# Five favourite non-fiction books... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2003, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-favourite-non-fiction-books/195754 "2003-08-17T11:48:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-favourite-non-fiction-books/195754/21 "2003-08-18T13:23:41Z")
**1) Platinum Girl: The Life & Legends of Jean Harlow 2) Vamp: The Rise & Fall of Theda Bara 3) Golden Images 4) Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway 5) The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall** (glad she didn’t ask for four!) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-favourite-non-fiction-books/195754/22 "2003-08-18T13:32:45Z")
And the Band Played On The Six Wives of Henry VIII Godel Escher Bach The Way We Never Were They Fought Like Demons (Off the top of my head, this is the five that come to immediate mind - I have read each book more than once. Rather eclectic - and I didn’t understand all of (or most of) Godel Escher Bach). ---
**Author:** ![Catsmeow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Catsmeow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catsmeow)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-favourite-non-fiction-books/195754/23 "2003-08-18T17:22:39Z")
The First Elizabeth - Caroly Erickson A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson I’m a Stranger Here Myself - Bill Bryson Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal - Eric Schlosser Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption are Undermining America - Arianna Huffington Can I list more??? _g_ ---
**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:** [August 18, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-favourite-non-fiction-books/195754/24 "2003-08-18T17:48:06Z")
In no order… Duel of Eagles - Peter Townsend - One of the best books on the Battle of Britain A Night to Remember - Walter Lord - The book that first sparked my interest in the Titanic The Glory of Their Times - Lawrence Ritter -Old-time baseball as told by the players themselves Battle: The Story of the Bulge - John Toland -Good book on the battle Shelby Foote’s Civil War Trilogy -I like his writing style. Bruce Catton’s trilogy was already mentioned. Read it, too! ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-favourite-non-fiction-books/195754/25 "2003-08-18T18:33:32Z")
I confess I don’t read that much non-fiction. Four off the top of my head: And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts There are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowicz Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand Nickel & Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Beaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Grim\_Beaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Beaker)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-favourite-non-fiction-books/195754/26 "2003-08-18T21:08:12Z")
Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam Secrets of the Temple by William Greider Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley Chaos by James Gleick ---
**Author:** ![tullius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tullius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullius)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-favourite-non-fiction-books/195754/27 "2003-08-18T21:59:12Z")
(1) Simon Singh, **The Code Book** (worth another vote!) (2) James McPherson, **Battle Cry of Freedom** (3) Peter Hopkirk, **The Great Game** (4) Alexander Kinglake, **Eothen** (5) Eli Maor, **E: The Story of a Number** Of books I’ve read recently, I’d add: Joseph Ellis, **Founding Brothers** and John Derbyshire, **Prime Obsession**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-favourite-non-fiction-books/195754.md?page=1)