The best non-fiction books of the 1970s – Happy Mag

Non-fiction books in the 1970s reflected the concerns of the time: feminism, intersectionality, anxieties about the decline of the Modern age, fascination with space and science.

During the decade, the wave of scientific and social progression was hugely impressive for the time, paving the way for many of the modern scientific and social structures that are considered normal in todays society. To explore deeper, look no further: weve gathered a list of the best books of the 70s.

Widely regarded as a classic of radical feminist literature, Sexual Politicsbegan as Kate Milletts PhD dissertation and explores the subjugation of women in art and literature in the 20th century. Taking inspiration from Simone De BeauvoirsThe Second Sex, the non-fiction book discusses the gender politics of prominent authors like D.H. Lawrence, Henry Miller, etc. and how they view sex in a patriarchal and sexist way.

Technically, The Black Woman does contain some elements of fiction with poetry and short stories included. However, the anthology is also comprised of conversations and non-fiction essays by now-celebrated African-American female writers (like Alice Walker, Nikki Giovanni, Audre Lorde) that discuss issues around gender, race, politics, labour, intersectionality and education. The Black Woman was a groundbreaking work that paved the way for some of the most exciting, astonishingly talented Black voices in the late 20th century.

Nancy Milfords non-fiction biography is written on one of the most intriguing celebrities of the 20th century, Zelda Sayre later known as the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. If the names sound familiar, its probably because the couple were famed for their careless hedonism in the 20s, became synonymous with the glitter of the jazz age, and their turbulent relationship and lifestyle inspired most of Fitzgeralds writing (including The Great Gatsby).

Zelda: A Biography details Zeldas Southern upbringing, her passionate relationship with Fitzgerald, and the torturous pull between her own immense gift for writing, art and creativity, against the push of her husbands burgeoning career.

A memoir published in 1973 by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston,Farewell to Manzanardetails the devastating experiences of author Jeanne Wakatsuki and her family before, during, and following their relocation to the Manzanar concentration camp, where the United States government forcibly relocated and incarcerated Japanese Americans during World War II. An episode in history that is notoriously overlooked.

Reported as one of the most influential books on political philosophy after WWII, and winning the 1974 National Book Award,Anarchy, State and Utopia details a defence of minarchist libertarianism, discussions of entitlement theory, distributions of justice, morality and the State, a framework for utopia, and more. The book emerged from a course taught at Harvard by the author and fellow American political philosopher Michael Walzer, at Harvard University, titled Capitalism and Socialism where Nozick represented the arguments of Anarchy, State and Utopia, and Walzer represented the side of complex equality.

The Message in the Bottleis a collection of non-fiction essays on semiotics that explore the emerging dominant ideologies of the end of the modern age: Judeo-Christian values and self-determinism versus the rationalism of science. The collection of essays often weave together linguistics, existentialism, theology, anthropology, and literary criticism, raising pertinent, philosophical questions that will challenge the reader to question their own beliefs and values about the way in which we operate in the world.

Originally from Poland, but famed for his extensive reportage across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Ryszard Kapuciskis body of work is one of the most fascinating examples of consistent, engaging war reportage in the 20th century. Another Day of Lifefollows the journalist in Angola during the Angolan Civil War, which began in 1975 from Angolas independence from Portugal to 2002. The book details the fall of the capital city Luanda and an exposition on the Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) who presided as the de facto government during the war.

Renowned American astronomer, Carl Sagans The Dragons of Edenis a non-fiction, Pulitzer-prize winning book on the mechanisms of the evolution of human intelligence. Combining the fields of anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology, and computer science, the books thesis revolves around a statement made in an earlier lecture by Sagan, [wherein] the mind [is] a consequence of its anatomy and physiology and nothing more.

While he experienced later success in fiction with Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfes beginnings were in journalism in particular, New Journalism: a style of writing that incorporated literary techniques. The Right Stuff emerged from Wolfes fascination with astronauts after being assigned coverage of the launch of NASAs final lunar mission, Apollo 17, in 1972. The non-fiction book follows the background of the space race and the American postwar research with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircrafts, as well as going into depth about the selection of the first Project Mercury NASA astronauts.

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The best non-fiction books of the 1970s - Happy Mag