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BWebb
07-08-2005, 08:17 PM
There was a thread a while back about must read books. The majority of the list was fiction novels. I'm looking for non-fiction books that are a must read. Whatcha got?

jason_t
07-08-2005, 08:29 PM
Richard Dawkins - Selfish Gene
Douglas Hofstadter - Godel, Escher, Bach
Niall Ferguson - Empire

jcx
07-08-2005, 08:45 PM
"The Aquariums of Pyongyang" by Kang Chol-Hwan. Fascinating story of life in Stalinist N. Korea, including 10 years spent in a gulag and subsequent escape from the country.

"Journey From The Land of No" by Roya Hakakian. Follow a Jewish girl who grows up during the Iranian Islamic revolution in the late 70's. A poignant memoir worth a read.

"The World's most Dangerous Places" by Robert Young Pelton. Get the most recent edition. An interesting and entertaining read.

shadow29
07-08-2005, 08:50 PM
Churchill, Roy Jenkins
The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins
The Lexus and The Olive Tree, Thomas Friedman
An Economic Interpretation of the Constituion of the United States, Charles Beard

edit- and the new Faulkner biography, forgot its title, but it really is a tremendous read

IHateKeithSmart
07-08-2005, 08:52 PM
People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn
Eternal Treblinka - Charles Patterson
Hiroshima Diary - Michihiko Hachiya

threeonefour
07-08-2005, 09:14 PM
Education of Henry Adams
In Cold Blood (fiction/non fiction hybrid by Capote)

actually... just look at this http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnonfiction.html

turnipmonster
07-08-2005, 09:29 PM
best history book I've read is Dreadnought by Robert K Massie.

ChipWrecked
07-08-2005, 09:34 PM
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

ZeeJustin
07-08-2005, 09:39 PM
Theory of Poker - David Sklansky

ChipWrecked
07-08-2005, 09:40 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Theory of Poker - David Sklansky

[/ QUOTE ]

Wrong. Fiction.

Colonel Kataffy
07-08-2005, 09:45 PM
the dragons of eden, carl sagan
private life of chairman mao; li Zhisui
sleeping with the devil, robert baer

07-08-2005, 09:47 PM
For everyone that has read 'selfish gene' I would recomend 'the global brain' by Howard Bloom. That book puts everyting in another interesting perspective. BTW I've read recomdations on this book on this forum earlier. It's a great book.

fluxrad
07-08-2005, 09:53 PM
[ QUOTE ]
People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't need to read this. Here's the Cliff's Notes version:

Everyone who ever came to the US from Europe was a [censored] baby rapist!!!!! OMGG!!! DIE BABY RAPISTSTS!!!!!! And the Aztecs made some tasty bread.

by Howard Zinn.

goofball
07-09-2005, 01:55 PM
Against All Enemies - Richard Clarke
Feynman's Rainbow - Leonard Mlodinow (on the short list of books I discovered, started, and finished without stopping)

lucas9000
07-09-2005, 02:12 PM
subway art by martha cooper and henry chalfant
dondi white: style master general by andrew witten and michael white

jkkkk
07-09-2005, 02:22 PM
Non-Fiction - Chuck Palahniuk

Blarg
07-09-2005, 02:53 PM
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't need to read this. Here's the Cliff's Notes version:

Everyone who ever came to the US from Europe was a [censored] baby rapist!!!!! OMGG!!! DIE BABY RAPISTSTS!!!!!! And the Aztecs made some tasty bread.

by Howard Zinn.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dumb.

mason55
07-09-2005, 02:54 PM
Freakonomics by Levitt

HtotheNootch
07-09-2005, 03:01 PM
Shadow Divers - Robert Kurson
An Army at Dawn - Rick Atkinson
Franklin and Winston - Jon Meacham
The Longest Winter - Alex Kershaw
Lightning War - Ronald E. Powaski
Flyboys - James Bradley

imported_ncray
07-09-2005, 03:14 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Douglas Hofstadter - Godel, Escher, Bach


[/ QUOTE ]

Fascinating book, though it can get a bit...dense at times. Highly recommended.

Dead
07-09-2005, 03:21 PM
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't need to read this. Here's the Cliff's Notes version:

Everyone who ever came to the US from Europe was a [censored] baby rapist!!!!! OMGG!!! DIE BABY RAPISTSTS!!!!!! And the Aztecs made some tasty bread.

by Howard Zinn.

[/ QUOTE ]

Shut up, you idiot. We used that text in my AP US class in 11th grade and it's not what you claimed it is.

BWebb
07-09-2005, 03:29 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Freakonomics by Levitt

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow! One I have actually read. I'll be giving some of these a look today at the bookstore. Thanks.

WillMagic
07-09-2005, 03:44 PM
The Smartest Guys in the Room - Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind

It's an excellent retelling of the Enron saga.

Will

TheIrishThug
07-09-2005, 04:01 PM
the bible ... oh wait u said non-fiction, sorry

istewart
07-09-2005, 04:11 PM
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Freakonomics by Levitt

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow! One I have actually read. I'll be giving some of these a look today at the bookstore. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's "non-fiction" but it's selected non-fiction at that. Fun read though.

IndieMatty
07-09-2005, 04:15 PM
Duke Snyder - The Duke of Flatbush. (Seriously)

Sephus
07-09-2005, 04:23 PM
[ QUOTE ]
the bible ... oh wait u said non-fiction, sorry

[/ QUOTE ]

wow you are so smart! where can i send you money?

imported_anacardo
07-09-2005, 04:35 PM
Two of my all-time favorites from that Random House list are

A. J. Leibling's "The Sweet Science" (which may be OOP) and Shelby Foote's "The Civil War" (which is an enormous three-volume piece, so settle in.)

tbach24
07-09-2005, 04:40 PM
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't need to read this. Here's the Cliff's Notes version:

Everyone who ever came to the US from Europe was a [censored] baby rapist!!!!! OMGG!!! DIE BABY RAPISTSTS!!!!!! And the Aztecs made some tasty bread.

by Howard Zinn.

[/ QUOTE ]

Shut up, you idiot. We used that text in my AP US class in 11th grade and it's not what you claimed it is.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree it's not waht the other guy made it out to be, but it's still no an enjoyable read.

Michael Lewis is by far the best writer I've ever read and you must read anything by him. "Moneyball" and "Liar's Poker" are his best works IMO.

Reef
07-09-2005, 05:18 PM
a child called it

rusty JEDI
07-09-2005, 06:01 PM
[ QUOTE ]

The Lexus and The Olive Tree, Thomas Friedman


[/ QUOTE ]

Wouldnt this be a book that needs to be read soon after its written because it is time sensitive?

I have not read it but am reading his next book "the world is flat." I'm a little past half and so far it has been an excellent read that i think most of oot would enjoy.

When i'm done shoul i read "The Lexus...."

rJ

Skipbidder
07-09-2005, 06:10 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Richard Dawkins - Selfish Gene
Douglas Hofstadter - Godel, Escher, Bach
Niall Ferguson - Empire

[/ QUOTE ]

Very nice start.

I'll add The Mind's I (by the above named Hofstadter and philospher Daniel Dennett).

Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan (This is my favorite. I give it out as a gift all the time.)

Prisoner's Dilema (half autobiography of von Neumann and half relatively accessible game theory stuff).

Pretty much anything by Stephen Jay Gould.

Blarg
07-09-2005, 06:41 PM
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't need to read this. Here's the Cliff's Notes version:

Everyone who ever came to the US from Europe was a [censored] baby rapist!!!!! OMGG!!! DIE BABY RAPISTSTS!!!!!! And the Aztecs made some tasty bread.

by Howard Zinn.

[/ QUOTE ]

Shut up, you idiot. We used that text in my AP US class in 11th grade and it's not what you claimed it is.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree it's not waht the other guy made it out to be, but it's still no an enjoyable read.

Michael Lewis is by far the best writer I've ever read and you must read anything by him. "Moneyball" and "Liar's Poker" are his best works IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]

I enjoyed it quite a bit.

sfer
07-09-2005, 06:41 PM
Alexis de Tocqueville
Max Weber
All the President's Men
Federalist #10
Sarah Vowell, "Take the Cannoli"

Blarg
07-09-2005, 06:44 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Two of my all-time favorites from that Random House list are

A. J. Leibling's "The Sweet Science" (which may be OOP) and Shelby Foote's "The Civil War" (which is an enormous three-volume piece, so settle in.)

[/ QUOTE ]

I think I got "The Sweet Science" a couple of years ago. It really was good, too.

Along those lines, another one about boxing, by a Brit reporter and this time more contemporary, was really excellent -- "This Bloody Mary is the Last Thing I Own." This was a very seriously good read and I can't recommend it enough.

Blarg
07-09-2005, 06:57 PM
I've recommended several times "In the Heart of the Sea." It's the true story of the ship purposely wrecked by a whale that inspired Moby Dick. I'm not someone who understands sea terms, but it was very good about not overwhelming with jargon. It was written by a historian who specializes in Nantucket history, which place was the whaling center of the U.S. and therefore the world way back when. So it's more than just a gloss over a ripping boy's adventure scenario; he really builds a fantastic context for the story, telling all about the brutal realities of shipboard life, and why people were willing to put up with it. Somehow he manages to keep the history incredibly interesting. It doesn't hurt that the story involves pirates, cannibalism, rags to riches stories, general human brutality, and the terrors of the open sea whether you're in a dinghy or a larger ship. I read this thing, then read it again, then read it AGAIN in the space of a few days. One of the best reads I've had in years.

Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain was another really fun read. The author rises from young jerk to older jerk, becoming an accomplished and very experienced chef along the way. I don't know what really compelled me to pick up the book, but I've read it at least three times. Very, very funny, and just good in a lot of ways.

The Selfish Gene, as others noted, is also a great one.

Iron and Silk is an extremely good book by Mark Salzman. It's the true story of a young guy, a virtual nut case about martial arts, who went to teach English in China for a couple of years, and wound up becoming the student of a very famous national champion -- Pan Ching Fu was his name, I think -- who was rightly regarded as an absolute phenomenon in China. It became a movie, too, starring Salzman and Pan Ching Fu, that was also really good. The book got a rave review by The New Yorker, so you don't have to fear it's just for people with specialist tastes. The man can write, and many of his passages are brilliantly perceptive, funny, and sometimes quite sad.