Agree with @deb922 that In the Heart of the Sea is a good book. Pretty much anything by Jon Krakauer and I like Paul Theroux travel books. I also enjoyed McCullough’s The Greater Journey: American in Paris
My husband LOVED Boys in the Boat. He couldn’t stop talking about it.
I really enjoyed Jon Krakauers book, Into Thin Air about a mountain climbing disaster on Mt Everest. Very compelling.
I second anything by Eric Larson as well as Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell.
Wild Swans by Jung Chang. A story of 3 generations of a Chinese family in China. A fascinating book.
Agree with the recommendations for Wild Swans and Warmth of Other Suns. If you found the latter interesting, try Family Properties by Beryl Satter. Other suggestions: Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies, one of the people on the outside who looked after the Frank family while they were in hiding. And not exactly a bio, but I just read Being Mortal by Atul Gawande and recommend that one for everyone with aging parents.
Emperor of All Maladies by Siddharta Mukherjee. Excellent book detailing the history of cancer.
The Warmth of Other Suns is one of my favorite books ever. Wonderful writing, and memorable stories that have stuck with me. I also loved Cadillac Desert, though it is an older book at this point. Instructive for anyone living in the arid West. Recently I finished, "Surviving Paradise, One year on a Fisappearing island. By Peter Rudiak-Gould, and very much appreciated his analysis of culture in a Peace Corps stay on the Marshall Islands.
I could go on in this vein for a long while. Favorite authors come to mind. Bill Bryson, Dave Eggars, Ruth Reichle, Peter Hessler, who wrote hilariously and brilliantly about China after his initial Peace Corps stint there in the '90s in River Town.
Agree with Being Mortal. Instructive for most of us. Vergese is another physician writer, and have really appreciated his perspectives and fine writing.
Zealot by Reza Aslan, about the historical figure Jesus, was a truly fascinating read. The book places Jesus in the historical context and provides interesting alternative interpretations of key events in Jesus’ life. I’m not religious and I loved it. I know some religious people who read and loved it, but I wouldn’t recommend it to those with a more fundamentalist point of view.
oldies but goodies–Medical Detectives I and II by Berton Roueche. Adventures in epidemiology. If you have any interest in disease or public health, or even if you don’t–fascinating. I also want to add, John McPhee on anything is worth reading.
A big second to Emperor of all Maladies, mentioned by Bromfield. There is a good reason this book won a Pulitzer. The writing is good. The author makes the doctors come alive. It was amazing how many advancements have been made and the changes in treatment over the past 25 years.
I’ll also put in a word for Emperor of All Maladies, a terrific, fascinating book.
A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson’s take on science and scientists - entertaining!
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed with our Families Heart-breaking
And the Band Played On Still one of the best books written about the onslaught of the HIV/AIDS epidemic
The Hare with Amber Eyes: an Inheritance by Edmund DeWall – a study of an inherited art collection/a fascinating family history. This book has it all: WW2 in Europe/modern Japan/paintings, Japanese art, art history, unraveling a mystery, etc. Really a great read.
@greenbutton - EMPTY MANSIONS - YES! YES! YES! - LOVED THAT BOOK!
Devil in the Whit City was awesome too!
Raven - an absolutely amazing book about the Jim Jones cult - one of the best if not the best book I read this year
Desperate Passage - great book about the Donner Party
http://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Passage-Donner-Perilous-Journey/dp/1480563382
Going Clear - fascinating book about Scientology
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=going+clear
So many great suggestions. I loved The Hare with the Amber Eyes. Interesting book and very appropriate this week with all the discussion about the confederate flag is Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz. This was the assigned book for older d’s freshman summer reading and both DH and I have since read it and is very insightful. Agree that the Erik Larson and David McCullough books are good reads. In another vein, I recently read Orange is the New Black and Wild and recommend both titles, very different books.
A Spy Among Friends–the story of Kim Philby, the British spy. Absolutely mind-boggling how inepet both the CIA ad British intelligence were.
The Good Spy:The Life and Death of Robert Ames. The life story of one of the few American CIA/State Department operatives who was respected and trusted in the Arab world
The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly. A physician’s account of his first year as an intern at Columbia U’s hospital.
Just finished one that won’t be out “officially” until October–The Witch of Lime Street. An account of a Boston medium in the 1920s. Absolutely amazing the famous people of her day who believed in her and the unlikely person who tried to prove she was a fraud.
I also liked The Boys In the Boat, mentioned above.
Tatin, how did you like “Dead Wake”? My mom is reading it, and I wonder if I should steal it when she’s done.
Four of my favorite non-fiction books:
Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer
The Demon Under the Microscope, Thomas Hager
The Great Influenza, John M. Barry
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 , Simon Winchester
ETA – Oh, and Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand
Citizens of London
The Generals
Under the Banner of Heaven
Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza-about surviving the Rwandan genocide. This is not a book I ever would have chosen but our book club selected it severa years ago and I’m so glad I read it. It was very well received by all and has stuck with me.
@LasMa Actually “Dead Wake” made so little impression on me that a month later I can barely recall anything about it. So not memorable.