I’m pleased to share what I consider the most promising, must-read nonfiction titles scheduled for release in February 2025. These titles make up our third and final group of nominees for Season 26 of the Next Big Idea Club.
Our Next Big Idea Club curators—Susan Cain, Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink—will review my selections and narrow the list down to a handful of finalists and, ultimately, two official season selections.
Authors will also be invited to create a “Book Bite”, a short audio self-recording that features five key insights from their book. Imagine chatting with a stranger while waiting in line at the supermarket—only that person just happened to write a fascinating nonfiction book.
And now, the February 2025 titles are…
Inevitable: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles
By Mike Colias
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
A sweeping portrait of the EV gold rush and what it means for all of us. View on Amazon
The Uncanny Muse: Music, Art, and Machines from Automata to AI
By David Hajdu
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
An acclaimed critic, journalist, and songwriter-musician tells the story of art’s relation to machines, from the Baroque period to the age of AI. View on Amazon
Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling
By Henry Lien
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
An introduction to Eastern storytelling that opens readers’ minds to radically different ways of telling a satisfying story. View on Amazon
Shift: Managing Your Emotions–So They Don’t Manage You
By Ethan Kross
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
A myth-busting, science-based guide that addresses the timeless question of how to manage your emotional life using tools you already possess. View on Amazon
Chasing Shadows: Cyber Espionage, Subversion, and the Global Fight for Democracy
By Ronald Deibert
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
A gripping account of how the Citizen Lab, the world’s foremost digital watchdogs, uncovered dozens of cyber espionage cases in countries around the world. View on Amazon
How to Win at Travel
By Brian Kelly
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Turn your wanderlust into reality with expert strategies from Brian Kelly, the founder of The Points Guy—the leading voice in travel and loyalty programs—with this ultimate resource for planning your dream itinerary. View on Amazon
Seeking Shelter: A Working Mother, Her Children, and a Story of Homelessness in America
By Jeff Hobbs
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
A powerful portrayal of American homelessness that follows a single mother of six in Los Angeles courageously struggling to keep her family together and her children in school amidst the devastating housing crisis. View on Amazon
Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us
By Jennifer Finney Boylan
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Jennifer Finney Boylan examines the divisions―as well as the common ground―between the genders, and reflects on her own experiences, both difficult and joyful, as a transgender American. View on Amazon
The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life
By Sahil Bloom
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Reject the default path, define your priorities, and achieve lasting happiness with this transformative guide to your dream life—a life centered around the five types of wealth. View on Amazon
No One Is Self-Made: Build Your Village to Flourish in Business and Life
By Lakeysha Hallmon
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
This inspirational guide dares to dismantle the myth of individualism and reveals how collective support can shatter systemic barriers to success. View on Amazon
Lead Well: 5 Mindsets to Engage, Retain, and Inspire Your Team
By Paula Davis
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
A holistic, research-backed framework to future-proof your leadership and unlock the full potential of your team. View on Amazon
Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You’d Rather Cancel
By Loretta Ross
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
An urgent and exhilarating memoir-manifesto-handbook about how to rein in the excesses of cancel culture so we can truly communicate and solve problems together. View on Amazon
Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families
By Judith Giesberg
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Drawing from an archive of nearly five thousand letters and advertisements, the riveting, dramatic story of formerly enslaved people who spent years searching for family members stolen away during slavery. View on Amazon
How the World Eats: A Global Food Philosophy
By Julian Baggini
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
An exploration of how we grow, make, buy and eat our food around the world—and a proposal for a global philosophy of food. View on Amazon
Memorial Days: A Memoir
By Geraldine Brooks
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
A heartrending and beautiful memoir of sudden loss and a journey towards peace. View on Amazon
Win the Inside Game: How to Move from Surviving to Thriving, and Free Yourself Up to Perform
By Steve Magness
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Steve Magness flips the script on the pursuit of excellence, shifting our thinking from high-stress survival mode to fulfillment-oriented thriving mode to creates sustainable success at the highest level. View on Amazon
Mind Your Body: A Revolutionary Program to Release Chronic Pain and Anxiety
By Nicole Sachs
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Learn how to free yourself from chronic pain, anxiety, fatigue, and myriad debilitating conditions through the transformative process of nervous system regulation. View on Amazon
Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy
By Jonathan Rauch
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
An investigation into why the crisis of Christianity has become a crisis for democracy. View on Amazon
The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life
By Sophia Rosenfeld
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
A sweeping history of the rise of personal choice in the modern world and how it became equated with freedom. View on Amazon
Dreaming Reality: How Neuroscience and Mysticism Can Unlock the Secrets of Consciousness
By Vladimir Miskovic & Steven Jay Lynn
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
A cutting-edge neuroscientist and a leading clinical psychologist look to religious, mystical, and mind-altering experience to challenge scientific orthodoxies concerning consciousness. View on Amazon
Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life
By Shigehiro Oishi
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
From one of our foremost psychologists, a trailblazing book that turns the idea of a good life on its head and urges us to embrace the transformative power of variety and experience. View on Amazon
Source Code: My Beginnings
By Bill Gates
Publication Dates: February 4, 2025
The origin story of one of the most influential and transformative business leaders and philanthropists of the modern age. View on Amazon
What’s Real about Race?: Untangling Science, Genetics, and Society
By Rina Bliss
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
A paradigm-shifting tour of genetics and identity arguing that race is at once a biological fiction and a social reality. View on Amazon
Fewer Rules, Better People: The Case for Discretion
By Barry Lam
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
A philosopher argues that the proliferation of rules and mandates is making us dumber, less moral, more deceptive, and less able to govern important institutions. View on Amazon
Raising Calm Kids in a World of Worry: Tools to Ease Anxiety and Overwhelm
By Ashley Graber & Maria Evans
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
A simple yet powerful five-step approach designed to help children ages 6-12 regulate emotions and build lasting self-esteem. View on Amazon
I Lived to Tell the Story: A Memoir of Love, Legacy, and Resilience
By Tamika Mallory
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
A powerful and heartfelt memoir of perseverance and triumph over tragedy from Tamika D. Mallory, trailblazing social justice leader and cofounder of the Women’s March. View on Amazon
The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second Chances
By Kevin Fagan
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
A powerful and deeply reported narrative of homelessness, despair, and hope. View on Amazon
Ping: The Secrets of Successful Virtual Communication
By Andrew Brodsky
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
The essential guide for when (and how best) to use virtual communication tools, from video to instant messaging and everything in between. View on Amazon
Booster Shots: The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncertain Future of Children’s Health
By Adam Ratner
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
A pediatrician and infectious disease specialist warns of the resurgence of measles, the antivaccine movement, and how we can prepare for the next pandemic. View on Amazon
The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing
By Mary-Frances O’Connor
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
A neuroscientist and psychologist, Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, explains the impact of grief—and life’s other major stressors—on the human body. View on Amazon
The Social Biome: How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us
By Andy Merolla & Jeffrey Hall
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
A deep dive into the importance of daily communication and how we can harness its power to create a better life. View on Amazon
Climate Justice: What Rich Nations Owe the World―and the Future
By Cass Sunstein
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
The social cost of carbon: The most important number you’ve never heard of—and what it means. View on Amazon
Bye Bye I Love You: The Story of Our First and Last Words
By Michael Erard
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
A beautiful and intimate exploration of first and last words—and the many facets of how language begins and ends—from a pioneering language writer. View on Amazon
Microdosing for Health, Healing, and Enhanced Performance
By James Fadiman & Jordan Gruber
Publication Date: February 18, 2025
The first comprehensive book on microdosing, using new research and extensive reports from individuals to describe the possibilities of the practice. View on Amazon
The Social Paradox: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness
By William von Hippel
Publication Date: February 18, 2025
A thought-provoking exploration into humans’ two core evolutionary needs, for connection and autonomy, how the modern world has thrown them out of whack, and how we can rebalance them to improve our lives. View on Amazon
Who Better Than You?: The Art of Healthy Arrogance & Dreaming Big
By Will Packer
Publication Date: February 18, 2025
Trailblazing filmmaker and powerhouse CEO Will Packer presents powerful and illuminating stories from the front lines of Hollywood to offer a clear vision on how to manifest your own success. View on Amazon
The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at Microsoft
By Dean Carignan & JoAnn Garbin
Publication Date: February 18, 2025
Learn about innovation from the people behind some of the biggest breakthroughs of the last 50 years at one of the most influential and valuable companies in the world: Microsoft. View on Amazon
The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief and the Future of the West
By Alexander Karp & Nicholas Zamiska
Publication Date: February 18, 2025
A sweeping indictment of the West’s culture of complacency, arguing that timid leadership, intellectual fragility, and an unambitious view of technology’s potential in Silicon Valley have made the U.S. vulnerable in an era of mounting global threats. View on Amazon
A Story is a Deal: How to Use the Science of Storytelling to Lead, Motivate and Persuade
By Will Storr
Publication Date: February 20, 2025
Acclaimed story guru Will Storr shows how to engage and influence your audience, create irresistible pitches, build passionate brand loyalty, motivate teams, and lead with effectiveness and charisma. View on Amazon
Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier
By Matthew Weinzierl & Brendan Rosseau
Publication Date: February 25, 2025
An exploration of the dynamic transformations and future possibilities of the space industry. View on Amazon
When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution’s Greatest Romance
By Riley Black
Publication Date: February 25, 2025
A gorgeously composed look at the longstanding relationship between prehistoric plants and life on Earth. View on Amazon
How to Stop Trying: An Overachiever’s Guide to Self-Acceptance, Letting Go, and Other Impossible Things
By Kate Williams
Publication Date: February 25, 2025
An unflinchingly honest and sometimes hilarious look at hustle culture, exploring the forces that have shaped a generation of overachieving women who now find themselves in search of a better way forward. View on Amazon
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