Florence King
Michael J. Nelson
Gretel Ehrlich
James Herriot
Jon Krakauer. Read all his books and waiting for the next.
Richard Dawkins.
My favorites tend to be those who write well researched books on interesting or amusing topics, not necessarily those whose writing style is unusually good. In no particular order …
Simon Winchester
Richard Feynman
David McCollough
Cecil Adams
Isaac Asimov
Richard Lederer
Jan Harold Brunvand
By percentage of books I have, probably Ian Hogg.
David Foster Wallace, by far.
Jon Krakauer and [I can’t believe I’m the first one to say] Carl Sagan.
Bill Bryson
Gene Fowler
Barbara Tuchman
TV Hagenah
Michael Lewis
Malcolm Gladwell
David Sedaris
Augusten Burroughs
Sylvia Path (her diaries)
Haven Kimmel
Carl Sagan and Bill Bryson.
Seconded, and in that precise order!
Robert A. Caro. He’s the guy writing the multi-volume biography of LBJ. The books paint an extraordinary picture of how power really works in this country.
He also penned a book on Robert Moses, a power broker who was responsible for many of the freeways, parks and failed urban renewal projects built in New York from about the early 1920s to the late 1960s. It’s a fascinating book if you’re interested in the history of urban development.
Among writers not already mentioned: John Gribbin. His science writing is excellent - lucid and accessible without skimping on content or depth.
Gerald Durrell has long been a staple in my bookshelf for his travel and natural history writing, and Jerome K. Jerome will always be a favourite, although it might be argued that his books edge over the line into fiction.
CP Snow.
Jared Diamond (I can’t believe he hasn’t been mentioned already)
Probably because he wrote only the one book that everyone liked (and I’m among those who liked it a lot). His followup, Collapse, was bloated and self-indulgent – someone should have edited at least 100 pages out of it.
Anthony Bourdain. Kitchen Confidential. Love it.
Jon Krakauer, Mary Roach, and Atul Gawande.
Krakauer and Bryson
I don’t know if it’s true for all Bryson’s books, but the audio version of the Australia one (sorry, blanking on the exact title–something about a Sunburned Country) is read by him. His own words read in his own voice = wonderful. I’ve listened to it twice and would eagerly do so again. His other books I’ve read on paper (x 2 for A Walk in the Woods) and I’ve yet to find one that didn’t capture me.
Laurie COLWIN, (not Cowrie), a great food writer, and I will second James Herriott. His books have gotten me through some rough times… I don’t know exactly who writes/compiles them, but Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers are my annual gift-to-self to get through the stress and tedium of Christmas.
Agree with everyone on Bill Bryson. If you like music/TV I’ll also throw in Chuck Klosterman, who is wicked clever at de-foibling.