Catherine tagged me to post my top ten non-fiction books, which as she notes is an impossible task. But a fun one! Here are mostly the first ten I thought of: The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe. Even if you arent a space nut like me -- in fact, especially if you arent, this is the one book you should read about the dawn of the rocket era. (At the very least, see the movie, which is also quite good.) Skunk Works, by Ben Rich. Last week when I asked for aviation non-fiction recs, I got many comments for Skunk Works, for good reason. Id wisely already stolen it from my moms bookshelf a decade ago. The story of the smelly warehouse that engineered modern marvels in secret. A Hole At the Bottom of the Sea, by Joel Achenbach. Im a big fan of books that put recent news into a complete narrative, and Washington Post science reporter Achenbach does an excellent job with the Deepwater Horizon disaster. (I read this right after Michael Lewis The Big Short, which I similarly enjoyed.) A Peoples History of the Supreme Court, by Peter Irons. No boring legalese; these are the stories of real people who suffered injustices and how our country progressed -- and sometimes didnt -- into the society we live in today. Showtime, by Jeff Perlman. Anyone whos been around me for the last six months knows how much I loved this book. I grew up in Southern California at the tail end of the Showtime Lakers era (when I told my all city ball coaches I wanted to play point like Magic) and this was like reliving the excitement all over again. Lincoln at Gettysburg, by Gary Wills. Not being a born-and-bred east coaster, I have very little interest in the Civil War era, but as someone who fancied herself a speechwriter in an alternate reality I thoroughly enjoyed this book on Lincolns famous 272 words. Cosmos, by Carl Sagan. An excellent read if youre a human that lives in the universe. Escape from Camp 14, by Blaine Harden. This was James pick for our book club last year. We dont get much of a glimpse inside the real North Korea, but this story of the first person to be born in the camps and escape will open your eyes. The Professor and the Madman, by Simon Winchester. Pretty sure Rebecca gave me this, that masterful book gifter. The story of the making of the first Oxford English Dictionary -- turns out one of the biggest contributors was an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane. Dirty Wars, by Jeremy Scahill. This is how America does modern warfare. Its sickening. And you should read it and be sickened. (Enjoy!) Honorable Mentions: Just Kids by Patti Smith, Instant: The Story of Polaroid (a story of invention more than photography), Last Men Out by Bob Drury, The Dead Travel Fast - a really fun read by my pal and neighbor Eric Nuzum As Catherine said, no pressure, but Id love to hear recs from Rebecca Fordon, Mindy Williams, and Isabel Lara. And anyone else! Can never have enough book recs.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 18:36:05 +0000
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