Favorite Non-Poker Books

[Jman28]

I've never enjoyed reading. However, after reading poker books the last year or so, I've acquired a thirst for knowledge. It feels good to know things that other people don't understand.

Can you all throw in a recommendation of one of your favorite non-fiction books?

[cbfair]

It's hard to recommend non-fiction books without a sense of what interests you (besides poker). I've often found inspiration and references by reading various novels. For instance, the first two non-fiction books that came to mind are Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Micheal Baigent (sp) and Micheal Leigh and the Hiram Key by Christopher Knight.

This of course assumes you're interested in early christian secret texts, centuries-old fraternal societies, the search for the historical jesus and any number of other topics.

This comes to mind because I just finished the DaVinci Code, a popular novel that deals with all these subjects. While you may find the non-fiction dry, Dan Brown's novel puts it all in an exciting perspective that will inspire further study.

FWIW - I came to these non-fiction titles years ago after reading a string of novels including The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea.

[nicky g]

You'll get more answers to this in the Other Other Topics forum.

My favourite non-fiction books are, more or less in order:

Pity The Nation by Robert Fisk about the Lebanese Civil War
In Pharoah's Army by Tobias Woolf about his experiences in the Vietnam war
Wiseguys by Nicholas Pileggi (book that Goodfellas was basd on)
A couple of Paul Krugmann books (Accidental Theorist/Peddling Prosperity) on economics
Dreaming of Damascus by Stephen Glain, about the Middle East

There are others but I can't think of them right now.

[deacsoft]

The Bible
The Art of War
101 Nights of Great Sex

Titles are arranged in no particular order. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[sexypanda]

The Elegant Universe or The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene. They are both great theoretical physics books. The Elegant Universe is mainly about String Theory and is slightly more difficult that the Fabric of the Cosmos. The Fabric of the Cosmos also discusses String Theory but also the nature of Time. I strongly recommend them both. They changed my view of life greatly.

[jeffnc]

I just ordered a book on Chaos Theory. At least it sounded interested when Jeff Goldblum talked about it in Jurassic Park.

[1p0kerb0y]

For the self-help motivational reader:

Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

[colgin]

My favorite novel (or set of novels if you prefer) by far is Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time". I read the older (and very reliable) Moncrieff translation, not the newer Penguin edition with multiple translators.

It took me the better part of a year to finsih but was one of the most rewarding experiences of any kind for me. While I have loved many books, there have been very few that have made me really see, think about and feel the world differently. Plus, its one of the funniest novels ever written.

Of course, most everything by Shakespeare is worth reading and won't take up nearly as much time.

For more contemporary stuff I like the novels of the British writer Graham Swift with "Waterland" (not to be confused with Kevin Costner's "Waterworld") and "Ever After" (not to be confused with the Drew Barrymore film with the same name) being particular favorites.

[gila]

Poetry, Language, Thought - Heidegger
Religion and Nothingness - Kieji Nishitiana (sp?)

[npc]

Nonfiction?

One of my favorites is "The Mythical Man Month" by Fred Brooks. There may be more wisdom in this book than in some libraries. It reaches beyond its ostensible subject of software project management.