# Recommend me a book! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095 "2003-12-26T06:57:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![justlurking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@justlurking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justlurking)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/1 "2003-12-26T06:57:29Z")
Keep it non-fiction. What should be next on my reading list? I’m open to just about everything. There are TOO MANY interesting good books to read, but I was wondering if you could help me pin-point a few that you thought were exceptional! Thanks! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/2 "2003-12-26T07:08:28Z")
Rather broad category, care to give us hints about what you like? ---
**Author:** ![justlurking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@justlurking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justlurking)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/3 "2003-12-26T07:12:28Z")
Well, I like hockey, politics, and biographies. But I want to expand my horizons, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/4 "2003-12-26T07:30:29Z")
Well, if you want to really get with the SDMB program, you really should read Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel. (To _ **really** _ get with the program, of course, you need to _buy_ and read Triumph of the Straight Dope, The Straight Dope Tells All, Return of the Straight Dope, More of the Straight Dope, The Straight Dope.) To make some of our more philosophically bent members happy, you might consider Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/5 "2003-12-26T07:35:27Z")
_Nickeled and Dimed_\*, by Barbara What’s-her-name ---
**Author:** ![culov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@culov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/culov)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/6 "2003-12-26T11:00:47Z")
Ehrenreich. I thought I was the only person that liked it when she transformed into a crazy radical at the end! 🙂 I only read certain sections in Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid because i got extremely distracted after looking at some of mc eschers art. I can honestly say that i hated art until i understood escher and picasso’s work. Gotta finish that book. Some other recommendations: Fast Food Nation, ZAMM, Franklin’s bio, and a few off-topic books like the elegant universe and hyperspace. Ive never read it but Reading Lolita in Tehran looks pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/7 "2003-12-26T11:49:32Z")
The Cosmic Serpent by Dr Jeremy Narby. Ishmael, My Ishmael, and The Story of B by Daniel Quinn. The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler (the 1st chapter is hard to read, but the rest is good). Fast Food Nation by some guy, I forget his name. These are my favorite non-fiction books. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/8 "2003-12-26T11:51:21Z")
Oh. I also love anything written by Howard Zinn. Fun History. ---
**Author:** ![phraser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a88e4f/32.png) [@phraser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phraser)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/9 "2003-12-26T12:07:58Z")
If you like biography and science, I can recommend anything by Oliver Sacks, although my personal favourite was “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat”. ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/10 "2003-12-26T16:45:41Z")
I have a screaming headache today So you could have posted this in cafe Society OR checked out this thread[non fiction books](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=121055) ---
**Author:** ![Snuggles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Snuggles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snuggles)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/11 "2003-12-26T21:22:36Z")
A book called Hacksaw, but I forget the author’s name ! It’s about the life of a guy (whose nickname is Hacksaw:p), and how he broke out of all these prisions and chain gangs and stuff. I found it interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Wranglerette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@Wranglerette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wranglerette)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/12 "2003-12-26T22:45:12Z")
“Beloved” by Toni Morrison or “A Virtuous Woman” by Gibbons. If you like biographical stuff, Irving Stone wrote a nice read about the life and love of John and Abigail Adams entitled “Those Who Love”. Other than that…Stephen King is always a good spur of the moment decision. Hehe ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/13 "2003-12-26T23:05:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by justlurking \* > **Well, I like hockey, politics, and biographies.** [enjoy!](http://couchpotatohockey.com/Teams/Team%20Biographies/Ottawa_Senators.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/14 "2003-12-26T23:44:35Z")
[“Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use” by Jacob Sullum](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1585422274/qid=1072141287/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2831037-1699158?v=glance&s=books). It’s an interesting and well-reasoned argument for legalizing drugs, and a hard look at the American “War on Drugs”. Definitely a great tool in the fight against ignorance! ---
**Author:** ![foxymoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@foxymoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foxymoron)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/15 "2003-12-27T01:06:59Z")
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman is a wonderful book. After you’ve read that, you should read What Do You Care What Other People Think?, written by Feynman and his friend Ralph Leighton, and Tuva or Bust! by Leighton. I don’t know physics, but I know I like Feynman.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/16 "2003-12-27T01:59:39Z")
Some nonfiction stuff I’ve enjoyed recently: [Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0142002267/qid=1072490200//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i0_xgl14/102-7635112-3012128?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) [Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679457526/qid=1072490254/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/102-7635112-3012128) [In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0141001828/qid=1072490285/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-7635112-3012128) [The cruelest miles : the heroic story of dogs and men in a race against an epidemic by Gay Salisbury](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393019624/qid=1072490322/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-7635112-3012128) [The Devil in the White City : Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0609608444/qid=1072490360/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7635112-3012128?v=glance&s=books) [The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karlu by Jennifer Niven](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786884460/qid=1072490398/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7635112-3012128?v=glance&s=books) [Cookoff : recipe fever in America by Amy Southerland](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670032514/qid=1072490425/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-7635112-3012128) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/17 "2003-12-27T02:21:57Z")
If you like history, try Barbara Tuchman’s _A Distant Mirror_. Investigate the many topics John McPhee has written books about – good ones to start with are _Rising From The Plains_ (about the Rocky Mountains) and _Basin And Range_. Check out _Blue Highways_ by William Least Heat-Moon. John Keegan first became famous for _The Face of Battle_, which is fascinating whether or not you’re into military history. He’s written a number of other books as well. Some of the science is outdated, but it’s still a darn good read: _Rats, Lice and History_ by Hans Zinsser. When you finish Jon Krakauer’s _Into Thin Air_, check out his _Into the Wild_. I have plenty more, but that should keep you busy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Intent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5e9695/32.png) [@Intent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intent)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/18 "2003-12-27T06:39:46Z")
The Power Of One by Bryce Courtenay - A fictional coming of age story that is so amazingly good. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/19 "2003-12-27T06:41:10Z")
Moving this to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095/20 "2003-12-27T14:42:09Z")
**Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee** - by Dee Alexander Brown > [@](#): > > Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a work of non-fiction, attempts to tell the story of the American West from the perspective of the indigenous population, The American Indian. That in itself makes Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee an important work of literature as it is one of the few books supporting the Indian cause. This is done through the use of council records, autobiographies, and first-hand accounts. [http://www.essaymill.com/free\_essays/inmers/m2547.htm](http://www.essaymill.com/free_essays/inmers/m2547.htm) This is a great book. If you have any feelings at all…it will piss the hell out of you. I know it did me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book/221095.md?page=2)