Good non-fiction?

nomadica · June 2014

Any non-fiction recommendations? I'm currently reading The Sixth Extinction (which is great) but I'm running low on good ideas for my next non-fiction books. TIA!

mrsvedo · June 2014

Is there a particular era or subject you enjoy reading about?

ChristyDM82 · June 2014

I'm currently reading Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi. Not sure if true crime is your thing, but I'm hooked!

I also loved Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan.

kpow · June 2014

The Skies Belong to Us by Brandon Koerner (plane hijackings in the 60s, much more interesting than that tidbit sounds)

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman (about Huguette Clark, a very reclusive wealthy heiress)

Kate&Mark · June 2014

I really like Sonia Sotomayor's My Beloved World.

SusieBW · June 2014

A few varied suggestions:

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - WW2 survival story

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - dual story of the Chicago Worlds Fair and America's first serial killer, who operated in the context of the World's Fair

The Dirt by Motley Crue - even if you're not a huge Crue fan (I wasn't when I read it), the autobiography of the band is a great read.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv - Louv coined the phrase nature deficit disorder to apply to the recently developed trend of our kids not playing in the wilds anymore - even when they do play outside, kids are usually confined to a yard, park or playground, and not encouraged to run through the woods, finding their own way with nature anymore.

xDanniellex · June 2014

Stronger by Jeff Bauman, survivor and double amputee of Boston Marathon Bombing.

Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy, naked truth about pregnancy

Time Bandit by the Hillstrand Brothers, crabbers from the show Deadliest Catch.

julie37619 · June 2014

nomadica said:

Any non-fiction recommendations? I'm currently reading The Sixth Extinction (which is great) but I'm running low on good ideas for my next non-fiction books. TIA!

I'm glad to hear you're liking it! It's on my list!

booneybear · June 2014

- Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen

- Columbine by Dave Cullen

- Ship of Ghosts by James D. Hornfischer

- Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

- Desperate Passage by Ethan Rarick

- Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer

- 102 Minutes by Jim Dwyer

- The Ice Master by Jennifer Niven

- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown

- Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides

- In Harm's Way by Douglas Stanton

jjr1214 · June 2014

- The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

- Into Thin Air, Where Men Win Glory or pretty much anything else by Jon Krakauer

- Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (A Walk in the Woods is great too)

- Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

- Freakonomics by Steven Levitt

- Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

- Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan

- The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad

- Spark by John Ratey

- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

These are some of my favorites!

jackiback · June 2014

Ones I've read this year and enjoyed:

One Summer, by Bill Bryson

If I Die in a Combat Zone, by Tim O'Brien

Quiet, by Susan Cain

Parkland, by Vincent Bugilosi

Bossypants, by Tina Fey

My Life, by Bill Clinton

julie37619 · June 2014

Anything That Moves by Dana Goodyear

Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape and also Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief

A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power

Five Days at Memorial

The End of Your Life Book Club

The Happiness Project

Anything by Mary Roach

GilliC · June 2014

A Night to Remeber by Walter Lord

Longitude by Dava Sobel

Stiff by Mary Roach

Hiroshima by John Hersey

Poignant Memoirs

Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng

The Two Kinds of Decay by Sarah Manguso

Humorous Travel Writing

Down Under (aka In a Sunburned Country) by Bill Bryson

Dave Barry Does Japan by Dave Barry

packfan20 · June 2014

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

One Sweet Shannon · June 2014

These aren't newer releases, but they're my favorites:

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, Mike Brown
Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything, Stephen Baker
The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases, Michael Capuzzo

Passanie · June 2014

The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence is a book I wish every woman would read and particularly poignant given the recent UCSB shootings (author is Gavin de Becker).

Also Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead was pretty eye opening too. Sheryl Sandberg.

fabk · June 2014

xDanniellex said:

Stronger by Jeff Bauman, survivor and double amputee of Boston Marathon Bombing. Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy, naked truth about pregnancy Time Bandit by the Hillstrand Brothers, crabbers from the show Deadliest Catch.

Stuck in the box!!! If you can get the Hillstrands on audiobook it is fantastic! Such an interesting and funny read! Those guys are crazy!

oliversbear · June 2014

I really enjoyed:

This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin
Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson
Krakatoa by Simon Winchester
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
The Northern Lights by Lucy Jago
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie
A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas and Alexandra in Their Own Words by Andrei Maylunas & Sergei Mironenko

nomadica · June 2014

jjr1214 said:

- The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
- Into Thin Air, Where Men Win Glory or pretty much anything else by Jon Krakauer
- Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (A Walk in the Woods is great too)
- Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
- Freakonomics by Steven Levitt
- Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
- Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
- The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
- Spark by John Ratey
- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

These are some of my favorites!

Wow, you are my non-fiction book reading twin! I've read (and loved) most of these.

Thank you all for great suggestions!!

ThisModernLove · June 2014

I love all these suggestions! Definitely adding some to by TBR pile.

nomadica · June 2014

I will add some of my favorites, as well:

A Primate's Memoir by Sapolsky (one of my all times favorites, LOVED this)

Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother by Chua (not my parenting philosophy but I enjoyed reading this)

Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Ilibagiza (learned a lot from this about the genocide)

The Geography of Bliss by Weiner

Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity by Solomon

All Over But the Shoutin' by Bragg

CeeCeeSugaPie · June 2014

I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but I really enjoyed In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larsen.

Good non-fiction?

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