Author Guide · Narrative Nonfiction
Books Written by
Barbara Demick has a talent for reaching the places governments want to keep closed. In Sarajevo during the siege she followed the families of a single street. In Seoul she spent years interviewing North Korean defectors from one city, Chongjin, to piece together ordinary life inside the world's most secretive state. In China she documented a Tibetan town that became the centre of a wave of self-immolations, and then found twin sisters separated by the one-child policy, one raised in China and one in Texas, and helped reunite them. This guide covers all four of her books in order, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 4 books · Narrative nonfiction · 1996–2025 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Barbara Demick has published four books: Logavina Street (1996), about a street in besieged Sarajevo; Nothing to Envy (2009), about ordinary life in North Korea; Eat the Buddha (2020), about a Tibetan town; and Daughters of the Bamboo Grove (2025), about twins separated by China's one-child policy, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
Where to Start with Barbara Demick
If you want the famous one
→ Nothing to Envy (2009).
If you want the most recent
→ Daughters of the Bamboo Grove (2025).
If you want Tibet
→ Eat the Buddha (2020).
All 4 Barbara Demick Books, in Order
Logavina Street
The residents of a single street in Sarajevo during the siege of the Bosnian war, reported for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Nothing to Envy
Six North Koreans from the city of Chongjin, among them a factory worker, a doctor, a homeless boy and a pair of young lovers, describe life through the famine of the 1990s until each of them defected. It was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Eat the Buddha
The Tibetan town of Ngaba, in Sichuan, through the lives of its residents over decades of Chinese rule, and the wave of self-immolations that began there.
Daughters of the Bamboo Grove
In 2000 a woman in rural Hunan gave birth to twin girls; one was taken by family-planning officials and adopted by a family in Texas. Demick tells how she found and reunited them, and explains the system of coercion and international adoption behind the separation. It was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
How Many Books Did Barbara Demick Write?
Four books between 1996 and 2025.
- Closed societies — Nothing to Envy, Eat the Buddha and Daughters of the Bamboo Grove. Read the entries →
- War — Logavina Street (1996). Read the entries →
In What Order to Read Barbara Demick
Her books are not a series. Eat the Buddha and Daughters of the Bamboo Grove both grew out of her years as Beijing bureau chief and make a natural pair.
A reading path
1. Nothing to Envy (2009)
2. Daughters of the Bamboo Grove (2025)
3. Eat the Buddha (2020)
4. Logavina Street (1996)
The years · 1996–2025
Quick facts about Barbara Demick
- Known for
- Barbara Demick is known for nonfiction that reaches closed places through ordinary lives, from besieged Sarajevo to North Korea in Nothing to Envy and a Tibetan town in Eat the Buddha.
- 1996
- First book, Logavina Street
- 2009
- Nothing to Envy
- 2020
- Eat the Buddha
- Grew up
- Ridgewood, New Jersey
- Career
- The Philadelphia Inquirer; Los Angeles Times bureau chief in Seoul and Beijing
- Prizes
- Samuel Johnson Prize (2010); Cornelius Ryan Award (2026)
- Books
- 4, from 1996 to 2025
The red mark is 2009: Nothing to Envy, her book about ordinary life in North Korea, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize.
How Barbara Demick Works: Ordinary Lives, Closed Places
Demick tells the story of a closed society through a few ordinary people, interviewed at great length, and checks their memories against each other and against what can be verified.
She focuses on daily life, food, work, love, rather than politics, which makes the political control all the more visible.
Barbara Demick on Daughters of the Bamboo Grove
Watch the conversation at the Overseas Press Club →
Barbara Demick in conversation with Edward Wong of The New York Times, Overseas Press Club of America book night, March 2026.Frequently asked questions about Barbara Demick's books
How many books has Barbara Demick written?
Barbara Demick has published four books: Logavina Street (1996), Nothing to Envy (2009), Eat the Buddha (2020) and Daughters of the Bamboo Grove (2025).
What is Nothing to Envy about?
Nothing to Envy (2009) tells the stories of six North Koreans from the city of Chongjin, from the famine of the 1990s until their defection. It won the Samuel Johnson Prize.
What is Barbara Demick's newest book?
Her newest book is Daughters of the Bamboo Grove (2025), about twin sisters separated by China's one-child policy.
Footnotes
Bibliography last verified 1 October 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all hers.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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