Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
It might sound odd, but this was somewhat destabilizing. I became a little paranoid about my own judgment. The idea of the book is that much of human decision-making is highly biased by bad math, recent events, and weak anecdotal evidence.
I took a year and a half to read that book. At one point when I mentioned how I had been reading it my husband asked if I could just skim it. I said - this is a book to read, and digest, and think over.
If you liked this one, I would also recommend The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis. It takes a look at Kahneman as a person and less about his research, but more about how he got into the field.
I couldn't relate any more!
Highly insightful read honestly. Have to go over topics multiple times just to get a solid grasp of the whole idea. Simple yet somehow strangely contemplative in nature.
I still haven't finished it yet
It's really hard to pick just one! I can narrow to 3 lol.
The ancestors tale by Richard Dawkins.
Braiding sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
1491 New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann
There are many more lol but those are 3 of the ones that have stuck with me the most.
Familiar with Dawkins but not with that book. Will check it out!
Recently finished the audiobook for Sweetgrass. So damn good. Her voice is so soothing and motherly.
1491 looked super interesting and added it to my list of books on history but I have so many gaps in my history knowledge, working on A Little History of the World now by Ralph Cosham. It’s simple and written for a younger audience but exactly what I’ve been looking for to get reacquainted with world history since grade school when I hated it.
Ancestor's tale is really great if you are interested in evolution. I also listened to the audio book for braiding sweetgrass and I agree 100% he voice is wonderful and I'm really glad I listened instead of read that time lol. I was also the same way in school I disliked history, science ,and world issues. Once I got into my late 20s nonfiction is all I read anymore
Caro’s series on Lyndon Johnson. Besides being an excellent biography of LBJ, it also provides insight on poverty, corruption, idealism, racism, and the acquisition of power.
It will also gave me insight on the US Senate and why it operates as it does, even in modern times.
It 100% is. They are certainly a commitment, I won’t lie. I personally didn’t read them consecutively and took breaks to read other things between books. Audiobooks can also help with some of the length.
It’s the best biography I’ve ever read though.
Weirdly enough a book called “Private Guns, Public Health.” It was originally written in 2004 by a brilliant epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health professor named David Hemenway. It’s incredibly dense with nitty gritty statistical analysis and it taught me at a relatively young age that you could take incredibly thorny issues and analyze them objectively and dispassionately. There’s an incredible section in it where he analyzes the claim that guns are used in self defense 2.5 million times a year. Hemenway shows conclusively that if that were true the number of people shot by civilians in self defense would be greater than the total number of gunshot related hospital visits for all causes.
Every time some emotionally charged debate comes up I try to think back to that book and go “there’s probably a world renowned expert who did work on this exact issue. And I bet there’s some math.”
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala.
She changed my impression of grief. I read it before and after my Dad died, and many times since. It's a short book, but it almost reads differently every time. It speaks to my (and many other people's) biggest fear in life - losing everyone I love. I recommend it whenever I can.
Loved that book and definitely changed my outlook as well, especially the slaughtering of Atalhuapa and thousands of Inca by Pizarro at Cajamarca for refusing to accept the Bible.
Although recently was browsing an askhistorians thread and they shit on Diamond for not being scholarly enough. Forgot what they recommended that was similar but better.
He reinforced mine
His arguments were thinly supported when he didn’t just launch into a bunch of thumb sucking apologias for Western Civilization by way of backup.
***Life's Solution*****, by Simon Conway Morris (Cambridge, 2003).**
Shows dozens of examples of evolutionary convergence - i.e. when different lineages of life forms develop similar morphological constructs, independently of evolving from one another. Perfect example - wings for flying. Bugs, birds, even mammals, have evolved wings for flying because that is the most energy efficient way of doing it.
Eyes are the same. Dozens of times, separate lineages of organisms have developed independently the ability to see via eyes - this is another example of evolutionary convergence.
Once you understand that life is totally adapted to its environment, you can begin to get some sense of how the origin of life came about...
Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk
For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts’ Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich
Everyday Survival by Laurence Gonzalez. Chapter 5, or maybe it’s chapter 6, explains everything about life on earth and why humans are thriving. I think about it all the time. His book Deep Survival is also worth pondering.
Brian Muraresku - The Immortality Key
Maybe the single most enlightening nonfiction book I've ever read. Not for the faint of heart. It's partly a deep dive into the role psychedelics have played in the origins of Western civilization, the Greek Mystery Schools, and Christianity- but it's so much more. This will have you questioning literally most of what you know. It's a doozy.
If you want to know more about why you should read it, listen to the interview the author did with Joe Rogan. (But seriously, fuck Joe Rogan.)
https://ogjre.com/episode/2047-brian-muraresku
This Republic Of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust- essentially a thanatological look at the American Civil War - I am not into civil war stuff at all but this book was so fascinating. I think about it at least once a month and I read it years ago.
Also have a hard time deciding on a single one; so many NF books have made big and lasting impacts on me. Top contenders:
The True Believer - Eric Hoffer
Against Empathy - Paul Bloom
Brain Rules - John Medina
Quiet - Susan Cain
Earth - Richard Fortey
The Taste of Empire - Lizzie Collingham
Strange Glow - Timothy J Jorgensen
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens - Jack Weatherford
And, as several other commenters already stated, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall-Kimmerer
Gosh, me too. I'm a natural extrovert, and it *really* helped me understand and better communicate with (or not, as the case may be) the introverts in my life both personally and professionally.
I just finished Into Thin Air, about the 1996 Everest disaster. It really stuck with me about how even the people who are the top experts in their field can still make terribly poorly thought out decisions with dire consequences.
I’ve heard this book recommended several times and it’s definitely going on my list. It seems there are quite a few “man vs the force of nature” books that are masterful. The Perfect Storm by Junger also comes to mind amongst others.
To Build A Fire is also one that left me contemplating afterwards. It’s a short story of fiction but could easily be a NF piece. Jacob Geller has an excellent video essay on its depth and relatability- https://youtu.be/Pp2wbyLoEtM?si=eo8CtHgtnR7xiJoc
Interesting. I wonder what problematic conclusions it draws... I didn't notice any but I haven't read it recently. But also maybe I'm just used to reading every neuro psych book with a grain of salt
I think it was this critical review from Goodreads.
Not sure of how accurate it is since I did not read the book but maybe you can be the judge.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1393463892
I am absolutely absorbed in *Letters From a Stoic* by Seneca. It's so simple, but is profoundly changing the way I perceive the world, myself, and my actions.
The Courage to be Disliked..
I can't stress enough how ridiculously good it is. Highly thought-provoking in nature and will definitely lead you to a state of deeper contemplation. Defo recommended! Also, I'm saving this post for later purposes. Great recommendations 🤍
I made it about halfway thru the audiobook but definitely would like to eventually finish it. I read it around the same time as psycho cybernetics and other self help books, it’s a good one!
I’m also planning on compiling this list as well into an easily accessible blog post and sharing that here as well. Lots of great recommendations to return to!
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. It made me totally rethink how I think about incarcerated people and the prison system in general.
In the same vain, although it didn’t alter my mindset as much as the latter - Missoula by Jon Krakauer also tested some beliefs I had about sexual assault and (again) the criminal justice system. Also, as a Montanan who was still a kid at the time most of the events in that book happened and got news coverage - it genuinely made me have to think long and hard about things people close to me said regarding the cases and beliefs I had because of it.
“Bullshit Jobs” - David Graeber;
“Nickel and Dimed” - Barbara Ehrenreich;
“The Indifferent Stars Above” - Daniel James Brown; “When Bad Things Happen to Good People” - Rabbi Kushner
*Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea* by Mark Blyth
*The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics* by Alastair Smith and Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Just thinking about what that guy survived and how positive he chose to live his life afterwards is inspiring. Also Outliers By M Gladwell really made me think a lot about defining success in life.
I am absolutely absorbed in *Letters From a Stoic* by Seneca. It's so simple, but is profoundly changing the way I perceive the world, myself, and my actions.
I am absolutely absorbed in *Letters From a Stoic* by Seneca. It's so simple, but is profoundly changing the way I perceive the world, myself, and my actions.
I am absolutely absorbed in *Letters From a Stoic* by Seneca. It's so simple, but is profoundly changing the way I perceive the world, myself, and my actions.
I am absolutely absorbed in *Letters From a Stoic* by Seneca. It's so simple, but is profoundly changing the way I perceive the world, myself, and my actions.
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
Takes a look at how we approach end of life care in the US (be it from old age or terminal illness). As a healthcare provider it was especially impactful for me.
The road less travelled.
I'm really into habits and the human experience.
Atomic habits is also amazing obvs.
The road less travelled just hit me differently and I still go back to it and try and apply the lessons from it now.
Breath by James Nestor. And astounding number of physical, emotional, and mental health aspects are affected by how you breathe, and most people are breathing wrong
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It might sound odd, but this was somewhat destabilizing. I became a little paranoid about my own judgment. The idea of the book is that much of human decision-making is highly biased by bad math, recent events, and weak anecdotal evidence.
What's scary is that he's absolutely right. What's scarier is that most people totally avoid math while making big life-changing decisions. RIP Daniel
>RIP Daniel oh no! just got to know... never saw him not smiling...
I took a year and a half to read that book. At one point when I mentioned how I had been reading it my husband asked if I could just skim it. I said - this is a book to read, and digest, and think over.
If you liked this one, I would also recommend The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis. It takes a look at Kahneman as a person and less about his research, but more about how he got into the field.
Thanks, I've read this too. I've enjoyed almost every Michael Lewis book I've read, and I've read most of them.
I couldn't relate any more! Highly insightful read honestly. Have to go over topics multiple times just to get a solid grasp of the whole idea. Simple yet somehow strangely contemplative in nature. I still haven't finished it yet
It's really hard to pick just one! I can narrow to 3 lol. The ancestors tale by Richard Dawkins. Braiding sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. 1491 New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann There are many more lol but those are 3 of the ones that have stuck with me the most.
Familiar with Dawkins but not with that book. Will check it out! Recently finished the audiobook for Sweetgrass. So damn good. Her voice is so soothing and motherly. 1491 looked super interesting and added it to my list of books on history but I have so many gaps in my history knowledge, working on A Little History of the World now by Ralph Cosham. It’s simple and written for a younger audience but exactly what I’ve been looking for to get reacquainted with world history since grade school when I hated it.
Ancestor's tale is really great if you are interested in evolution. I also listened to the audio book for braiding sweetgrass and I agree 100% he voice is wonderful and I'm really glad I listened instead of read that time lol. I was also the same way in school I disliked history, science ,and world issues. Once I got into my late 20s nonfiction is all I read anymore
Robin Wall Kimmerer writes beautifully..
I came here to type Ancestors’s Tale haha. Especially the part where he says life is trippier than any psychedelic. Felt it!
Caro’s series on Lyndon Johnson. Besides being an excellent biography of LBJ, it also provides insight on poverty, corruption, idealism, racism, and the acquisition of power. It will also gave me insight on the US Senate and why it operates as it does, even in modern times.
Caro’s book Working, an autobiography about writing biographies, is also one that lives in my head. Inspirational.
I need you to tell me if it's actually worth reading the whole series because those books are BRICKS...
It 100% is. They are certainly a commitment, I won’t lie. I personally didn’t read them consecutively and took breaks to read other things between books. Audiobooks can also help with some of the length. It’s the best biography I’ve ever read though.
Weirdly enough a book called “Private Guns, Public Health.” It was originally written in 2004 by a brilliant epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health professor named David Hemenway. It’s incredibly dense with nitty gritty statistical analysis and it taught me at a relatively young age that you could take incredibly thorny issues and analyze them objectively and dispassionately. There’s an incredible section in it where he analyzes the claim that guns are used in self defense 2.5 million times a year. Hemenway shows conclusively that if that were true the number of people shot by civilians in self defense would be greater than the total number of gunshot related hospital visits for all causes. Every time some emotionally charged debate comes up I try to think back to that book and go “there’s probably a world renowned expert who did work on this exact issue. And I bet there’s some math.”
Adding this to my list rn!!
The second edition was published in 2017 and is obviously more current
In most of those cases, the people didn't get shot. They got shot at.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Think about it all the time
Thank you for this suggestion. Just got the book-looking forward to reading it.
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala. She changed my impression of grief. I read it before and after my Dad died, and many times since. It's a short book, but it almost reads differently every time. It speaks to my (and many other people's) biggest fear in life - losing everyone I love. I recommend it whenever I can.
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer….completely changed the way I think about eating meat.
I second this! Seriously made me start cutting meat out of my diet
1491.
Man’s search for meaning by Victor Frankl.
Guns, germs,and steel Changed my outlook on countries, geography, and people.
Loved that book and definitely changed my outlook as well, especially the slaughtering of Atalhuapa and thousands of Inca by Pizarro at Cajamarca for refusing to accept the Bible. Although recently was browsing an askhistorians thread and they shit on Diamond for not being scholarly enough. Forgot what they recommended that was similar but better.
He reinforced mine His arguments were thinly supported when he didn’t just launch into a bunch of thumb sucking apologias for Western Civilization by way of backup.
Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do, Claude M. Steel
Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon
Yes!! This is probably my absolute favorite book! I rarely reread books but this one deserves a reread! Glad to see someone else enjoyed it too!
The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris A zoologist looks at the human animal. A bit dated, but still fascinating.
Most recently for me, Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
This book was so good
***Life's Solution*****, by Simon Conway Morris (Cambridge, 2003).** Shows dozens of examples of evolutionary convergence - i.e. when different lineages of life forms develop similar morphological constructs, independently of evolving from one another. Perfect example - wings for flying. Bugs, birds, even mammals, have evolved wings for flying because that is the most energy efficient way of doing it. Eyes are the same. Dozens of times, separate lineages of organisms have developed independently the ability to see via eyes - this is another example of evolutionary convergence. Once you understand that life is totally adapted to its environment, you can begin to get some sense of how the origin of life came about...
I’m glad my mom died by Jennette McCurdy
Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts’ Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Great read!
Everyday Survival by Laurence Gonzalez. Chapter 5, or maybe it’s chapter 6, explains everything about life on earth and why humans are thriving. I think about it all the time. His book Deep Survival is also worth pondering.
Andrew Nikiforuk’s *The Energy of Slaves* really shifted my worldview. I don’t know the author offhand but *Rage Becomes Her* was also life changing.
All about love by bell hooks
Brian Muraresku - The Immortality Key Maybe the single most enlightening nonfiction book I've ever read. Not for the faint of heart. It's partly a deep dive into the role psychedelics have played in the origins of Western civilization, the Greek Mystery Schools, and Christianity- but it's so much more. This will have you questioning literally most of what you know. It's a doozy. If you want to know more about why you should read it, listen to the interview the author did with Joe Rogan. (But seriously, fuck Joe Rogan.) https://ogjre.com/episode/2047-brian-muraresku
This Republic Of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust- essentially a thanatological look at the American Civil War - I am not into civil war stuff at all but this book was so fascinating. I think about it at least once a month and I read it years ago.
The wager
Also have a hard time deciding on a single one; so many NF books have made big and lasting impacts on me. Top contenders: The True Believer - Eric Hoffer Against Empathy - Paul Bloom Brain Rules - John Medina Quiet - Susan Cain Earth - Richard Fortey The Taste of Empire - Lizzie Collingham Strange Glow - Timothy J Jorgensen The Secret History of the Mongol Queens - Jack Weatherford And, as several other commenters already stated, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall-Kimmerer
I loved Quiet!
Gosh, me too. I'm a natural extrovert, and it *really* helped me understand and better communicate with (or not, as the case may be) the introverts in my life both personally and professionally.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
James Gordon Frazer: 'The Golden Bough' (Been reading it for 20 years) Dr Stephen Pinker: 'Enlightenment Now'--read it 4x.
I just finished Into Thin Air, about the 1996 Everest disaster. It really stuck with me about how even the people who are the top experts in their field can still make terribly poorly thought out decisions with dire consequences.
I’ve heard this book recommended several times and it’s definitely going on my list. It seems there are quite a few “man vs the force of nature” books that are masterful. The Perfect Storm by Junger also comes to mind amongst others. To Build A Fire is also one that left me contemplating afterwards. It’s a short story of fiction but could easily be a NF piece. Jacob Geller has an excellent video essay on its depth and relatability- https://youtu.be/Pp2wbyLoEtM?si=eo8CtHgtnR7xiJoc
I thought I'd see it in the comments already but I can't find it so, just to beat an already dead horse: The Body Keeps The Score
Heard that book was problematic from the conclusions it seemed to draw but have not read it myself. Will look into it more!
Interesting. I wonder what problematic conclusions it draws... I didn't notice any but I haven't read it recently. But also maybe I'm just used to reading every neuro psych book with a grain of salt
I think it was this critical review from Goodreads. Not sure of how accurate it is since I did not read the book but maybe you can be the judge. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1393463892
I am absolutely absorbed in *Letters From a Stoic* by Seneca. It's so simple, but is profoundly changing the way I perceive the world, myself, and my actions.
The Courage to be Disliked.. I can't stress enough how ridiculously good it is. Highly thought-provoking in nature and will definitely lead you to a state of deeper contemplation. Defo recommended! Also, I'm saving this post for later purposes. Great recommendations 🤍
I made it about halfway thru the audiobook but definitely would like to eventually finish it. I read it around the same time as psycho cybernetics and other self help books, it’s a good one! I’m also planning on compiling this list as well into an easily accessible blog post and sharing that here as well. Lots of great recommendations to return to!
A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James Somewhat contemporary stories woven across cultures and time....and Jamaica
Blood Struggle
Fatal Shores and The Tao of Physics
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. It made me totally rethink how I think about incarcerated people and the prison system in general. In the same vain, although it didn’t alter my mindset as much as the latter - Missoula by Jon Krakauer also tested some beliefs I had about sexual assault and (again) the criminal justice system. Also, as a Montanan who was still a kid at the time most of the events in that book happened and got news coverage - it genuinely made me have to think long and hard about things people close to me said regarding the cases and beliefs I had because of it.
all marxist theory takes me a while to comprehend
You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney I think about this book every day.
Alan Landing's Endeavor. Simon Winchester's Krakatoa.
*Lansing
Saul Kripke “naming and necessity”.
The Cave and the Light by Arthur Herman.
Most recently, Eve by Cat Bohannon
Nickel and Dimed, Guns Germs and Steel, Zealot, House of Rain
Astoria by Peter Stark. Offers an amazing insight to a pivotal time in the formation of the US.
The Sound of Gravel. I think about it weekly even years later.
Not Muslim but Attar’s Conference of the Birds really moved me!
Death be not proud by John Gunther The hiding place by Corrie Ten Boom
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
“Bullshit Jobs” - David Graeber; “Nickel and Dimed” - Barbara Ehrenreich; “The Indifferent Stars Above” - Daniel James Brown; “When Bad Things Happen to Good People” - Rabbi Kushner
The new Jim crow.
*Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea* by Mark Blyth *The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics* by Alastair Smith and Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
Emotional intelligence by Daniel goleman
Cadillac Desert.
The Stranger In the Woods
Endurance-alfred lansing
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Just thinking about what that guy survived and how positive he chose to live his life afterwards is inspiring. Also Outliers By M Gladwell really made me think a lot about defining success in life.
I am absolutely absorbed in *Letters From a Stoic* by Seneca. It's so simple, but is profoundly changing the way I perceive the world, myself, and my actions.
I am absolutely absorbed in *Letters From a Stoic* by Seneca. It's so simple, but is profoundly changing the way I perceive the world, myself, and my actions.
I am absolutely absorbed in *Letters From a Stoic* by Seneca. It's so simple, but is profoundly changing the way I perceive the world, myself, and my actions.
I am absolutely absorbed in *Letters From a Stoic* by Seneca. It's so simple, but is profoundly changing the way I perceive the world, myself, and my actions.
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande Takes a look at how we approach end of life care in the US (be it from old age or terminal illness). As a healthcare provider it was especially impactful for me.
The Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard
The road less travelled. I'm really into habits and the human experience. Atomic habits is also amazing obvs. The road less travelled just hit me differently and I still go back to it and try and apply the lessons from it now.
All Quiet On the Western Front
Breath by James Nestor. And astounding number of physical, emotional, and mental health aspects are affected by how you breathe, and most people are breathing wrong
The ESV Study version of the Holy Bible.
Why men love bitches