# Recommend some entertaining nonfiction, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139 "2006-09-18T03:03:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/21 "2006-09-18T13:15:14Z")
Along the same lines, I recently read and enjoyed Mary Kingsley’s [_Travels in West Africa_](http://www.amazon.com/Travels-West-Africa-Adventure-Classics/dp/0792266382/sr=8-1/qid=1158585181/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7708495-0993533?ie=UTF8&s=books). She was a proper Victorian spinster – who, well, traveled in West Africa. Alone. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2006, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/22 "2006-09-18T13:50:29Z")
For humor and entertainment value with a bit of actual knowledge thrown in, I’ll second Bill Bryson, especially [A Walk in the Woods](http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Rediscovering-Appalachian-Official/dp/0767902521/ref=ed_oe_p/104-7813837-2739133?ie=UTF8), and add [The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World](http://www.amazon.com/Know-All-Humble-Smartest-Person/dp/0743250621/sr=1-1/qid=1158587354/ref=sr_1_1/104-7813837-2739133?ie=UTF8&s=books). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Punkyova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@The\_Punkyova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Punkyova)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/23 "2006-09-18T14:00:08Z")
I’d add “1491,” about the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans and “Our Bones Lie Scattered,” about the Indian Mutiny. (The latter is one of my favorite books ever, a fact that I fear labels me as somewhat morbid.) ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/24 "2006-09-18T14:00:11Z")
Thanks! I see several I’m going to check out, literally. I also see lots I’ve already read, not surprisingly: Bryson, Sacks, Krackauer. I really enjoyed _Devil In the White City_ and _A Primate’s Memoir_, but I found _Guns, Germs & Steel_ pretty rough going. :dubious: Any other recommendations? ---
**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:** [September 18, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/25 "2006-09-18T14:14:09Z")
Stephen King’s two nonfiction works “Danse Macabre” and especially “On Writing” are really really worth reading. While Peg Bracken is most known for writing cookbooks, she has written several other non-fiction books: I Didn’t Comer Here to Argue; I Wouldn’t Have Missed It for the World; A Window Over the Kitchen Sink; and On Growing Old for the First Time. And Robert Fulghum’s works are good reading. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/26 "2006-09-18T14:15:48Z")
Everyone should read Strauss & Howe’s [Generations](http://www.amazon.com/Generations-History-America-Future-1584/dp/0688119123/sr=8-2/qid=1158588823/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-0130187-7147160?ie=UTF8&s=books). It has a lot of insight into what’s happened and what’s happening in America. In particular, their predictions of social trends over the last 15 years reads a lot like a brief social history of the 90s and early 2000s. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/27 "2006-09-18T14:21:16Z")
I am reading [The Miracle of St Anthony](http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-St-Anthony-Basketball-Improbable/dp/B000BOB310/sr=8-1/qid=1158588749/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0146793-5221533?ie=UTF8&s=books) about high school basketball in New Jersey and how Bob Hurley has won 22 state titles and several national titles coaching an impoverished school with 200 students and no gym. I am deliberately reading slowly because I am enjoying the daily pep session. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/28 "2006-09-18T15:26:18Z")
I like Diamond’s stuff myself, but I agree with **betenoir** , that if Guns Germs & Steel didn’t grab you, you might try “Why is Sex Fun,” or (better, I think) “The Third Chimpanzee,” which is about human evolution. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/29 "2006-09-18T15:38:53Z")
[A Mind of Its Own](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142002593/ref=pd_kar_gw_2/102-9220445-7315339?ie=UTF8) by David Friedman. It’s about penises! And it’s really, really good. In fact, it’s so good, it’s inspired me to do an undergraduate research project on the role of the penis in Herman Melville’s works, principally _Benito Cereno_. Though I have to admit a lot my joy in this book came from being able to shout in my friends’ ears, “I’m reading a book about penises and it’s fantastic!” Yes, I’m am ultimately about twelve years old. And my parents are very proud of my interest in penises. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/30 "2006-09-18T16:12:37Z")
Oh dear, you have certainly asked for a mouthful, **Jodi**! Mine are mostly historical biographies, or books about royalty and the like-I hope that’s okay: _Juan Carlos: Steering Spain from Dictatorship to Democracy_ -Paul Preston _Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece_ -Hugo Vickers (Alice was the mother of Prince Phillip) _Our Own Backyard: The United States In Central America, 1977-1992_ -William M. LeoGrande _The Empress of Farewells: The Story of Charlotte, Empress of Mexico_ -Prince Michael of Greece _The Corset: A Cultural History_ -Valerie Steele _The Last Romantic: a Biography of Queen Marie of Roumania_ -Hannah Pakula _An Uncommon Woman: the Empress Frederick, Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm_ -Hanna Pakula _The Last Kaiser: The Life of Wilhelm II_ -Giles MacDonogh _Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England_ -Judith Flanders _Born To Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria_ -Julia P. Gelardi _Audrey Hepburn_ -Barry Paris _Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World_ -Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman _Inventing the Victorians_ -Matthew Sweet _Queen Mary 1867-1953_ -James Pope-Hennessy _Victoria’s Daughters_ -Jerrold M. Packard _Michael and Natasha: the Life and Love of Michael II, the Last of the Romanov Tsars_ -Rosemary & Donald Crawford _The Flight of the Romanovs: a Family Saga_ -John Curtis Perry and Constantine Pleshakov ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/31 "2006-09-18T16:15:47Z")
[QUOTE=Miss Purl McKnittington] “I’m reading a book about penises and it’s fantastic!” [/QUOTE] You might like [Dr Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation](http://www.amazon.com/Tatiana-Sex-Advice-All-Creation/dp/0805063323/sr=8-1/qid=1158595944/ref=sr_1_1/104-7993326-8584742?ie=UTF8&s=books). ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/32 "2006-09-18T16:18:09Z")
Don’t laugh. I recently finished a fascinating book called _In the Wake of the Plague_ about the effects of the great plagues of the 1300s on society. It was absolutely terrific. \*_Jodi_, you might particularly enjoy the bits where it talks about the effect on religion at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/33 "2006-09-18T17:34:20Z")
Many excellent recommendations so far (just finished “Our Bones Lie Scattered” a few weeks back!). These aren’t new, but at least that means they’re in paperback: [Elizabeth’s London](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elizabeth-London-Everyday-Life-Elizabethan/dp/0753817578/sr=8-1/qid=1158599189/ref=sr_1_1/026-4268082-0094801?ie=UTF8&s=gateway), by Liza Pickard; good, informative writing on day-to-day life of common Londoners. I’ve also enjoyed the same author’s _Victoria’s London_. [The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Harry-Potter-Really-Works/dp/0755311515/sr=8-39/qid=1158599397/ref=sr_1_39/026-4268082-0094801?ie=UTF8&s=gateway), by Roger Highfield–a scientist who writes informed and often amusing essays on sujects like “how could we create a flying broom?” Not as good as his earlier _The Physics of Christmas_, which examined why brussel sprouts are bitter, for example. Great Doper books, IMHO. [Haw Haw : The Tragedy of William and Margaret Joyce](http://www.amazon.ca/Haw-Tragedy-William-Margaret-Joyce/dp/0330492845/sr=1-2/qid=1158600029/ref=sr_1_2/701-3509639-2521966?ie=UTF8&s=books), Nigel Farndale. Very detailed, balanced examination of why William Joyce, known as “Lord Haw-Haw,” was hanged for treason by the British. [Beneath Flanders Fields](http://www.amazon.ca/Beneath-Flanders-Fields-Tunnellers-1914-18/dp/0773529497/sr=1-1/qid=1158600154/ref=sr_1_1/701-3509639-2521966?ie=UTF8&s=books), beautifully produced book on the relatively unknown war of the tunnelers and miners–sometimes hand-to-hand with German tunnelers–underneath the battlefields of WWI. [Backroom Boys: The Secret Return of the British Boffin](http://www.amazon.ca/Backroom-Boys-Francis-Spufford/dp/0571214975/sr=1-5/qid=1158600429/ref=sr_1_5/701-3509639-2521966?ie=UTF8&s=books), Francis Spufford. A sort of stiff-upper-lip “Right Stuff,” with the inside story of British rocketry, the Concorde, and the il-fated “Beagle 2” Mars lander. I’ve shilled these next two several times before on the Dope, but I will continue to push them–excellent reads! [Quartered Safe Out Here](http://www.amazon.ca/Quartered-Safe-Out-Here-Recollection/dp/0002726874/sr=1-3/qid=1158599697/ref=sr_1_3/701-3509639-2521966?ie=UTF8&s=books), by George MacDonald Fraser, better known for his long-running series of historical novels featuring the misadventures of Harry Flashman. This is his nonfiction account of his British Army in Burma in WW2: told exceptionally well, a real ground-eye, platoon-level book–and very readable for non-military history buffs. [Confederates in the Attic](http://www.amazon.ca/Confederates-Attic-Dispatches-Unfinished-Civil/dp/067975833X/sr=1-1/qid=1158599858/ref=sr_1_1/701-3509639-2521966?ie=UTF8&s=books), by Tony Horwitz. Funny and touching by turns, an examination of how the War Between the States still fascinates–even obsesses–many Americans. Should be mandatory reading for US high schools, in this Canadian’s opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/34 "2006-09-18T18:01:28Z")
Check out [these](https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/dopestore/buystuff.bat) books. Fun _and_ informative. I’ve never heard of the author, “Adam” something, but they are enjoyable reading ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/35 "2006-09-18T18:03:51Z")
[QUOTE=C3] [The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat](http://www.amazon.com/Man-Mistook-His-Wife-Hat/dp/0684853949/sr=1-1/qid=1158562341/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0295786-5942307?ie=UTF8&s=books) and [An Anthropoligist on Mars](http://www.amazon.com/Anthropologist-Mars-Paradoxical-Tales-Vintage/dp/0679756973/sr=1-2/qid=1158562417/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-0295786-5942307?ie=UTF8&s=books) both by Oliver Sacks. [/QUOTE] I’ll add Sacks’ book _Awakenings_. That’s my personal favorite. Also _[Stem Cell Now : From the Experiment That Shook the World to the New Politics of Life](http://www.amazon.com/Stem-Cell-Now-Experiment-Politics/dp/B000GUJHKI/sr=8-1/qid=1158601202/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-3084660-3191050?ie=UTF8&s=books)_, by Christopher Thomas Scott. He’s a scientist, but his skills at explaining a complex subject to a lay audience are outstanding. _Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife_ and _Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers_ by Mary Roach. She makes these rather creepy subjects both amusing and interesting. Anything by Augusten Burroughs. Most of his books are based his life, which has been … interesting, to say the least. _Dry_ and _Running with Scissors_ are my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/36 "2006-09-18T18:32:13Z")
For recent history and biography combined can I recommend the trilogy - Strange Places, Questionable People (1998) - A Mad World, My Masters (2000) - News From No Man’s Land (2002). by veteran BBC World Affairs editor [John Simpson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Simpson)? He’s been around the block a few times, and writes engagingly and often amusingly. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/37 "2006-09-18T18:43:03Z")
I’ve been going through a cynical period, and enjoyed these books: \*Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right \* and \*The Truth (with Jokes), \* by Al Franken _Our Endangered Values_, by Jimmy Carter _Conservatives without Conscience_, by John Dean _Misquoting Jesus_, by Bart Ehrman Also, based on radio interviews, I plan on picking up _Omnivore’s Dilemma_, by Michael Pollan and _Flushed: How the Plumber Saved Civilization_, by W. Hodding Carter ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/38 "2006-09-18T19:14:17Z")
_The Search for the Pink-Headed Duck_ and _Drums Along the Congo_ by Rory Nugent\* This House of Sky\* by Ivan Doig _Darwin’s Dangerous Idea_ by Daniel Dennett _Wonderful Life_ by Stephen J. Gould _From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies_ by Molly Haskell\* Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity \*by Bruce Bagemihl ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/39 "2006-09-18T20:12:54Z")
[QUOTE=Unauthorized Cinnamon] _Omnivore’s Dilemma_, by Michael Pollan [/QUOTE] Just finished that one a couple of weeks ago. Very good, though disturbing. Currently reading: No more bull! : the mad cowboy targets America’s worst enemy, our diet, by Howard F. Lyman Vegan freak : being vegan in a non-vegan world by Bob Torres With apologies to my family, I think I’m about to give up eating meat again. Also just finished Inside : life behind bars in America, by Michael Santos. Maybe things are different in womens’ prisons, but if I were a guy on my way to the penetentiary, after reading this book I think I’d just kill myself instead. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139/40 "2006-09-18T20:25:01Z")
Oh, I also recommend Assasination Vacation by Sarah Vowell about the life and times of presidential assasins (I’ve heard Take the Canoli is even better but haven’t gotten around to it). It is written as a series of personal travel memoirs. I really liked it. You know, in all the recent brouhaha in the polyamory thread I wonder why WhyNot and Lilairen took all the time to evoke polygamous and polyandrous societies in radically different societies but didn’t take the time to reference the Oneida Community (far closer to modern polyamory). My apologies if they did. Believe me, it makes you think twice about your teacups!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-entertaining-nonfiction-please/373139.md?page=3)