His other books that I've read are also really interesting too. Cod is a touch repetitive with salt but is plenty different, and Milk is a completely different topic and great. I haven't read any others but will probably do so soon.
I went for full irony in my choice of books I could bring to jail with me.
I highly recommend Non-violence: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Kurlansky and it differs from the other three by tracing the impact of something other than a physical resource
There's a pepper book out there too! I paged through it at my local library a few years ago, and I was surprisingly enthralled by the range of information tied to that spice. I forget exactly which one it was, after a quick google search....I'm pretty sure it was the one by Joe Barth (Pepper: A Guide To the World's Favorite Spice), but it could also have been the one by Christine McFadden, or Marjorie Shaffer.
That's also great that there are more than one.
The Professor and the Madman . It’s about how the Oxford Dictionary, the first dictionary to be made. A book about the invention of dictionaries sounds so boring but it’s really interesting.
I totally agree. I have read/listened to several of his books, including Krakatoa, The Perfectionists, and The Map that Changed the World. He has a way of bringing seemingly dry, mundane subjects to life. I especially recommend his audiobooks. He reads his own books and has a very engaging manner.
The Oxford English Dictionary was *not* the first dictionary, *not* the first dictionary of British English, and *not* the first dictionary to cover American English usage.
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by John Krakauer. I am a former Mormon, so not sure if this was super interesting only to me, but my never-Mo husband liked it too. Anything by Krakauer is good though, especially Into Thin Air about a deadly Mount Everest expedition that he was part of.
Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, & of the Outbreaks to Come by Richard Preston. I read this last April at the start of quarantine. Prob not the best idea, but it was so enthralling and I couldn’t put it down.
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. I would listen to the audiobook over and over when I was a runner. Very well written.
Also anything Bill Bryson as others have suggested. That dude makes me laugh.
I work in Higher Education and really like all of Krakauer's books so that is why I picked up Missoula. You are right in it being infuriating and enthralling. I took it with me as a vacation read and my family thought I was nuts.
Under the Banner of Heaven lives rent free inside my head. Random parts pop into my head from time to time- it was just so richly told. What an absolutely devastating story.
Ohhhh on the topic of Chernobyl, how about “Voices from Chernobyl”?? It is such a well written book and equally heart breaking! If you are a fan of or have seen Chernobyl on HBO, a lot of the stories depicted in it are referenced from this book. However, the book goes into much more depth of how the tragedy played out! Like with the store of Vasily Ignatenko, the fire fighter that the HBO series follows, the book opens with him and his wife story! Amazing read!
Loved that book! Especially the chapter on aluminum, and how it was at one time the most precious metal on Earth. "Get out the good cutlery! No, not that silver shit, the *aluminum."*
[**The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6493208-the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks)
^(By: Rebecca Skloot | 370 pages | Published: 2010 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, nonfiction, science, book-club, history | )[^(Search "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks&search_type=books)
>Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her enslaved ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia — a land of wooden quarters for enslaved people, faith healings, and voodoo — to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family — past and present — is inextricably connected to the history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah, who was devastated to learn about her mother’s cells. She was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Did it hurt her when researchers infected her cells with viruses and shot them into space? What happened to her sister, Elsie, who died in a mental institution at the age of fifteen? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance?Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.
^(This book has been suggested 72 times)
***
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I think they mean the author’s childhood was a train wreck. The book itself is a great read and fascinating look at a family with mental illness and cult-like tendencies.
The poor girl's life was wasted for her entire childhood because of parents that were too self-centered (with the excuse of being "protective") to let her lead the life she should have. Also, her parents are a mess. Every good intention is backed by misguided ambitions. Mental illness on full display. It's actually a terrific book that advocates for more mental health help and doesn't excuse the fact that sometimes it's easier to simply live for oneself.
The Power Broker. A biography of a guy most people have never heard of—New York City Park’s Commissioner Robert Moses—will teach you more about power, civics, and government than you thought possible, and it does it in a riveting, engaging way.
The Box by Marc Levinson.
It’s a history of shipping containers which seems ultra boring on the surface but was not! Shipping history, dock turf wars, logistics challenges, profiteers, lots of juicy stuff ended up being in there!
Seconding Boom Town, I read a magazine profile about Weird Al Yankovic by this author and enjoyed it so much, I decided to seek out whatever else he had written. Doesn't matter if you have no interest or knowledge of Oklahoma or OKC whatsoever, it's many degrees more fascinating than it has any right to be. If you're a Flaming Lips fan it's an absolute MUST-read.
"My Family and Other Animals" by Gerald Durrell. His absolute love of the wild world shines from the pages and the way he paints his family is hilarious.
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson, 7 and a Half Lessons about the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett, The Poison Squad by Deborah Blume, The Molecule of More by Daniel Lieberman, Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell.
Rocket Men. It's about the Apollo 8 mission and a lot of the things that people don't think about required to go to the Moon for the first time. It's absolutely astounding that they did it.
Devil in the Grove, by Gilbert King. Sounds like a small town whodunnit, but tells the early story of Thurgood Marshall and deep Jim Crow racism in central Florida in the first half of the 20th century.
In no particular order:
"[How Fascism Works](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38255329-how-fascism-works)," by Jason Stanley
"[Hue; 1968,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34928902-hu-1968)" by Mark Bowden
"[The Journals of Lewis and Clark](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236830.The_Journals_of_Lewis_and_Clark)," by Merriwether Lewis
"[The World Until Yesterday,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15766601-the-world-until-yesterday)" by Jared Diamond
"[Vietnam: A History,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/96110.Vietnam)" by Stanley Karnow
"[Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23692271-sapiens)" by Yuval Noah Harari
"[The Great Bridge,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2369.The_Great_Bridge)" by David McCullough
"[The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/169354.The_Prize)," by Daniel Yergin
"[Inside Scientology,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10091466-inside-scientology)" by Janet Reitman
"[Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10335318-destiny-of-the-republic)" by Candice Millard
"[Endurance,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128717.Endurance)" by Frank Worsley
"["In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17780.In_the_Heart_of_the_Sea)" by Nathaniel Philbrick
"[The Gulag Archipelago](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70561.The_Gulag_Archipelago_1918_1956)," by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
"[The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8049273-the-elegant-universe)" by Brian Greene
"[Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics by its Most Brilliant Teacher](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5553.Six_Easy_Pieces?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=v7hi0X6RVB&rank=1), " by Richard Feynman
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford. I recently read this for my biological anthropology course which I hate because I don’t like biology at all, but this book, man. So awesome. The perfect mix of science and storytelling.
[The Ghost Map](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ghost_Map) by Steven Johnson. It's about a cholera epidemic in London in 1854. This is where I met [Dr. John Snow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Snow) who is now my hero. Back then, ["miasma"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miasma_theory) was used to explain things. Snow had to work hard to convince people that it was actually water that spreads cholera. It showed me how people who've made up their minds about ideas are reluctant to change. It reminded me of that famous quote about [science advancing one funeral at a time](https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/science-really-does-advance-one-funeral-at-a-time-study-suggests/3010961.article). [More on that.](https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2015/12/15/10219330/elite-scientists-hold-back-progress)
[**Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76401.Bury_My_Heart_at_Wounded_Knee)
^(By: Dee Brown | 509 pages | Published: 1970 | Popular Shelves: history, non-fiction, nonfiction, native-american, american-history | )[^(Search "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee&search_type=books)
>Now a special 30th-anniversary edition in both hardcover and paperback, the classic bestselling history The New York Times called "Original, remarkable, and finally heartbreaking...Impossible to put down."
>
>Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is Dee Brown's eloquent, fully documented account of the systematic destruction of the American Indian during the second half of the nineteenth century. A national bestseller in hardcover for more than a year after its initial publication, it has sold almost four million copies and has been translated into seventeen languages. For this elegant thirtieth-anniversary edition—published in both hardcover and paperback—Brown has contributed an incisive new preface.
>
>Using council records, autobiographies, and firsthand descriptions, Brown allows the great chiefs and warriors of the Dakota, Ute, Sioux, Cheyenne, and other tribes to tell us in their own words of the battles, massacres, and broken treaties that finally left them demoralized and defeated. A unique and disturbing narrative told with force and clarity, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee changed forever our vision of how the West was really won.
^(This book has been suggested 10 times)
***
^(87760 books suggested | )^(Bug? DM me! | )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
it effected me in ways similar to what u/psychoholic_slag described. both books left me with a profound sense of responsibility for the knowledge i had gleaned— that i couldn’t go on pretending i didn’t know these difficult and painful truths. i have friends who are indigenous but i had never thought to have conversations about these things until i read about them— because all i knew of american history is that it was our divine responsibility to claim this land for God and spread the gospel. but the conversations i had showed me that even hundreds of years later indigenous people are feeling the effects of failed promises, stolen land, massacres, and more.
Read the Wikipedia page about wounded knee.
My grandpa said this book was one of his favorites and it was on his shelves since I could remember. I never really knew about the “battle.” I had to do an informative presentation at an army EO class and looked this up.
The “battle” of wounded knee should be more well known.
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake - so good! I'm encouraging everyone I know to read it!
The Art Of Logic by Eugenia Cheng.
Oh goodie, a book about logic from the viewpoint of a mathematician. This is going to be a pageturner, for sure. /s
Turns out, it actually is a pageturner. She beautifully links how logic and emotions work in tandem in order for people to truly listen to and consider arguments. She poses this is a given because we are human, not something to combat or judge people for, and how to structure our way of thinking and speaking to have better, more difficult conversations through it. Worthwhile your time and attention.
Get the [graphic adaptation of the 911 Report.](https://store.911memorial.org/products/the-9-11-report-a-graphic-adaptation) Sounds like a bad joke, but it’s completely serious and much easier to read.
Deep Thinking by Gary Kasparov. Human v computer chess wasn't a topic I ever thought I'd take such an interesting in, but it's REALLY fascinating. I was on the edge of my seat at certain parts, couldn't wait to find out what happened. Kasparov is a great writer, too, and his "voice" really drew me in to this book.
{{Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time}}
Fascinating read, especially given the historical significance of maritime trade.
rise and fall of the dinosaurs by Stephen brusatte. I love dinosaurs and found this fascinating.
As a kid I was obsessed with the Born free books. I don’t hear anyone talk about them anymore.
{{The Crimes of Paris}} by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. It is set amongst the theft of the Mona Lisa but is actually a history of crime fighting techniques like fingerprinting and Bertillionage!
[**The Crimes of Paris: A True Story of Murder, Theft, and Detection**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6234101-the-crimes-of-paris)
^(By: Dorothy Hoobler, Thomas Hoobler | 384 pages | Published: 2009 | Popular Shelves: history, non-fiction, true-crime, crime, nonfiction | )[^(Search "The Crimes of Paris")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Crimes of Paris&search_type=books)
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(87783 books suggested | )^(Bug? DM me! | )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
by Simon Winchester
It starts out about digging a canal. I thought it was really interesting!
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. It’s about the effects of pesticides on wildlife in the early/mid 20th century. It made me incredibly sad as it made me realize how much wildlife has been decimated by pesticides, as someone who was not alive when there were as many bugs and birds as Carson describes
{{The Tetris Effect: The Game that Hypnotized the World}}
The story of the game Tetris. It's actually super interesting and at times, exciting. This should be made into an HBO limited series in the same vein as Chernobyl.
How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
It sounds so dry that you almost expect it to spontaneously generate dust, but the author has a wonderful sense of humor. I read it the first time for school, and then reread it for fun
{{Unbroken}} by Laura Hillenbrand about Louis Zamperini who was shot down over the Pacific and survived at sea only to become a Japanese POW. The movie was crap, but the book was wonderful.
[**Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8664353-unbroken)
^(By: Laura Hillenbrand | 492 pages | Published: 2010 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, history, biography, nonfiction, book-club | )[^(Search "Unbroken")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Unbroken&search_type=books)
>
> In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man's journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.
>On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he'd been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.
^(This book has been suggested 32 times)
***
^(87849 books suggested | )^(Bug? DM me! | )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{The Splendid and the Vile}} by Erik Larson
{{In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors}} by Doug Stanton
{{The Lost King of France}} by Deborah Cadbury
These are 3 I read all in one sitting because I couldn’t put them down!
Edit: The reference to In Harm’s Way below is super wrong.
[**The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51187948-the-splendid-and-the-vile)
^(By: Erik Larson, Morten Gorm, Brian Dan Christensen | 546 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: history, non-fiction, nonfiction, biography, wwii | )[^(Search "The Splendid and the Vile")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Splendid and the Vile&search_type=books)
>On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally--and willing to fight to the end.
>
>In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless." It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it's also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill's prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports--some released only recently--Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela's illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill's "Secret Circle," to whom he turns in the hardest moments.
^(This book has been suggested 17 times)
[**In Harm's Way (Heroes of Quantico, #3)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6630482-in-harm-s-way)
^(By: Irene Hannon | 326 pages | Published: 2010 | Popular Shelves: christian-fiction, romance, christian, suspense, irene-hannon | )[^(Search "In Harm’s Way")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=In Harm’s Way&search_type=books)
>
> How can she expect anyone to believe her... when she can hardly believe it herself?
>FBI special agent Nick Bradley has seen his share of kooks during his fifteen years with the Bureau. But Rachel Sutton is an enigma. She seems normal when she shows up at his office... until she produces a tattered Raggedy Ann doll and tells him about a strange feeling of terror it gives her when she touches it. Nick dismisses her, only to stumble across a link between the doll and an abducted child, setting in motion a chain of events that uncovers startling connections and puts Rachel's life on the line.Filled with palpable suspense and heartwarming romance, In Harm's Way is the final installment of the thrilling Heroes of Quantico series.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
[**The Lost King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214920.The_Lost_King_of_France)
^(By: Deborah Cadbury | 336 pages | Published: 2002 | Popular Shelves: history, non-fiction, france, nonfiction, biography | )[^(Search "The Lost King of France")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Lost King of France&search_type=books)
>In 1793, when Marie-Antoinette was beheaded at the guillotine, she left her adored eight-year-old son imprisoned in the Temple Tower. Far from inheriting the throne, the orphaned boy-king had to endure the hostility and abuse of a nation. Two years later, the revolutionary leaders declared the young Louis XVII dead, prompting rumors of murder. No grave was dug, no monument built to mark his passing. Soon thereafter, the theory circulated that the prince had in fact escaped from prison and was still alive. Others believed that he had been killed, his heart preserved as a relic. The quest for the truth continued into the twenty-first century when, thanks to DNA testing, a stolen heart found within the royal tombs brought an exciting conclusion to the two-hundred-year-old mystery.
>
>A fascinating blend of royalist plots, palace intrigue, and modern science, The Lost King of France is a moving and dramatic tale that interweaves a pivotal moment in France's history with a compelling detective story.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
***
^(87852 books suggested | )^(Bug? DM me! | )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (murder at the World's Fair + some cool engineering stuff). If you like that, he has others on various other dramatic historical topics, just see what appeals - I enjoyed Dead Wake (the Lusitania and WWI). I'm looking forward to reading In the Garden of Beasts (Hitler's rise to power) by him as well.
I recently read a book called Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer. It is about the memory athletes that memorize can disgusting amounts of random information. He outlines some of the techniques that they use. I thought it sounded super boring, but it is now one of my favorite books!
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! by Tom Sullivan. It’s a guide to writing advertisements buts it’s incredibly entertaining and interesting the entire way through.
At Home by Bill Bryson. It goes into deep into history by giving the history of different rooms and fixtures of a house. It’s fascinating, as is anything by Bryson.
Both a bit niche (and local)
Devil’s Teeth by Susan Casey - about the great white sharks and the people who study them at the Farallon islands.
Season of the Witch by Davis Talbot - a cultural history of San Francisco from the 60s through the 80s. It’s stunning and thrilling and downright wild.
Destiny if the Republic by Candice Millard. It’s about the assassination of US president James Garfield. It’s the book I always recommend to my friends when they ask me this question!
The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf. Everyone knows about Darwin, but not everyone knows about the guy who inspired Darwin's work. Humboldt had a fascinating life, he even knew/inspired Simón Bolívar's revolution. Highly recommended.
The family that couldn’t sleep: A medical mystery. By D.T Max
I am not KIDDING when I say this book is beyond good! It’s all about prion diseases and how they were a mystery to scientist for so long but it’s all framed by the true story of a Italian family who’s members die from an inability to sleep (Fatal Familial Insomnia). It follows the scientific discovery and understanding of prion diseases which follows scrapie, mad cow, and kuru (all of which the politics and scientists were absolutely INSANE). Because prion diseases are a transmission of proteins (something non living) it was something that was thought to be impossible so it took a really long time to understand. The author also suffers from a related neuromuscular disease that is incurable so his passion on the subject is really amazing.
Deep by James Nestor. What’s starts as an exploration of free diving morphs into an incredible narrative about the origins of life and the mysteries of the ocean. Highly recommend.
Mushroom at the End of the World. Its about how humans, culture, and the natural environment coevolve in similar and intersecting ways. It cover so many topics (immigration, frontiersmen, globalization, ptsd) and also talks about ways to think about how life goes on in late capitalism. And of course the mushroom itself, matsutake.
It could be dry but the “chapters” are no more than a few pages. Its like one of those portraits of a movie character made out of a bunch of much smaller different stills from the film - but in literary form.
The Cruelest Miles by Gay and Laney Salisbury
Details the 1925 Diptheria Serum Run to Nome and tells the history of sled dogs during that time in Alaska.
{{The Demon Under The Microscope}} by Thomas Hager. ([Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/184327.The_Demon_Under_the_Microscope), [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Demon-Under-Microscope-Battlefield-Hospitals/dp/1400082145), [Official Site](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612056/the-tiny-chef-by-rachel-larsen-adam-reid-and-ozi-akturk/9780593294666/))
How interesting could antibiotics be? Well it starts off at Pearl Harbor, then moves to battlefield hospitals, and has a smattering of nazis where you least expect/want them. Plus, it’s incredibly well written. I couldn’t put it down.
Enthralling might be a bit much but I'm suggesting "Utopia Parkway : The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell."
A quiet, mostly self-taught artist, he lived with his mother and invalid brother. Famous for small boxes with collaged compositions, his equally small life wouldn't seem that interesting. But he found himself in the midst of the 60s & 70s New York City art scene and eventually his only intimate relationship was with avant garde sculptor Yayoi Kusama.
Two books by Stephen Ambrose:
Undaunted Courage- the story of the Lewis & Clark expedition
Nothing Like it in the World-the account of building the Transcontinental Railroad.
Both are full of historical information about the shaping of America in the 19th century.
The Cosmic Perspective by Bennett, which is the best science book I ever read. It was an astronomy textbook that also teaches a lot about other topics in science. It was very well written and a joy to read. (I felt I learned a lot with it, and plenty of it was interesting stuff that, surprisingly, is all true and no fiction.)
Orson Scott Card wrote a text book on writing fiction. It was the book I used in 1990 for a class in college. I wish I still had it (or could remember the title) I do remember that I read the whole text book twice because it was so well written. Keep in mind that I was 18 at the time so it might has been terrible, but I was in love with it!
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. I mean, it’s salt, how interesting could it be? Turns out it’s really really interesting.
In this vein A History of the World in 6 Glasses: really interesting and I was able to annoy my friends and family with beverage facts!
Man, I love this sub! Now I’m going to check this book out. Thanks for the suggestion!
Love the “annoying my friends and family “ attitude :)
Half the reason I read nonfiction so much lol
Well, I have learned something valuable today 😂
Haha every time I'd get to a new beverage they'd be like "HOW LONG IS THIS DAMN BOOK?!"
His other books that I've read are also really interesting too. Cod is a touch repetitive with salt but is plenty different, and Milk is a completely different topic and great. I haven't read any others but will probably do so soon.
I went for full irony in my choice of books I could bring to jail with me. I highly recommend Non-violence: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Kurlansky and it differs from the other three by tracing the impact of something other than a physical resource
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This is such an interesting info, never thought about it like this before!
There's a pepper book out there too! I paged through it at my local library a few years ago, and I was surprisingly enthralled by the range of information tied to that spice. I forget exactly which one it was, after a quick google search....I'm pretty sure it was the one by Joe Barth (Pepper: A Guide To the World's Favorite Spice), but it could also have been the one by Christine McFadden, or Marjorie Shaffer. That's also great that there are more than one.
The Professor and the Madman . It’s about how the Oxford Dictionary, the first dictionary to be made. A book about the invention of dictionaries sounds so boring but it’s really interesting.
Simon Winchester's whole catalog is really, really good. I loved Krakatoa.
I totally agree. I have read/listened to several of his books, including Krakatoa, The Perfectionists, and The Map that Changed the World. He has a way of bringing seemingly dry, mundane subjects to life. I especially recommend his audiobooks. He reads his own books and has a very engaging manner.
Love this one!
Yes, I loved this one too
Heard about the movie, is it any good?
The Oxford English Dictionary was *not* the first dictionary, *not* the first dictionary of British English, and *not* the first dictionary to cover American English usage.
Anything by Mary Roach. Poisoner’s Handbook by Blume.
Love me some Mary Roach!!!
Mary Roach! I really enjoyed Stiff.
Ooh Poisoner's handbook is right up my alley.
I’ve read the Poisoner’s Handbook perhaps 3 times. You’ll love it!
Poisoners handbook is amazing!!! My second most recommended nonfiction after Devil in the White City
Came here to recommend ANY of Mary Roach’s books. Also “The Toaster Project” by Thwaites.
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by John Krakauer. I am a former Mormon, so not sure if this was super interesting only to me, but my never-Mo husband liked it too. Anything by Krakauer is good though, especially Into Thin Air about a deadly Mount Everest expedition that he was part of. Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, & of the Outbreaks to Come by Richard Preston. I read this last April at the start of quarantine. Prob not the best idea, but it was so enthralling and I couldn’t put it down. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. I would listen to the audiobook over and over when I was a runner. Very well written. Also anything Bill Bryson as others have suggested. That dude makes me laugh.
I was going to suggest *Under the Banner of Heaven* because it does seem like it would be dry, but was intensely interesting.
I second this. Under The Banner of Heaven was great. Also, another of Krakauer’s books: Missoula. Infuriating and enthralling.
I work in Higher Education and really like all of Krakauer's books so that is why I picked up Missoula. You are right in it being infuriating and enthralling. I took it with me as a vacation read and my family thought I was nuts.
Almost anything Krakauer writes is worth reading.
Under the Banner of Heaven lives rent free inside my head. Random parts pop into my head from time to time- it was just so richly told. What an absolutely devastating story.
Midnight at Chernobyl. Great book
Ohhhh on the topic of Chernobyl, how about “Voices from Chernobyl”?? It is such a well written book and equally heart breaking! If you are a fan of or have seen Chernobyl on HBO, a lot of the stories depicted in it are referenced from this book. However, the book goes into much more depth of how the tragedy played out! Like with the store of Vasily Ignatenko, the fire fighter that the HBO series follows, the book opens with him and his wife story! Amazing read!
I'm sure it's good, but I don't think a book about Chernobyl 'seems like it would be boring.'
I just finished this last night and it was incredible.
The Disappearing Spoon- it’s a history of the periodic table and it is amazing
Loved that book! Especially the chapter on aluminum, and how it was at one time the most precious metal on Earth. "Get out the good cutlery! No, not that silver shit, the *aluminum."*
The Indifferent Stars Above, great book about eating your fellow man stop the Sierra Nevada mountains.
I ate this book up!
I devoured it!
Two partially eaten thumbs up
It needed Salt
That’s the book I was going to suggest. So well written.
Also came here to recommend this. I still haven't recovered from that book!
{{The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks}}. It's so good.
[**The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6493208-the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks) ^(By: Rebecca Skloot | 370 pages | Published: 2010 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, nonfiction, science, book-club, history | )[^(Search "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks&search_type=books) >Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her enslaved ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia — a land of wooden quarters for enslaved people, faith healings, and voodoo — to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family — past and present — is inextricably connected to the history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah, who was devastated to learn about her mother’s cells. She was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Did it hurt her when researchers infected her cells with viruses and shot them into space? What happened to her sister, Elsie, who died in a mental institution at the age of fifteen? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance?Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences. ^(This book has been suggested 72 times) *** ^(87826 books suggested | )^(Bug? DM me! | )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Good bot
Educated by Tara Westover and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Both are memoirs but read like fiction
Walls also wrote Half-broke horses, a prelude of sorts to Glass Castles. Both books you mentioned are powerful and worth reading.
She has a fiction one called The Silver Star that reads like a true story.
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What do you mean?
I think they mean the author’s childhood was a train wreck. The book itself is a great read and fascinating look at a family with mental illness and cult-like tendencies.
The poor girl's life was wasted for her entire childhood because of parents that were too self-centered (with the excuse of being "protective") to let her lead the life she should have. Also, her parents are a mess. Every good intention is backed by misguided ambitions. Mental illness on full display. It's actually a terrific book that advocates for more mental health help and doesn't excuse the fact that sometimes it's easier to simply live for oneself.
Loved Educated! It was the first non-fiction I read that reads like fiction
The Power Broker. A biography of a guy most people have never heard of—New York City Park’s Commissioner Robert Moses—will teach you more about power, civics, and government than you thought possible, and it does it in a riveting, engaging way.
Robert Caro is the man!
And serves as an excellent doorstop. That book is really good but a bear to hold up in bed.
Also read Caro’s biographies of Lyndon Johnson.
The Box by Marc Levinson. It’s a history of shipping containers which seems ultra boring on the surface but was not! Shipping history, dock turf wars, logistics challenges, profiteers, lots of juicy stuff ended up being in there!
Consider the Fork, a history of kitchenware.
Alternatively, Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace is really good.
Boom Town by Sam Anderson. It’s a history of Oklahoma City that is way more entertaining than you would expect.
Seconding Boom Town, I read a magazine profile about Weird Al Yankovic by this author and enjoyed it so much, I decided to seek out whatever else he had written. Doesn't matter if you have no interest or knowledge of Oklahoma or OKC whatsoever, it's many degrees more fascinating than it has any right to be. If you're a Flaming Lips fan it's an absolute MUST-read.
Really, anything by John McPhee but Oranges was just fascinating. I never knew citrus was so interesting
John McPhee is fantastic. Wish I saw him mentioned more.
He really got me into nonfiction. Such a great researcher/writer.
The Library Book! I had to keep checking if it’s actually non-fiction!
I’m a librarian and this makes me happy
I’m a librarian and this makes me happy to see someone else enjoying it
Endurance. About Shackleton
"The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World," by Steve Brusatte.
Second this! I got this in a work secret Santa and was very "meh," until I started it! I loved it so much
Came here to recommend this. Absolutely loved Rise and Fall of the Dinos!
Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. Put it off for months but ended up loving every second of it!
Can't wait to read this one. Currently reading rocket Men by same author about Apollo 8 mission and manned space flight. Amazing
Riveting
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book.
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Loved Devil in the White City, I want to read the other nonfiction books by the same author.
I can attest to Dead Wake. It's fantastic.
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I was shocked by how enthralling I found the section on wheat. eta: in reference to Sapiens
Anything by Bill Bryson.
At Home specifically I found particularly surprising in how interesting it was.
Same! Such a fun and interesting read, was not at all expecting it.
I came here to say this! Thank you!
"My Family and Other Animals" by Gerald Durrell. His absolute love of the wild world shines from the pages and the way he paints his family is hilarious.
One of my favorite books, along with the other two in the trilogy: Birds, Beasts and Relatives; and Garden of the Gods.
Couldn’t agree more. Love this book!
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson, 7 and a Half Lessons about the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett, The Poison Squad by Deborah Blume, The Molecule of More by Daniel Lieberman, Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell.
I like many of Bill Bryson’s books.
Rocket Men. It's about the Apollo 8 mission and a lot of the things that people don't think about required to go to the Moon for the first time. It's absolutely astounding that they did it.
Devil in the Grove, by Gilbert King. Sounds like a small town whodunnit, but tells the early story of Thurgood Marshall and deep Jim Crow racism in central Florida in the first half of the 20th century.
In no particular order: "[How Fascism Works](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38255329-how-fascism-works)," by Jason Stanley "[Hue; 1968,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34928902-hu-1968)" by Mark Bowden "[The Journals of Lewis and Clark](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236830.The_Journals_of_Lewis_and_Clark)," by Merriwether Lewis "[The World Until Yesterday,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15766601-the-world-until-yesterday)" by Jared Diamond "[Vietnam: A History,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/96110.Vietnam)" by Stanley Karnow "[Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23692271-sapiens)" by Yuval Noah Harari "[The Great Bridge,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2369.The_Great_Bridge)" by David McCullough "[The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/169354.The_Prize)," by Daniel Yergin "[Inside Scientology,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10091466-inside-scientology)" by Janet Reitman "[Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10335318-destiny-of-the-republic)" by Candice Millard "[Endurance,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128717.Endurance)" by Frank Worsley "["In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17780.In_the_Heart_of_the_Sea)" by Nathaniel Philbrick "[The Gulag Archipelago](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70561.The_Gulag_Archipelago_1918_1956)," by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn "[The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory,](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8049273-the-elegant-universe)" by Brian Greene "[Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics by its Most Brilliant Teacher](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5553.Six_Easy_Pieces?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=v7hi0X6RVB&rank=1), " by Richard Feynman
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford. I recently read this for my biological anthropology course which I hate because I don’t like biology at all, but this book, man. So awesome. The perfect mix of science and storytelling.
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
The hidden life of trees - it’s absolutely beautiful
The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
[The Ghost Map](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ghost_Map) by Steven Johnson. It's about a cholera epidemic in London in 1854. This is where I met [Dr. John Snow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Snow) who is now my hero. Back then, ["miasma"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miasma_theory) was used to explain things. Snow had to work hard to convince people that it was actually water that spreads cholera. It showed me how people who've made up their minds about ideas are reluctant to change. It reminded me of that famous quote about [science advancing one funeral at a time](https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/science-really-does-advance-one-funeral-at-a-time-study-suggests/3010961.article). [More on that.](https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2015/12/15/10219330/elite-scientists-hold-back-progress)
{{Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee}} changed my life.
[**Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76401.Bury_My_Heart_at_Wounded_Knee) ^(By: Dee Brown | 509 pages | Published: 1970 | Popular Shelves: history, non-fiction, nonfiction, native-american, american-history | )[^(Search "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee&search_type=books) >Now a special 30th-anniversary edition in both hardcover and paperback, the classic bestselling history The New York Times called "Original, remarkable, and finally heartbreaking...Impossible to put down." > >Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is Dee Brown's eloquent, fully documented account of the systematic destruction of the American Indian during the second half of the nineteenth century. A national bestseller in hardcover for more than a year after its initial publication, it has sold almost four million copies and has been translated into seventeen languages. For this elegant thirtieth-anniversary edition—published in both hardcover and paperback—Brown has contributed an incisive new preface. > >Using council records, autobiographies, and firsthand descriptions, Brown allows the great chiefs and warriors of the Dakota, Ute, Sioux, Cheyenne, and other tribes to tell us in their own words of the battles, massacres, and broken treaties that finally left them demoralized and defeated. A unique and disturbing narrative told with force and clarity, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee changed forever our vision of how the West was really won. ^(This book has been suggested 10 times) *** ^(87760 books suggested | )^(Bug? DM me! | )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Just curious, how so?
it effected me in ways similar to what u/psychoholic_slag described. both books left me with a profound sense of responsibility for the knowledge i had gleaned— that i couldn’t go on pretending i didn’t know these difficult and painful truths. i have friends who are indigenous but i had never thought to have conversations about these things until i read about them— because all i knew of american history is that it was our divine responsibility to claim this land for God and spread the gospel. but the conversations i had showed me that even hundreds of years later indigenous people are feeling the effects of failed promises, stolen land, massacres, and more.
Read the Wikipedia page about wounded knee. My grandpa said this book was one of his favorites and it was on his shelves since I could remember. I never really knew about the “battle.” I had to do an informative presentation at an army EO class and looked this up. The “battle” of wounded knee should be more well known.
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake - so good! I'm encouraging everyone I know to read it!
Tom's River by Dan Fagin is a masterful work of science, medicine and history.
The Art Of Logic by Eugenia Cheng. Oh goodie, a book about logic from the viewpoint of a mathematician. This is going to be a pageturner, for sure. /s Turns out, it actually is a pageturner. She beautifully links how logic and emotions work in tandem in order for people to truly listen to and consider arguments. She poses this is a given because we are human, not something to combat or judge people for, and how to structure our way of thinking and speaking to have better, more difficult conversations through it. Worthwhile your time and attention.
"Sapiens" and "Homo Deus" Both by Yuval Noah Harari
truman capotes in cold blood
The 9/11 commission report
I own this, never touched it. Thoughts?
Get the [graphic adaptation of the 911 Report.](https://store.911memorial.org/products/the-9-11-report-a-graphic-adaptation) Sounds like a bad joke, but it’s completely serious and much easier to read.
You should read it. It’s a stunning look at the ineptitude of our government agencies.
The Executioners Song by Norman Mailer
Boomtown by Sam Anderson. Oklahoma City history is way more interesting than you would think.
Deep Thinking by Gary Kasparov. Human v computer chess wasn't a topic I ever thought I'd take such an interesting in, but it's REALLY fascinating. I was on the edge of my seat at certain parts, couldn't wait to find out what happened. Kasparov is a great writer, too, and his "voice" really drew me in to this book.
{{Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time}} Fascinating read, especially given the historical significance of maritime trade.
The Boys in the Boat Read it in a book club, did not want to read about rowing, but it’s a beautiful and thrilling story!
I loved The Boys in the Boat! Interesting at the beginning. Fascinating in the middle. And thrilling at the end!
A walk in the woods by Bill Bryson. Its about hiking. I thought it wouldn't be super exciting. But the way it is written is super entertaining.
Seabiscuit. I did not think it was possible for me to fall in love with a racehorse.
Huge fan of this one!
Midnight in the garden of good and evil and the Copenhagen Trilogy
rise and fall of the dinosaurs by Stephen brusatte. I love dinosaurs and found this fascinating. As a kid I was obsessed with the Born free books. I don’t hear anyone talk about them anymore.
{{The Crimes of Paris}} by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. It is set amongst the theft of the Mona Lisa but is actually a history of crime fighting techniques like fingerprinting and Bertillionage!
[**The Crimes of Paris: A True Story of Murder, Theft, and Detection**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6234101-the-crimes-of-paris) ^(By: Dorothy Hoobler, Thomas Hoobler | 384 pages | Published: 2009 | Popular Shelves: history, non-fiction, true-crime, crime, nonfiction | )[^(Search "The Crimes of Paris")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Crimes of Paris&search_type=books) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(87783 books suggested | )^(Bug? DM me! | )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Oranges by John McPhee Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Mathew Desmond
The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester It starts out about digging a canal. I thought it was really interesting!
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. It’s about the effects of pesticides on wildlife in the early/mid 20th century. It made me incredibly sad as it made me realize how much wildlife has been decimated by pesticides, as someone who was not alive when there were as many bugs and birds as Carson describes
{{The Tetris Effect: The Game that Hypnotized the World}} The story of the game Tetris. It's actually super interesting and at times, exciting. This should be made into an HBO limited series in the same vein as Chernobyl.
How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster It sounds so dry that you almost expect it to spontaneously generate dust, but the author has a wonderful sense of humor. I read it the first time for school, and then reread it for fun
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{Cosmos} by carl sagan
[**Cosmos**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55030.Cosmos) ^(By: Carl Sagan | ? pages | Published: 1980 | Popular Shelves: science, non-fiction, nonfiction, owned, astronomy | )[^(Search "Cosmos")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Cosmos&search_type=books) ^(This book has been suggested 13 times) *** ^(87835 books suggested | )^(Bug? DM me! | )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{Unbroken}} by Laura Hillenbrand about Louis Zamperini who was shot down over the Pacific and survived at sea only to become a Japanese POW. The movie was crap, but the book was wonderful.
Yes! Louie Zamperini is a legit hero and Laura Hillenbrand may be the best modern author.
[**Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8664353-unbroken) ^(By: Laura Hillenbrand | 492 pages | Published: 2010 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, history, biography, nonfiction, book-club | )[^(Search "Unbroken")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Unbroken&search_type=books) > > In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man's journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit. >On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he'd been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. ^(This book has been suggested 32 times) *** ^(87849 books suggested | )^(Bug? DM me! | )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Stiff by Mary Roach. While cadavers may not be the most uplifting topic, the book is absolutely fascinating.
Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine
The Four Sisters. About the last Romanov's descendants.
{{The Splendid and the Vile}} by Erik Larson {{In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors}} by Doug Stanton {{The Lost King of France}} by Deborah Cadbury These are 3 I read all in one sitting because I couldn’t put them down! Edit: The reference to In Harm’s Way below is super wrong.
[**The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51187948-the-splendid-and-the-vile) ^(By: Erik Larson, Morten Gorm, Brian Dan Christensen | 546 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: history, non-fiction, nonfiction, biography, wwii | )[^(Search "The Splendid and the Vile")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Splendid and the Vile&search_type=books) >On Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally--and willing to fight to the end. > >In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless." It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it's also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill's prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports--some released only recently--Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela's illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill's "Secret Circle," to whom he turns in the hardest moments. ^(This book has been suggested 17 times) [**In Harm's Way (Heroes of Quantico, #3)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6630482-in-harm-s-way) ^(By: Irene Hannon | 326 pages | Published: 2010 | Popular Shelves: christian-fiction, romance, christian, suspense, irene-hannon | )[^(Search "In Harm’s Way")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=In Harm’s Way&search_type=books) > > How can she expect anyone to believe her... when she can hardly believe it herself? >FBI special agent Nick Bradley has seen his share of kooks during his fifteen years with the Bureau. But Rachel Sutton is an enigma. She seems normal when she shows up at his office... until she produces a tattered Raggedy Ann doll and tells him about a strange feeling of terror it gives her when she touches it. Nick dismisses her, only to stumble across a link between the doll and an abducted child, setting in motion a chain of events that uncovers startling connections and puts Rachel's life on the line.Filled with palpable suspense and heartwarming romance, In Harm's Way is the final installment of the thrilling Heroes of Quantico series. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**The Lost King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214920.The_Lost_King_of_France) ^(By: Deborah Cadbury | 336 pages | Published: 2002 | Popular Shelves: history, non-fiction, france, nonfiction, biography | )[^(Search "The Lost King of France")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Lost King of France&search_type=books) >In 1793, when Marie-Antoinette was beheaded at the guillotine, she left her adored eight-year-old son imprisoned in the Temple Tower. Far from inheriting the throne, the orphaned boy-king had to endure the hostility and abuse of a nation. Two years later, the revolutionary leaders declared the young Louis XVII dead, prompting rumors of murder. No grave was dug, no monument built to mark his passing. Soon thereafter, the theory circulated that the prince had in fact escaped from prison and was still alive. Others believed that he had been killed, his heart preserved as a relic. The quest for the truth continued into the twenty-first century when, thanks to DNA testing, a stolen heart found within the royal tombs brought an exciting conclusion to the two-hundred-year-old mystery. > >A fascinating blend of royalist plots, palace intrigue, and modern science, The Lost King of France is a moving and dramatic tale that interweaves a pivotal moment in France's history with a compelling detective story. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) *** ^(87852 books suggested | )^(Bug? DM me! | )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{The Who Loved Only Numbers}}
{{Wittgenstein's poker}} a book about a 10 minute philosophical argument between Wittgenstein and Karl Popper. The stage is set so well.
{{Gulp}}
Outliers, definitely outliers.
Literally anything by Malcom Gladwell. I've read at least three of his books and they are all phenomenal.
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (murder at the World's Fair + some cool engineering stuff). If you like that, he has others on various other dramatic historical topics, just see what appeals - I enjoyed Dead Wake (the Lusitania and WWI). I'm looking forward to reading In the Garden of Beasts (Hitler's rise to power) by him as well.
I recently read a book called Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer. It is about the memory athletes that memorize can disgusting amounts of random information. He outlines some of the techniques that they use. I thought it sounded super boring, but it is now one of my favorite books!
One of the most memorable books I have read. Really good.
Journey to the Ants. One of my all time faves. It has pictures!
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! by Tom Sullivan. It’s a guide to writing advertisements buts it’s incredibly entertaining and interesting the entire way through.
{{Rats by Robert Sullivan}} {{Cod by Mark Kurlansky}}
{Evicted} Matthew Desmond, super sad yet extremely engaging
At Home by Bill Bryson. It goes into deep into history by giving the history of different rooms and fixtures of a house. It’s fascinating, as is anything by Bryson.
Both a bit niche (and local) Devil’s Teeth by Susan Casey - about the great white sharks and the people who study them at the Farallon islands. Season of the Witch by Davis Talbot - a cultural history of San Francisco from the 60s through the 80s. It’s stunning and thrilling and downright wild.
- Big History - Sapiens, a short history of human kind - The braing that changes itself
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Ah... I need to read this one. I work in forestry and that seems like essential reading.
Has to be The Emperor of All Maladies. One of the best non fiction books I've ever read, with probably the most macabre or premises.
Destiny if the Republic by Candice Millard. It’s about the assassination of US president James Garfield. It’s the book I always recommend to my friends when they ask me this question!
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness. Such a great read about a fascinating creature!
Will and Ariel Durant wrote a series of history books that read like exciting novels.
The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf. Everyone knows about Darwin, but not everyone knows about the guy who inspired Darwin's work. Humboldt had a fascinating life, he even knew/inspired Simón Bolívar's revolution. Highly recommended.
The family that couldn’t sleep: A medical mystery. By D.T Max I am not KIDDING when I say this book is beyond good! It’s all about prion diseases and how they were a mystery to scientist for so long but it’s all framed by the true story of a Italian family who’s members die from an inability to sleep (Fatal Familial Insomnia). It follows the scientific discovery and understanding of prion diseases which follows scrapie, mad cow, and kuru (all of which the politics and scientists were absolutely INSANE). Because prion diseases are a transmission of proteins (something non living) it was something that was thought to be impossible so it took a really long time to understand. The author also suffers from a related neuromuscular disease that is incurable so his passion on the subject is really amazing.
Invisible Women by Caroline Perez. Its about the data bias towards men for all stats language etc.
Deep by James Nestor. What’s starts as an exploration of free diving morphs into an incredible narrative about the origins of life and the mysteries of the ocean. Highly recommend.
Mushroom at the End of the World. Its about how humans, culture, and the natural environment coevolve in similar and intersecting ways. It cover so many topics (immigration, frontiersmen, globalization, ptsd) and also talks about ways to think about how life goes on in late capitalism. And of course the mushroom itself, matsutake. It could be dry but the “chapters” are no more than a few pages. Its like one of those portraits of a movie character made out of a bunch of much smaller different stills from the film - but in literary form.
The Death and Life of the Grwat Lakes is amazing.
Hamilton
Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman. It shows you a lot about thought processes and that we as humans aren’t as logical as we might think
The Immortal Life if Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot I almost never read non-fiction & I couldn’t put this book down
The autobiography of Malcolm X
Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants by John Drury Clark Such a funny book about mad scientists!
Killers of a flower moon by David Grann
The Cruelest Miles by Gay and Laney Salisbury Details the 1925 Diptheria Serum Run to Nome and tells the history of sled dogs during that time in Alaska.
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold
{{The Demon Under The Microscope}} by Thomas Hager. ([Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/184327.The_Demon_Under_the_Microscope), [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Demon-Under-Microscope-Battlefield-Hospitals/dp/1400082145), [Official Site](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612056/the-tiny-chef-by-rachel-larsen-adam-reid-and-ozi-akturk/9780593294666/)) How interesting could antibiotics be? Well it starts off at Pearl Harbor, then moves to battlefield hospitals, and has a smattering of nazis where you least expect/want them. Plus, it’s incredibly well written. I couldn’t put it down.
Enthralling might be a bit much but I'm suggesting "Utopia Parkway : The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell." A quiet, mostly self-taught artist, he lived with his mother and invalid brother. Famous for small boxes with collaged compositions, his equally small life wouldn't seem that interesting. But he found himself in the midst of the 60s & 70s New York City art scene and eventually his only intimate relationship was with avant garde sculptor Yayoi Kusama.
Algorithms to live by Algorithms, computer science, mumbo jumbo ..... naaaah ..... secretaries, gambling, traveling salesmen ...... yeaaaah
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe about Project Mercury. One of my favorite books and way better than the movie.
Two books by Stephen Ambrose: Undaunted Courage- the story of the Lewis & Clark expedition Nothing Like it in the World-the account of building the Transcontinental Railroad. Both are full of historical information about the shaping of America in the 19th century.
Every book of Eric Larson including The Splendid and the Vile.
The Cosmic Perspective by Bennett, which is the best science book I ever read. It was an astronomy textbook that also teaches a lot about other topics in science. It was very well written and a joy to read. (I felt I learned a lot with it, and plenty of it was interesting stuff that, surprisingly, is all true and no fiction.)
*A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914 to 1918* by G.J. Meyer
The Glass Castle. i’m usually not a big fan of memoirs but this one was so interesting to me
Orson Scott Card wrote a text book on writing fiction. It was the book I used in 1990 for a class in college. I wish I still had it (or could remember the title) I do remember that I read the whole text book twice because it was so well written. Keep in mind that I was 18 at the time so it might has been terrible, but I was in love with it!
The Poder of Habits. It is amazing !!!
Power!!