New York Times Names 2010 Bestseller 'Warmth of Other Suns' One of the 'Best Books of the 21st Century'

There's nothing like picking up a worthwhile book and finding yourself lost in the pages therein.

Whisking readers away to new worlds, new time periods and new situations beyond their wildest imaginations, a good book can make the hours fly by with the speed of seconds, leaving most individuals flicking through the pages thoroughly engaged throughout.

Yet even with how many truly remarkable books out there, few works have earned the distinction of being named "one of the best novels of the 21st century" by The New York Times, an honor bestowed on only a handful of worthwhile pieces.

Interestingly, one of the books featured at the very top of The New York Times' list is none other than a 2010 nonfiction book, The Warmth of Other Suns, by best-selling author Isabel Wilkerson.

A "compulsively readable" historical book, The Warmth of Other Suns specifically explores the Great Migration of the 1910s through the 1970s, a period where over five million Black Americans fled to the Northeast and Midwest in the hopes of avoiding the racial segregation of the American South.

The winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, The Warmth of Other Suns was also repeatedly featured on various lists for the best book of 2010, as well as The NY Times Notable Book of the Year.

Today, it's ranked as the best book of the 21st by The New York Times, just one spot behind the similarly remarkable novel, My Brilliant Friend.

Among other honors, the book was praised by the legendary author Toni Morrison as "profound, necessary and a delight to read, while equally well-respected TV personality Tom Brokaw called it "an epic for all Americans who want to understand the making of our modern nation."

In addition, The New York Times called the book "compulsively readable," withThe New York Times Book Reviewdescribed it as "a massive and masterly account."

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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 9:59 AM.