I just picked up one of his earlier books. My hands-down favorite is still Hans Zinsser’s Rats, Lice, and History: Being a Study in Biography, Which, After Twelve Preliminary Chapters Indispensable for the Preparation of the Lay Reader, Deals With the Life History of Typhus Fever, which has been a favorite since childhod.
I’ll definitely fourth Stiff, by Mary Roach. Great, if creepy read.
One of my absolute favorite non-fiction writers is Michael Pollan. The Botany of Desire was a wonderful book, informative, descriptive and enjoyable. I’ve read most of his writings and really enjoy his style.
“Why People Believe Wierd Things” by Michael Shermer (publisher of Skeptic Magazine.
I also very much enjoyed hearing Stephen Kings other voice in “On Writing.”
Isaac’s Storm - Erik Larson (About the 1900 hurricane that destroyed Galveston.)
The Hot Zone - Richard Preston (About an ebola outbreak among research monkeys in Reston, Virginia, and the potential of a human outbreak.)
Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars - Robert V. Rimini (Excellent read for anyone trying to understand the events leading up to the Trail of Tears.)
And of course, there’s the granddaddy of true crime stories:
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis
and my favorite non-fiction of the past several years, heartily recommended:
The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan.
Insert my standard rant against Loewen. I wouldn’t trust any factual assertion by Loewen without verifying. I have checked his footnotes and found them wanting. Aside from footnote problems, Loewen has a weakness for using dramatic but misleading half-truths.
For my money the guy is a huge hypocrite if he’s raging about other people’s lies.
The god delusion by Richard Dawkins. An interesting read, if your are religious or not, it is also quite funny at times, and it all is explained at a level where most people can understand his ideas.
Will have to check that one out!! I loved Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck. Larson is quite a story teller.
Since the Tour de France is currently in the news you might consider also Lance Armstrong’s War by Daniel Coyle. Very engaging look into not just Armstrong himself but to the entire Tour. Coyle does a great job describing this world and pulls you right in to the peloton.
I tried to get through Jared Diamond’s books Guns, Germs and Steel and also Collapse, but could not do it. I would not describe his books as “fun”…something about his prose is very History Teacher-ish.
But I had alot of fun with Kurlansky’s Salt!
I have Into Thin Air (Jon Krakauer) on my bookshelf at the recommendation of a friend, but haven’t read it yet. A first-hand account of a catastrophic Mt. Everest expedition, it received stellar reviews.
And then there’s Undaunted Courage, a well-paced, entertaining account of the Lewis and Clark expedition, by Stephen E. Ambrose.
I really enjoyed Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt. It’s a very detailed account of various historical events that occurred during Shakespeare’s lifetime, and how they may have influenced his writing. While the author sometimes uses lot of conjecture about what Shakespeare MAY have experienced (especially during the early years), he usually makes a very good case of why he came to those conclusions. It really paints a vivid picture of the history and life of that era, even if you’re not that interested in the Bard himself, but if you are, this is an even more excellent read.
I’ll second The Devil in the White City.
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman, about the amazing physicist.
To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian, by Stephen Ambrose. He knew he was dying. He knew it was his last book. He just said what was on his mind.
Any of Isaac Asimov’s science and math-related nonfiction.
Fun? FUN? Okay, it was a good book. But fun?
What was wrong with “Guns, Germs, and Steel” ?