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# The Best Books of 2014
- URL: https://www.ivarhagendoorn.com/blog/2014/12/26/the-best-books-of-2014/
- Published: 2014-12-26T16:12:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-02-23T17:42:10.000Z
- Description: A selection of the best books I read in 2014 in various categories, from best fiction and best non-fiction to most fashionable, most eye-opening and the best book about Wittgenstein that is(n't) about Wittgenstein.
- Author: Ivar Hagendoorn
- Tags: Blog, Literature, Non-Fiction

### Best Fiction

Thomas Bernhard: Auslöschung. Ein Zerfall  
Philipp Meyer: The Son  
Moshin Hamid: How To Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

*Auslöschung* (Extinction) is the last of Thomas Bernhard's novels. It is also his longest and one of his best. The Son is an intriguing and intricately composed novel.

### Best Non-Fiction

Henry Marsh: Do No Harm. Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery  
David van Reybrouck: Congo. The Epic History of a People

I know that I'm late to the party, but I can't read everything at once. Congo is indeed a magnificent book. Do No Harm is a fascinating read and the first in what may become a new genre: that of the surgeon memoir.

### Most Fashionable

David Shields: Reality Hunger

### Best Book About Wittgenstein That Is(n't) About Wittgenstein

Thomas Bernhard: Wittgenstein's Neffe. Eine Freundschaft

Of course, *Wittgenstein's Neffe* is neither about Wittgenstein nor about his cousin. And yet, if you've read Wittgenstein you'll be chuckling. Then again, I'm always chuckling when I'm reading Thomas Bernhard. 

### Best Photography Book

William A. Ewing: Landmark. The Fields of Landscape Photography  
Andri Pol: Inside CERN. European Organization for Nuclear Research

### Most Eye-Opening

Eric Schlosser: Command and Control

*Command and Control* is a disquieting book about the history of nuclear weapons systems in the US with a focus on what has become known as the [Damascus incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980%5FDamascus%5FTitan%5Fmissile%5Fexplosion?ref=ivarhagendoorn.com).

### Most Disappointing

Kazuo Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go  
Andres Neuman: Talking to Ourselves

I enjoyed *The Remains of the Day* so I was eager to read *Never Let Me Go*, which is also both critically acclaimed and highly popular. I found it rather flimsy though.