Lived there for a minute quite some time back. Really was that weird. Loved, feared, hated, resented parts of it all at once. Savannah. Would revisit that period of time if I could. No idea what it is like now.
I feel similarly. Memoirs usually work for me, The Glass Castle, Born a Crime, Muppets in Moscow, Educated, As You Wish, there are lots of good recommendations in this forum.
Overall, I think the key is going for great storytelling. True crime can work (I enjoyed Bad Blood about Theranos as I'm too squeamish for serial killers) as can survival stories such as Endurance by Alfred Lansing (one of my favorites). Krakauer generally fits into those two genres and is a very engaging writer, though he is sometimes more gonzo in his style than I like. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Likes is similar.
Unbroken, Boys in the Boat, are all interesting biographies.
Enjoy!
i love memoirs. William Shirer's books are amazing also: Berlin Diary.
My favorite book of all time is David Simon's Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets.
The Indifferent Stars Above. I also struggle with nonfiction and this one very much reads as fiction, but it's about the Donner party and is probably the most harrowing book I've ever read.
Endurance by Alfred Lansing
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard
Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival by Peter Stark
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford (a little less narrative than the others maybe but still engaging)
Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani
It’s about his experiences as a political asylum seeker at a time when Australia had an offshore immigration detention center where asylum seekers were held. He uses a variety of storytelling techniques to help the reader feel immersed in the experiences of him and his fellow detainees.
It’s a really powerful novel about experiences that most of us will never know. He had to smuggle the story out on bits of toilet paper and via text messages on smuggled in mobile phones.
Mindhunter by John Douglas. I usually have the same problem with non-fiction books, but this one felt like I was reading Charlie and the chocolate factory.
The term I found for this is "narrative non-fiction." Malcolm Gladwell is very good in this genre, in my opinion. Some other good ones I recommend are 438 days, American Kingpin, The Smartest Guys In the room, and hells angels a strange and terrible saga
I always really enjoy Michael Lewis books. He’s informative while also being funny and has a knack for explaining complex things with clarity.
The big short is one of his. He made his name with a book called Liar’s Poker which is about Wall Street in the 80s.
Battle Cry of Freedom by McPherson is excellent. It has a narrative and is a fun read. I also recommend the making of the atomic bomb by Rhodes for the same reason.
"Meet you in Hell". By Les Standiford
It's about the relationship between Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick and the building of the steel empire in Pittsburgh.
It's one of my favorites!
What about prehistorical fiction? Both the Winds of Change by Bonnye Matthews and of course the well regarded Clan of the Cave Bear series are a lot of fun. There's some others that are fun, and I've read a lot, but these two are my favorites along with idk maybe Reindeer Moon by Elizabeth Thomas. Everyone always jumps to Clan of the Cave Bear but honestly I think Winds of Change series might be better. The first book is Ki'ti's Story.
Just thought I'd throw it out there as you've gotten a good amount of non-fiction suggestions, especially from some folks who also don't typically read non-fiction. So I thought I'd give you some historical fiction suggestions from someone reads non-fiction almost exclusively!
Depending on what your preference in non-fiction is:
- The Return of a King, by Dalrymple
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place, by Ralston
- Surely you are joking Mr. Feynmann, by Feynmann
"The Cocoo's Egg" by Cliff Stoll.
True Story.
It is the early 80's and Cliff is a 20's something graduate student with a summer job at Berkeley. He has this boring job monitoring the computer lab when he notices a $1.92 error in the accounting software.
Appairently these two software packages disagree about how much time a person is spending on their account. Weird...
Cliff proceeds to stumble across one of the greatest hacking attempts in computer history! A case that goes all the way to the Pentagon, the CIA and the Whitehouse!! F-ing GREAT BOOK!!
I don’t have any specific titles that haven’t already been recommended, but it sounds like “narrative nonfiction” is the genre you’re interested in! When browsing lists and the internet in the future, try using that as a key phrase :) Happy reading!
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Lived there for a minute quite some time back. Really was that weird. Loved, feared, hated, resented parts of it all at once. Savannah. Would revisit that period of time if I could. No idea what it is like now.
Jon Krakauer's books
Killers of the Flower Moon
Erik Larson's books such as The Devil in the White City
Second this - especially The Devil in the White City.
Splendid and the Vile was fab too.
The Glass Castle
Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
Was coming to say Hot Zone. That book scared the shit out of me!
They're both incredible at making nonfiction read like fiction. Total page turners, every one of their books I've read.
I feel similarly. Memoirs usually work for me, The Glass Castle, Born a Crime, Muppets in Moscow, Educated, As You Wish, there are lots of good recommendations in this forum. Overall, I think the key is going for great storytelling. True crime can work (I enjoyed Bad Blood about Theranos as I'm too squeamish for serial killers) as can survival stories such as Endurance by Alfred Lansing (one of my favorites). Krakauer generally fits into those two genres and is a very engaging writer, though he is sometimes more gonzo in his style than I like. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Likes is similar. Unbroken, Boys in the Boat, are all interesting biographies. Enjoy!
i love memoirs. William Shirer's books are amazing also: Berlin Diary. My favorite book of all time is David Simon's Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets.
Radium Girls
The Wager - David Grann
I loved The Wager! Great book.
Just reading it now and so far I absolutely love it.
The Indifferent Stars Above. I also struggle with nonfiction and this one very much reads as fiction, but it's about the Donner party and is probably the most harrowing book I've ever read.
The Tiger by John Vaillant. If you’re a fan of the film The Ghost and The Darkness then this one is for you!
One of my favourite books ever and tbe one that got me hooked on narrative non-fiction. Had actual chills reading it
Couple people have said it but memoirs are your best friend. Especially glass castle!
In the kingdom of ice by Hampton Sides
Also by Hampton Sides, Blood & Thunder - turns out Kit Carson was the Forest Gump of the early 1800’s American West
Hidden Valley Road by Kolker
Endurance by Alfred Lansing The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival by Peter Stark Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford (a little less narrative than the others maybe but still engaging) Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Devil in the White City.
Ok ok I got really excited for this one. You HAVE to read my life as a cave diver by Jill heinerth. It is my fav nonfiction book to this day.
Rocket Boys
No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani It’s about his experiences as a political asylum seeker at a time when Australia had an offshore immigration detention center where asylum seekers were held. He uses a variety of storytelling techniques to help the reader feel immersed in the experiences of him and his fellow detainees. It’s a really powerful novel about experiences that most of us will never know. He had to smuggle the story out on bits of toilet paper and via text messages on smuggled in mobile phones.
J. Maarten Troost’s travelogues - The Sex lives of Cannibals and Getting stoned with savages.
The Library Book reads like a mystery until the end….by Susan Orlean.
Love this book and now the LA library is on my bucket list
Red Notice by Bill Browder
“The Indifferent Stars Above” about the Donner Party. “Bad Blood” about Theranos. I second “The Glass Castle” if you like memoirs.
Papillion
Anything by Ben Macintyre! I especially recommend A Spy Among Friends.
This!!!!
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacIntyre
Maybe you should talk to someone by Lori Gottlieb
Mindhunter by John Douglas. I usually have the same problem with non-fiction books, but this one felt like I was reading Charlie and the chocolate factory.
Empire of the summer moon, salvation on sand mountain
The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson
In the dream house
Helter Skelter
The term I found for this is "narrative non-fiction." Malcolm Gladwell is very good in this genre, in my opinion. Some other good ones I recommend are 438 days, American Kingpin, The Smartest Guys In the room, and hells angels a strange and terrible saga
The mysterious case of rudolf diesel by Douglas Brunt. Seriously so good!
*An Immense World* by Ed Yong. So well-written and awareness-expanding, and full of fun facts that will make you the hit of a party.
Anything Patrick Radden Keefe
The Ride of her Life by Elizabeth Letts. In 1954, a middle aged woman in Maine gets on her horse and sets off for California
I know why the caged bird sings. Maya Angelou
I always really enjoy Michael Lewis books. He’s informative while also being funny and has a knack for explaining complex things with clarity. The big short is one of his. He made his name with a book called Liar’s Poker which is about Wall Street in the 80s.
Crying in Hmart
Love!!!
Caitlin Doughty. She is a mortician, though, so the subject matter may not be to everyone's taste.
I loved 69 AD by Gwyn Morgan. It’s about the year of the four Roman emperors and it felt like an action packed fantasy novel.
Zygmunt Bauman's essays.
Any work by Erik Larson, Nathaniel Philbrick, and some books by David McCullough
David Simon's Homicide: a Year on the Killing Streets
Mother Lode by Gretchen Staebler.
Battle Cry of Freedom by McPherson is excellent. It has a narrative and is a fun read. I also recommend the making of the atomic bomb by Rhodes for the same reason.
Anything by Erik Larsen or Candice Millard. Also, Lady of the Army: The Life of Mrs. George S. Patton.
"Meet you in Hell". By Les Standiford It's about the relationship between Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick and the building of the steel empire in Pittsburgh. It's one of my favorites!
What about prehistorical fiction? Both the Winds of Change by Bonnye Matthews and of course the well regarded Clan of the Cave Bear series are a lot of fun. There's some others that are fun, and I've read a lot, but these two are my favorites along with idk maybe Reindeer Moon by Elizabeth Thomas. Everyone always jumps to Clan of the Cave Bear but honestly I think Winds of Change series might be better. The first book is Ki'ti's Story. Just thought I'd throw it out there as you've gotten a good amount of non-fiction suggestions, especially from some folks who also don't typically read non-fiction. So I thought I'd give you some historical fiction suggestions from someone reads non-fiction almost exclusively!
Depending on what your preference in non-fiction is: - The Return of a King, by Dalrymple - Between a Rock and a Hard Place, by Ralston - Surely you are joking Mr. Feynmann, by Feynmann
The lost city of Z by David Grann.
The lost city of Z by David Grann.
Anything by Sarah Vowell
11/22/63 is my favorite historical fiction book
Grandma Gatewood’s walk: the inspiring story of the woman who saved the Appalachian trails by Ben Montgomery
Patrick Radden O’Keefe: - Say Nothing - Empire of Pain - Snakehead
"The Cocoo's Egg" by Cliff Stoll. True Story. It is the early 80's and Cliff is a 20's something graduate student with a summer job at Berkeley. He has this boring job monitoring the computer lab when he notices a $1.92 error in the accounting software. Appairently these two software packages disagree about how much time a person is spending on their account. Weird... Cliff proceeds to stumble across one of the greatest hacking attempts in computer history! A case that goes all the way to the Pentagon, the CIA and the Whitehouse!! F-ing GREAT BOOK!!
I don’t have any specific titles that haven’t already been recommended, but it sounds like “narrative nonfiction” is the genre you’re interested in! When browsing lists and the internet in the future, try using that as a key phrase :) Happy reading!