Shortest History of Ireland is based at every step on the latest scholarship, but it’s all brought together, for once, as a fluent story, as captivating as a novel, galloping from the Ice Age to the present, using language, graphics and images accessible to all. It will change the way people see the Irish past, flipping usual practice on its head and placing Ireland at the centre not just of Irish but British and at times even European history. Hawes concludes by arguing that if Ireland can now sidestep the last, toxic wreckage of the British Empire, its eventful past will flow into a bright future. From the bestselling author of The Shortest History of Germany and The Shortest History of England, this is popular history at its thrilling best. Ideal for readers who: Seek a fast, highly accessible journey through Irish history from the deep past right up to the modern era. Appreciate rigorous academic scholarship translated into a fluent narrative rather than a dense textbook. Want to see Ireland's historical trajectory recontextualised in relation to Britain, Europe and global empires. Value engaging popular history that combines breakneck pace, strong arguments and clear visual support.
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5. Hungry: A Biography of My Body
by Katriona O'Sullivan
€16.99
Hungry is the powerful new memoir from Number One bestselling author Katriona O'Sullivan - a raw, courageous exploration of survival, identity and the lifelong search for self-acceptance. Raised in a home marked by poverty, addiction and abuse, Katriona defied the odds: from teenage motherhood struggling with her own addictions to becoming a university professor and successful author. But beneath the achievements lay a more private struggle - with her body, her worth, and the unrelenting drive to be enough. In this fiercely honest memoir, she interrogates how trauma, class and gender shape the way women see themselves - and how society teaches them to measure their value. Told with stunning courage and vulnerability, Hungry is both a personal reckoning and a powerful reclaiming of body, voice and self. It is one woman's story - and a rallying cry for every woman who has ever felt she had to shrink to survive. Ideal for readers who: Seek memoirs that confront trauma, class and self-worth with real honesty. Are interested in the lifelong relationship between identity and the body. Want contemporary Irish life, survival and reinvention explored without flinching. Prefer emotionally direct nonfiction that is brave, searching and humane.
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6. Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf’s Most Human Superstar
by Alan Shipnuck
€16.99
The definitive biography of Rory McIlroy, the most important, popular and confounding player of the post-Tiger era, Rory McIlroy contains multitudes. He can overwhelm a golf course with his transcendent talent and then, at the next tournament, look utterly lost. McIlroy is golf's most eloquent ambassador and a trash-talking troll, sometimes in the same press conference. The child of a working-class family from a small town in a war-torn homeland now commutes to work in his own private jet and counts billionaires as confidants. A dozen years ago, McIlroy asked Alan Shipnuck a question about the player he had modeled himself after, Tiger Woods: 'What's he really like?' As McIlroy enters the last act of his highly eventful career, this book is a chance to redirect that old question and try to understand a man of deep complexity and contradictions. McIlroy's victory at the 2025 Masters packed such an emotional punch because he is golf's most vulnerable superstar. Across two decades as a pro he has been the anti-Tiger, letting fans into his heart and into his world. When McIlroy collapsed onto the final green at Augusta National, having at last completed the career Grand Slam, golf fans cried along with him because so many saw themselves in his struggles. But there is much that the public does not know about McIlroy. With reporting chops honed across thirty years on the golf beat, Shipnuck traces McIlroy's evolution from a young phenom in Northern Ireland to a game-changing force on and off the golf course. Shipnuck has shadowed McIlroy throughout his career, and he brings to life all the heartbreaks and triumphs with thrilling immediacy and unparalleled access. Tabloid romance, bitter business disputes, divisive politicking - it is all part of this portrait of a man in full. Shipnuck has long been known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, and he goes deep into McIlroy's personal history at a time when the spotlight on Rory has never been brighter. Ideal for readers who: Follow elite sports biographies that look beyond trophies into the realities of pressure, form and character. Wish to explore Rory McIlroy’s rapid rise, fascinating contradictions and long chase for the career Grand Slam. Connect modern golf history with Northern Ireland, Augusta National and the competitive post-Tiger era. Appreciate high-quality sports writing offering insider access, emotional vulnerability and intense match detail.
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7. RTÉ: Saints, Scholars and Scandals
by Shane Ross
€16.99
Since it arrived on the airwaves in 1961, RTÉ has been buffeted in different directions, eventually slipping into a steady decline which accelerated over the past decade into a catastrophe. The 2023 revelations regarding secret payments to star presenter Ryan Tubridy weren't the first time Ireland's national broadcaster has found itself caught up in scandal. Shane Ross, author of #1 bestsellers The Bankers and Mary Lou McDonald , winds back the clock to examine RTÉ's history of broadcasting excellence alongside the accusations of corruption, waste and ineptitude it has faced along the way. With clarity and wit, Ross rakes over RTÉ's colourful past while also considering what the future might hold for this once beloved institution. Ideal for readers who… Follow Irish current affairs and want context on RTÉ’s recent public scandals. Are interested in media studies, broadcasting history and Irish public institutions. Read Shane Ross for sharp political and institutional non-fiction. Want a timely paperback on corruption, waste and accountability in public life. Are buying for readers of Irish politics, journalism and contemporary history.
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8. The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census
by Orlaith McBride
€21.99
On 18 April 1926 the first census of an independent Irish state was undertaken. Across the 26 counties over 700,000 census forms were completed by, or on behalf of, the 2,971,992 people living in the Irish Free State. But what can we know of the lives that they led? A century later, with the release of the 1926 census by the National Archives on 18 April 2026, those forms come alive again - revealing a nation in transition and a people forging their identity in the early decades of independence. The Story of Us brings together an wide range of scholars to illuminate the individuals and communities hidden within the census returns. From island settlements to expanding cities, from rural farms and urban tenements to the mansions of the aristocracy, the book traces a vibrant cross-section of society. Lavishly illustrated, it explores themes ranging from entertainment and the arts to housing, infrastructure, family life, and social change. The Story of Us offers not only a compelling portrait of 1926 Ireland but a deeper understanding of the world in which these lives unfolded. Ideal for readers who: Love exploring Irish history through households, archives and the real everyday lives behind official records. Want to examine the 1926 census as an invaluable record of actual people rather than just numbers and statistics. Are keen to see independent Ireland through the lens of local farms, changing cities, remote islands and social evolution. Value lavishly illustrated history books that seamlessly link national identity with vivid human detail.
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12. Be Like the Sea: Life, Learnings and Leadership from an Irish Navy Captain
by Marie Gleeson
€18.99
‘The one thing you can’t fully control in a ship is the water all around you, so part of your plan is always reading and analysing the currents and the tides. You have a clear image in your head of how you think the ship will perform in the prevailing conditions. But this time something isn't going the way we had planned it …’ As a farmer’s daughter in the country’s largest landlocked county, Marie Gleeson’s unusual career choice took her into uncharted waters. Working her way up from gruelling bootcamp training to leading a drug interdiction operation seizing €700 million of cocaine from a yacht off the Kerry coast, she was a leader among men and rose to every challenge. Developing a love of the sea, Marie learned that to be at one with it required agility, and a willingness to change, to go with the wind – not against it. These lessons prepared her for operating without a life raft when her personal life threw her the greatest challenge of all. Be Like the Sea is the inspiring story of what happens when we overcome our own self-imposed physical, mental and emotional limitations, and a blueprint for charting our own unique path in life. Ideal for readers who: Reach for inspiring memoirs centred on authentic leadership, public service and high-stakes resilience. Value true, powerful stories of women breaking new ground in traditionally demanding careers. Seek fascinating details about the Irish Navy, command pressure and the realities of life at sea. Appreciate practical, deeply reflective writing about adapting and finding strength through personal crisis.
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13. A Rebel and a Traitor: A Fugitive, the Manhunt and the Birth of the IRA
by Rory Carroll
€15.99
The new book from the author of the critically acclaimed KILLING THATCHER An extraordinary story that explores a pivotal moment in Anglo-Irish history that has implications for Europe and the wider world A narrative non-fiction that reads like a novel by an author at the top of his game Uses first class research to crate a page-turning history with a vast array of characters KILLING THATCHER was hailed as ‘non-fiction that reads like a first class thriller’ by Jonathan Freedland – and Rory’s new book promises to be a similarly exciting work of propulsive historical non-fiction From the master storyteller behind 2023’s critically acclaimed KILLING THATCHER A Rebel and a Traitor is the story of a rogue imperial consul who sought to forge a new nation in the middle of a war – and the mercurial spy chief who sought to destroy him by any means. The rogue consul was Sir Roger Casement, a decorated diplomat who turned his back on the British empire and instead joined the rising Irish cause at the turn of the 20th century. At the book’s centre is the manhunt for Casement led by intelligence officer Reginald ‘Blinker’ Hall, the legendary British spy chief who pioneered codebreaking, early mass surveillance and media manipulation. As he did for the critically acclaimed Killing Thatcher, master storyteller Rory Carroll has combed diaries, letters, police reports, memoirs, court transcripts, secret service archives and declassified government files in the US, Britain, Ireland and Germany to create a page-turning history, and a story that still echoes through Anglo-Irish relations. A Rebel and a Traitor raises profound questions about honour, courage and the price of patriotism. Ideal for readers who: Appreciate narrative non-fiction on Irish independence, empire and espionage. Follow a fugitive manhunt with political betrayal at its centre. Are interested in Anglo-Irish history shaped by spies, courts and wartime loyalties. Value meticulous research with the pace and tension of a thriller.
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16. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage
by Belle Burden
€17.99
Ideal for readers who: Read memoirs about betrayal, marriage and living through private collapse. Are drawn to books that ask how well we can ever know the person beside us. Would value a deeply personal account of relationship loss and its aftermath. Prefer intimate, literary non-fiction that is painful, elegant and hard to look away from. A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 in Vogue, BBC, New York Times, W Magazine, Town & Country Praise: 'A beautifully written eulogy for the loss of a relationship.' JOYCE CAROL OATES 'Beautiful... devastating... Strangers reads with all the momentum and colour of watertight literary fiction.' BRITISH VOGUE 'Burden is an elegant writer... As Strangers and myriad TV shows attest, even the most intimate and long marriages can yield nasty surprises. In the end, how well do you really know the person who lies next to you in bed every night?' ECONOMIST 'A compelling tale of marriage and deception... Strangers raises some serious questions about the nature of intimacy and what makes a "perfect" marriage... I devoured Strangers in about two days.' LUCY DENYER, TELEGRAPH 'Examines how we view intimacy, how the people closest to us can change without us knowing, and how to move forward in the wake of devastation.' W MAGAZINE 'Burden's sharp, personal writing brings readers deep into her unthinkable circumstances and offers a promise to anyone suffering: you can make it to the other side.' TOWN & COUNTRY How do we go on when a loved one betrays us? On a chilly day in March 2020, in the early days of the pandemic, Belle Burden's husband of twenty years announced, with no prior warning, that he was leaving her. His decision shocked Belle to her core. She believed he was a happy man, a committed partner, and a devoted father to their three children. She thought he had settled into the life he had always wanted: a successful career, summers at their beloved home on Martha's Vineyard, and lots of tennis. Overnight, he transformed from steady companion into a stranger. As Belle pieces her life together in the wake of a loss she had never imagined, she discovers reserves of strength she did not know she had. Strangers charts the transformation of a shy, quiet girl, nicknamed "Belle the Good", into a powerful, brave, determined woman who learns to use her voice to expose the patriarchal structures that have forced women to be discreet and compliant for too long. A must-read memoir of self-discovery.
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17. Suing The Kremlin: The Battle for Putin's Billions
by Martin Sixsmith
€12.99
Vladimir Putin came to power by destroying the Russian oligarchs, the entrepreneurs who grew rich during Russia’s chaotic transition from communism and exercised unseemly influence over the government of Boris Yeltsin. Putin confiscated their companies and used the profits to build the Kremlin’s war chest for the invasion of Ukraine. He and his cronies siphoned off billions for themselves. Drawing on exclusive interviews and explosive new material, in Suing the Kremlin Martin Sixsmith tells the astonishing story of what happened to the men Putin dispossessed. Some were sent to labour camps, forced into exile or murdered. Some attempted to fight back, but with no success. Yet for the past twenty years, a small, determined team of legal experts based in London has been pursuing Putin and his rogue state through courts across the globe. Acting on behalf of Group Menatep – the holding company founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s wealthiest oligarch – they have set out to reclaim this vast stolen fortune and to prove that even the most powerful men in the world are not beyond the reach of international law. Ideal for readers who… want political non-fiction on Putin, oligarch power, and how fortunes are built and protected. enjoy investigative reportage driven by interviews, new material, and real-world legal stakes. are interested in Russia, corruption, and the money networks behind modern geopolitics. like courtroom and accountability narratives that follow long, complex fights across borders. read contemporary politics and current affairs, especially linked to the invasion of Ukraine.
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19. World Cup Fever: A Footballing Journey in Nine Tournaments
by Simon Kuper
€10.00
A Sports Book of the Year in the Irish Times, the FT and the Mail on Sunday 'Kuper is one of the best sportswriters in the English language today' New Yorker 'Unmissable... The ultimate book for anyone who loves football' Mail on Sunday 'A brilliant evocation of the joy of the football carnival and the absurdities of the global spectacle... an essential companion' David Goldblatt It's the biggest competition on Earth. A four-yearly chance for the world's greatest footballers to realise their ultimate dream. A month-long media spectacle that's watched by billions. The World Cup has changed beyond recognition since the early days, when the players were semi-pros and the trophy went missing. Today, it's a corporate-led bonanza of dark money and dubious ethics. Simon Kuper, bestselling author of Barça, reflects on every tournament since Italia 90 to reveal a captivating portrait of sport in a globalised world. Entertaining and compelling, World Cup Fever is the definitive story of football's greatest drama, and of how the tournament can touch - and even change - our lives. Ideal for readers who: Read the World Cup as sport, media spectacle, memory and global business at once. Follow Simon Kuper’s reflections on every tournament from Italia 90 to today. See the joy of football alongside the money, politics and ethics behind the carnival. Carry a thoughtful companion into the next month-long tournament obsession.
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