OT: Recommend some good non-fiction reading
I realized recently my reading taste has started to favor non-fiction. Right now I'm reading Malcom Gladwell's "Outliers", bought "Tipping Point" at the same time, and will pick up "Blink" soon. He's a fun author.
Anyone got some good ones? Bonus points if they're a little under the radar.
"To Try Men's Souls", "Valley Forge" and "Victory at Yorktown" by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen. Excellent trilogy. They read like novels.
Brain on Fire - Susannah Cahalan
Open - Andre Agassi
The Tender Bar - J.R. Moehringer
Great Physicists were both very well-written books that are remarkably good at delving into chemistry and physics content at a basic level for most of the book.
The Disappearing Spoon was a much lighter read and very interesting as well.
Plutonium was a good read that bridged WWII history with the Manhattan Project.
The Poisoners Handbook was my favorite recent book that I read.
Unbroken, which I'm sure everyone here knows about. And a similar, and if you ask me, better book, called Tears in the Darkness. TITD is about the Bataan death march, and focuses less on one guy than Unbroken. A really fantastic book.
Three of the best books I've ever read:
An Army at Dawn
The Day of Battle
Guns at Last Light
Written by Rick Atkinson, won the Pulitzer Prize. The first is about the entry of the US into WWII, and more specifically the invasion of North Africa. Day of Battle is about the invasion of Sicily and then Italy. Guns at Last Light covers Normandy and the end of the war in Europe. Fantastic stuff.
Apollo: race to the moon by Charles Murray and Catherine Bly cox. It's the story of the space program told from the perspective of the massive engineering and management challenge perspective. It's probably my very favorite non-fiction book and it's considered the finest book written on the subject matter.
My very favorite non-fiction book is probably "A Brief History of Time".
I just read Missoula by Jon Krakauer over the weekend. It was a good read to me. I learned a lot about the really tough topic of non-stranger rape.
If you like Gladwell, you would probably like Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. I couldn't stop thinking about our football teams over the past several years.
Bronson and Merryman also wrote Nurtureshock:New Thinking about Children. This looks at some commonly held beliefs about raising children and what research finds.
Too many more to recommend but these were recent reads that kept me engaged and taught me some new things.
The Tiger, by John Vaillant. Man-eating Tiger terrorizes Siberian towns? Yup.
Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner. History of the CIA. It's as messed up as you think.
Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff. Parallel stories about plane crashes on Greenland during WWII and the present day quest to find the remains today.
Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff. Great, depressing and mostly accruate book on Detroit's history.
I do enjoy non-fiction reading much more than anything else.
First to sneak one in that isn't truly non-fiction, The Purples by Berger. It is based on stories and reports of the rise and fall of The Purples. I've heard my dad talk of them and to read and picture old Detroit and Hamtramck history was great.
Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse by Swanson. I got quite into the history of Lincoln and found this an amazing, different angle on the events of his life (and mainly after-life). The history of chasing the confederates and the deep impact that his death had on this country was eye opening. His body truly was paraded across the country for all to see.
Into the Wild by Krakauer, I've often wanted to hike the AT, go off in the woods and survive for a month/two and this gave a good account while also leaving some soul searching.
The Mascot: Unraveling the Mystery of my Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood. It is as odd as the title makes it seem. Again a very different angle of a widely known topic. A jewish boy escapes mass-murder and is made mascot of a group of Nazi soldiers. The book provided a very unique view of events and the affects on his life.
Tough Guy: My Life on the Edge by Probert. Easy read but good info on making it into the NHL and some of the behind-the-scenese chenanigans. And well, it's Probert.
With the Old Breed: At Pelileu and Okinawa by EB Sledge. IF you've seen/read the Pacific, "Sledgehammer" (The one who always wrote notes in the margins of his Bible) is the author. It continues a more detailed look at the battle at Pelileu and true account from within the mini-series.
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Philbrick. Wow. He tricked me into learning about old-time whaling, Nantucket before getting into the stories of survival at sea. I've read/listened to several of his books and he doesn't disappoint, including his book of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
No Angel: My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner CIrcle of the Hells Angels by Dobyn. A great account of a DEA agent going deep under cover to bring down a chapter of the Hells Angels. I found the fine line the agent has to walk, even when under cover, most interesting.
Late to the party here, and also haven't read the book yet, but my wife and I saw the author (doris Kearns) speak about Lincoln at the Henry Ford and he is way more of an amazing person then I ever knew. I really look forward to reading the book.
Lincoln (Movie) was based on this book, but only was able to cover a small portion of his story.
100% second this recommendation. Was surprised it hadn't come up yet. If you're interested in leadership, the Civil War, or just a magnificent American story, this should be atop your list. Just a brilliant work. My #1 non-fiction of the past few years, or maybe ever.
Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
Explores his work and theories around rational and irrational decision making.
Read this if you're ready to move beyond the Dubner, Gladwell, Silver brands (but keep reading those if you want).
Dead Wake by Eric Larson, about the sinking of the Lusitania from German, British, and American perspectives
For Michiganders, Tom Henderson has written four or five true-crime stories that are very well done
I suggest the NY Times Bestseller list, though you are going to have to weed through some commercialism with respect to certain offerings.
I recommend "The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America (1991)" by Nicolas Lemann, as one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read.
But most people on this blog go nutz when anything other than the latest Harbaugh sighting or jersey info is a thread, so you are looking for a book HERE? /s
I did get a title though reading through the entries that I may explore. Enjoy.
"Truman" by David McCullough.
"the corner" is one of the best books ive ever read, and "homicide" is right up there with it. both form largely the plot of the wire.
Carl Sagan-Pale Blue Dot
I didn't read all 4 pages of responses so i apologize if someone already suggested it, but i always liked Ben Mezrich's books: Ugly Americans, Rigged, Bringing Down the House etc. They are non-fiction but sort of seem like fiction given some of the subjects. Plus i was a finance major and a lot of his books deal with money/numbers. Or maybe check out some biographies about people you find interesting.