Need a good non-fiction book

[Solariss]

I'm not a huge reader, but I need a good non-fiction book to read for my english class. Hopefully something that holds my interest and I can write a decent review about. Does anybody have any suggestions? My teacher is gonna give us a list of books for suggestions, but I wanted to come here and ask if anybody has any ideas anyways.

[WarderX]

Well, non-fiction is pretty broad... do you like reading about History? Current events? Or maybe biographies?

Too many to suggest without knowing what you're interested in.

[Eomer]

A Short History of Nearly Everything is an easy read, informative, and interesting. Guns Germs and Steel is another.

[dolaan]

I agree with "a short history of everything" actually any Bill Bryson book is great("Walk in the woods" is the most popular)

I really liked "Cinderella man", but I think you may nat as much if you are not into Boxing.

"Into thin air" by John Krackhaur (Spelling) is amazing talks abour 1997 Everest climb.

If you like Baseball you will like "Moneyball" and "three nights in August"

hope this helps

[Tea on tuesday]

Originally Posted by dolaan

"Into thin air" by John Krackhaur (Spelling) is amazing talks abour 1997 Everest climb.

Wow, that's a good call.

[faithdies]

John Brown, Abolition

[Millie]

"Guns, Germs & Steel" is a great, albeit thick and time-intensive read. Also, it's not the kind of book I'd read for an English class. For a History or Anthropology class, yes. English? Probably not.

If I were teaching an English class and wanted my students to read non-fiction, I'd probably want them to read something like a memoir. My guess is that's more of what your teacher is expecting of you.

I would suggest something like Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven" or "Into Thin Air." They're great reads and have some literary merit.

Another equally great / worthwhile read is Robert Kurson's "Shadow Divers."

If you want something humorous but worthwhile, try anything by David Sedaris or Christopher Buckley.

[Solariss]

My interests are pretty broad also.. so I'll take any suggestions. I'll definitely look into every book you guys mentioned, thanks

If I were teaching an English class and wanted my students to read non-fiction, I'd probably want them to read something like a memoir. My guess is that's more of what your teacher is expecting of you.

Yeah, you're right.. I forgot she spent a long ass time talking about memoirs, I'll check those out

[Eomer]

"Guns, Germs & Steel" is a great, albeit thick and time-intensive read.

Really? I found it an incredibly fast and interesting read, it pulled me in like a good fiction book would. I read the first 70 or so pages when me and some friends were camping, and decided to head to some hot springs for a soak. I hopped in the back seat, picked up GGS, joints were smoked, next thing I knew we were at the springs (which were closed) and I'd read like 1/5th of the book.

Collapse I found to be a lot more laborious to read through, and actually I read it prior to GGS.

[Millie]

Originally Posted by Eomer

Really? I found it an incredibly fast and interesting read, it pulled me in like a good fiction book would. I read the first 70 or so pages when me and some friends were camping, and decided to head to some hot springs for a soak. I hopped in the back seat, picked up GGS, joints were smoked, next thing I knew we were at the springs (which were closed) and I'd read like 1/5th of the book.

Collapse I found to be a lot more laborious to read through, and actually I read it prior to GGS.

I guess it's a quick read, as far as 500+-page history books go. But I didn't find it as quick of a read as you did, I guess. I really enjoyed it, but I found that it started dragging a bit after the first 100-odd pages, and became repetitive after awhile. But it's still a great book, and worth reading from cover to cover.

It will certainly teach people more about the history of New Guinea than they ever imagined they needed to know.

[Arbitrary]

Not exactly what you want but I highly recommend -

What If? Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been

You get what happened, why it happened, then what might of happened, all explained by differant and highly respected historians.

What if Jesus was pardoned, what if America didn't drop a pair of nukes on Japan, what if the Enigma Machine was never cracked, and tons tons more. The book never gets whacky or stupid and it explains the circumstances around an event very well.

Books I've had to read in college that were pretty solid -

Jihad vs McWorld
The Rich get Richer and the Poor get Prison
Black Demons - The Media's Depiction of hte African American Male Criminal Sterotype

[Seds]

Shogun is good, by James Clavell. Its a bit thick though.

[stehle]

Originally Posted by dolaan

I agree with "a short history of everything" actually any Bill Bryson book is great("Walk in the woods" is the most popular)

/snip

Not to sound cliche, but "Walk in the woods" is comedic gold. Chapter 2 when he is equipment buying had me in tears.

[tanjo]

Amazon.com: The Octopus and the Orangutan : More True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity: Books: Eugene Linden

Basically the guy is arguing that nonhuman animals may have a consciousness. There are a lot of interesting stories to back up his arguments. He's not doing amazingly in-depth scientific research, but the book is fun to read and asks some interesting questions.

Although admittedly not a scientist, Linden, the author of several books and articles about animal intelligence and environmental issues, infuses this sequel to his successful Parrot's Lament with important scientific concepts and interesting conundrums relating to animal intelligence. Entertaining and captivating anecdotes about sly octopuses, orangutan escape artists, and penguins mimicking football-playing scientists in Antarctica leaven Linden's graceful musings and also make his discussion of potentially daunting concepts such as convergent evolution or Morgan's Canon more digestible to the lay reader. In the end, elements of intelligence such as empathy, deception, communication, cooperation, and imitation between animals and their human keepers led Linden to "focus on what intelligence does." This is much more than a collection of fascinating tales of animals coping with life in human-imposed environments; it is a thoughtful exploration of the nature of intelligence in both humans and animals. Recommended for popular science collections.