According to the United States Census, approximately 87 million people admit to enjoying reading as a leisure activity. While not directly asked, many of these 87 million peop
…le may also enjoy reading non-fiction books. Some of the most popular types of non-fiction books include autobiographies, biographies, travel books, history books, guides, and manuals. In order to guide people in their reading "The National Review" put a list together of the most important examples of non-fiction books of the twentieth century. When reading these books, people learn the truth and nothing but the truth."The Second World War" topped the list by the National Review. It is a book written by Winston Churchill about WWII from the viewpoint of Winston Churchill, who described the series as meaning, "In War: Resolution, In Defeat: Defiance, In Victory: Magnanimity, In Peace: Goodwill." Each week during the war, Churchill had notes made of the most important events of the week, which he stored in his home.Churchill was the only major political person to put a memory of the war together. A historian, rather than Churchill, did most of the writing in the series. It was published four different times, with the original being the six volume series. The second time the series was published was as 12 separate paperback books.Then the series was published again as four condensed books. Finally, the series was published as a single abridged book."The Gulag Archipelago" is a book about the Soviet forced labor camp system by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn who was a prisoner in the labor camps, which earned second place on the "National Review" list of most important books of the twentieth century. The four series volume took ten years to write from 1958 and 1968. It originally circulated only underground, until its official publication in 1989. The volumes have two stories that run parallel to each other. One story shows the official historical timeline of the forced labor camps while the other time line shows the personal stories of 228 prisoners, including Solzhenitsyn."Homage to Catalonia," originally published in 1938, is George Orwell's personal account of the Spanish Civil War. Except for two chapters, which in later editions were moved to the appendix, the book described Orwell's personal experience during the war including being shot in the throat. "The National Review" has named this book the third most important example of nonfiction of the twentieth century."The Road to Serfdom," originally published in 1944, argued that personal and political freedom could not exist without economic freedom, which cannot exist with centralized planning. Von Hayek believed the government's role should be limited to protecting the environment, protecting workers, preventing fraud, and creating a safety net. Many loved his arguments, but many other economists wrote books that directly contradicted what Von Hayek had to say. "The National Review" named this book the fourth most important example of nonfiction of the twentieth century.There is no doubt that authors have helped to tell the story of humanity throughout the twentieth century.Each author, including Winston Churchill, Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, George Orwell, and F.A. Von Hayek, told their stories using facts that were mostly gained through personal experience. When people read these books, they are reading the facts of the four most important examples of nonfiction of the twentieth century. What people can learn from these books and all non-fiction books is the truth and nothing but the truth.In 2004, a panel assembled by the Modern Library Association named the most reread books of all time. The five most reread books of all time are "The Lord of the Rings," "A Christmas Carol," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Shakespeare's Collected Works," and "The Great Gatsby." (MORE) 
