# Any good random nonfiction book recommendations?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712>\
**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:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/21 "2008-02-16T03:18:48Z")

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[QUOTE=Tenar]  
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.

[/QUOTE]  
Speaking of which, her letters have just been published, that would be interesting. A few years ago, a fascinating sort of collective biography of the Mitford sisters came out–amazing stuff. Sort of a snapshot of the 20th century all in one family.

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/22 "2008-02-16T03:21:42Z")

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Another vote for O’Rourke’s _A Parliament of Whores_. You’ll never think of Congress the same way again.

I really enjoyed Richard Brookhiser’s _Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington_, which has a gentle sense of humor but also very entertainingly explores Washington’s life and legacy. Brookhiser explains why Washington deserves a lot more respect and admiration than he gets nowadays, when he’s practically mummified in the public imagination.

_Last Chance to See_, by Douglas Adams (the _Hitchhiker’s Guide_ author) and a coauthor whose name escapes me, is a very, very funny look at a profoundly unfunny topic, probably-doomed efforts to protect extremely endangered animals.

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**Author:** ![petew83](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@petew83](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/petew83)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/23 "2008-02-16T04:04:52Z")

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I appreciate the responses and see no shortage of enjoyable material in the coming months 🙂 I’m currently working on ‘Metaphors We Live By’ and ‘Influence’, which are both interesting, but unfortunately completely devoid of any humor. I’ll pick off a few from this list afterwards.

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**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-random-nonfiction-book-recommendations/437712/24 "2008-02-16T06:43:37Z")

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Since your OP recommended the first thing I was going to say, might I add [Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice for All of Creation](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-1060065-0248867?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Dr.+Tatiana+Sex+Advice&x=20&y=21) by Olivia Judson - the most humorous and hottest biology book you’ll ever find.

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