# Fun to read non-fiction books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367 "2007-07-27T14:10:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/21 "2007-07-27T18:09:40Z")
Around Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawkes…not the skateboarder. This book is one of the funniest I’ve ever read along with Murphys Bar the name of the author I forget ::smack:: ---
**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:** [July 27, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/22 "2007-07-27T18:11:12Z")
Oh yeah, good one, **chowder**! ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/23 "2007-07-27T18:59:21Z")
Thirding _Stiff_. I also liked _Complications_ by Atul Gawande and _Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation_, which is not about human sex, by Olivia Judson, an evolutionary biologist. ---
**Author:** ![tartiflette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@tartiflette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tartiflette)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/24 "2007-07-27T20:33:56Z")
_Salt_ by Mark Kurlansky. I’ve re-read it twice now. Whodathunk a book about the role of salt in world history could be a page-turner? …and anything by Margaret Visser (_The Rituals of Dinner_ and _Geometry of Love_ in particular, though) ---
**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:** [July 27, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/25 "2007-07-27T23:30:06Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Around Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawkes…not the skateboarder. This book is one of the funniest I’ve ever read along with Murphys Bar the name of the author I forget ::smack:: [/QUOTE] Sure you don’t mean McCarthy’s Bar? ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/26 "2007-07-27T23:35:27Z")
Oliver Sachs (Wiki link [Oliver Sacks - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Sachs) ) The Island of the Colourblind The man who mistook his wife for a hat Awakenings Uncle Tungstun and more Dr Oliver Sachs is a Nurologist who writes very well. His accounts of paitients and situations he has encountered make engrossing, interesting reading. Douglas Hofstaedter (wiki Link [Douglas Hofstadter - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Hofstadter) ) Metamagical Themas Godel Escher Bach I am a Strange Loop His work on recursivity, artifical intellegence and the nature of consciousness is presented with brillaince, depth and wit. Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader… I got em all! Regards FML ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/27 "2007-07-27T23:39:25Z")
_The Making of the Atomic Bomb_ by Richard Rhodes ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/28 "2007-07-27T23:41:19Z")
The first non-fiction book I ever 1) read voluntarily and 2) enjoyed was _In the Heart of the Sea: The Story of the Whaleship Essex_. It’s the story of the ship that was the inspiration for _Moby Dick_. Herman Melville sailed on a ship with one of the survivors of the _Essex_ and heard the story. Good read. Plus, there’s cannibalism!!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/29 "2007-07-28T00:28:12Z")
[QUOTE=tartiflette] _Salt_ by Mark Kurlansky. I’ve re-read it twice now. Whodathunk a book about the role of salt in world history could be a page-turner? …and anything by Margaret Visser (_The Rituals of Dinner_ and _Geometry of Love_ in particular, though) [/QUOTE] _Cod_ was quite good as well. Definitely worth a read if you like Kurlansky. **Thudlow Boink** , A. J. Jacobs was on Oprah today. Him and Mike Rowe of _Dirty Jobs_ fame were the only reason I didn’t change the channel. It was entirely too funny watching how horrified Oprah became about the facts of life when it comes to unpleasant everyday things. 😃😛 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/30 "2007-07-28T00:30:31Z")
[QUOTE=tartiflette] _Salt_ by Mark Kurlansky. [/QUOTE] Too bad it vectors the urban legend about Roman soldiers being paid in salt. [Read this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=382343) ---
**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:** [July 28, 2007, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/31 "2007-07-28T01:33:18Z")
_Parkinson’s Law_, by C. Northcote Parkinson, is a classic in the business world. Written in the 1950’s by a British historian and sociologist, it takes a look at how bureaucracy really functions. Among the findings: -Any bureaucracy will grow in size at a predictable rate, which is unrelated to how much work it is doing. -The more money is at stake in an agenda item, the less time will be spent discussing that item. -Only organizations on the verge of collapse will build an expensive new headquarters. People describe it as a funny book, but there are no actual jokes. What’s funny is how you can’t tell how much of it Parkinson takes seriously, or expects you to take seriously. Here’s a taste: [http://www.fabricegrinda.com/files/ParkinsonsLaw.pdf](http://www.fabricegrinda.com/files/ParkinsonsLaw.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/32 "2007-07-28T02:08:42Z")
Two spring to mind: **Big Secrets** by William Poundstone, who actually has the balls to suggest he knows Cecil’s real identity (but the rest of the book is pretty awesome) **Microbe Hunters** by Paul de Kruif which I haven’t finished yet, but is a great read. It doesn’t hurt that Sinclair Lewis consulted de Kruif while writing **Arrowsmith** , one of my favorite novels. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/33 "2007-07-28T05:19:16Z")
[QUOTE=An Gadaí] Sure you don’t mean McCarthy’s Bar? [/QUOTE] So not only did I forget the author I also forgot the book title :smack: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/34 "2007-07-28T05:29:10Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Around Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawkes…not the skateboarder. [/QUOTE] Oh my God. That is the only book that made me laugh out loud enough to embarass myself in public. _The Devil in the White City_ is also a good read. On a side-note, I always think of non-fiction as extra reading - being a lit major, most of my school reading has always been fiction. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/35 "2007-07-28T05:50:01Z")
I wonder if that girl he had sex with ever phoned him. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/36 "2007-07-28T06:23:15Z")
Plenty of good books mentioned already. A couple not yet mentioned, and that i really enjoyed: _Moneyball_, by Michael Lewis. _Confederates in the Attic_, by Tony Horwitz. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/37 "2007-07-28T11:04:03Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] However, if well-researched serial-killer accounts that flow like novels are your idea of fun (and they are mine), then Harold Schechter’s DEVIANT (Ed Gein), DERANGED (Albert Fish) and DEPRAVED (H.H. Holmes) are quite entertaining. [/QUOTE] OOH! Good choices! Add his _Bestial_, an account of the Gorilla Strangler, who terrorized the West Coast & Canada in the 20’s. Also, consider L. Sprague De Camps’ _The Ancient Engineers_ (does some fine debunking, & gives a good history of Engineering) and _The Ape-Man Within_. I’m currently reading _The Victorian Underworld_, crime in the UK/19th Cent. Very nicely done. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/38 "2007-07-28T11:11:20Z")
Any of Nigella Lawson’s cookbooks. They’re half cookbook, half autobiography. They’re beautiful, and I will reread them over and over again because I love her writing. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/39 "2007-07-28T11:27:04Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] However, if well-researched serial-killer accounts that flow like novels are your idea of fun (and they are mine), then Harold Schechter’s DEVIANT (Ed Gein), DERANGED (Albert Fish) and DEPRAVED (H.H. Holmes) are quite entertaining. [/QUOTE] Here is some more by Schechter– _Fiend_ > **[Fiend: The Shocking True Story Of America's Youngest Serial Killer: Schechter,...](https://www.amazon.com/Fiend-Shocking-Americas-Youngest-Serial/dp/067101448X)** > > Fiend: The Shocking True Story Of America's Youngest Serial Killer \[Schechter, Harold\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Fiend: The Shocking True Story Of America's Youngest Serial Killer \* Fatal : The Poisonous Life of a Female Serial Killer\* > **[Fatal : The Poisonous Life of a Female Serial Killer: Schechter, Harold:...](https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Poisonous-Female-Serial-Killer/dp/0671014501)** > > Fatal : The Poisonous Life of a Female Serial Killer \[Schechter, Harold\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Fatal : The Poisonous Life of a Female Serial Killer \* Panzram A Journal of Murder\* > **[Panzram A Journal of Murder: Gaddis, Thomas E., Long, James O., Schechter,...](https://www.amazon.com/Panzram-Journal-Murder-Thomas-Gaddis/dp/1878923145)** > > Panzram A Journal of Murder \[Gaddis, Thomas E., Long, James O., Schechter, Harold\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Panzram A Journal of Murder And, the new one he’s coming out with– _The Devil’s Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial That Ushered in the Twentieth Century_ > **[The Devil's Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial That Ushered in the...](https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Gentleman-Privilege-Ushered-Twentieth/dp/0345476794)** > > The Devil's Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial That Ushered in the Twentieth Century \[Schechter, Harold\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Devil's Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial That Ushered in the... ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367/40 "2007-07-28T15:48:11Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Around Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawkes…not the skateboarder. [/QUOTE] I came in here to mention this one, and the follow-up _Playing The Moldovans At Tennis_ where Tony bets that he can beat the entire football (soccer) team of a small East European nation at tennis. Not quite as funny as _Fridge_, but makes up for it with some very poignant descriptions of the Moldovan way of life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-to-read-non-fiction-books/413367.md?page=3)