The Award Archive
In this third year of our program, we officially expanded to include a Longlist of an additional 15 books due to the quality of submissions we received — five winners, ten shortlist selections and the best business books of 2017.
Every year we select less than 10% of all the books we review to be included in our Non-Obvious Book Awards Longlist or Shortlist.
The 2017 Winners
Dilbert creator Scott Adams dissects the persuasion playbook behind one of the most unlikely campaigns in political history. A provocative field guide to influence in a post-fact world.
Phil M. Jones distills persuasion into a set of magic words: precise phrases that change how people respond to you in sales conversations, negotiations and everyday influence.
Tim Harford spins the stories of fifty unlikely inventions, from barbed wire to the barcode, that quietly built the modern economy.
Satya Nadella’s inside account of transforming Microsoft by putting empathy at the center of one of the world’s most powerful companies.
Samasource founder Leila Janah argues the surest way to end global poverty is not charity but work, and shows how giving work transforms lives and communities.
The Shortlist
The finalists — narrowed from the longlist and revealed during the live announcement show.
Springwise curator James Bidwell collects 100 of the most inspiring innovations from around the world, a global idea bank for anyone trying to spark their next move.
Chip and Dan Heath reveal why certain brief experiences jolt, elevate and change us, and how to create more defining moments on purpose.
Former P&G marketing chief Jim Stengel studies how smart companies partner with startups to recapture their founding energy.
Stephen Marche takes an unflinching look at the messy realities of modern marriage as gender roles shift, told with honesty most books on the subject avoid.
Derek Thompson’s science of popularity: why some products and ideas take off while equally good ones vanish. Distribution has never been explained better.
Marketoonist Tom Fishburne skewers marketing’s absurdities in cartoons that are funny because they are true, and wiser than most strategy decks.
YouTube superstar Lilly Singh’s no-excuses guide to conquering life, told with the hustle and humor that built her from bedroom vlogger to global entertainer.
Cy Wakeman brings hard data to a bold claim: workplace drama comes from ego, and leaders who stop indulging it reclaim enormous amounts of wasted energy.
Michael Ruhlman’s affectionate tour of the American supermarket, and what our grocery stores reveal about how we eat, shop and live.
Dorie Clark’s practical blueprint for building multiple income streams around your expertise. The book that launched a thousand portfolio careers.
The Longlist
Every longlist selection from 2017, listed alphabetically. Each of these books was read and selected by our review team from 1,000+ entries.
Your Turn
Entries for the 2026 Non-Obvious Book Awards are now open — and it costs nothing to enter.
How To Enter →
Stay Non-Obvious
Subscribe to the Non-Obvious Newsletter and get a weekly Non-Obvious Book of the Week recommendation, award winner announcements and the non-obvious stories 25,000+ readers look forward to every Thursday.
Subscribe Free →One email every Thursday. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.