# I'd like to read really good books on these topics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608 "2008-11-20T04:33:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/1 "2008-11-20T04:33:15Z")
**Non-fiction** -A really good founding father biography (in order of preference: Madison, Jefferson, Washington, Franklin) -A book about Lewis and Clark -Good popular science (not Sagan, Dawkins, Hawking, or Gould) **Fiction** A good, fast read (a 1,000pg book can be a “fast” read and a 200pg book can be a “slow” read.) Funny and thoughtful are good qualities. No series books that I’m going to get bogged down in. Scifi, fantasy, historical fiction, and pretty much anything else are on the table. No Tolkein, Rowling, Adams, Pratchett, Heinlein, or Asimov. ---
**Author:** ![MerryMagdalen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@MerryMagdalen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MerryMagdalen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/2 "2008-11-20T07:00:56Z")
I don’t know if this is quite what you were looking for, but for the popular science you could try [Mary Roach](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mary+roach&x=0&y=0), although it might be a stretch (I don’t know whether you’re specifically looking for more physics and astronomy type stuff). I’ve read _Stiff_ and I thought it was hilarious and informative, though she can be a bit cutesy at times. Also, my reply bumps your thread up the page again. So at least you have that. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/3 "2008-11-20T07:24:51Z")
[This is a pretty good biography of Jefferson.](http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Willard-Sterne-Randall/dp/0060976179/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227165698&sr=1-10) It was written before the DNA tests came out indicating that Jefferson was most likely the father of Sally Hemmings children and is a bit dismissive of the idea, but worth reading none the less. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/4 "2008-11-20T08:32:16Z")
Stephen Ambrose’s [Undaunted Courage](http://www.amazon.com/Undaunted-Courage-Meriwether-Jefferson-American/dp/0684826976/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227169773&sr=8-1) is a very readable account of the Lewis and Clark expedition. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/5 "2008-11-20T08:44:11Z")
I haven’t read it myself but I have heard good things about Walter Isaacson’s [biography](http://www.amazon.com/Benjamin-Franklin-American-Walter-Isaacson/dp/074325807X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227170590&sr=8-1)of Franklin. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/6 "2008-11-20T12:47:48Z")
I’m fudging a little on your first topic, but _Paul Revere’s Ride_ by David Hackett Fischer includes a lot of bio information on Mr. Revere, and also a great play-by-play of the actual ride. My go to fast, funny and thoughtful fiction recommendation is always _Hit Man_ by Lawrence Block, about a philosophical hit man. It is the first of a (short) series, but the first book is just fine as a stand-alone. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/7 "2008-11-20T13:45:31Z")
By science, do you mean the hard sciences, or all science? If you include the life sciences, I will recommend, as I always do, David Quammen’s [_Song of the Dodo_](http://www.amazon.com/Song-Dodo-Island-Biogeography-Extinction/dp/0684827123/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227188541&sr=8-1), on biogeography and extinction. Riveting from start to finish. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/8 "2008-11-20T13:56:44Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > **Fiction** > > A good, fast read (a 1,000pg book can be a “fast” read and a 200pg book can be a “slow” read.) Funny and thoughtful are good qualities. No series books that I’m going to get bogged down in. Scifi, fantasy, historical fiction, and pretty much anything else are on the table. No Tolkein, Rowling, Adams, Pratchett, Heinlein, or Asimov. I thought I’d go a little off the beaten track for this suggestion, so: I was looking for political fiction a couple of weeks ago and someone suggested the books of Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II. I read _Seven Days in May_ and it is an extremely fast read. Written in 1962 about a political crisis in the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/9 "2008-11-20T14:07:26Z")
Steve Pinker’s popular science books can be interesting reads. And I’m not sure whether you’d qualify it as science or not, but I’m reading Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, “Outliers”, and liking it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/10 "2008-11-20T14:09:56Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > **Non-fiction** > -Good popular science (not Sagan, Dawkins, Hawking, or Gould) **Guns, Germs and Steel** by Diamond is in that class of pop science. I also strongly recommend Timothy Ferris - e.g., **Coming of Age in the Milky Way** … ---
**Author:** ![Redfrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@Redfrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redfrost)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/11 "2008-11-20T14:32:57Z")
Founding Father biography- American Creation by Joseph Ellis, Inventing a Nation by Gore Vidal, Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis Pop Science (I’m fitting these in as loose connections because they are found in the Social Science section sometimes)- Blink & Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell. You migh also enjoy The World is Flat & The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Johnathon Friedman. Not necessarily fiction but a good, fast read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson Good, fast fiction- Fight Club, Rant (especially this one), & Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/12 "2008-11-20T16:36:24Z")
Thank you so far! I’ve read some of these before (which means you guys are nailing my tastes :)) and the rest look interesting. Re the excluded authors: I got called away while I was writing the OP last night so I didn’t get a chance to explain. The little I’ve read of Rowling (1st Harry Potter) was just kind of “meh” for me so I might read more one day and I might not, it’s not really high on my list. For Pratchett, I’ve liked a few Discworlds and been bored by a few, and I think I’ve read all I’ve wanted to for now; I’ll probably revisit them at some point in the distant future. The rest are among my favorite authors, and I’ve either read all their works, or the little I haven’t read is on my list. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/13 "2008-11-20T16:46:03Z")
For the “hard” sciences, I’ve always enjoyed John Gribbin’s books. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/14 "2008-11-20T16:57:56Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > No Tolkein, Rowling, Adams, Pratchett, Heinlein, or Asimov. This stipulation will reduce the thousands of recommendations by a few hundred. After all, how many really good books have been written? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/15 "2008-11-20T17:06:56Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > This stipulation will reduce the thousands of recommendations by a few hundred. After all, how many really good books have been written? Not around here. Half the regular posters just had their entire libraries eliminated. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/16 "2008-11-20T17:11:38Z")
For sci-fi: Neal Stevenson’s ‘Snow Crash’ and ‘The Diamond Age’ are clever and funny, and would probably fit the bill, they are considerably less dense than his later stuff. I’m not sure if you want short stories or not, but Allen Steele’s ‘Sex and Violence in Zero G’ is fun, semi-hard science fiction. It also way better than any of his novels, which are, frankly, disappointing. For pop sci (sorry no authors): ‘Parasite Rex’ about the wonderful world of things that live on or in other things and ‘Ghosts of Evolution’ about plants that apparently co-evolved with now extinct macrofauna. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/17 "2008-11-20T17:27:54Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > This stipulation will reduce the thousands of recommendations by a few hundred. After all, how many really good books have been written? > [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Not around here. Half the regular posters just had their entire libraries eliminated. I knew if I didn’t weed out those authors up front, they would make up 80% of the recommendations :). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/18 "2008-11-20T17:37:19Z")
I’ve been working my way through [The American Presidents series](http://www.americanpresidentsseries.com/booklist.asp). These are short biographies by fairly famous names that skip the usual tedious detail about lives and cut right to the exciting, interesting bits about how they became themselves and the big struggles and triumphs of their presidencies. They range from good to excellent. I’d also recommend the comic crime capers of Donald Westlake. He is the master of that form, and has been writing one a year since the 1960s, so there’s lots to choose from. Almost all sf lovers go for Westlake, who actually started in sf in the 1950s before finding that mysteries were much more lucrative. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/19 "2008-11-20T18:10:40Z")
Pop social science books: Hidden Order by Friedman, Undercover Economist by Harford, Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner, Discover your Inner Economist by Cowen, Influence by Cialdini. ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608/20 "2008-11-20T18:31:55Z")
For more pop biology, there’s Matt Ridley (The Red Queen, especially) and Sean Carroll (The Making of the Fittest, Endless Forms Most Beautiful). Also try Oliver Sachs’ The Man who Mistook hi Wife for a Hat, etc. I’m also seconding Pinker. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-like-to-read-really-good-books-on-these-topics/473608.md?page=2)