2006-12-24 21:41:23 · 9 answers · asked by kitkat1640 6 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
ANY non fiction book you found to be interesting. I love finding out about different subjects, cultures and people. On a good night I can read a 300 page book cover to cover.
2006-12-24 22:06:21 · update #1
Hearty congrats on being a reader ... a habit that's dying out somewhat. Wish I knew more about your age, circumstances, etc., but here's a list for starters, varying in size and domain:
1. Make Gentle the Life of This World - Robert Kennedy's book in which he recorded his thoughts, quotations he'd picked up; edited by Maxwell Taylor Kennedy.
2. Murrow: His Life and Times, by A M Sperber - the life of Ed Murrow (recently filmed as 'Good Night and Good Luck' - at least, one small section of a very interesting and good life). A big, big book but I couldn't put it down.
3. State of Denial, by Bob Woodward: one of the many books about the Iraq mess, but probably the most up-to-date; there's also once called Fiasco, whose author I can't remember, and The Price of Truth, by Joseph Wilson.
4. Opening Skinner's Box, by Lauren Slater - a brilliant review of the most important experiments in psychology in the last century, superbly written, will make you think and think ... full of insights.
5. On The Psychology of Miltary Incompetence, by Norman F Dixon; the best book on leadership (not just in war) ever written. I'd pay less attention to the second part because it's a bit too Freudian for my taste, but the first half is gripping.
6. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (can't remember the authors) - probably the best of a number of accounts because of the insight it gives into the people as well as the business fiasco.
7. Articles of Faith, by Cynthia Gormley: if and only if you're interested in the abortion debate. Another big book - it's a big story - but she manages to describe all the issues and people without once revealing her own stance, which is an amazing feat.
8. Katharine Graham: Personal History. The autobiography of an amazing woman, not afraid to admit her weaknesses and what she had to learn; she was brought up without much of an education, married the editor of the Washington Post - Phil Graham, who committed suicide - and she took over just about the time that the Watergate scandal broke.
2006-12-24 22:02:49 · answer #1 · answered by mrsgavanrossem 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I really enjoyed Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. It focuses mostly on the history of the white, european male (actually, it's about the sciences and the white, european male's involvement therein), but it was still very enjoyable. Bryson was also able to break down some of the more complicated items so that I could understand it easily.
The book also encouraged me to read another couple of his books, In a Sunburned Land (about Australia) and A Walk in the Woods (about hiking the Appalachian trail).
I hope you enjoy.
2006-12-25 08:30:09 · answer #2 · answered by Shell 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote is a classic and the first creative nonfiction novel ever to be written. On a more spiritual level, you could try Don Miguel Ruiz's "The Four Agreements," or, for a longer read, Neale Donald Walsch's "Conversations With God." If you've never read CWG, start with Book 1--it's a nice introduction to the material.
2006-12-25 05:50:14 · answer #3 · answered by Carrie G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. It's a first hand account of being in the Vietnam war. Usually I couldn't care less about war books, but this one was really emotionally involved. It was probably the best non-fiction book I've ever read.
2006-12-25 05:46:38 · answer #4 · answered by Jack S 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
1. Go Ask Alice. It's about drugs, but it is awesome and terrible and every one knows some one who's been there.
2. The Secret Room?? (not sure of title) by Corrie Ten-Boom. This one is religious, but, it is about WWII and how she hid Jewish people in her home and what happened to her while she was at the concentration camp after she got caught. Very good read, it gave me a lot of insight about the war and a few life lessons!
2006-12-27 03:56:50 · answer #5 · answered by stephiii2003 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dear Miss Breed by Joanne Oppenheim
2006-12-25 11:36:34 · answer #6 · answered by laney_po 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mornings on Horseback. A good biography of Theodore Roosevelt. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. I'd have to know what you liked better to suggest anything else.
2006-12-25 05:48:59 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Red Bird Just Like This by Earl Jesse Stevens. It's an auto biographical novel.It will disturb you.
2006-12-27 02:09:06 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
THE BIGGEST SECRET by David Icke
Hehe.
2006-12-25 05:55:45 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋