# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/81 "2005-02-13T23:20:20Z")
I haven’t read **Stiff** (sounds like I should, though), but something in a similar vein that I read and loved is **The Undertaking** by Thomas Lynch, an undertaker and poet. Wonderful book. Then there’s **Kitchen Confidential** by Anthony Bourdain. Another work-related memoir, this one about the life of a professional chef. If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, especially if you’ve worked in a kitchen, you really should pick this one up. Easily offended Emeril fans might want to give it a miss, though. **In the Little World** is terrific, sometimes funny, and sometimes sad. The subtitle refers to it as a “true story of dwarves, love, and trouble.” I think that about says it all. Lastly, if you’re in the mood for something a little bleaker, there’s **The Pianist** by Wladyslaw Szpilman. Most of us have at least heard about the story because of the movie, so I won’t go into a big plot rundown. But it is a really shocking, moving story. Bonus - the movie is pretty faithful, so reading the book won’t destroy the movie for you, as a looser adaptation might have done. ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/82 "2005-02-13T23:36:56Z")
[Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0380728222/), Roger Fouts. It’s my favorite book, and this is at least the third time I’ve recommended it in a Cafe Society thread. It’s mostly an autobiography, and it’s the true story of a project to teach chimpanzees how to speak sign language. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/83 "2005-02-13T23:38:08Z")
**Imperial Hubris,** by “Anonymous,” later determined to be Michael Scheuer, a senior U.S. intelligence official of 20 years who recently retired. A great read so far … ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/84 "2005-02-14T00:15:39Z")
Kon-Tiki, by Thor Heyerdahl - describes his efforts to prove it was possible to sail from South America to Hawaii/ Polynesia in handmade canoes. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams - I second this one. I couldn’t really get into the Hitchhiker books, but this was great. The Corpse Had a Familiar Face, Edna Buchanan. She writes a lot of mystery novels, but this book has true stories from her time as a crime writer at the Miami newspaper. TRULY a page turner! ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/85 "2005-02-14T03:43:07Z")
Another good one by Anthony Bourdain is **A Cook’s Tour**. He travels the world in search of exotic dishes, very entertaining. He also had a show on the Food Network to go along with the book but it is only about 8 episodes. It runs every now and then. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/86 "2005-02-14T04:03:11Z")
> [@HelloKitty](#): > > Another good one by Anthony Bourdain is **A Cook’s Tour**. He travels the world in search of exotic dishes, very entertaining. He also had a show on the Food Network to go along with the book but it is only about 8 episodes. It runs every now and then. His _Kitchen Confidential_ is a good book too. It’s basically a memoir of his career as a chef. It’s quite salty and humorous. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/87 "2005-02-14T04:50:03Z")
No one has even mentioned **The Good War** by Studs Terkel? Wow. It’s a must-read, a brilliant and addictive look at WWII from every imaginable perspective. Mark Bowden’s **Killing Pablo** goes into the sometimes shady machinations behind the hunt for Pablo Escobar; very compelling reading. Another vote for Eric Schlosser’s **Fast Food Nation**. Ian MacDonald’s **Revolution in the Head** is the best book about the Beatles’ music I’ve ever read, and I’ve read my share and then some. **When She Was Bad** by Patricia Pearson is a very eye-opening look at women who commit violent crimes. Made me see quite a few things from a different perspective. I don’t know if biographies count, but I’m almost finished with the second volume of Peter Guralnick’s biography of Elvis Presley, and I can barely put it down despite (or, perhaps, because of) how utterly sad Presley’s life ended up. I can say pretty confidently you don’t need to be a fan of Elvis to find this a great read. (The two volumes are **Last Train to Memphis** and **Careless Love**.) Lastly, pretty much anything by art critic/historian Robert Hughes; I recommend his survey of the Modern art movement, **The Shock of the New**. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/88 "2005-02-14T06:28:52Z")
Well written non-fiction is my favorite genre. Of the books that have been mentioned so far, I am personally quite fond of books by Bill Bryson, Edna Buchanan and Jonathan Harr. Some of my own favs are: **The Stronger Women Get, the More Men Like Football** by Maria Burton Nelson **Little Girls in Pretty Boxes** by Joan Ryan **Savage Inequalities** by Jonathan Kozol **Forgotten Fatherland** by Ben MacIntyre **Shut up and Let the Lady Teach** by Emily Sachar **A Loss for Words** by Lou Ann Walker ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/89 "2005-02-14T06:41:11Z")
If you like biography, try **Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives** by Alan Bullock If you have read **The Diary of a Young Girl** I found **I Will Bear Witness** to be almost unbelievably compelling. It’s theh diaries of a Jewish Professor who because of his veteran status and marriage to a Gentile manages to live in Dresden through the war. Finally, and seeing as I am stereotyping myself with a certain period of history, try **Stalingrad** by Anthony Beevor. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/90 "2005-02-14T07:47:54Z")
Thirding or fourthing _Stiff_. Makes me wonder what the heck I’ll do with this corpse after I shuffle off the mortal coil. _Cuckoo’s Egg_ made me want to be a programmer, and I read it to absolute bits as a kid. _She’s Not There_, by Jennifer Finney Boylan, a fascinating book about being transgendered. It’s a little lightweight, easy to read. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/91 "2005-02-14T08:21:11Z")
[**Blink**](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316172324/tirebouchon-20/102-6256730-6219317) ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/92 "2005-02-14T09:51:42Z")
😉 Way ahead of you 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/93 "2005-02-14T09:53:13Z")
> [@melondeca](#): > > [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. It occurs to me just now, that the quick reply with quote does not work. My above post was in reply to this one. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/94 "2005-02-14T16:54:52Z")
Three by John Toland… _Battle:The Story of the Bulge_ The Battle of the Bulge on a more personal level than most accounts. \*The Rising Sun : The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 \* WWII from the Japanese side. \*No Man’s Land: 1918, The Last Year of the Great War \* Just like it says. Great read. Also… \*Guns of August \* by Barbara Tuchman - The beginning of WWI _Incredible Victory_ by Walter Lord - The Battle of Midway \*Boarding Party: The Last Action of the Calcutta Light Horse \* by James Leasor The basis of the movie[The Sea Wolves](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081470/). The book is much better. ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/95 "2005-02-14T18:18:31Z")
Okay–wow! All I could think of while making my list is how glad I am to be a part of this board with such illustrious and generous people! Thank you ALL! I’ve got quite a list–four pages, I think! These books sound great and I can’t wait to get started! Sorry about all the exclamation points. I couldn’t help it. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/96 "2005-02-14T18:32:14Z")
What? All these posts and no mention of Alan Moorehead? He wrote a couple of great books about the exploration of the Nile early in his career (The White Nile and The Blue Nile) and a great biography of Darwin. But for my money, his best book was one about an ill-fated expedition to central Australia … can’t remember what it was called, but my, it was good. Must second Barbara Tuchman. Guns of August is great – you’ll never respect generals again once you read it – but I liked “A Distant Mirror” about Europe in the 14th century much better. You’ll never respect SCA again after you read it. Also, no mention of Steven Levy’s “Hackers”? A must read if you want to understand how personal computers came about. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/97 "2005-02-14T19:27:17Z")
I second the nominations of: **Seabiscuit** (better than the movie) **The Demon-Haunted World** (brilliant) anything by **Stephen Jay Gould** I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet, but **April, 1865** by Jay Winik is a great read (about the end of the Civil War). That’s all I can think of for now. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/98 "2005-02-14T19:41:19Z")
[**On Wings of Eagles**](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451163532/qid=1108408748/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-0066524-3956017) _by Ken Follet_, retells the true story of the imprisonment in Iran of Ross Perot’s employees and his efforts to get them out, including hiring mercenaries, when no one in the U.S. government would do anything to help. An absolutely mesmerizing page-turner that reads just like one of his popular spy novels, only every word in it is true. It offers a fascinating look at the underlying events that eventually led up to the Iranian hostage crisis and (IMO) the Iran/Contra scandal years later. And though it’s not _technically_ non-fiction, it’s close enough to perhaps qualify. If you have the stomach for it, I’d also recommend [**Night**](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553272535/qid=1108410013/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-0066524-3956017), _by Elie Wiesel_ > [@amazon.com](#): > > Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel’s wrenching attempt to find meaning in the horror of the Holocaust is technically a novel, but **it’s based so closely on his own experiences in Birkenau, Auschwitz, and Buchenwald that it’s generally–and not inaccurately–read as an autobiography**. Like Wiesel himself, the protagonist of Night is a scholarly, pious teenager racked with guilt at having survived the genocidal campaign that consumed his family. His memories of the nightmare world of the death camps present him with an intolerable question: how can the God he once so fervently believed in have allowed these monstrous events to occur? There are no easy answers in this harrowing book, which probes life’s essential riddles with the lucid anguish only great literature achieves. It marks the crucial first step in Wiesel’s lifelong project to bear witness for those who died. And if you’re interested in Hollywood starlets, you might enjoy any of the books by our esteemed poster, **Eve** (Golden). You can find them at [evegolden.com](http://www.evegolden.com/pages/1/index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Just1Lurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@Just1Lurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just1Lurk)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/99 "2005-02-14T20:02:38Z")
Another vote for _Longitude_, _The Right Stuff_, _Seabiscuit_, and _Revolution in the Head._ Two more: Greg Kinder’s _A Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea_, and \*Last Chance to See \* by Douglas Adams. ---
**Author:** ![wnorthr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@wnorthr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wnorthr)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761/100 "2005-02-14T23:39:58Z")
I recommend “March of folly” by Barbara Tuchman. I had to revise my position on the war in Viet Nam after reading this. Don’t you just hate when make you think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-of-any-non-fiction-page-turners/289761.md?page=6)