Best selling Non-fiction from Penguin Random House
On this page you'll find a ranking of the best Penguin Random House products in this category. To give you a quick overview, we've already ranked the most important information about the products for you.
1. Penguin Random House Breakneck
"Breakneck" is a captivating account of China's impressive progress, offering a new perspective on the country's rise. Technology analyst Dan Wang, who has lived in China for the past six years, describes the complex relationship between China and the West. In this book, China is portrayed as an engineering state boldly undertaking megaprojects, while the USA is depicted as a law firm that often blocks everything. Wang analyzes the economic and political dynamics that have shaped China's ascent and highlights the social costs associated with this development, such as the impacts of the zero-Covid policy and the one-child policy. Through his explorations of China's vibrant cities and factories, Wang combines political and economic analyses with journalistic reporting to illuminate the ambitions of the Communist Party and their effects on the population. In a time when the USA and China are preparing for a new Cold War, "Breakneck" provides valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the engineering state and urges readers to take China's global ambitions seriously.
2. Penguin Random House The Creative ACT: A Way of Being
From the legendary music producer, a savant at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book, many years in the making, that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us. I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.'-Rick Rubin Many famed music producers, however brilliant, become known for a particular sound which has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin, on the other hand, is most famous for something else: for creating a strong safe space where artists of wildly different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. To surprise themselves, and thus the world. Rubin's true art is for helping people get out of their own way and commune with the powerful creative signal that is their birthright. Over the years, Rubin has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn't, about what it takes to strike a deep nerve within ourselves. Perhaps above all, he has learned that being an artist isn't about your specific output, it's a relationship to the world. Creativity has a space in everyone's life, and everyone has the opportunity to make that space stronger. Indeed, it may be our most important responsibility. More than five years in the making, The Creative Act is a series of meditations that illuminate the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It is a beautifully generous offering of the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime's work spent in the service of exhilaration and transcendence, distilled into a timeless classic that puts those feelings within closer reach for all of us'--.
3. Penguin Random House The Body Keeps the Score
"Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society." -Alexander McFarlane, Director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing in this New York Times Science bestseller Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world's foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers' capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-co.
4. Penguin Random House The World for Sale
"The World for Sale" is an insightful non-fiction book that sheds light on the complex and often unknown mechanisms of global commodity trading. The authors, Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, take readers on a journey through the world of commodity traders who operate behind the scenes and control the supply of energy, food, and metals. In a time when energy crises and food shortages are on the rise, it becomes clear how these traders earn billions through strategic deals and risky decisions. The book not only offers fascinating insights into the world of commodities but also highlights the far-reaching impacts of these trades on the global economy and politics. The gripping narrative and in-depth analyses make it an essential work for anyone looking to understand the dynamics of the international economy.
5. Penguin Random House Invisible Women
The Sunday Times number one bestseller with over half a million copies sold, "Invisible Women" uncovers the shocking gender bias that affects our everyday lives. Caitlin Moran describes it as "hell yes. This is one of those books that has the potential to change things - a monumental piece of research."
Imagine a world where your phone is too big for your hand, your doctor prescribes a drug that is wrong for your body, or in a car accident, you are 47% more likely to be injured. If any of that sounds familiar, chances are you're a woman.
From government policy and medical research to technology, workplaces, and the media, "Invisible Women" reveals how a world built for and by men systematically ignores half of the population, often with disastrous consequences. Caroline Criado Perez brings together an impressive range of case studies, stories, and new research from across the globe that illustrate the hidden ways in which women are forgotten and the profound impact this has on us all.
Discover more in Caroline's new podcast, "Visible Women." The Sunday Times calls it "a book that changes the way you see the world," while Jeanette Winterson describes it as "revelatory, frightening, hopeful.".
6. Penguin Random House Meditations
Meditations
A new translation, with an introduction, by Gregory Hays
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (A.D. 121–180) succeeded his adoptive father as emperor of Rome in A.D. 161—and Meditations remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. With a profound understanding of human behavior, Marcus provides insights, wisdom, and practical guidance on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity to interacting with others. Consequently, the Meditations have become required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style. In Gregory Hays’s new translation—the first in a generation—Marcus’s thoughts speak with a new immediacy: never before have they been so directly and powerfully presented.
About the author(s)
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (A.D. 121 – 180) was Roman Emperor and wrote his Meditations during his campaigns against the barbarians.
7. Penguin Random House The Interior Design Handbook
The bestselling Swedish phenomenon. What looks good and why? Design consultant Frida Ramstedt runs Scandinavia's leading interior design blog. In this book, she distills the secrets of successful interior design and styling to help you create a home that works best for your space, taste, and lifestyle. Filled with practical tips, rules of thumb, and tricks of the trade, The Interior Design Handbook will help you think like a professional designer. Frida has created this guide to interior design, featuring useful information that has taken years to learn, all in one place. Beautifully illustrated with handy line drawings, The Interior Design Handbook gets down to the nitty-gritty of successfully putting a room together. Take it to bed, and you'll be utterly engrossed and enlightened.
8. Penguin Random House How to Win At Chess
Learn chess from international master and YouTube's best chess teacher Levy Rozman, also known as GothamChess, in this refreshing and entertaining guide for beginners and advanced players. "How to Win at Chess" teaches you everything you need to know about the game, including all the important moves and strategies to start strong and think several steps ahead.
Full of Levy Rozman's characteristic charm and humor that have made him popular with millions of fans, the first half of this unique guide introduces aspiring players (0-800 Elo rating) to the four key areas to consider when playing chess: openings, endgames, tactics, and strategy. The second half builds on these core skills for more experienced players (800-1300 Elo rating).
Packed with practical and easy-to-understand tips to improve your game, "How to Win at Chess" includes over 500 illustrative game guides to help you visualize the board better, as well as chapter-specific QR codes for exclusive bonus content on Chessly, Rozman's teaching platform. Whether you want to become a casual chess player or train to become a grandmaster, "How to Win at Chess" is the perfect interactive introduction to the world of chess.
9. Penguin Random House The Art of War
The definitive translation with over two million copies sold is the most prestigious and influential book on strategy and dealing with conflict, beautifully translated for clear, accessible reading, including commentaries by other ancient Chinese philosophers and strategists. From esteemed translator Thomas Cleary and including commentary from philosophers such as Cao Cao, Du Mu, and Du You, this timeless Chinese classic captures the essence of military strategy used in ancient East Asia, with lessons on how to handle conflict confidently, efficiently, and successfully. As Sun Tzu teaches, aggression and response in kind can lead only to destruction; we must learn to work with conflict in a more profound and effective way. Crucial to this strategic vision is knowledge—especially self-knowledge—and a view of the whole that seeks to bring the conflicting ideas around to a larger perspective.
The techniques and instructions discussed in The Art of War apply to competition and conflict on every level, from the interpersonal to the international. A study of the anatomy of forces in conflict, it has been discovered by modern businesspeople that the principles it contains are as useful for understanding the interactions of modern corporations as they are for understanding the tactics of ancient Chinese armies. Its aim is invincibility, victory without battle, and unassailable strength through an understanding of the physics, politics, and psychology of conflict.
Thomas Cleary's translation is a breakthrough achievement that has been a gold standard among translations for three decades, offering the complete text in eminently readable prose with short commentaries by other ancient Chinese strategists and philosophers interwoven throughout. Cleary's work allows innumerable insights to be discovered through this translation millennia after this oral teaching was first set down.
10. Penguin Random House Indignity
"Indignity" by Lea Ypi is a captivating non-fiction book that explores historical injustices and the quest for personal and collective dignity. The author, known for her award-winning works, begins her narrative with an unexpected discovery: a photo of her grandmother Leman taken during her honeymoon in the Italian Alps in 1941. This revelation raises a multitude of questions, particularly regarding the destruction of records about her grandmother's life in the early days of communism in Albania. Ypi takes readers on an exciting journey through history, ranging from the Ottoman aristocracy in Thessaloniki to the challenges of modern Greece and Albania. Through the lens of her family history and the archives of the secret police, the complex relationship between the past and identity is illuminated as Ypi seeks to unravel the truth about her roots and the circumstances that shaped her family. This book is not only a personal narrative but also a profound reflection on the themes of memory, identity, and the impact of political upheavals on individual lives.
