Coming this April in the non-fiction world we have a stunning biography of The Rolling Stones and a gripping account of a day in the life of a Roman Gladiator. Enjoy 5 New Non Fiction Books April 2026!
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5 New Non Fiction Books April 2026
The Rolling Stones by Bob Spitz
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN … THE ROLLING STONES
What left is there to say about the Stones?
A hell of a lot, it turns out . . .
You think you know the story? Think again. Shorn of dulling layers of myth and received wisdom, an irresistible, clear-eyed portrait emerges of a band who, after sixty years, continue to break new ground and command our attention.
And at the heart of it all is the remarkable, unique, fractious, codependent, alchemical bond between Mick and Keith, the Glimmer Twins. There’s been debauchery, decadence and death along the way. Not everyone survived the journey, but the band was always greater than the sum of its parts, laying down a trail of classic albums and landmark live performances in its wake.
Drawing on decades of music industry experience and five years of dedicated research, critically acclaimed biographer Bob Spitz brings a fresh eye to the epic story of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world.
The Violence by Adriana E. Ramirez
When presumed president-elect Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, champion of the working class and harbinger of a new era of progressive social change, is assassinated on the eve of Colombia’s 1948 presidential election, the capital is plunged into bloodshed. So begins a singularly brutal period of Colombia’s history known simply as la violencia—a bloody civil war that spawned decades of turmoil and splintered the country into ever-shifting factions.
The Violence is an intimate history of this conflict—told not from the political center of the war but from the mountainous finca that Adriana E. Ramírez’s family tended to for generations, and through the eyes of her formidable grandmother, Esther. With startling lyricism, Ramírez illuminates the specter of violence—from guerilla warfare to the brutalities found so often in romantic relationships to the spontaneous and senseless violence steeped into everyday Colombian life during this period—and the threat that it poses to a country, and a family, that is trying to stay whole.
Gracefully braiding together macrohistory, family history, and personal narrative, Adriana E. Ramírez traces these parallel stories of upheaval in a sweeping portrait of a country and family in flux.
In Trees by Robert Moor
To truly grasp the wisdom of a tree, you need to begin thinking like one… From New York Times bestselling author Robert Moor comes a wondrous, curious journey through the wilds of nature and the gnarls of history, exploring how trees – from the mightiest sequoia to the tiniest bonsai – can teach us to grow wise.
One day, on a whim, Robert Moor set out to climb a tree near his home, unwittingly embarking on what would become a decade-long adventure in trees. From Darwin to Attenborough, Brecht to Wordsworth, cutting-edge scientists and Zen monks and Bonsai artists, In Trees explores the fundamental and meaningful role of trees in the natural world.
In a globe-spanning adventure, from Ethiopia and Papua to the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Lake District, Moor uncovers extraordinary stories of how trees have become embedded in our culture, lifestyle and imagination for centuries, becoming the key to almost everything on our planet.
What began as an ode to the miracle of trees blossoms into a joyous, daring, fiercely hopeful endeavour that reveals. . . a tree is not just a type of being, it is also a way of being. A way of being that’s open-minded, playful, rigorous and resilient, and most of all, deeply rooted.
Those Who Are About To Die by Harry Sidebottom
Dressed in armour and clutching a bloody sword, the Roman gladiator is the most iconic figure of the ancient world. Both fascinating and repulsive to us now, he was in his own time a deeply controversial character, by turns hated and idealized – and always at the heart of Roman culture.
But what did he really mean to the Romans? What did they see in the gladiator and the spectacle of the games? And what does he reveal to us today about the Roman way of life?
Brilliantly written and meticulously researched, this book tells the stories of the gladiators and those who observed them – from grand emperors to lowly slaves – illuminating and analysing the all-consuming passion of the Roman Empire for the spectacle of mortal combat. In doing so, it reveals Roman ideas about everything from freedom and servitude to sex and desire, from courage and cowardice to death and the afterlife.Taking readers on an unforgettable twenty-four-hour adventure – beginning the night before the games and ending the evening after – Those Who Are About To Die gives a blow-by-blow account of what life was really like in the brutally unforgiving arena of the ancient world.
A Room in Bombay by Manil Suri
Indian American author Manil Suri grew up in a large crumbling apartment in Bombay (now Mumbai) which his parents, who were Hindu, shared with three Muslim families. Their single room, at times a refuge from the religious and territorial tensions pervading the apartment, was also a prison that held them captive―his parents stuck in an unhappy marriage, the author unable to explore the dawning realization he might be gay. At age 20, Suri managed to break free and come to the US, where he finally found the freedom to embrace his sexuality and find a life partner. But the room, which still held his parents hostage, kept wrenching him back to Bombay.
By now real estate prices had risen so much that neighbors had begun conspiring to take over the room, causing Suri’s parents to dig in even more. Eventually it was only his mother, Prem, left, who had staked all her happiness on her son but was unable to escape the room’s hold on her. When a rash of mysterious incidents seemed to beset the room, Suri realized how little time he had left to convince Prem that a happier life might await beyond the four walls that both enthralled and imprisoned her.
This remarkable, gripping memoir explores how an abode can shape destiny, while delving into the difficult question of how much to prioritize our parents’ happiness over our own. Inspired by over 2,700 letters the author wrote home over three decades, it is ultimately a testament to the abiding, unbreakable bond tying a son to his mother.
If you enjoyed 5 New Non Fiction Books April 2026, check out 5 New Non Fiction Books March 2026