# Do you know of any non-fiction page-turners? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761 "2005-02-12T18:01:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/61 "2005-02-13T10:25:58Z")
There is a new biography called **Stalin, in the Court of the Red Tsar** it presumes that you know all the history stuff and focuses on him as a man. ‘What is it like to be a mad dictator?’ Interesting stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/62 "2005-02-13T12:01:32Z")
**Aquarium** or **Inside the Aquarium** , depending on the edition, by Viktor Suvorov - the story of a Soviet tank officer becoming a GRU agent and eventually defecting to the West. The only words well fit to describe it are those within its cover. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/63 "2005-02-13T15:15:45Z")
A couple others : [_The Sorcerer’s Apprentice_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805005781/qid=1108308025/sr=1-45/ref=sr_1_45/102-0054379-3250538?v=glance&s=books) And [\*How We Die](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679742441/qid=1108308167/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0054379-3250538)\* ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/64 "2005-02-13T15:35:32Z")
[Running With Scissors](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/031242227X/104-7341987-5204742) is a fantastic memoir by Augusten Burroughs. As I read, I found it alternately hilarious and horrifying and I could not put it down. The characters are so bizarre that I had to keep reminding myself that it is non-fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/65 "2005-02-13T15:45:48Z")
Alison Wier has written a few books on British monarchy. Eleanor of Aquaitaine is perhaps the most difficult. But I loved The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth and The Princes in the Tower. Round Up The Usual Suspects is an interesting book about the making of Casablanca. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/66 "2005-02-13T17:34:36Z")
> [@Quint](#): > > [The Professor and the Madman](http://simonwinchester.com/books/pm_description.asp) > > I can’t recommend this book enough. I’ll echo this one. It is a fascinating book about the writing of the OED. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/67 "2005-02-13T17:36:46Z")
I’ll third _Stiff_ and second _Black Hawk Down_. _Stiff_ is particularly good if you’re a CSI fan. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/68 "2005-02-13T17:40:12Z")
Another vote for _The Right Stuff_ by **Tom Wolfe**. Great book, great movie, great subject. It’s very entertainingly written, and I’ve read it several times now. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/69 "2005-02-13T18:33:51Z")
I forgot to mention _The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat_, by Oliver Sachs, on strange and exotic brain diseases. Fascinating and sad. Also _The Demon-Haunted World_, which I’m either shocked nobody has mentioned or unsurprised that I missed on my scan-though, by Carl Sagan, on why people believe dumb things and the importance of sound science education. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/70 "2005-02-13T18:38:49Z")
Just thought of a couple others: **Awakenings** and **The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat** are very good. Also want to second Michael J. Nelson’s **Movie Megacheese** and **Mind Over Matters** - Absolutely fraking hilarious!! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/71 "2005-02-13T18:39:05Z")
_Inventing the Victorians_ by Matthew Sweet _Audrey Hepburn_ by Barry Paris _Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit: A Son Remembers_ by Sean Hepburn Ferrer _The Hammer: Tom DeLay: God, Money and the Rise of the Republican Congress_ by Lou Dubose \*Our Own Backyard: The United States in Central America, 1977-1992 \* by William M. LeoGrande ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/72 "2005-02-13T18:48:58Z")
Ooh! Ooh! I just remembered one that’s sitting in my bookcase that’s EXCELLENT! _[Gypsy](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1883319951/qid=1108321335/sr=8-5/ref=pd_csp_5/002-4825016-1224068?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)_, the memoir that was the (loose) basis for the musical. Gypsy Rose Lee is a surprisingly compelling author. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/73 "2005-02-13T19:10:38Z")
I would like to second _Seabiscuit, Running With Scissors, Dry, The Hot Zone,_ and _Guns, Germs, and Steel_. And add to the list: [The Hinge Factor : How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1559705728/qid=1108322379/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-6750614-2629664). While I sometimes found his definition of “hinge factor” a little stretched, a good read nonetheless. I did skip some of the descriptions of the battles, however, because those particular ones didn’t hold much interest for me. [Leap of Faith : Memoirs of an Unexpected Life](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786867175/qid=1108322509/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-6750614-2629664) by Jordan’s Queen Noor. While an autobiography, she provides a unique, fascinating look at King Hussein and some of the behind-the-scenes politics of the time. Quick read, highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Typically\_Sunday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Typically\_Sunday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typically_Sunday)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/74 "2005-02-13T19:28:46Z")
_Stranger Than Fiction_ and _Fugitives and Refugees_ are both great non-fiction books by Chuck Palahniuk. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/75 "2005-02-13T19:44:29Z")
I thought of more. _Fast Food Nation_ and _Reefer Madness_, both by Eric Schlosser. _Lies My Teacher Told Me_, by James Loewen. Woodrow Wilson hated the First Amendment and Helen Keller was a Socialist. I did not know that. _Naked in Baghdad_, by Anne Gerrolds. Especially for NPR listeners who, like me, listened to her reports in awe at her bravery. _The Last Great Revolution_, by Robin Wright. About present day Iran. Fans of _Reading Lolita in Tehran_ might be interested. _The Search for the Panchen Lama_, by Isabel Hilton. Did you know that there’s another Tibetan lama equal in importance to the Dalai Lama? And that he was kidnapped by the Chinese government? Very interesting story. _The Year 1000_, by Lacey & Danziger. Life in England in 1000. I am pleased that this book gave me my most disgusting story ever. _Newjack_, by Ted O’Connor. Account of being a prison guard at Sing Sing. I’ll stop now. Again. ---
**Author:** ![Roberta\_Plant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c89c15/32.png) [@Roberta\_Plant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roberta_Plant)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/76 "2005-02-13T21:08:21Z")
Blind Eye by James Stewart and Den of Thieves by James Stewart Both fantastic reads. He is an EXCELLENT writer and these are engrossing but diverse subjects. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/77 "2005-02-13T21:10:48Z")
**The man Who Stayed Behind** - Sidney Rittenberg’s autobiography, about his experiences being the only U.S.-born member of the Chinese Communist Party. From the time of the Revolution until he returned to the U.S. in 1977, Rittenberg was alternately exhalted as an ideal party member and jailed three times. **Lone Star, A History of Texas and the Texans** - T.R.R. Fehrenbach. Here’s your page turner, the story of the Spanish, Commanche, U.S. Southerners and others who came to the land and fought a three-sided war to settle it. The story is told from a balanced but decidedly Anglo point of view. It reads like a Western (complete with Commanche claims that they only let the Spaniards settle Texas because they needed someone to raise horses for them, and the story of the Texas Rangers, beaten by the Commanche, who discovered Samuler Colt’s parlor toy pistol _that shot six times!_) It is probably the most factually and emotionally accurate description of what made Texas what it is. For what it’s worth, it was recommended to me by a case worker who used it to learn about the state when she moved here. **Hells Angels** - Hunter S. Thompson. A nice piece of 1960s culture. If you ever wanted to know where bikers came from, here’s the story. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/78 "2005-02-13T21:38:59Z")
I second _Stalin: The Court of The Red Tsar_ although you it helps to know a bit about Stalin before you read it. Also: \*Shot In The Heart \* by Mikal Gilmore, about his brother Gary’s slide into sociopathy. Lots of ghost tales and domestic violence. And the “Ring of Bright Water” series by Gavin Maxwell. They are \*Ring of Bright Water, The Rocks Remain, \* and \*Raven, Seek Thy Brother. \* They involve a man who tries to keep some middle eastern otters as pets and gets into all sorts of zany adventures in the process. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/79 "2005-02-13T22:12:07Z")
**Take The Cannoli - Sara Vowell** of NPR and _The Incredibles_ fame. Funny book usually, mainly from her radio stuff. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/80 "2005-02-13T22:40:31Z")
I just wanted to jump back in and second the recommendation of **X-Ray**. It’s one of the best musician autobiographies I’ve ever read. While I’m here, I have a few more suggestions… [The Gulag Archipelego](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060007761/qid=1108334593/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-1410141-9829531?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn [The First Casualty: The War Correspondent As Hero And Myth-maker From The Crimea To Iraq](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0801880300/qid=1108334676/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-1410141-9829531) - Phillip Knightley [The Civil War](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140441875/qid=1108334822/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/104-1410141-9829531?v=glance&s=books) and [The Conquest of Gaul](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140444335/qid=1108334785/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-1410141-9829531) - Julius Caesar [The Island of Lost Maps : A True Story of Cartographic Crime](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767908260/qid=1108334943/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-1410141-9829531) - Miles Harvey [The Histories](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140449086/qid=1108335057/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-1410141-9829531) - Herodotus [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761.md?page=5)