Nonfiction recommendations

Parent Cafe
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<p>I have been following the other thread with book recommendations but since I generally read nonfiction books the thread does not have a lot for me.</p>

<p>I like biography, history, true crime and sports although I will read anything.</p>

<p>I am currently reading James Monroe by Gary Hart (yes that Gary Hart) and The invention of Air by Steven Johnson.</p>

<p>I usually look at the NY Times nonfiction best seller list, watch C-Span Book TV and my library has a monthly paper called BOOKNotes that I look over. I also get recommendations from my brother. Anyone have suggestions? One caveat I like books that are no longer than 400 or so pages. I do not buy books so I look for a quick turnover.</p>

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<p>Annette Gordon-Reed, The Hemingses of Monticello (got the National Book Award)
Rory Stewart, The Places in Between (about his travels across Afghanistan) and The Prince of Marshes about his time in Iraq).
Adam Nicolson’s God’s Secretaries: The Making of King James Bible.
Dava Sobel, Galileo’s Daughter
Jared Diamond, Guns, Steel and Germs (that last one is long).</p>

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<p>Marite, I enjoyed God’s Secretaries.
Mountains Beyond Mountains (Tracy Kidder) Drug resistant TB, politics, stubbornness, and a certain kind of genius
Three Cups of Tea (Greg Mortenson) one climber’s mission (and unlikely experiences ) building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban. </p>

<p>Under the Banner of Heaven (Jon Krakauer) story of the F (fundamental–I think) LDS</p>

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<p>not new (1997), but recently unearthed it on our bookshelves: Cod, by Mark Kurlansky.</p>

<p>Hard to describe, but the cover refers to it as “A biography of the fish that changed the world”.</p>

<p>history/economics and even some fascinating centuries-old recipes. 276 pages.</p>

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<p>I should have remembered Mountains beyond Mountains. It’s about Paul Farmer’s work in Haiti. His partner, James Kim, has just been appointed President of Dartmouth.</p>

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<p>Any of David McCullough’s books. They’re all good.</p>

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<p>midmo- I read Cod- enjoyed it- he also wrote Salt. Another fish book I enjoyed was The founding fish. It was about shad. I think John McPhee wrote that one.</p>

<p>mafool for some reason I could not get into Mountains beyond Mountains but I did enjoy Under the Banner of Heaven</p>

<p>marite- thanks- I think I will try Gods Secretaries. I may try Guns Steel again that was another one I picked up but could not get started on. </p>

<p>Thanks for the list. Keep them coming it will be a good list to pick from.</p>

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<p>coureur- I read his Teddy Roosevelt book I think. Did he write The Patriots if so I also read that.</p>

<p>Correct this it was 1776 and Mornings on Horseback. I did read both they were great.</p>

<p>Could not get into the Panama Canal book again sometimes you got to try them again.</p>

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<p>Tom, I only persevered with Mountains because it was a book club selection. You may want to try again, but then again, there are sooooo many books out there.</p>

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<p>Any of Bruce Catton’s books. He is known for his Civil War works, but I am particularly fond of “Waiting for The Morning Train,” which is a memoir of his boyhood in northern Michigan. It is lovely. The man could write.</p>

<p>Bill Bryson’s books about travel and people
.</p>

<p>P.S. Do you fish? If so, that opens up another realm altogether.</p>

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<p>mafool- that sounds good I like memoirs. Did you read Bob Greene’s book about the WWII train and North Platte Nebraska. I enjoyed that one.</p>

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<p>No. Do you recall the title?</p>

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<p>Tom</p>

<p>Three by H. W. Brands:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The First American: Life and Time of Benjamin Franklin (This is far longer than your 400 page limit, but in my opinion the most interesting of the Franklin biographies.)</p></li>
<li><p>The Age of Gold: the California Gold Rush and… (again, long, but great stories about how the money that established Stanford U. was made. Things were a little different, then…)</p></li>
<li><p>Masters of Enterprise (I’m borrowing this recommendation from my husband. He read it AND listened to it on tape. Then again, he is an economist.)</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>Anything by Dava Sobel
Anything by John McPhee
Anything by Simon Winchester
If you like travelogues: Isabella Bird Six Months in the Sandwich Islands (written in the 1800s) and her other books (to my mind, the Sandwich Islands one if by far the best)
Karen Pryor Don’t Shoot the Dog, which is supposedly about dog training but is also about teaching anyone to do anything without using punishment
Niall Ferguson, a book called Empire, about how the British empire fell from being a world power (interesting perspective on the American Revolution)</p>

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<p>There are a lot of great suggestions here so thanks.</p>

<p>mafool- no I do not fish. I just like interesting books.</p>

<p>I will try to find the title of the North Platte book.</p>

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<p>mafool- here is the title # Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen (William Morrow, 2002) ISBN 0-06-008196-1.</p>

<p>I got it from wikipedia- I have read a few others from Greene also. Now I am sorry I looked it up seems Greene has quite a flawed moral compass. I wish I didn’t know.</p>

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<p>One of my favorites: River of Doubt by Candice Millard. It is about Teddy Roosevelt exploring the Amazon. Never go on a cruise with Teddy!</p>

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<p>I like this thread!
I like non-fiction the best- even though I am in a book group that leans toward Austen </p>

<p>Favorite authors
Tim Egan. a local guy ( pacific northwest) who writes with the eye of an anthropologist.
Ive read the Good Rain- Breaking Blue and getting ready to read The Worst Hard Time ( which won some big award last year- )</p>

<p>Thomas Friedman ( but nowdays- I don’t have enough time to read him- cause it takes me a while to process) but I really want to read, Hot, Flat and Crowded.</p>

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<p>ek4- your right some authors style also take me a long time to process their books. That usually causes me to attempt reading them later. Some authors I have just given up. I can not read anything by Christopher Hitchens- every time I start one of his books I just give up. I stand up and say ok your smarter than me sorry I can not read your book and that’s the end of it.</p>

<p>I will recommend Tim Egan to my brother he loves that subject. He has read a lot of books by Least Heat Moon.</p>

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<p>Our book group * is * going to read a book about Teddy Roosevelt in a few months- but as his name isn’t in the title, I can’t remember which one?</p>