I’ll second John McPhee. He has an amazing talent of taking what might sound like mundane topics (to many people) and turning them into incredibly compelling books. I particularly recommend The Survival of the Bark Canoe, wherein he helps hand-make a canoe out of birch bark and then travels through the rivers and lakes of Maine in it, and Oranges, about, well, oranges. And the orange industry. Two fascinating books about topics I would not think I’d find interesting in a million years.
Please keep 'em coming, guys. I’ve added a few from this thread to my “Wish List.”
I particularly enjoy biographies, women’s history, and the Tudors.
Any suggestions in these areas?
Rats, Lice, and History is the best book ever.
I see others have mentioned Barbara Tuchman.
I really enjoyed “A Distant Mirror”.
It’s an history of the 14th Century.
Capt. Sir Richard Francis Burton.
A guy who probably had the most fascinating life in history. And an amazing character – prodigious gift for languages, and extremely modern ideas in some areas (sex) and backwards in others (the races).
And after you’ve read that, read the Flashman books (which are, ahem, fiction of course), and you’ll see what a deft parody all those books are.
Science - books by Dr. Richard Feynmann, theoretical physicist (most are very easy to understand). Also, books by Isaac Asimov. I’d avoid Carl Sagan like the plague…he makes the fascination of astronomy so dead and dry, he could have made Galileo toss out his telescope!
Political/History - “Confederates in the Attic” and “Bahgdad Without a Map” and any other books by Tony Hurwitz, a journalist turned modern commentary comparing and contrasting history against our modern views (from both sides of the story).
I guarantee you’ll love these books! - Jinx
Oh, a few more come to mind!
Apollo 13 (the novel) by Jim Lowell…excellent accounting of the full (untold) story of Apollo 13’s mishaps from start to splashdown…and to reuniting with their wives in Hawaii after splashdown! Also, he opens with a recap about Apollo 1.
The Log from the Sea of Cortez and Travels With Charlie both non-fiction works by John Steinbeck. Fascinating true stories and funny anecdotes of his adventures on two different occasions.
Lastly, about life philosophies: Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and It Was On Fire When I Laid Down On It by Robert Fulcom (sp?) …excellent, funny look at human nature.
Happy Readings…
- Jinx
Some books I’ve loved:
[ul]
[li]Einstein’s Theory of Relativity – Max Born. The title is misleading: It’s much more interesting than just that. 
Born builds all of the physics needed to understand relativity beforehand, not even touching on Einstein’s work until he’s laid the groundwork. This groundwork encompasses much of the history of physics itself, and includes Newtonian mechanics, optics, and electrodynamics.[/li]
If nothing else, this will prove that physics does not come from nowhere, but is a coherent, logical way to describe and predict the fundamental behaviors of the Universe. Plus, it’s an engrossing read.
[li]The Advent of the Algorithm – David Berlinski, also the author of A Tour of the Calculus, which I have not read (shame shame). Imagine learning about the basic model of modern thought, the algorithm, via the personalities behind it. Leibniz and his gout, explaining the rationale behind his vision of a universal logical language. Frege’s black clothing and similarly austere logic, driving arithmetic to the ineffible certainty only a formal system can provide. He intersperses the logic and history with his own fiction so seamlessly, you read both stories and lectures with equal ease. (He does mark where fiction begins and ends, however.)[/li]
I think The Advent of the Algorithm is a perfect companion to Goedel-Escher-Bach: The Eternal Golden Braid (GEB EGB). I like it for its explanation of the lambda calculus, but I’m a Lisp freak. 
[li]Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds – Charles Mackay. This text is quite old (all of them printings of the 1852 edition), but you’ll be surprised how little things have changed. We still have magnetisers and fortune-tellers and even witch-hunts, if only under different names. Getting a historical perspective is interesting, and his work is very readable.[/li][li]From Dawn to Decadence (1500 to the Present): 500 Years of Western Cultural Life – Jacques Barzun. If you wanted to point to one book to explain How We Got Here, this would be it. He traces Western art, thought, literature, and politics from 1500 to the modern day (modern meaning 2000, by the way), focusing on age-defining themes and personalities. It is eminently readable, a book you could truly fall into. I’d advise anyone to pick up this book.[/li][/ul]And now I know what books I’d take along with me if I were stranded in an airport for an extended period.
Jinx, he’s Robert Fulghum. And I second All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten for a day when you need a lift.
Really? I’ve read all of his books with rapt fascination. He gave me my love for science, and I greatly mourned his passing. I never found any of his books boring or dry-- quite the opposite, actually.
I’ll second the recomendation for “A Walk in the Woods” - in addition to being damned entertaining it’s also informative about the trails past and present conditions and, of course, very well written.
The Greco-Persian Wars by Peter Green. A masterful telling of what was the single most important conflict for the ancient Greeks and all of Western Civilization. Green writes this history with an urgency that draws you in, and despite the fact that you know how it must end, you find yourself anxiously turning the pages wondering if the Greeks will stand united or fall piecemeal to the Persian onslaught.
What If? and What If? 2 Collections of counterfactual essays by some of the world’s greatest historians. Basically the result of famous historians sitting around saying “What if…” and speculating on what could’ve happened had key events in history had gone the other way.
For a rather unique look at modern American history I suggest taking a look at any Hunter S. Thompson collection. Both volumes of the “Gonzo Papers” offer a lot of insight into American politics and (counter) culture during the 70’s and 80’s.
I havn’t read this one yet, but it’s on my list and has come highly recommened by several friends: Zero: History of a Dangerous Idea Supposed to be a great look into the history of the concept of Zero. It examines the mathmatic, cultural and religous implications of the introduction of Zero.
If well researched and scholarly historical fiction has any appeal I also highly recomend Creation by Gore Vidal. In this masterful novel we are treated to a look at the Persian point of view during the time of the Greco-Persian wars, narrated by Cyrus Spitama, a Persian courtier, grandson of Zoroaster and childhood friend of Xerxes himself.
For the Spartans point of view during the same period, Steven Pressfields novel Gates of Fire is about the Spartan defense of Thermoplyae. It offers a very personal look at one of the most couragous (and bloodiest) battles of the war without sacraficing historical accuracy.
While, by technical definition, it is actually fiction I still recommend Colleen McCullough’s “First Man in Rome” series. Her writing is excellent as she draws you into the daily functioning of the Roman Empire. This series of books eventually chronicles the life of Julius Caeser (and his extrordinary mother) in fascinating detail. If you enjoy history, these books will be page turners. McCullough owns the most extensive non-academic library of ancient Latin documents on earth. The authenticity of her portrayals really brings the different characters to life.
Another interesting book is “Food in History” by Reay Tannahill. An incredibly well written and detailed analysis of human eating habits and practices from prehistoric times to now. It is required reading at most major cooking schools. Her history of sex is equally entertaining.
If you want a continuous string of belly laughs please read “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly” by Anthony Bourdain. I roared and howled while reading this slender yet immensely amusing little book.
I’m in the middle of reading a book called Ancient Mysteries by Peter James and Nick Thorpe. It’s about well ancient stuff like Stonehenge, the pyramids, the Sphinx and also has stuff about legends like Dracula and King Arthur. I’ve gotten about 1/3 of the way though it so far and really like it. They present the archaeology evidence and then debunk the really far out stuff that people like Graham Hancock put out. If you’re into ancient history I highly recomend this.
Oh! I’ve read their Ancient Inventions, which is a great book. Shame on me for not mentioning it before!
Secrets of the Samurai by Oscar Ratti and Adele Westbrook is a good one as well.
The Ancient Engineers by L. Sprague De Camp
Check out the Amazon data
It’s a personal favorite, as the author is very talented.
**A distant Mirror[/] by Tuchman is very good, too.
1421 by Gavin Menzies. Enjoyed this book immensly
The Prospect before her a history of women in western europe from 1500 to 1800 AD
sorry, forgot to add the author’s name for the last book:
Olwen Hufton.
I’ve just finished and can recommend The man who stayed behind
It’s co-written by the only American to join the Chinese Communist Party. He experienced the civil war and Cultural Revolution. A great read and a insight in Mao’s China.
Oh one other recommendation that falls into the quasi-nonfiction catagory is Beowulf particularly the latest translation by Seamus Heaney (a renowned Irish poet and Nobel Laureate) Even though Beowulf is fictional it’s also a very valuable historic document being the oldest text ever written in an English dialect and an excellent example of early English mythology. I think anyone that enjoys reading history books for fun will find Beowulf an enjoyable reading experience.