I’m pleased to share what I consider the most promising, must-read nonfiction titles scheduled for release in May 2025.
These titles will be included in our longlist of potential titles for Season 27 of the Next Big Idea Club. In a couple of months, our curators—Susan Cain, Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink—will review all of my monthly selections, narrow the list down to a handful of finalists and, ultimately, choose our two official season titles, which we will send the members.
All must-read authors are 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 May 2025 titles are…
Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers
By Mark Blyth & Nicolò Fraccaroli
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
A fresh, revealing, and myth-busting guide to the ins and outs of inflation from two leading political economists. View on Amazon
Apocalypse: How Catastrophe Transformed Our World and Can Forge New Futures
By Lizzie Wade
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
A richly imagined new view on the great human tradition of apocalypse that defies conventional wisdom and long-held stories about our deep past to reveal how cataclysmic events are not irrevocable endings, but transformations. View on Amazon
Bad Friend: How Women Revolutionized Modern Friendship
By Tiffany Watt Smith
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
A smart and thought-provoking memoir, history, and cultural critique about the turmoil and complexity of female friendship. View on Amazon
Proof: The Art and Science of Certainty
By Adam Kucharski
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
An award-winning mathematician shows how we prove what’s true, and what to do when we can’t. View on Amazon
Who Deserves Your Love: How to Create Boundaries to Start, Strengthen, or End Any Relationship
By KC Davis
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
An authoritative yet gentle approach to the universal desire for healthy and workable relationships, whether romantic, familial, or platonic. View on Amazon
Lessons from My Teachers: From Preschool to the Present
By Sarah Ruhl
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
An inspiring meditation on the life-altering bonds between teacher and student and the ineffable wisdom imparted both inside and outside the classroom. View on Amazon
Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity
By Eric Topol
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
A detailed guide to a revolution transforming human longevity. View on Amazon
Becoming You: The Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career
By Suzy Welch
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
An inspiring, wise, and highly practical method for discovering your true self and identifying the fulfilling career just for you. View on Amazon
Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference
By Rutger Bregman
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
A bold manifesto daring us to harness our talents and transform our idealism into action, all with the goal of making the world a wildly better place. View on Amazon
Six Minutes to Winter: Nuclear War and How to Avoid It
By Mark Lynas
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
World War III is a real possibility, and with 12,000 warheads in the arsenals of more than half a dozen countries, we are standing on a nuclear knife edge. View on Amazon
The Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success
By Susan Dominus
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
What explains those rare families that boast multiple children who achieve extraordinary success? An award-winning journalist weaves story with science to explore the circumstances that set those families apart. View on Amazon
Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs
By Neri Karra Sillaman
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
Unlock the principles that drive the remarkable success stories of immigrant entrepreneurs from around the world. View on Amazon
The Creativity Choice: The Science of Making Decisions to Turn Ideas into Action
By Zorana Ivcevic Pringle
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
Based on twenty years of research, a Yale scientist dispels the myth that creativity is a trait that you’re born with—instead, creativity is a decision that you make again and again. View on Amazon
Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age
By Amanda Hess
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
The long-awaited debut memoir from the beloved New York Times critic, chronicling the convergence of parenthood and technology. View on Amazon
Another Way: Building Companies That Last…and Last…and Last
By Dave Whorton with Bo Burlingham
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
From the inner sanctum of Silicon Valley and short-term capitalism comes the story of a VC who lived it, then left it, and found a better way to build companies. View on Amazon
Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance
By Henry Abbott
Publication Date: May 6, 2025
A journey into the new science of injury prevention that reveals how “ballistic” movement can help you get strong, stay healthy, and be elite. View on Amazon
Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine: The New Science of Achieving a Healthy Weight
By David Kessler
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
An illuminating understanding of body weight, including the promise―and peril ―of the latest weight loss drugs. View on Amazon
The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want
By Emily Bender & Alex Hanna
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
A look at the drawbacks and pitfalls of technology sold under the banner of AI, and why it’s crucial to recognize the many ways in which AI hype covers for a small set of power-hungry actors at work and in the world. View on Amazon
Mark Twain
By Ron Chernow
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
A Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer illuminates the full, fascinating, and complex life of the writer long celebrated as the father of American literature, Mark Twain. View on Amazon
The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance
By Zach Mercurio
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Practical advice and helpful exercise to give leaders at all levels the skills they need to revitalize their teams—and entire organizations—by showing people that they matter. View on Amazon
Raising AI: An Essential Guide to Parenting Our Future
By De Kai
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
From the pioneer of translation AIs like Google, Yahoo, and Bing translate, an accessible and authoritative guide to AI—as well as a framework of empowerment for a future with our artificial children. View on Amazon
Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI
By John Cassidy
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
A sweeping, dramatic history of capitalism as seen through the eyes of its fiercest critics. View on Amazon
Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI
By Karen Hao
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
With intimate access to the world of Sam Altman’s OpenAI, an eye-opening account of arguably the most fateful tech arms race in history, reshaping the planet in real time. View on Amazon
Is a River Alive?
By Robert Macfarlane
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
A revelatory book that transforms how we imagine rivers―and life itself. View on Amazon
Clamor: How Noise Took Over the World – and How We Can Take It Back
By Chris Berdik
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
An eye- (and ear-) opening investigation into how our ever-noisier world affects our health, our well-being, and our planet. View on Amazon
Shamanism: The Timeless Religion
By Manvir Singh
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
A fascinating investigation into the spiritual practice of shamanism, from its beginnings to the present moment, for readers disaffected with organized religion who seek a more personal approach to spirituality. View on Amazon
Hello, Cruel World!: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times
By Melinda Wenner Moyer
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
A science-based, hopeful guide on how to raise children who will not just survive, but thrive in this challenging, terrifying world—and who could ultimately help save it. View on Amazon
The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World’s Deadliest Addiction–and How to Overcome It
By James Kimmel, Jr.
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
A Yale psychiatry researcher exposes the unseen neurobiological cause of violence and offers a profound new understanding of human behavior and breakthrough framework for making our lives and communities safer. View on Amazon
Battle of the Big Bang: The New Tales of Our Cosmic Origins
By Niayesh Afshordi & Phil Halper
Publication Date: May 29, 2025
A thrilling exploration of competing cosmological origin stories, comparing new scientific ideas that upend our very notions of space, time, and reality. View on Amazon
The Sad Citizen: How Politics Is Depressing and Why It Matters
By Christopher Ojeda
Publication Date: May 30, 2025
For many citizens, politics is depressing. How has this come to be the norm? And, how is it influencing democracy? View on Amazon
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