# Non-fiction titles you think everyone should read **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 4, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808 "2008-08-04T15:05:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/21 "2008-08-04T21:14:28Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Also: [_Danse Macabre,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danse_Macabre_(book)) King’s survey of the horror-literature-and-film world. [/QUOTE] I thought about that one, but the trouble is it is so out of date. If King would issue a revised updated copy I would be the first in line to get it. What most people who don’t like Stephen King don’t realize is that he writes extremely well. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/22 "2008-08-04T21:14:58Z")
Great thread topic, **phouka**! I’ll be following it with interest. Some contributions: [The Song of the Dodo](http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0684827123?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0684827123&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2) by David Quammen. With a subtitle of Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction, Quammen covers a breadth of material. He writes with an underlying passion on the future of species biodiversity and the implications of island biogeography for mainland species being confined to smaller and smaller spaces, but doing so in a very accessible way. And dammit, I still think from time to time of the dying song of the last dodo. The very recently published [Flirting with Disaster: Why Accidents are Rarely Accidental](http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1402753039?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1402753039&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2) by Marc Gerstein with a foreword and afterword by Daniel Ellsberg. Gerstein focuses on “organizational” (in the sense of a collection of people) disasters and discusses underlying causes. I think it has a useful perspective amongst other things on probability, bystander behaviour, and game theory, but in practical applications where disastrous results have ensued. Both he and Ellsberg then discuss disaster avoidance. Since no one else has mentioned it yet, [Guns, Germs and Steel](http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0739467352?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0739467352&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2) by Jared Diamond. Diamond’s treatise on 13,000 years of human history. (ETA: Sorry, **HongKongFooey** , took me a long time to get this done, and at the time I started you hadn’t posted yet.) [The Ancestor’s Tale](http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/061861916X?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=061861916X&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2) by Richard Dawkins. Dawkins follows the human family tree (co-ancestors) all the way back to the beginning. Incidentally this was also the source of one my favourite pieces of random trivia: hippos closest living relatives are whales. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/23 "2008-08-04T22:10:52Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] What most people who don’t like Stephen King don’t realize is that he writes extremely well. [/QUOTE] And that he knows a thing or two about what makes good writing. Some people don’t like Stephen King because they don’t like the _kind_ of thing he writes. I know people who don’t like Stephen King who **do** like his _On Writing_. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/24 "2008-08-04T22:37:45Z")
I second or third or fourth or whatever “Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan. Great book. “Origin of the Species” by Charles Darwin. Almost 200 years old and still great. “Brothel” by Alexa Albert. Dr. Albert does a public health study of Nevada’s legal bordellos and gets to the know some of the working ladies too. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/25 "2008-08-04T23:04:55Z")
Just finished [At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels Through Paraguay](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&ISBN=9781400078523&ourl=At%2Dthe%2DTomb%2Dof%2Dthe%2DInflatable%2DPig%2FJohn%2DGimlette). A very, very interesting read about a country about which I knew nothing. Equal parts history, humor, and bizarre travelogue-type stories. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/26 "2008-08-04T23:13:09Z")
I thought **Carl Sagan’s “The Dragons Of Eden”** was a marvelously thought-provoking book. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/27 "2008-08-04T23:20:07Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] And that he knows a thing or two about what makes good writing. Some people don’t like Stephen King because they don’t like the _kind_ of thing he writes. I know people who don’t like Stephen King who **do** like his _On Writing_. [/QUOTE] Years ago I read an essay King wrote about how he handles interviews. It appeared in the Sunday New York Times literary magazine. The man was hilarious! He could make money writing comedy, and I’d buy every piece. It just probably wouldn’t make as **MUCH** money as his horror/macabre stuff. It was that essay that made me realize how good a writer King really is, even though I grimace at some of his stuff. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/28 "2008-08-04T23:21:01Z")
[QUOTE=Shoeless] Awesome book. I actually saw this story on PBS (probably “Nova”) a number of years ago and read the book afterwards. I should probably find it and read it again. My recommendation is “Prisoner of Trebekistan” by Bob Harris, a former five-time Jeopardy! champion. It’s funny, poignant, engaging, and it’s about more than just being on a game show. [/QUOTE] Because the first was almost verbatim what I was going to say, I’ve put Harris’ book on my list to read. Having been multiply beaten to _Cuckoo’s Egg_, I’ll mention _A Gathering of Saints_ by Robert Lindsey. Amazing true-crime police procedural of the investigation and prosecution of the mid-80s bombings in Salt Lake City. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/29 "2008-08-05T00:14:51Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] Sorry, **HongKongFooey** [/QUOTE] Not necessary, your post was great! I’m especially interested in _Flirting with Disaster_, hadn’t heard of that one yet. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/30 "2008-08-05T02:26:13Z")
[QUOTE=HongKongFooey] I also wanted to recommend Demon-Haunted World, great book. [/QUOTE] Seconded, thirded, and fourthed. A GREAT book. I buy spare copies and hand them out as needed. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/31 "2008-08-05T02:42:30Z")
[QUOTE=Ataraxy] “Origin of the Species” by Charles Darwin. Almost 200 years old and still great. [/QUOTE] Actually, it’s “The Origin of Species.” [/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/32 "2008-08-05T03:08:38Z")
[QUOTE=HongKongFooey] Not necessary, your post was great! I’m especially interested in _Flirting with Disaster_, hadn’t heard of that one yet. [/QUOTE] If you do read it, I’d be interested to know what you think. I thought Ellsberg’s comments around what caused him to release the Pentagon Papers, and his sentiments around US involvement in Iraq noteworthy, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/33 "2008-08-05T03:16:22Z")
_The World is Flat_. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/34 "2008-08-05T03:20:28Z")
_The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_. Also _Found_ (and the rest of the series) by Davy Rothbart: moving, insightful, hilarious, and definitely worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/35 "2008-08-05T08:05:22Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_. Also _Found_ (and the rest of the series) by Davy Rothbart: moving, insightful, hilarious, and definitely worthwhile. [/QUOTE] 😕 How is H2G2 non-fiction? Unless you’re talking about the large-print edition, you know, the one that takes several inconveniently large buildings to cart it around… ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/36 "2008-08-05T09:25:13Z")
A couple from me for what it’s worth: [The Trouble with Physics by Lee Smolin](http://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Physics-String-Theory-Science/dp/0618551050) , finally a book not praising string theory. and End of Faith by Sam Harris and of course God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/37 "2008-08-05T12:08:23Z")
[QUOTE=Baker] Years ago I read an essay King wrote about how he handles interviews. It appeared in the Sunday New York Times literary magazine. The man was hilarious! He could make money writing comedy, and I’d buy every piece. It just probably wouldn’t make as **MUCH** money as his horror/macabre stuff. It was that essay that made me realize how good a writer King really is, even though I grimace at some of his stuff. [/QUOTE] Stephen King is NOT a horror writer. He is a damn good writer who concentrates on horror. In some of his books, the horror is the weakest element. _Rose Madder_ should have ended with Rose kicking Norman’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/38 "2008-08-05T12:58:44Z")
[The Transparent Society](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transparent_Society) by David Brin. A book on the death of privacy in an age of databases and cheap and EZ surveillance. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/39 "2008-08-05T14:16:05Z")
I’ll second _Into Thin Air_, a thrilling and heartbreaking true-life adventure story. And _84 Charing Cross Road_, a charming book about loving books. And _The Hot Zone_, a very scary nonfiction account of an Ebola near-outbreak in the U.S. I’ll add: _Last Chance to See_ by Douglas Adams (yes, that Douglas Adams) and Mark Carwardine, a tragicomic account of seeking out highly endangered species. _The Perfect Storm_ by Sebastian Junger, about swordfishermen taking on the sea, and losing. Much better than the movie. _Founding Brothers_ by Joseph Ellis, a Pulitzer Prize-winner about the Framers and their dealings with each other as they wrestled with the big issues of the day: slavery, state’s rights, power, and forming a new nation. A brilliant, concise, fascinating introduction to early American history. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808/40 "2008-08-05T14:22:15Z")
_Assassination Vacation_ by Sarah Vowell. well-written, highly readable, American History. _The Ancient Engineers_ by L. Sprague De Camp. Also well-written & readable, very good for dispelling the “aliens built Stonehenge” crowd. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-fiction-titles-you-think-everyone-should-read/458808.md?page=3)