Summer catch-up: 20 of the best non-fiction books so far this year

Looking for something to read for your holidays? Richard Fitzpatrick picks the top biographies, sports books and other non-fiction titles from the first half of 2026

Richard Fitzpatrick picks some of the best non-fiction books to enjoy this summer

1. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth, by Patrick Radden Keefe

 Another masterpiece from Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing, Empire of Pain and one of the best non-fiction writers in the business. Investigating the mysterious death in London of a 19-year-old English guy posing as the son of a Russian oligarch, Radden Keefe unfurls a gripping tale against the backdrop of mobsters, charlatans and “lackadaisical” policing.