Have You Heard? Exploring Nonfiction Audiobooks

Travel the world, relive history, dive deep into personal stories and discover fascinating facts with our nonfiction audiobook collections. Learn and be entertained while carrying out everyday activities like riding in the car, emptying the dishwasher, going for a walk, or just lounging in your pajamas.

The titles below are just a sample of the audiobooks available through Plano Public Library. Browse our nonfiction audiobook collections for all ages, download the Libby app and start listening today.

Adult

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, narrated by Julia Whelan — An unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. eAudiobook | eBook | Print | Large Print | Playaway | CD Book

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe, narrated by Matthew Blaney — This book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the disappearance of a single mother as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. eAudiobook | eBook | Print

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz  by Erik Larson, narrated by John Lee — A portrait of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz, a story of political brinksmanship but also an intimate domestic drama. eAudiobook | eBook | Print | Large Print | CD Book

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever, narrated by Laurie Woolever, Shep Gordon, Christopher Bourdain, Jen Agg, Matt Walsh, Bill Buford, Claude Tayag, Nari Kye, Vidya Balachander and Steve Albini — A guide to some of the world’s most fascinating places, as seen and experienced by the late writer, chef, television host, and relentlessly curious traveler Anthony Bourdain.  eAudiobook | eBook | Print

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong, narrated by the author — Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose the truth of racialized consciousness in America. eAudiobook | eBook | Print

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott, narrated by Nicholas Ralph — A young James Herriott takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. eAudiobook | eBook | Print

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson, narrated by the author — While living in a  Victorian parsonage in England, Bryson formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.” eAudiobook | eBook | Print | Large Print | CD Book |

The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win by Maria Konnikova, narrated by the author — Maria Konnikova entered the world of professional poker and learned that poker is the ultimate master class in learning to distinguish between what can be controlled and what can’t. eAudiobook | eBook

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker, narrated by Sean Pratt — The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science’s great hope in the quest to understand the disease. eAudiobook | eBook | Print | Large Print

The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson, narrated by MacLeod Andrews — The gripping story of a bizarre and shocking theft from the ornithological collections of the British Museum of Natural History and a fascinating exploration of obsession and man’s destructive instinct to harvest the beauty of nature. eAudiobook | eBook |Print | Large Print

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Teen

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, narrated by the author — Bryan Stevenson delves deep into the broken U.S. justice system, detailing from personal experience his many challenges and efforts as a lawyer and social advocate.  eAudiobook | eBook | Print

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda, narrated by Chukwudi Iwuji and Emily Bauer — The true story of an all-American girl and a boy from an impoverished city in Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever. eAudiobook | eBook | Print | Playaway

Vincent & Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman, narrated by Phil Fox — Drawing on the 658 letters Vincent Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo during his lifetime, Deborah Heiligman weaves a meticulously researched tale of those two intertwined lives and the extraordinary love that fueled them. eAudiobook | Print

The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank, narrated by Selma Blair — Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.  eAudiobook | eBook | Print | Playaway | CD Book

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide by Sean Covey, narrated by the author — A simple approach to help teens improve self-image, build friendships, resist peer pressure, achieve their goals, and appreciate their parents, as well as tackle the new challenges of our time, like cyberbullying and social media. eAudiobook | eBook  | Print | Spanish edition | Playaway | CD Book

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat, Young Readers Edition by Michael Pollan, narrated by MacLeod Andrews — From fast food and big organic to small farms and old-fashioned hunting and gathering, this young readers’ adaptation of Pollan’s famous food-chain exploration encourages kids to consider the personal and global health implications of their food choices.    eAudiobook | Print

Very, Very, Very Dreadful: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 by Albert Marrin, narrated by Jim Frangione — A look at the history and science of the deadly 1918 flu pandemic—and its chilling and timely resemblance to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak. A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year. eAudiobook | Print

Hope in the Mail: Reflections on Writing and Life by Wendelin Van Draanen, narrated by the author — Part writing guide and part memoir, this book is packed with practical advice on the craft of writing and insight into the persistence, and perseverance, it takes to live a productive, creative life. eAudiobook | eBook | Print

The Electric War: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Light the World by Mike Winchell, narrated by Greg Tremblay — The true story behind one of the world’s defining scientific competitions, between Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of direct current (DC) and Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, the inventors of alternating current (AC).  eAudiobook

Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, narrated by the author — A memoir about growing up with a drug-addicted mother, a missing father, and two unforgettably opinionated grandparents. Winner of both the American Library Association’s 2020 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production and the 2020 Audie Award for Young Adult. National Book Award finalist.  eAudiobook | eBook | Print | Playaway

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Children

Jazz by Walter Dean Myers, performed by James “D Train” Williams and Vaneese Thomas — Jazz, winner of the first-ever Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production/American Library Association, presents the history of jazz in a series of poems read and sung against a backdrop of original music. eAudiobook | Print | Wonderbook |

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg, narrated by L.J. Ganser — Provides all the gory details of the awful ends of 19 awfully famous people. It details Ludwig Van Beethoven’s expansive finale, Henry VII’s explosive end, Albert Einstein’s great brain escape, and Marie Curie’s glowing demise. eAudiobook | Print | Playaway

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, by Peg Kehret, narrated by Susan Boyce — Acclaimed author Peg Kehret tells the story of being stricken with polio when she was 12. At first paralyzed and terrified, she fought her way to recovery, aided by doctors and therapists, a loving family, supportive roommates, and plenty of grit and luck. With her trademark humor and suspense, Kehret vividly recreates a year of heartbreak and triumph. eAudiobook| eBook |Print

Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of God, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters by Donna Jo Napoli, narrated by Christina Moore — Named a School Library Journal Best Book and a Eureka! Silver Honor Book, Treasury of Greek Mythology from award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli introduces a new generation to the enthralling tales of ancient Greece. eAudiobook

The Cat Man of Aleppo by Karim Shamsi-Basha and Irene Latham, narrated by Ramsey Faragallah — The Caldecott Honor-winning true story of Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel, who in the midst of the Syrian Civil War courageously offered safe haven to Aleppo’s abandoned cats. eAudiobook  |eBook | Print

Kangaroo to the Rescue! And More True Stories of Amazing Animal Heroes by Moira Rose Donohue, narrated by Johnny Heller — Get ready to meet amazing, medal-worthy critters in this action-packed collection, including a kangaroo to the rescue! Filled with fast facts and fascinating sidebars. eAudiobook

A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon by Suzanne Slade, narrated by Jeanette Illidge — The inspiring true story of mathematician Katherine Johnson—made famous by the award-winning film Hidden Figures—who counted and computed her way to NASA and helped put a man on the moon. eAudiobook | Wonderbook | Print

Stars! Stars! Stars! by Bob Barner, narrated by Gavin Bozza — Children take a colorful ride through outer space to visit distant planets and dazzling stars.  eAudiobook | eBook

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood by Fred Rogers: The Poetry of Mister Rogers, narrated by John Lithgow and Kate Mulgrew — For the first time ever, 75 beloved songs from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and The Children’s Corner are collected in this illustrated treasury. eAudiobook | eBook | Print

Follow Those Zebras by Sandra Markle, narrated by Book Buddy Digital Media — Every year in Namibia, about two thousand zebras suddenly disappear from their grazing area along the Chobe River. Months later, the herd returns. Where do they go? And why?  eAudiobook |eBook |Print

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For more audiobook recommendations, check out our other Have You Heard? posts.