# SDMB recommended reading (non-fiction only, please!)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-recommended-reading-non-fiction-only-please/183930
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [June 24, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-recommended-reading-non-fiction-only-please/183930 "2003-06-24T03:05:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-recommended-reading-non-fiction-only-please/183930/1 "2003-06-24T03:05:49Z")
This thread is for those books or similar items that compliment the purpose of the SDMB - to fight ignorance; preferably with wit, style and feeling. (I’m asking that fiction and books that should be read just because they are fun to read be left to Cafe Society)
My contributions:
_The Universe and the Teacup_ by K. C. Cole - an essay on math, science and human nature.
_What Einstein Told his Cook_ by Robert L. Wolke - kitchen science explained in a question/answer format with a great sense of humor
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### Author:  [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-recommended-reading-non-fiction-only-please/183930/2 "2003-06-24T03:44:59Z")
I can’t pass up any chance to recommend _Cosmos_ by Carl Sagan. One of my all-time favorite books, fiction or non-fiction.
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### Author:  [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-recommended-reading-non-fiction-only-please/183930/3 "2003-06-24T04:09:39Z")
_Coming of Age in the Milky Way_, by Timothy Ferris
_A People’s History of the Supreme Court_, by Peter Irons
_The Battle for God_, and _Holy War_, by Karen Armstrong
_Darwin’s Ghost_, by Steve Jones
_Guns, Germs, and Steel_ and _The Third Chimpanzee_ by Jared Diamond
_The Beak of the Finch_, by Jonathan Weiner
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### Author:  [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-recommended-reading-non-fiction-only-please/183930/4 "2003-06-24T05:00:29Z")
_Finding Darwin’s God_ by Kenneth Miller - An attempt to reconcile the concepts of science and religion. Extremely well written and thought provoking, wherever you sit on that debate.
_The Prince_ by Niccolò Machiavelli - Until you’ve read this, you don’t know Jack about politics. Dark and cynical, but at times very funny and always interesting.
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2003, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-recommended-reading-non-fiction-only-please/183930/5 "2003-06-24T05:21:16Z")
_The Elegant Universe_ - Brian Breene.
_Cosmic Catastrophes_ - J. Craig Wheeler.
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2003, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-recommended-reading-non-fiction-only-please/183930/6 "2003-06-24T05:22:21Z")
Whoops…sorry, Mr. **G** reene!
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### Author:  [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-recommended-reading-non-fiction-only-please/183930/7 "2003-06-24T05:42:34Z")
This is going to sound like an odd choice, but I recommend **Have a Nice Day** and **Foley is Good** by Mick Foley, aka professional wrestler Mankind. It debunks a lot of the myths about the business (hence the fighting ignorance bit), and it has wit, style and feeling in spades. Foley is a surprisingly articulate and intelligent man, and went through quite a lot to get to a top spot in the business. His writing is funny, if a bit reliant on sophmoric humor, but somtimes has a wryness to it that I appreciate.