Books of the month: five new nonfiction books for November
Five new nonfiction books out this month: Robert Greene on awe, American aristocracy, Kissinger's image machine, Rocky at 50 and the history of swearing.
By Beau Brummell · November 1, 2026 · 1 min read
Every month we pull five new nonfiction books from the Publishers Weekly on-sale calendar. November's are about power, class, reputation, a movie and swearing.

1Robert Greene
Out Nov. 10 from Viking. The author of The 48 Laws of Power turns from power to awe: how to get out of your own head, with stories of near-death encounters, discoveries and transformations, plus exercises to try.
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2Nancy Isenberg
Out Nov. 10 from Viking. The historian behind White Trash on how America built an aristocracy in all but name, from robber barons and jockey clubs to the Ivy League and nepo babies. Kirkus calls it "a richly detailed analysis of class systems."
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3Barbara J. Keys
Out Nov. 17 from Simon & Schuster. How Henry Kissinger spent nearly five decades after leaving office building and defending his reputation, drawn from private correspondence nobody had seen. Kai Bird calls it "downright hilarious."
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4Mike Sielski
Out Nov. 10 from St. Martin's Press. Rocky turns 50 this year. Sielski, with help from Stallone, producer Irwin Winkler and composer Bill Conti, tells how an actor nobody wanted turned down six-figure offers so that he could play Rocky himself.
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5Steven H. Jaffe
Out Nov. 24 from Simon & Schuster. Four hundred years of Americans being told to watch their language, from Puritan colonies where cursing could earn you a whipping to presidential politics. Kirkus: "Amusing and informative both."
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Covers: Viking, Simon & Schuster, St. Martin's Press.