I had no idea Bill Bryson wrote fiction, but I *love *all of his many travel books–very funny.
I probably got my facts wrong. All I did know is that he didn’t really have a scientific background.
That was a fun book.
I also liked The Cuckoo’s Egg, a narrative by the astronomer Cliff Stoll about how he detected and tracked a hacker who was working for the KGB.
And I’d recommend any of the books by Michael Lewis. Mostly he writes on financial matters (although in a very entertaining manner) but he is also the author of the books upon which the movies The Blind Side and Moneyball were based.
The Billionaire’s Vinegar - A surprisingly page-turning account of the world of (very old) vintage wines, with an emphasis on a hidden cache of Bordeaux purportedly owned by Thomas Jefferson.
Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes - An account of the Piraha people of the Amazon, told by a missionary/linguist who lived with them. Very interesting to read about a culture and language so different from any other, and to explore how language can influence your very worldview and vice versa.
It is a good book, but I did not include it on my list because I feel it is inflated. There is a lot of redundancy in Diamond’s exposition on why some civilizations (particularly those from the North Atlantic) have come to dominate the world. He could have made the same points using two-thirds the space. On the other hand, I’d say that *Collapse *wastes nothing.
Also, be advised that the PBS special *Guns, Germs, and Steel *has very little to do with the book of that name.
I second this suggestion. I’m reading it for the second time right now. It’s really well written, and certainly transports me to the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The Krakauer books that have been suggested are winners, too.
At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor, by Gordon W. Prange (Absorbing, gargantuan read about the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor)
Death of a President, by William Manchester (All about the JFK assassination. He has his prejudices on the subject, but still a fascinating, informative read)
Bundy: The Deliberate Stranger, by Richard W. Larsen (All about Ted Bundy, one of the most prolific serial killers in history. Women everywhere need to read this book. It’s both horrifying *and *fascinating, and it will teach you to be wary of your environment - and the strangers in it - for the rest of your life.)
A Casebook on Jack the Ripper, by Richard Whittington-Egan (More than 30 years old now and hard to find today but as something of a Ripper hobbyist, it’s the best book I ever read on the subject.)
The Vampire in Lore and Legend, by Montague Summers (Summers definitely has a different take on investigating the myths and origins of the vampire.)
And, two more votes for Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and Wolfe’s The Right Stuff. I read them cover-to-cover at each sitting.
I thought the autobiography “If Chins Could Kill” by Bruce Campbell was an excellent read.
Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars - Robert V. Remini
Undaunted Courage - Stephen Ambrose (about the Lewis and Clark Expedition)
Charles (Chuck) Yeager’s Autobiography,
as someone who loves all forms of aviation this book is detailed, historical and stirring.
The Periodic Kingdom: A Journey into the Land of the Chemical Elements by Peter.W.Atkins,
an AAA guide to Chemistry as if it were an Atlas to a foreign land. If you never ‘got’ Chemistry this is an excellent sideways view and introduction.
Fear and Loathing in America - Hunter S. Thompson.
Good preparation for a change of U.S. leadership?
Godel,Escher,Bach. - Douglas Hofstadter.
Read any review and discover about this tour de force linking Music, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Cognition and more. A friend spent 6 months with an Oil company in the Libyan desert with this as his only English book and reccomended it to me, superb.
And finally, ‘Why don’t Penguin’s feet freeze’ published by New Scientist magazine,
A complementa(i)ry adjunct to Cecil’s column.
If you like really funny, snarky writing, try A Massive Swelling:Celebrity Reexamined as a Grotesque, Crippling Disease and Other Cultural Revelations
I agree the special isn’t very good, and I agree there are some faults with the book, but since I don’t know the OP personally I have a hard time thinking of a specific book that I’m sure would change his life forever. I’m sure the ones you recommended will do it though.
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. So good that when I finished reading it, I immediately read it again.
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
What Do You Care What Other People Think? by Richard Feynman
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
1776: America and Britain At War by by David McCullough
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
With The Old Breed by Eugene Sledge
Faster by James Gleick
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff (2011)
I can’t recommend this guy enough–may be the flavor of the moment but I loved reading The Big Short last summer and just finished Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World. Thoroughly engaging writer, and thoroughly enraging subject matter.
Cosmos by Carl Sagan. He has this soothing, eloquent, and perhaps even poetic way of describing the universe from a human perspective.
I’d second Spoke’s* Undaunted Courage*, and also say that Stephen Ambrose’s other books are all worth reading.
Rather than add a specific book, I’d recommend anything by Christopher Hibbert. He has written many history books, and they are all eminently readable imho.
Also, Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feyman. Just because you’re a rocket scientist doesn’t mean you have to be boring and stuffy.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Botany of Desire, both by Michael Pollan
Brothel: Mustang Ranch and its Women by Alexa Albert
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow–I couldn’t put it down.
Longitude by Dava Sobel–the story of John Harrison, who developed a clock that would keep precise time at sea. This was the most challenging science issue of his time and was his life-long mission. Relatively short and an easy read.
e=mc2: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis. It’s for non-science people–he wrote it after seeing an interview with Cameron Diaz (I think) saying she wished she understood it…