Who is your favorite nonfiction writer/s? I think I would go with Roach for humor and Koestler/Lakoff for content and depth.
Bill Bryson and Paul Theroux for tales about travel. David Sedaris for, well, tales.
Barbara Tuchman if the subject is history.
Jorge Luis Borges for his wit and infinite knowledge.
Both Hunter S Thompson and Tom Wolfe are MUCH better non-fiction writers than they are when they attempt to take on writing novels…
Bill Bryson (on just about anything), Alastair Horne and Shelby Foote (for history),
William Poundstone. My favorite books of his are as follows:
The Recursive Universe - It has an excellent exposition of Conway’s game of life. It also discusses information theory, computing, and the idea of self-replicating machines. It’s one of the books I read as a teenager that really got me interested in mathematics.
Prisoner’s Dilemma - Contains a fascinating introduction to game theory along with its history and connection with the cold war. It’s also a very interesting biography of John von Neumann. All wrapped neatly together in an excellent book.
Labyrinths of Reason - This one talks about logic, computational complexity, and paradoxes. Plus, it has a neat chapter written as if it’s a Sherlock Holmes short story.
Gaming the Vote - This book talks about Arrow’s paradox, voting systems, and the limits of democracy. It also delves into historical accounts of oddities that occurred in elections. It’s a captivating book that weaves mathematics, history, and current events together.
People who have written more than one book that I have read:
Bill Bryson
George Orwell
Richard Feynman
Tom Wolfe
Colin Wilson
Jon Krakauer
If I had to pick just one, it would easily be Alison Weir. Others I really like are John McPhee, Bill Bryson, and Tracy Kidder.
My all-time favorite non-fiction book is Ship Of Gold In The Deep Blue Sea, by Gary Kinder, but he never (yet) wrote anything else anywhere near as good.
Seconded
I am a big fan of Richard Preston.
Toss-up between David Quammen (The Song of the Dodo) and Michael Pollan (The Botany of Desire).
I second Michael Pollan.
Stephen King, “On Writing.”
Tom Wolfe
R. Buckminster Fuller
E. H. Gombrich
Douglas Hofstadter
Thomas Carlyle
Willy Ley
I agree with Bryson, Krakauer, and Weir.
Others not already mentioned, with a couple of my favorite books for each:
P.J. O’Rourke (Republican Party Reptiles, Give War a Chance)
James Reston, Jr. (Warriors of God, The Last Apocolypse)
Simon Winchester (The Professor and the Madman, Krakatoa)
Simon Schama (A History of Britain)
David Quammen, again
**Tim Cahill **(Pecked to Death by Ducks, Jaguars Are Eating My Leg, and others)
PJ O’Rourke (I prefer his earlier books, like Holidays in Hell and Eat the Rich.)
And of course, Cecil Adams
I agree on
Simon Winchester
Simon Schama
I’ll add
John McFee
Annie Dillard
I really like Peter Cave’s stuff about philosophy. Very interesting stuff
Yes, Tim Cahill! I thought of him, couldn’t remember his name, he’s excellent.
Jon Krakauer - I read the first chapter of Into Thin Air and ran and told Mr. S he must - he MUST - read this book right after I did.
Ruth Riehl and Laurie Cowrie, food writers.
Garry Wills