Agree on Salt by Michael Kurlansky. Funny, my friends gave me the same odd look when I told them I was reading it.
I love non-fiction!
Salmon Without Rivers, Jim Lichatowich Diamond: The History of a Cold Blooded Love Affair, Matthew Hart (I believe that’s the author) Ashes to Ashes, Richard Kluger (110-year history of the tobacco industry) Annals of the Former World, John McPhee (geology)
If you have not read it, I do not recommend Nickel & Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. I was really disappointed with it, but that’s me.
Really enjoyed And they Fought Like Demons a history of women who fought in the Civil War (dressed like men).
I like Alison Weir as well. Though her last several haven’t been as gripping (her recent book on the Darnley murder is better - she just didn’t have enough material to write about Eleanor of Aquaitaine).
This one is interesting to leave on your bedstand if nothing else. (Its a pretty good read as well - though lacks some depth).
Disease books are a popular choice - The Coming Plague is good. As is *And the Band Played On *
Or lighter fare - The Making of Casablanca by Harmetz.
(I liked Nickel and Dimed. It had its faults. But it was an easy and informative read for what it was.)
I’ve got this one, and I agree that the book didn’t really do such an interesting subject justice. I wasn’t quite . . . uhm . . . *satisfied. *
On the subject of sex, I highly recommend Andrea Tone’s *Devices and Desires. * It’s a history of birth control devices and Comstockery. I read the entire book in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down.
I thought *The Moral Animal * by Robert Wright was a bit dry, but I’d still recommend it.
Dangerosa, Alison Weir is one of my favorite pop historians. Her *Henry VIII: The King and His Court * was a simply wonderful read. (Though David Starkey debunked a couple of her conclusions in his *Six Wives. * By the way, I wouldn’t recommend Starkey’s book unless you have a deep interest in Tudor history. It’s not for the “light” reader.)
Then I would recommend anything by Henry Petroski, especially The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance. Don’t be put off if you find his books shelved in the engineering section rather than the history. You don’t need to be a nerd to read them.
I’ve got this one on my wish list. It’s one which I kept considering, but never bought. I certainly will now.
And what’s wrong with being a nerd, pray tell?
I have a few more recommendations of my own:
*Rubbish! *by William L. Rathje. It’s about the University of Arizona’s Garbage Project. They’re garbage archaeologists. (I think you’ll be amazed, as I was, at how landfills are time-capsules. Practically nothing decays. Food garbage from the '40s is still perfectly recognizable.) They also study consumption and waste. (For example, when a food item becomes scarce, people actually waste more of it than they do when it’s plentiful.)
*Disaster! The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 *by Dan Kurzman. I found this at my local remaindered-book store. (I’ve found that remaindered-book stores are a goldmine for non-fction nerds like me.)
*The Private Life of Chairman Mao *by Zhisui Li. Zhisui was Mao’s personal physician, and paints a rich picutre of what life was like under Mao’s leadership.
Thanks for the Heads Up on ** David Starkey** . I will keep that in mind when I start his book on Elizabeth I.
I must say most Tudor historians are stuffy. Although I do enjoy Antonia Fraser a lot. Her book The Weaker Vessel is a very good indepth look at women in the seventeenth century in England.
When I was studyin archaeology back in the 80s, I had a professor that was very interested in the “garbology” project. He used to read all the articles he could find and report the info to us students. I will DEFINATELY put that on my to read list!
I’m currently reading War Before Civilization by Lawrence Keeley (1996). In the same vein as Jared Diamond’s work, it explodes the myth that “primitive” societies are/were in any way peaceful (their murder/warfare/casualty rates outdistance anything the civilized world has to offer, including homicide rates 10 times that of the US and casualty percentages that make WWII look like Sunday school). It also demonstrates that technology/civilization rarely wins wars; what does is (a) surprise (b) defensive fortifications (no matter how primitive) and, most importantly, logistics (keeping your army fed and supplied with ammo). This last is generally why (in addition to J. Diamond’s germs) civilized states win wars; tribes can often win battles, but they lack the resources and the hierarchical organization that comes with running a very large nation-state, and will eventually be worn down over the course of a war.
It’s also a great look at how political/philosphical thought directly dictates what conclusions scientists are allowed to draw from evidence … and what topics they are allowed to get funding for. Until recently, it was taboo for anthropolgists/archaeolgists to say that primitive/prehistoric people engaged in violence or warfare. My favorite line so far:
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer.
From Amazon (who describes this book better than I can): Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. In UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN, he shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders. At the core of his book is an appalling double murder committed by two Mormon Fundamentalist brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a revelation from God commanding them to kill their blameless victims. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this “divinely inspired” crime, Krakauer constructs a multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence, polygamy, and unyielding faith. Along the way, he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest-growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. I enjoyed this one a lot.
Because Each Life Is Precious: Why an Iraqi Man Came to Risk Everything for Pvt. Jessica Lynch by Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief. By the Iraqi guy who helped get Pvt. Lynch out of Iraq. If you want to know what it was really like to live under the thumb of Saddam Hussein, this book will tell you.
I second Glory’s Devil in the White City, especially if Chicago holds any interest for you. It’s about the Columbian Exposition/Chicago World’s Fair and a serial killer loose in the city at the time.
Also, Nathaniel’s Nutmeg by Giles Milton, about the 17th century spice trade.
I was doing a search atPowell’s on the author Sander L. Gilman and found this one. I think this might be right up your alley Lissa since you like books about the history of everyday things. **Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery **
I may take a look at it myself as well. I wanted his book Sexuality: An Illustrated History but at $235 it ain’t gonna happen anytime soon!
I’m not a big non-fiction reader, but I did enjoy The Face of Battle by John Keegan. I started reading it to get some insight into the Battle of Agincourt (the archery connection, ya know), but I was sucked in by the battle descriptions of Waterloo and the Somme also.
The Professor and the Madman is excellent as well.
All these suggestions might actually draw me away from my fiction reading. For a little while.
How we Die Reflections on life’s final chapter* By Sherwin Nuland(old) * The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Medical Miracles and other Disasters* By Sallie Tisdale (older) * Jumping Fire* By Murray A. Taylor
