# Suggest some good non-fiction books **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818 "2003-04-06T05:10:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rpavlick3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b5a626/32.png) [@rpavlick3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rpavlick3)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/1 "2003-04-06T05:10:41Z")
I have begun to read books for fun again and need some suggestions for great non-fiction material. I’m interested in topics such as history (except American from right after the War of 1812 to right before Theodore Roosevelt), anthropology, economics (but something not too terribly technical, maybe Adam Smith, Marx, or Keynes but not a economics textbook), natural history especially climate and evolution, and fractals, golden ratio, prime numbers (but something understandable to a non math major). Some books that I have really enjoyed are: The Fighting Never Stopped: A comprehensive guide to world conflict since 1945 by Patrick Brogan Jared Diamond’s The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal and Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies The Way The Wind Blows: Climate, History, and Human Actions A History of Civilizations by Fernand Braudel ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/2 "2003-04-06T05:18:44Z")
since you’re into history, I’d suggest a couple of books: _The Rise of Russia and the fall of the Soviet Empire_ by John B. Dunlop and(especially relevant in today’s world) _The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism_ by Karen Armstrong both are quite in depth on their respective subjects, while at the same time they are very readable. ---
**Author:** ![Grasshopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Grasshopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grasshopper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/3 "2003-04-06T06:57:26Z")
David Remnick’s book \* Resurrection: The Struggle for a New Russia\*. I took a class on the Soviet Union last quarter and we had to read this book and write a paper on it. Being the astute student I am, I put it off until the weekend before the paper was due, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that the 400 pages of reading in two days wasn’t difficult at all. And I must imagine it’s even more enjoyable when you don’t have to write a big-ass paper on it 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![crinklebat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@crinklebat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crinklebat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/4 "2003-04-06T07:00:08Z")
Because I’m a fanatical worshipper of his, read anything written by Douglas Hofstadter. Just based upon your interests I’d say _Metamagical Themas_ might be something you would enjoy, just because it covers such a wide variety of topics that you could skip the ones that don’t interest you. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/5 "2003-04-06T10:38:09Z")
With respect to Hofstadter, I only really liked _Gödel, Escher, Bach_. I would suggest you’d read that before trying Metamagical Themes. While most people admire GEB, reception of Metamagical Themes is mixed. If you like history-like books I’d like to recommend _The story of art_ by Gombrich. A great book for introducing you to art history. Otherwise I find it hard to recommend anything unless I know a bit more of what kind of subjects you’re interested in. ---
**Author:** ![LabRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/898d66/32.png) [@LabRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LabRat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/6 "2003-04-06T15:58:39Z")
Check out _Guns, Germs and Steel_ by Jared Diamond. It’s an attempt to explain the dominance of western culture that avoids being racist or elitist. ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/7 "2003-04-06T16:08:13Z")
(Note: Links are provided to help find and read reviews and do not constitute an endorsement of Amazon) History: The Discoverers - Daniel Boorstin: [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0394726251/qid=1049644392/sr=2-3/ref=sr\_2\_3/104-6014213-0175111](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0394726251/qid=1049644392/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/104-6014213-0175111) Basically, the history of the discovery of many, many things (and places and philosophies), put into a pretty coherent historical perspecive. This is a big book, 'natch. The Guns of August - Barara Tuchman [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/034538623X/qid=1049644651/sr=2-2/ref=sr\_2\_2/104-6014213-0175111](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/034538623X/qid=1049644651/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/104-6014213-0175111) A Pulitzer Prize - winning history of the first several weeks of WWI. Very well-written. This spurred me to read almost everything else by Tuchman, and I haven’t been disappointed. Next book I’m going to read (mentioned above): Guns, Germs, and Steel - Jared Diamond [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393317552/qid=1049644899/sr=1-1/ref=sr\_1\_1/104-6014213-0175111?v=glance&s=books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393317552/qid=1049644899/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6014213-0175111?v=glance&s=books) ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/8 "2003-04-06T16:25:08Z")
Another vote for _Guns, Germs and Steel_. A must-read. _A Brilliant Solution_ by Carol Berkin provides wonderful insight into the creation of the U.S. Constitution. _Genome_ by Matt Ridley. _Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation_ by Joseph J. Ellis ---
**Author:** ![whiteboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@whiteboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiteboy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/9 "2003-04-06T16:45:39Z")
the autobiography of Malcom X as told by Alex Haley I knew nothing about Malcom X other than, “By any means necessary”, and my interest was sparked by a black history play at my school. He lived an intensely interesting life, from Harlem hustler to revolutionary. of course, the last time I tried to get someone to read this book, he said “I hear the best part is the end” ☹ Asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/10 "2003-04-06T16:52:27Z")
If you haven’t discovered [James Burke](http://www.palmersguide.com/jamesburke/), it’s high time you did. (If you decide to do a little reading on American history from the 1880’s, I can’t recommend _ **The Johnstown Flood** _ by David McCullough enough. I’ve reread it at least once a year for the past 15 years. It’s _that_ good.) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/11 "2003-04-06T17:14:55Z")
Dreadnought by Robert Massie, about naval arms race before world war I The Great Game, by Hopkirk, about competition between British and Russian empires in central Asia. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/12 "2003-04-06T18:23:22Z")
Anything by Carl Sagan, but especially _The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark_. _Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman_ and _What Do You Care What Other People Think?_ are two books of autobiographical stories from famous physicist Richard Feynman. They are fun, easy reads, but they also give some interesting insight into The Manhatten Project and the space shuttle Challenger disaster. _Moonshot_ by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton is an excellent first-hand account of the Apollo missions. ---
**Author:** ![Payton\_s\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@Payton\_s\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payton_s_Servant)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/13 "2003-04-06T18:58:46Z")
I’ll recommend some books by David Halberstam. **The Fifties** This is a very good and very interesting overview of the 1950’s. What’s interesting about it, is that he gives you a taste of a number of different topics, which gave me the impetus to seek out more information about those topics. **The Reckoning** About how the U.S. automakers (Ford, GM & Chrysler) fucked themselves and the American people over during the course of the 20th century and how the Japanese automakers rise to prominence began. **The Best & The Brightest** About the advisors to President Kennedy. I must admit that I’ve tried to read this one 5 or 6 times, but just haven’t been able to get into it. Also John McPhee. He has written over 30 books on a variety of subjects, ranging from Bill Bradley to thermonuclear weapons. One that might interest you is **Annals of the Former World** which won the Pulitzer Prize. It is actually composed of four books which can be purchased separately, with a fifth book added on. The book is a study of the geologic history of North America. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/14 "2003-04-06T19:05:21Z")
_Mathematical Mysteries_ by Calvin C. Clawson is one good book on numbers and number theory at a popular level, and it includes quite a bit on the golden ratio and prime numbers. Fractals and primes are both among the topics covered in Ivars Peterson’s _The Mathematical Tourist_, which isn’t bad though he’s not my personal favorite. I know I’ve read other books with good discussions of fractals, but they may all be in my office at work. ---
**Author:** ![magog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@magog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magog)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/15 "2003-04-06T19:20:27Z")
For history, I’d second the Barbara Tuchman novels - especially March of Folly. I’m reading Disease and History, by Frederick Cartwright - pretty interesting read on, well, disease and how it shapes history. I’d also suggest anything by Martin Gardner. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/16 "2003-04-06T19:32:11Z")
**The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind** _Julian Jaynes_ One of the only coherent theories on the arrival of consciousness in man. **Fledgling Days** _Emma Ford_ An excellent coming of age autobiography by one of the world’s premier falconers. **The Wilderness World of John Muir** _Edited Edwin Way Teale_ The life story of America’s greatest naturalist. Dictated by Muir himself it covers his entire life and struggle to preserve our dwindling wilderness heritage. **The Arms of Krupp** _William Manchester_ A chilling peek under the hind leg of Nazi Germany’s chief arms manufacturer. Its inside political view of the Nuremberg trials is mortifying. The family history is a catalog of ingrown morality. **A Brief History of Time** _Stephen Hawking_ A superb synopsis of quantum physics and the timespace continuum. **The Making of the Atomic Bomb** _Richard Rhodes_ A sweeping view of America’s drive to nuclear superiority in World War II. Written in scientific detail it still delivers an accurate portrayal of the human players. ---
**Author:** ![Foolonthehill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Foolonthehill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foolonthehill)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/17 "2003-04-06T19:54:18Z")
“M: The Man who would become Carravaggio” by Peter Robb. Best book you will ever read about Rome during the Counter-Reformation. Enlightening, Funny and Frightening. ---
**Author:** ![Astralbovine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Astralbovine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astralbovine)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/18 "2003-04-06T20:08:20Z")
“A Walk In The Woods” by Bill Bryson. An account of a couple of middle-aged guys attempting to hike the Appalachian Trail. It’s hilarious and filled with quite a few observations on various tidbits such as the history of regions they pass through, and the idiots and crass commercialism they encounter. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/19 "2003-04-06T22:12:02Z")
If you are interested in how epidemic disease affects human history _Plagues and Peoples_ by William H. McNeill is a good read, although it may be out of print. _Viruses, Plagues, and History_ by Michael B. A. Oldstone is also worth a look. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Cobweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Cobweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Cobweb)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818/20 "2003-04-06T22:46:12Z")
I’ll add my vote for _Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid_ by Hofstadter. And also any of the following: The Durants’ _The History Of Civilization_ series. (In fact, anything by Will Durant.) Churchill’s history of World War II and his _History Of The English Speaking Peoples_ _The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich_ by William L. Shirer is a bit meaty, but particularly relevant. _Fearful Symmetry_ by Anthony Zee Edmund Morris’ two-volume biography of Theodore Roosevelt, comprising _The Rise Of Theodore Roosevelt_ and _Theodore Rex_ _The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams_ (edited by Lester J. Cappon) _A History Of Pi_ by Petr Beckmann _The Extraordinary Story Of Human Origins_ by Piero and Alberto Angela is a decent introduction to anthropology. _Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal_ by Ayn Rand _Free To Choose_ by Milton Friedman _Complexity: The Emerging Science At The Edge Of Order And Chaos_ by Mitchell Waldrop _Chaos and Fractals: New Frontiers of Science_ by Heinz-Otto Peitgen And a book I haven’t gotten around to reading yet, but which looks interesting: _The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World’s Most Astonishing Number_ by Mario Livio [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-non-fiction-books/166818.md?page=2)