Reading  one of my main "hobbies" (and educational tools), so I am constantly looking for good books to read.

What good nonfiction books have you read recently?

Note: While I have nothing again good fiction, let's try to keep this thread focused on nonfiction only.

Views: 1540

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

To start it off, here are some of my favorite recent books:

- Influence by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph. D.
- Christ and Civilization by John Robbins
- Money Talks by Alan Weiss
- An Autobiography by Theodore Roosevelt
Currently working through "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt". 700+ pages. Gonna' take a while.

I'm about half way through and am starting to get concerned about his complete disinterest in his infant daughter. He's basically given his child to his sister (the mother died in shild birth) and spends his time running around New York, Montana, and Europe.

One of my favorite books is "Gates of Fire", an historical novel about the 300 Spartans at Thermopoli.

John Glenn's autobiography is really good as well.
Good book. "Theodore Rex", the second book is also excellent.
Theodore Rex was the last non fiction I read. Just finished it last week. Enjoyed parallelling the societal/economic arguements with this century
The autobiography of John Glenn sounds interesting. I'll have to add that to my reading list!
Most interesting thing for me while reading the book is the perspective of what kids were dong back when he was young and what kids are doing today. Today's teens would last about 2 hours back in the 30's. Despite the 10-fold increase of information access today, kids back in the day were a lot more intelligent and resourceful.
Most of what I read is non-fiction and related to U.S. history, particularly the mid-19th century. The last nonfiction book I read however was "The Art of Manliness" from this website which I ordered recently. One of the best non-fiction books I've read is "The Story of Reconstruction" by Robert Selph Henry. It was so thorough, well cited and yet readable. Many newer non-fiction books seem to just repeat themselves in order to turn a few facts fit for a long essay or masters thesis into a book.

Recent good non-fiction books I've read include "The Whiskey Rebellion" by Hogeland and "America's Wars" by Axelrod "Ploughshares into Swords: Josiah Gorgas and the Confederate Ordnance" by Vandiver, "The Sea Shall Embrace Them" by Shaw and "Destruction and Reconstruction" by Taylor.

In the vein of non-fiction fiction, the books by Jeff Shaara are excellent. They are basically narratives of history, very detailed that let historical figures interact in fictionalized dialog based on what they wrote in letters and diaries so that the humanity of historical events is better portrayed than simply cited quotations. I know, that's technically fiction, but it is very close to a combined memoir.
Currently reading Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides. Kind of a cross between fiction and non. The title is pretty self explanatory
The Complete Husband by Lou Priolo

The Jesus You Can't Ignore by Dr. John MacArthur
"Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide" by Jacques Semelin. It's about the psychological and sociological roots of said practices, and how they coalesce and are used by governments to trigger mass atrocities. Rwanda, Serbia, and the Holocaust are used as case studies throughout the book to illustrate the author's points. Dense in wording, but a fascinating read so far.

I recently finished reading "Chasing the Flame: Sergio Viera De Mello and the Fight to Save the World" by Samantha Powers. Outstanding book about an interesting man and a look at the inner workings of the UN.
Fear, a Cultural History by Joanna Bourke

The name says it all. It's about the evolution of the emotion Fear, how we perceive it, and how society has been responding to it in the last 2 centuries.
My stuff's weighty, sometimes literally:

[Non-fiction] Books I'll admit to having read in the last 6 months, or am presently reading:

1928 Book of Common Prayer,
Anglican Missal (People's Edition),
Dispelling the Myths of Abortion History (Dellapenna, 969 pages),
Metaphysics (Aristotle),
Introduction to Christianity (Ratzinger),
Boy Meets Girl (Harris),
California Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives (not for work)

Of those, for non-Anglicans, non-Attorneys, without training in philosophy and Catholic theology, I can only recommend Boy Meets Girl.

RSS

Latest Activity

The Dutch Dastard replied to Matt L.'s discussion Mix and match vests
"+1"
1 hour ago
Steve replied to Jonny's discussion Was putting my dog to sleep the right thing to do?
"That's no way for a much loved pet/companion to live...you absolutely did the right thing IMO.   It's always heart breaking to lose a pet in any circumstances, but we have to take responsibility for these things, and it would have…"
1 hour ago
Steve replied to Vincent's discussion Appropriate Interview Suit?
"I'd go for a more classic cut personally, and something far less shiny. I have a suit that is similar to yours, it's cut in a more tailored style as opposed to the extreme slim cut of yours, but it's something I'd only wear for…"
1 hour ago
Chuck Knight replied to Daniel's discussion Casual Belts for Jeans?
"The real ones are called trophy buckles, and are actually given as trophies in rodeo events.  The bigger and shinier the buckle, the higher the ranking.   I nicknamed them "turkey platter" buckles."
3 hours ago
Aaron Lancaster replied to D.J.'s discussion Let Down in a Relationship
"Good call. Actually college and drinking go together remarkably well. It sounds like you guys have a difference in values. Finish it up now before you both become miserable. Move on, find a nice quiet girl who doesn't drink,…"
3 hours ago
Will replied to Herb Munson's discussion The Primacy and Existence of God in the group The Great Debate
"I had assumed that was a joke, Herb! We always used to say we hoped and prayed the school would burn down so we wouldn't have to go -- because it was torture, man!  Not a joke I'd make in current circumstances, tho."
4 hours ago
Todd Serveto replied to Rob Sexton's discussion Secular Manhood vs Christian Manhood in the group Christian Men
"Hey, Rob,  The Bible says: 3. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4 But after that the kindness and love of God our…"
4 hours ago
Aaron Lancaster replied to Aaron Lancaster's discussion Gday from New Zealand
"Cheers Ian. It certainly is a good drop.  I'm never sure if I'm making sense or not when talking to people from other countries. We mainly call it "tramping" over here but then that implies walking from point A to Point B on…"
4 hours ago

© 2013   Created by Brett McKay.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service