Richard Rhodes–The Making Of The Atomic Bomb
Richard Rhodes–Atomic Sun: The Making Of The Hydrogen Bomb
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang.
I recently read the book Nickeled and Dimed, in which a reporter goes undercover taking on minimum wage jobs in several different US cities. Can’t remember the author and I already lent out the book to my sister.
I’m currently reading The Character of Cats: The Origins, Intelligence, Behavior and Strategems of Felis silvestris catus by Stephen Budiansky. If you have or like cats, this is a very interesting book.
Barbara Ehrenreich wrote Nickel and Dimed. It’s a fascinating book and I think it’s available in paperback now.
I second Fast Food Nation.
With the World Cup going on and About a Boy in theaters, this the perfect time to read a Nick Hornby book about soccer. Fever Pitch is a memoir about his rabid love of Arsenal, with commentary about divorced family life, the role soccer plays in fans’ lives and the way people relate to the game. It’s a great book.
I’m currently enjoying The Moral Animal, Why We are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology by Robert Wright. Wright touches on several aspects of evolutionary psychology, like natural and sexual selection, kin selection and the origin of altruism, and ties them into the life of Charles Darwin himself.
In the US, Holding the Key by Ted Conover was released as Newjack: Guarding Sing-Sing. It’s well worth reading. It’s a look into life in prison, from the unique perspective of a guard. It includes a fascinating chapter on the evolution of prisons.
Thank you so much for all the suggestions, everyone. I have actually read several of these books, and I agree, they all sound great. I am especially ineterested in the new Stephen Budiansky book. I loved his previous books on dogs and horses, so I think I’ll pick this up.
I’ve read Richard Feynman, Jared Diamond, Stephen Hawking, and Richard Dawkins- these are great books, esp. Jared Diamond. I may have to pick up The Seven Daughters of Eve as well, since this seems to be a ‘hot’ theory right now.
New Jack: Guarding SingSing was great, and so were Fast Food Nation and Nickel and Dimed.
Man, trust the Dopers to come through! Thanks all!
Try Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna for a radical history of drug use and human consciousness.
Or ** Godel, Escher, Bach…An Eternal Human Braid** by Hofstader.
Heh… Have A Nice Day, by Mick Foley. Even if you’re not a wrestling fan, snag this one up.
The Origins of Virtue by Matt Ridley. Why do humans perform acts which benefit others and not themselves? (e.g. recommending books on the SDMB to people they’ve never met and never will? :D) Read this book and find out!
I loved both of those books.
Lessee, glancing through my bookshelves I see a few non-fiction…
Godel, Escher, Bach - Douglas R. Hofstadter
The Essential Calvin & Hobbes - Bill Watterson
Return of the Straight Dope - Cecil Adams!
Dali (artbook) - Ignacio Gomez de Liano
Brain Droppings - George Carlin
Windows NT 4 Server Handbook - Mark Minasi (a little dated but still relevant)
Where’d you go to school, LL? I was going to recommend Dillard, and PATC has my favorite quote (well, paragraph) ever.
I’d also recommend some of Madeleine L’Engle’s autobiographical stuff - particularly the Crosswicks Journals.
Small Christian liberal arts college in Ottawa. They, um, encouraged us to read. And read. And read…
Not that I needed any encouragement. 
The entrance essay was based on the Bacon quote, Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, some few to be chewed and digested. That is, some are to be read, but only in part; some are to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly and with diligence and attention. I apologize for any mistakes in the quote.
I’m alway glad to find another Dillard/L’Engle-ite. I’m gradually forcing everyone around me to read G. K. Chesterton, L’Engle, Dillard, C. S. Lewis, and Tolkien. I also just read The Closing Of The American Mind by Allan Bloom. Want to chat about books? I’d love to have another email buddy.
just picked up “buried alive - the terrifying history of our most primal fear” … havent even started reading it yet, but it look good.
my problem is i enhale books at insane rate, and being banned from all the libraries in my area due to my dislike for giving books back, mean that all this reading is turning into an exspensive hobby.
Try The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators by Gordon Grice. I haven’t seen anything else in this vein done by him, but if I did, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. I’ve re-read this book about a dozen times. It discusses various creepy-crawly predators (black widow, praying mantis, tarantula, rattlesnake, brown recluse, pig (yes, pig!), and dog), and their relationships with man. Do you realize that people used to scoff at the idea of a black widow being poisonous? Until some brave researcher voluntarily had one bite him, and then tracked the outcome! This is the best non-fiction shivers-up-your-spine horror I’ve ever read!:eek: :eek:
I’m reading Augustine’s Confessions right now…
Hey, Munch, are you interested in chatting about books?
Furr, Buried Alive is excellent. Informative, funny and creepy all at once.
E-mail on the way, Lissla.
Er, maybe it’s not, as your e-mail option is disabled.
Right. Am fixing that. Do try again.
Ah, well, (ahem), have you thought of maybe “Bad Astronomy”? 