What are some great non-fiction books you have read recently?
What are some great non-fiction books you have read recently?
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Holy Land Unholy War by Anton La Guardia.
Stella Rimington
Open Secret: The Autobiography of the Former Director-General of MI5
Unbroken….absolutely amazing.
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win WWII by Liza Mundy
This is next on my list! Can’t wait!
Monkey Mind by Daniel Smith, The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich , Lady Killers by Tori Telfer, and Priceless by Robert Wittman
The Strange Death of Europe by Douglas Murray.
The Warmth of Other Suns & The Lemon Tree….both excellent!
Both amazing books!
Loved The Warmth of Other Suns!
Where do I start?
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
All the Things We Never Knew: Chasing the Chaos of Mental Illness by Shelia Hamilton
….I can go on lol.
Is the book on mental illness about the various diagnoses or about the treatment of mental illness?
If you liked The Hot Zone, you should read Beating Back the Devil by Maryn McKenna!
@Kristine – It’s actually on the author’s journey in dealing with her husband’s mental illness and his suicide later on. I thought it was very enlightening. I read many books of those with it but it was refreshing to read how others around see it. As a married woman, with kids, that deals with such illnesses – it hit home.
@Leah Thank you.
Wedlock by Wendy Moore
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D Vance !
I enjoyed it.
Unbroken. Couldn’t put it down.
Sisters First
“The Jersey Brothers” by @Sally.
KL a history of the concentration camp system in the Third Reich. Very dense but we’ll written.
Reading Beneath the Scarlett Sky based on a true story.
Yes, but not non-fiction.
Devil in the White City
Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux. I read this last year, but still think about it, such a great read 🙂
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35476.Black_Elk_Speaks
Outliers
Danger UXB by James Owen is a really good book
Good suggestions! I just finished Grant by Ron Chernow (good but long), God: A Human History by Reza Aslan (pretty decent), American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffery Toobin (wild ride) and The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit (great look at a famous hermit).
The wife between us!
Non fiction?
Brain on Fire
I’m reading Data and the Goliath right now (recommended by someone in this group)…not the most exciting read but so very necessary. Unsettling to say the least. Learning how to mitigate the invasion of our privacy that’s coming from all directions.
Ship Ablaze. One of the best non fiction books I have ever read. It’s about the fire on the steamship General Slocum. A day tripper steamboat that went on fire with 1400 women and children on a picnic excursion. It’s about circumstance and carelessness.
Spitfire Girl by Jackie Moggridge
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson.
Covered Wagon Women – letters from women who rode the Oregon Trail; Laughing At My Nightmare; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; The Elephant Whisperer; Born A Crime
I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – that one is excellent. She made the list of most overlooked obituaries in the NY times recently.
Mitchell Bergeson Jr. My husband has met members of her family. That story is truly fantastic….isn’t it?
Jennifer Kovall Pletcher That is neat! Yes it is. She lives on for sure.
A House in the Sky.
That looks good
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson;
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander; and
Waking Up White by Debby Irving
I read the first two. Just Mercy is a favorite. Mr. Stevenson is a great man!
@Mitchell I agree – he is a real inspiration!
When Breath Becomes Air was excellent. Option B:Facing Adversity was probably my other favorite from Last Year. It’s by Sheryl Sandberg. She wrote it after he husband passed away.
I would really love to read When Breath becomes air….. I’ve only heard the Foreword by Abraham Verghese on audiobook
I listened to it , it was a very well narrated audio book
Am ready Sapiens. Really good
It’s surprisingly easy to read
L’appart by @David
Twilight at the World of Tomorrow, fascinating history of the 1939 World’s Fair in the context of the looming war.
“We Band of Angels”
Jackie’s Girl My Life with the Kennedy Family by Kathy McKeon, I enjoyed this book, another angle of Jackie told by her personal assistant
Endurance by Scott Kelly – a year on the International Space Station
I just picked this one up at the library. It sounds juicy.
It’s fascinating
Radium Girls…Kate Moore
I almost bought the other day. Was it a good read?
I’m reading it now. Very good and eye-opening. Corporate greed!!! I got it at the library.
Awesome. Thanks for the tip!
Also very sad for the girls and their families.
Would it be similar to Silkwood, only non-fiction?
@Betty it’s about the girls, some as I young as 13, who painted watch faces with radium. It led to their death.
@Grace , oh, #(85!
@Betty ?
Dino what you mean.
@Grace , unprintable!
@Nancy I think you have to be prepared to read about some very grotesque medical results from radium exposure. Good book, though.
@Michelle, Thank you for the feedback. That helps. I saw it at the airport last week on a work trip. (My “habit” when I travel is to buy a new book) I read the jacket and picked up on the story a bit and that’s why I hesitated. Something to “read” vs something to read.
Disaster Artist
Brave by Rose McGowan.
On writing by Stephen King. Also anything Brene Brown
I really enjoyed Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen
Agreed. Fantastic read
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25852784
I read that one. Excellent!
Yes. Evicted was probably the best nonfiction I read last year.
American fire
looks interesting!
This is on my tbr list. Currently reading Prairie Fires, and plan to read Little Fires Everywhere soon. My reading list is hotting up!
Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo
The Killers of the Flower Moon
The Power of Myth Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell
Jon Krakauer….
Into Thin Air was amazing – doesn’t get much better. Into the Wild was good too.
Agreed. That was the first book of his I read. How did you like Under The Banner of Heaven?
I never read that one. I’ll see if its on my TBR on goodreads. Into Thin Air was a masterpiece of adventure journalism. What’s your fav?
For a long time it was Into Thin Air, that’s how I was introduced to him via Outside Magazine, but then I read Under the Banner of Heaven…completely different stories, though. It was just a fascinating read. His writing draws me in.
When I googled his name to remind myself what I had read of his (remembering Into Thin Air, Into the Wild, Under The Banner…) was surprised to realize he has others I haven’t and have now added to my TBR So, I think it’s a tie between the first two for now. Into the Wild, though I definitely enjoyed…Basically haven’t read one of his I don’t like 🙂
What’s your favorite of his? aka which one should I read next?
I probably like Into the Wild the best simply for the human drama element of Christopher McCandless and his journeys during his short life – I found him fascinating, and I was moved. But, as far as a pure adventure story, Into Thin Air is it! I haven’t read much more from Karkauer unfortunately, but I will start with Under The Banner of Heaven. I heard Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer is a very good book as well if you want to try that. I am open to reading anything – but I like history, biographies and human dramas the best. I think that is why I like Krakauer books – he is up my alley. I am always on the look out for the next good book – no better way than asking others. Goodreads is a excellent source as well.
The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantu
Revolution Song by Russell Shorto.
Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev
That looks interesting. I added it to my TBR.
Tell me about it
Elizabeth Stepp Written by a Brit with Russian ties. He went to Russia to work in the state media there. He tells lots of stories about modern day Russia and what it is like to live there. There is, of course, a whole lot of corruption. 🙂 I enjoyed it a lot. It isn’t really long and I just sped through it. I hope the author will write another book. He is an excellent writer.
Currently reading PRIZE by D Yergin. It is a book about Greed and power from OIL, was awarded Pulitzer too.
But my favorite non fic is Why Nations Fail by Acemoglu & Robinson. It asked why Nogales, AZ is economically better than Nogales, Mex? While mostly both share the same culture, music, language, race etc.
Redeeming love… It’s a must read life changing read
Great post @Mitchell, saving this link to add to my list. Thanks!
Killing Pablo
Logical family–armisteAd maupin; when we rise- Cleve jones
The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang
Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink. Our book club read it and we all loved it.
The Other Slavery, The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America, by Andres Resendez. History unknown to most Americans. Ran from the 1500’s up to the 20th century. Astonishing.
Killers of the Flower Moon.
Prisoners of Geography, Notes From a Foreign Country : An American Abroad in a Post-American World, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?
The Millionaire Next Door
American Fire
The Boys in the Boat
Grant by Ron Chernow (I’m close to finishing it.)
I finished that in January- it’s a beast. Grant got a bad rap, glad Chrenow redeemed him.
I love Anne Lamott’s books, especially “Traveling Mercies.” She’s so inspirational and yet so down to earth. She embodies the notion of grace. I’m so grateful.
-The Line Becomes a River – Dispatches From The Boarder by Francisco Cantu
The author writes of growing up along the Mexican border and working as a Border Control agent
Wild Things -The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult by Bruce Handy
Lost Connections
Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions by Johan Nihri
@Tracy Really good? Not depressing?
@Natalie no. Really interesting perspective on use of medication to treat depression and how it could be better treated by engaging with others and getting involved in making positive changes in our communities.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
this one got good ratings on Goodreads.
Playing with Fire: the 1968 Election and the Transformation of Politics by Lawrence O’Donnell.
I want to read that ! On the hold list at the library!
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, by Michelle McNamara. True crime. The author died while writing the book, and a lot of people think she was on the brink of solving the case. She was married to Patton Oswalt.
What Happened by Hillary Clinton.
I found this book very interesting
American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land
The Stranger Beside Me – Ann Rule
Great book and author
John Adams
H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald
Just Mercy
What’s it about?
@Leah It is about the unjust criminal justice system in our country. The author is Bryan Stevenson. He is a civil rights attorney. The book traces his fight to get an innocent man off Death Row. It is so compelling! I highly recommend it.
@Sharron thanks. I’m sure I’d love the book. We don’t actually have a criminal JUSTICE system, and we certainly don’t do much of anything that resembles rehabilitation, so our prisons are revolving doors.
@Leah Read Just Mercy for a book club, very informative, amazing man, stayed with me for a long time
@Leah You’re right. Prisons for Profit is just a horrible stain on our society. Also people of color are the victims of this more often than other races.
The Botany of Desire. It was quite an interesting read. Weird, but a fun book!
“CONVERSATIONS WITH KENNEDY” by Benjamin C. Bradlee; “WE” by Charles A. Lindbergh (originally published in 1927, shortly after Lindbergh had flown solo from New York to Paris); and “UNDERCOVER: The Men and Women of the Special Operations Executive” by Patrick Howarth.
Season of the Witch by David Talbot. Fascinating!
Code Girls by Liza Mundy
The Sweetness of Life – by Jamie Zunick
Furiously Happy – by Jenny Lawson
Red – by Sammy Hagar
??
Celebrations of Death: An Anthology of Mortuary Ritual
Granted, I havent finished it in its entirety yet.
How to Be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman is very good. 24 Hours in Ancient Rome by Philip Matyszak is good too.
Creatures of the Day by Irwin Yalom
Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.
Blood and Thunder a biography of Robert E Howard.
All shot to hell
American Fire
Hillbilly Elegy, Forty Autumns, Grandma Gatewood’s Walk. Water from an Ancient Well.
Just now reading Hillbilly Elegy. Great book.
When the Body Says No
Or Hunger by Roxanne Gay.
Fantasyland
Imagine heaven by john burke
Anything by Mary Roach, Packing for Mars, Grunt, Stiff, etc. science with humor! Currently reading Killers of the Flower Moon…terrible, powerful story.
I’m finishing “one Helluva ride” by Liz Clarke. I had absolutely no interest in NASCAR. Never watch a race, but I knew of the author. It is a well written and researched book that has me intrigued about a topic I knew nothing about.
The Last Castle story of the Vanderbilt’s
The Boys in the Boat
Glass Castle.
Killers of the Flower Moon and Forty Autumns.
Difficult People. /Something for Nothing. Why Men Love Bitches hh
Hillbilly Elegy-J.D. Vance
Hidden Figures
When Breath Becomes Air
AutoBiography of Billy Graham
Women & Power, by Mary Beard.
I really enjoyed Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography “Born to Run”
“Think On These Things,” Krishnamurti
Your Resonant Self by Sarah Payton
On Writing by Stephen King
“Hank and Jim,” about the 50+ year friendship between Henry Fonda and James Stewart. “Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson,” about Edith Wilson virtually running the President’s office after Woodrow Wilson’s stroke.
Everything from Philip Blom …
Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca
Big Magic
The Monuments Men and Finding Italy. Both by Robert Edsel. Anything by David McCullough.
Educated by Tara Westover
Long walk to freedom by Nelson Mandela ??????
This one is on my short-list
A Hope More Powerful than the sea
Havent read it in a while but I’ll always recommend Rich Dad, Poor Dad to anyone.
Reading Eyewitness at Wounded Knee.
Also, Create Your Future: Memoir by Jack Healey (former head of Amnesty). Full disclosure, I helped him with it! But highly recommend anyway
Fire and Fury!
when books went to war – publishers and librarians fighting censorship in WWII
Biographies
Night
Life changing
Anything from Simon Winchester
Haven’t read any nonfic in a while, but loved Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose when I read it 10 or 15 years ago.
1. F You Very Much: Understanding the culture of rudeness-and what we can do about it by Danny Wallace
2. So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
When Breath Becomes Air and
Educated by Tara Westover
Just Mercy, The Warmth of Other Suns, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Devil in White City, Radium Girls, Emperor of All Maladies.
I read Just Mercy – fabulous!
@Mitchell So good!
@Carolyn I have Killers of the Flower Moon on tap? Does that one draw you in?
@Mitchell Yes, author is a journalist and did great job on a story I wasn’t familiar with. Interesting story about the FBI becoming the nation’s police force too. Locals had no interest in solving the murders…
Thanks, looking forward to it. I love books by journalists – usually has more flair and life to it.
@Mitchell I look forward to hearing what you think. The author was at Wordstock 2017 in Portland in November. My friends said he was a great speaker too…
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah; A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston
The Girl With Seven Names (Escape from North Korea) by Hyeonseo Lee. Excellent book that our book club enjoyed.