In our efforts to increase and diffuse knowledge, we highly recommend these 87 titles this year.

Illustration by Valerie Ruland-Schwartz

Special Report

The Best Books of 2021

As the year draws to a close, with all its new books stretched out before us, Smithsonian magazine's editors and writers have clear favorites. Whether you're doing some holiday shopping or looking for your own next read, consider our thoughtfully curated lists.

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and help explain how the U.S. got to where it is today

From captivating memoirs by researchers to illuminating narratives by veteran science journalists, these works affected us the most this year

With many of our wings still clipped by Covid-19 this year, we needed to travel vicariously through these adventurous reads

In year two of the pandemic, our favorite titles invite us into worlds outside our own

These top titles deliver amazing facts, fresh rhymes and important life lessons

From cookbooks to a memoir to a guide to hundreds of food adventures across the globe, these new titles will leave you satisfied

The writings of many fine authors support the research and ambitious undertakings of an Institution rising to the challenges ahead