Heya there!!
Like the Title says. I'm looking for non-fiction books that got you in reading non-fiction, specifically.
I have read 25 books this year and only 5 were non-fiction. My book buddy insists I must explore it more.
The 2 out of 5 books that I read and loved are:
- How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life by Seneca
- I Want to Die but I Want to eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee
(Yes, I do see the theme here😬. But, I'm open to read more.)
I've tried reading memoirs, autobiographies and biographies but didn't like it much. I'd be happy to give it another chance, though!
So, hit me up with your recs, your favourites and if there's one you think is underrated/overhyped.
Thanks!!🙇🏻♀️
by bhumizaa
9 Comments
Keeping with the death theme:
Advice for Future Corpses and Those That Love Them
Stiff
I’ll give two:
1. Master of the Senate: Robert Caro
It’s part of his apparently never-to-be-completed history about the life of Lyndon Johnson and is the best way to explore how electoral power works in the US. He’s a fantastic writer and I wish he’d finish the series (the first book was published in like 1982. It’s like what Game of Thrones fans must feel like).
2. Under the Banner of Heaven: John Krakauer
Ignore the cliff notes Hulu miniseries. It starts as a true-crime book that then backtracks into the history of Mormonism and how justifications of slaughter through ideology occur. Yes, it’s a fascinating look at the history of Mormonism, but the villain of the book is unchecked ideology, not a specific religion.
Both wonderfully written books about complex topics and neither of them are evangelizing.
An Immense World, about how animals sense the world around us– it has changed how I walk through life. just absolutely mind blowing stuff.
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield – something on life to balance out the death theme.
One non-fiction I think is a must read is The Happiest Man on Earth, by Eddie Jaku.
It’s about a jew who was forced into concentration camps during WW2. Sounds morbid but his view on his life is inspiring and his story is incredible!
*Wings of Morning: The Story of the Last American Bomber Shot Down Over Germany in World War II* by Thomas Childers.
*With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa* by E.B. Sledge.
*The Forgotten Soldier* by Guy Sajer.
*Ray Parkin’s Wartime Trilogy: Out of the Smoke: The Story of a Sail; Into the Smother; and The Sword and the Blossom* by Ray Parkin.
*Three Corvettes* by Nicholas Monsarrat.
*The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916* by Sir Alistair Horne.
*Co. Aytch* by Samuel R. Watkins.
*Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War* by Mark Bowden.
*Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America’s War With Militant Islam* by Mark Bowden.
*Dark Horse: the Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield* by Kenneth D. Ackerman.
*Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway* by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully.
*The Outlaws* by Ernst von Salomon.
*Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History* by S. C. Gwynne.
*The Wild Green Earth* by Bernard Fergusson.
> I’m looking for non-fiction books that got you in reading non-fiction, specifically.
That would be Globalization: The Human Consequences (Zygmunt Bauman)
Others:
* No Contest: The Case Against Competition (Alfie Kohn)
* Daring Greatly: How The Courage To Be Vulnerable Transforms The Way We Live, Love, Parent, And Lead (Brené Brown)
* The Story Of Stuff (Annie Leonard)
* The News: A User’s Manual (Alain De Botton)
* Salt Sugar Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us (Michael Moss)
* Trust Us, We’re Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science And Gambles With Your Future (John Stauber & Sheldon Rampton)
* The Search For A Nonviolent Future (Michael N. Nagler)
Here are a few that I really enjoyed:
* **Educated** by Tara Westover – about the author’s journey from a survivalist upbringing in rural Idaho, without formal education, to earning a PhD from Cambridge University. Reads like a novel.
* **The Spy and the Traitor** by Ben Macintyre – about a KGB officer who became a double agent for Britain, detailing his espionage, betrayal, and daring escape during the Cold War.
* **Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage** by Alfred Lansing – About Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 Antarctic expedition where he led his crew to safety after facing extreme adversity.
American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee – about wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park. Really compelling, tells the story from both wolf advocates and local hunters’ perspectives – narrative nonfiction, not dry.
Deep by James Nestor – all about freediving. Also incredible compelling, also narrative!
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone – more of a memoir but I think it counts, and I think it aligns with the theme of the other books you liked! It’s a therapist’s experience being a therapist.