| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea | Goodreads Choice Awards source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Nominee · History & Biography | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea | TIME Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · 100 Must-Read | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea | The New Yorker Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Also Recommended | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook | NPR Books We Love source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Books We Love | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook | Barack Obama's Favorite Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Favorite Books | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea | The Economist Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · History | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea | Smithsonian Magazine Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · History | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook | Chicago Public Library Best of the Best source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Must-Read Books: Nonfiction | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea | The Globe and Mail Globe 100 source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Non-Fiction | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Nonfiction | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea | New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Nonfiction | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea | New York Times 100 Notable Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Nonfiction | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook | Chicago Public Library Best of the Best source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Our Favorite Books | |
| 2024 | The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook | Barack Obama's Favorite Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Summer Reading | |
| 2018 | On Desperate Ground: The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle | Washington Post Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · 10 Best Books | |
| 2015 | In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeanette | Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Longlist · Nonfiction | |
| 2014 | In the Kingdom of Ice | Goodreads Choice Awards source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Nominee · History & Biography | |
| 2014 | In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeanette | Booklist Editors' Choice source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Adult Books: History | |
| 2014 | In the Kingdom of Ice | BookPage Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Books | |
| 2014 | In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette | Chicago Public Library Best of the Best source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Books: More Nonfiction | |
| 2014 | In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette | Library Journal Best Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · More of the Best | |
| 2014 | In the Kingdom of Ice | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Nonfiction | |
| 2014 | In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette | TIME Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Nonfiction | |
| 2014 | In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette | Washington Post Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Notable Nonfiction | |
| 2014 | In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette | Amazon Editors' Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Top 10 | |
| 2011 | Hellhound on his Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for his Assassin | Edgar Allan Poe Awards source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Nominee · Best Fact Crime | |
| 2010 | Hellhound on His Trail | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Nonfiction | |
| 2010 | Hellhound on His Trail | TIME Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Nonfiction | |
| 2010 | Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin | Washington Post Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Notable Nonfiction | |
| 2010 | Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin | Amazon Editors' Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Top 100 | |
| 2006 | Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West | TIME Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Books | |
| 2006 | Blood and Thunder | New York Times 100 Notable Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Nonfiction | |
| 2006 | Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West | Washington Post Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Notable Nonfiction | |