Nicholson Baker

Human Smoke

 

This work of history nonfiction is hauntingly beautiful—not typical of books in this genre. Relying on in-depth research, Baker offers perspective-shifting information absent from mainstream accounts of World War II by including snippets from a wide swath of documents, paired with his commentary. Overtly, Baker remains impartial, but subtle cues in his language and tone indict those who rushed to war and ignored the Holocaust and commend those who worked for peace and human rights.