Hi fellow book lovers.
I’ve been on a non-fiction reading spree lately and I’m eager to discover some remarkable non-fiction books. However, I’m not looking for self-help or how-to books this time. Instead, I’m interested in those non-fiction works that have left a lasting impact on your life, expanded your horizons, or simply captivated you with their storytelling.
So, I’m turning to this amazing community for recommendations! Please share the best non-fiction book you’ve ever read and tell me why it made such an impression on you. Whether it’s a thought-provoking history book, a mind-bending science book, a gripping true-crime story, or any other genre of non-fiction, I’m open to all suggestions. Looking forward to your suggestions and insights. Thanks in advance.
by clumsyninza
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Bad Blood by John Carreyrou – about Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe – about the troubles in Northern Ireland
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe – about the Sackler family and the opioid epidemic
*A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius* by Dave Eggers
Not sure if you are interested in memoirs in your non-fiction category. I realize memoirs are kind of a specific sub-genre of non-fiction. I always forget that book is a memoir and categorize it in my head as fiction.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman.
Legacy of Ashes – Tim Weiner – honest and shocking history of the CIA
Tamed – Prof. Alice Roberts- modern, DNA based history of animals and plants domesticated by humans. Some surprises.
The Hemlock Cup – Bettany Hughes – revived my half forgotten love of the classics from my youth.
I mostly read non-fiction so it’s a long list, but I’ll go with…
Most recent:
*Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath* by Heather Clark
*The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle* by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen
All-time:
*And the Band Played On* by Randy Shilts, and *How to Survive a Plague* by David France (two books on the same subject, written several decades apart, and best read consecutively)
Anthropocene Reviewed
Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer
Endurance – Alfred Lansing
The Indifferent Stars Above – Daniel James Brown
“The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson
It covers two separate historical figures in Chicago…Daniel Burnham who was the architect behind the 1893 World’s Fair and H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who had an elaborate “murder castle” he lured his victims too.
I’m not the biggest non-fiction fan, and history isn’t my favorite topic, so the fact that I loved the hell out of this book says something. I just found both stories so fascinating in completely different ways and thought the author did a good job of how he constructed the two tales.
Godel Escher Bach by Douglas Hoffsteader – this all the way
Into Thin Air
The Indifferent Stars Above