In 2018, I saw that PBS had an online poll called the Great American Read for the best novel or series of novels. To Kill a Mockingbird won the poll followed by Outlander (series), Harry Potter (series), Pride and Predjudice, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Wuthering Heights (of which the title of my book was a parody) was 21st. “The Great American Novel” Moby Dick came in 46th. After seeing this poll, I took it on myself to create a poll for the greatest nonfiction book of all time.
I created the page with the google form Vote for the Greatest Nonfiction Book of All Time to give readers the opportunity to chime in on their preferences. The page was originally on my old website (CSI without Dead Bodies) and then uploaded to this one. Respondents can choose from a list of 100 books with the option of adding one that is not on the list. The current result can be seen in the table below.
Results
| Book | % |
| 1. On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin | 27.4% |
| 2. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank | 25.8% |
| 3. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson | 24.2% |
| 4. Night by Elie Wiesel | 17.7% |
| 5. Walden by Henry David Thoreau | 14.5% |
| 5. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King | 15.4% |
| 7. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking | 11.3% |
| 7. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley & Malcolm X | 11.3% |
| 7. The Art of War by Sun Tzu | 11.3% |
| 10. A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn | 9.7% |
| 10. Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin | 9.7% |
| 10. The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe | 9.7% |
| 10. Cosmos by Carl Sagan | 9.7% |
For a while, the Origin of Species was tied with The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank for the top spot. Darwin’s book just leaped ahead. Anne Frank’s diary was popular partly because almost everyone read it in school just like To Kill a Mockingbird. As you can see, there are a lot of ties in the poll. You are more than welcome to break these ties or make some new ones of your own here. There is no end to this poll.