50 Must-Read 50 Beta
← The Must-Read 50
The Fate of the Day
New · Nonfiction, War, History

The Fate of the Day

by Rick Atkinson
2025 · 880 pages · Nonfiction
Lifetime bestseller
≈ 22 hours to read · about 6 weeks at 30 minutes a day

Is it worth reading?

Goodreads Choice (history biography) finalist (2025). #1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1).

By the numbers

76.9Must-Read Score
  • Readers100 out of 100 · counts 42%
  • Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
  • Bestseller34 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
  • Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%

Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.

Where it ranks

Bestseller

Shortlisted

Reads as

True story

How we rank

Already read it? Upload your Goodreads or StoryGraph history and get the 50 best books you haven't read, tuned to your taste.Get my 50

More by Rick Atkinson

Cover of An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa, 1942-1943 by Rick AtkinsonAn Army at Dawn: The War in Africa, 1942-1943
An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa, 1942-1943Rick Atkinson

If you like this, read next

Cover of How the Word Is Passed by Clint SmithHow the Word Is Passed
How the Word Is PassedClint Smith
Cover of Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World by John VaillantFire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World
Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter WorldJohn Vaillant
Cover of Everything Is Tuberculosis by John GreenEverything Is Tuberculosis
Everything Is TuberculosisJohn Green
Cover of A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan ThrallA Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem TragedyNathan Thrall
Cover of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne JeffersThe Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du BoisHonorée Fanonne Jeffers
Cover of Cuba: An American History by Ada FerrerCuba: An American History
Cuba: An American HistoryAda Ferrer