# Any good random nonfiction book recommendations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712 "2008-02-15T05:20:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![petew83](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@petew83](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/petew83)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/1 "2008-02-15T05:20:41Z")
I’m looking for an entertaining nonfiction read by an author with a dry sense of humor; an odd topic is a plus. A book I loved was ‘Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife’ by Mary Roach. I have never found another nonfiction book that made me laugh like that one. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/2 "2008-02-15T05:28:19Z")
_Stiff_ by the same author had some funny bits too. There was a good bit of dry (har!) humor in _The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl_ by Tim Egan. It won a big prize (National Book Award?) and was very readable. There was some wit to leaven the morbidity in _The Great Mortality_ by John Kelly, also very readable. It’s about the Black Death. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/3 "2008-02-15T05:36:53Z")
Richard Feynmann’s _Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynmann_ is a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/4 "2008-02-15T05:38:48Z")
I’m reading \*Black Mass: The unholy alliance between the Boston FBI and the Irish Mafia \*and it’s a rollicking read. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/5 "2008-02-15T06:36:53Z")
I’m reading _On royalty_ by Jeremy Paxman. He’s got some good humor in there. It’s kind of an analysis of how royalty works, I guess–some history, some discussion of human nature, religion, etc. Interesting and often rather depressing. I used to think monarchy in the UK was a pretty iniquitous system on the whole, and, well, I still do, though I don’t think he meant it that way–he looks at benefits as well as problems. ---
**Author:** ![bundykala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@bundykala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bundykala)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/6 "2008-02-15T06:57:17Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] _Stiff_ by the same author had some funny bits too. [/QUOTE] I saw the thread title and came in to recommend _Stiff_. ---
**Author:** ![wouldn\_t\_you\_like\_to\_know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@wouldn\_t\_you\_like\_to\_know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wouldn_t_you_like_to_know)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/7 "2008-02-15T07:07:00Z")
I enjoy Bill Bryson’s ‘travel’ books. “A walk in the woods” , “in a sunburned country” and “notes from a small island” were all easy reads with dry humor throughout. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/8 "2008-02-15T08:12:53Z")
There’s a book called _Yes Man_ by [Danny Wallce](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Wallace_%28writer%29), about a man who came to realize that a lot of disappointment and banality was present in his life because he refused lots of opportunities to change things. With that in mind, he made himself a promise to say yes to everything that was offered to him for a year. He had some restrictions about committing crimes and such. It was a fascinating read, and filled with British humor. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/9 "2008-02-15T13:16:36Z")
[QUOTE=petew83] I’m looking for an entertaining nonfiction read by an author with a dry sense of humor; an odd topic is a plus. A book I loved was ‘Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife’ by Mary Roach. I have never found another nonfiction book that made me laugh like that one. [/QUOTE] She’s got another one coming out soon: [Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex](http://www.amazon.com/Bonk-Curious-Coupling-Science-Sex/dp/0393064646/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203081169&sr=1-3). Can’t go wrong with that! ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/10 "2008-02-15T13:43:00Z")
Then there’s Tony Hawks (not the skateboarder) who has a penchant for dreaming up odd challenges and wagers for himself. [Round Ireland with a Fridge](http://www.amazon.com/Round-Ireland-Fridge-Tony-Hawks/dp/0312274920) ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/11 "2008-02-15T17:56:05Z")
Hunter S. Thompson’s _Hell’s Angels_ is a great read and filled with HST’s peculiar brand of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/12 "2008-02-15T18:24:49Z")
_The Know-It-All_ and _The Year of Living Bibically_ by AJ Jacobs are both fantastic and fantastically funny. The first is about his quest to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica cover-to-cover in one year and the second is his quest to adhere to the rules of the Bible as rigidly as possible for a year. Both are awesome, but I think The Know-It-All is better. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/13 "2008-02-15T18:29:33Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Richard Feynmann’s _Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynmann_ is a hoot. [/QUOTE] Yes, yes it is. Feynmann was one of a kind. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/14 "2008-02-16T00:36:02Z")
I’ve enjoyed all three volumes of the _Cartoon History of the Universe._ ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/15 "2008-02-16T01:06:04Z")
A personal favorite is Jessica Mitford’s 1963 expose of the funeral industry, _The American Way of Death_. An updated edition, _The American Way of Death Revisited_, was published in 2000, but I still prefer the original. If I were ever going to teach a high school class on “the way the world _really_ works,” I would absolutely include this book because of the way it illustrates how industries pressure lawmakers to represent their interests rather than those of their constituents. I also enjoyed the previously mentioned _Hell’s Angels_, by Hunter S. Thompson. For sheer laugh-out-loud funniness, you can’t do much better than David Sedaris’ _Naked_, _Me Talk Pretty One Day_, or _Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim_, but I don’t know if they meet your requirements as they are collections of essays and are only _mostly_ non-fiction. (Sedaris himself admits he exaggerates at times.) ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/16 "2008-02-16T01:13:18Z")
Try [Heretics](http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/470), by G. K. Chesterton. Despite the title it is not a religious work. It’s a series of essays about various politicians and celebrities in England from the early twentieth century. It’s not necessary to be familiar with the subjects, since Chesterton’s wit makes it clear what they were like. I found it fascinating to learn that public personalities back then behaved much the same as they do now. The link above goes to the online text, so you don’t even need to leave your computer screen. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/17 "2008-02-16T01:13:29Z")
[Pissing in the snow](http://www.amazon.com/PISSING-SNOW-OTHER-OZARK-FOLKTALES/dp/0380509717/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203124201&sr=8-1) It’s a cultural anthropologists take on Appalachian folk tales, with analysis. The tales themselves are raunchy and humorous and the analysis is facinating. There’s another good one on primate observation, but I can’t remember the name- excellent read. I will look it up, and return. ETA: I’m back. [A Primate’s Memoir](http://www.amazon.com/Primates-Memoir-Neuroscientists-Unconventional-Baboons/dp/0743202414/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203124453&sr=1-7) He has a wry sense of humor and it is at times a poingnant story of his life observaing baboons and interacting with native culture and Jane Goodall. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/18 "2008-02-16T01:51:14Z")
Also \*The Natural History of the Rich \*by Richard Conniff, and _The Closing of the Western Mind_ by Charles Freeman. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/19 "2008-02-16T02:00:48Z")
[Sperm Are from Men, Eggs Are from Women: The Real Reason Men And Women Are Different](http://www.amazon.com/Sperm-Are-Men-Eggs-Women/dp/0762426802/ref=ed_oe_h) by Joe Quirk. Educational and hilarious. P. J. O’Rourke can be pretty good. I think his best book is [Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government](http://www.amazon.com/Parliament-Whores-Humorist-Attempts-Government/dp/0802139701/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203127158&sr=1-1). ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/20 "2008-02-16T02:06:24Z")
I thorughly enjoyed _Assasination Vacation_, by Sarah Vowell. She has a wry wit, liberal bent, and made a chronology of trips to all-things Garfield and McKinley very enjoyable. I’m leaving town tomorrow, and will be driving for three hours, and intend to seek out another Vowell book on CD for the drive. I’m hoping to find _Partly Cloudy Patriot_ at the bookstore. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712.md?page=2)