Recommend a non-fiction book

[lawyerlee]

Can you recommend one or more good non-fiction reads?

I recommend What's the Matter with Kansas? : How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank
The largely blue collar citizens of Kansas can be counted upon to be a "red" state in any election, voting solidly Republican and possessing a deep animosity toward the left. This, according to author Thomas Frank, is a pretty self-defeating phenomenon, given that the policies of the Republican Party benefit the wealthy and powerful at the great expense of the average worker. According to Frank, the conservative establishment has tricked Kansans, playing up the emotional touchstones of conservatism and perpetuating a sense of a vast liberal empire out to crush traditional values while barely ever discussing the Republicans' actual economic policies and what they mean to the working class. Thus the pro-life Kansas factory worker who listens to Rush Limbaugh will repeatedly vote for the party that is less likely to protect his safety, less likely to protect his job, and less likely to benefit him economically. To much of America, Kansas is an abstract, "where Dorothy wants to return. Where Superman grew up." But Frank, a native Kansan, separates reality from myth in What's the Matter with Kansas and tells the state's socio-political history from its early days as a hotbed of leftist activism to a state so entrenched in conservatism that the only political division remaining is between the moderate and more-extreme right wings of the same party. Frank, the founding editor of The Baffler and a contributor to Harper's and The Nation, knows the state and its people. He even includes his own history as a young conservative idealist turned disenchanted college Republican, and his first-hand experience, combined with a sharp wit and thorough reasoning, makes his book more credible than the elites of either the left and right who claim to understand Kansas. --John Moe

and Word on the Street: Debunking the Myth of "Pure" Standard English by John McWhorter.

A barbed rebuttal to the conservative view that popular culture is destroying the English language. Though there is a contingent of linguists who fight the fact, our language is always changing--not only through slang, but sound, syntax, and words' meanings as well. Debunking the myth of "pure" standard English, tackling controversial positions, and eschewing politically correct arguments, linguist John McWhorter considers speech patterns and regional accents to demonstrate just how the changes do occur. Wielding reason and humor, McWhorter ultimately explains why we must embrace these changes, ultimately revealing our American English in all its variety, expressiveness, and power.

[Sevilla]

Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities by Alexandra Robbins (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786888598/qid=1120141267/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-1692099-7845401?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312243359/qid=1120141312/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-1692099-7845401?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-1692099-7845401)

[strwbrygirl]

Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805079335/qid=1120145683/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8008721-3400610?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)- Kevin Boyle

(won the National Book Award in 2004)

Denying the Holocaust : The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0452272742/qid=1120145890/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-8008721-3400610?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)- Deborah Lipstadt

I'll have to think of some more good ones! My mind is blank at the moment...

[Reenie]

All I can think of are books for young adults! :o (Can you tell I teach high school yet? :) )

Something for Joey is super. It's about the Heisman trophy winner from 1976 (I think), and it is a huge hit with our kids. I don't know why teachers don't do it more often...

[apoppy]

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

a little gruesome, but good if you are interested in the history of Chicago, the World's Fair, or deranged serial killers

[msnicolea]

I recommend both Blink and The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Excellent, thought-provoking books.

[Jessica]

I have to second Blink, The Tipping Point, and Into Thin Air. All were great books.

I also loved Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=Al4bGuzAma&isbn=006073132X&itm=1).

Though probably not for everyone, I also liked The Breaking Point: Hemingway, Dos Passos and the Murder of Jose Robles (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=Al4bGuzAma&isbn=1582432805&itm=1). It was slow in some spots, but it was really interesting to get a better picture of their lives since they are two of my favorite authors.

I just bought 1776 (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=Al4bGuzAma&isbn=0743226712&itm=1) but I haven't started it yet.

ETA: I also really liked Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=Al4bGuzAma&isbn=0743250605&itm=6)

[emmjay]

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The Oxford English Dictionary (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/006099486X/qid=1120170218/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-3411028-1872745?v=glance&s=books&n=507846), and pretty much anything else by Simon Winchester


Also, this is out of print but is a fascinating book about how the environment shapes culture:
Man's Rise to Civilization As Shown by the Indians of North America from Primeval Times to the Coming of the Industrial State (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0525152695/qid=1120170288/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-3411028-1872745?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

[hockeybrat]

I really enjoyed
On Gold Mountain (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679768521/qid=1120172126/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-4323777-4441417) by Lisa See It is a story of her Chinese ancestors and their journey to CA during the late 1800s to present day.

[Sevilla]

Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743246985/qid=1120183506/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/102-0397310-8251330?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

[EmilyBronte]

I loved David McCullough's John Adams (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743223136/qid=1120186780/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-3775872-1437607?v=glance&s=books&n=507846).

But then again, I'm a history nut.

[Sophia]

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Essayist and cultural critic Barbara Ehrenreich has always specialized in turning received wisdom on its head with intelligence, clarity, and verve. With some 12 million women being pushed into the labor market by welfare reform, she decided to do some good old-fashioned journalism and find out just how they were going to survive on the wages of the unskilled--at $6 to $7 an hour, only half of what is considered a living wage. So she did what millions of Americans do, she looked for a job and a place to live, worked that job, and tried to make ends meet.
As a waitress in Florida, where her name is suddenly transposed to "girl," trailer trash becomes a demographic category to aspire to with rent at $675 per month. In Maine, where she ends up working as both a cleaning woman and a nursing home assistant, she must first fill out endless pre-employment tests with trick questions such as "Some people work better when they're a little bit high." In Minnesota, she works at Wal-Mart under the repressive surveillance of men and women whose job it is to monitor her behavior for signs of sloth, theft, drug abuse, or worse. She even gets to experience the humiliation of the urine test.

So, do the poor have survival strategies unknown to the middle class? And did Ehrenreich feel the "bracing psychological effects of getting out of the house, as promised by the wonks who brought us welfare reform?" Nah. Even in her best-case scenario, with all the advantages of education, health, a car, and money for first month's rent, she has to work two jobs, seven days a week, and still almost winds up in a shelter. As Ehrenreich points out with her potent combination of humor and outrage, the laws of supply and demand have been reversed. Rental prices skyrocket, but wages never rise. Rather, jobs are so cheap as measured by the pay that workers are encouraged to take as many as they can. Behind those trademark Wal-Mart vests, it turns out, are the borderline homeless. With her characteristic wry wit and her unabashedly liberal bent, Ehrenreich brings the invisible poor out of hiding and, in the process, the world they inhabit--where civil liberties are often ignored and hard work fails to live up to its reputation as the ticket out of poverty. --Lesley Reed --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

[ptrecluse]

ITA with Sevilla
Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities is an interesting read

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, Vol. 1 by John Taylor Gatto

Also, America's Secret Establishment: An Introduction to the Order of Skull and Bones by Antony C. Sutton

I love conspiracy theory/secret society type books : o

[amew]

In addition to some of those already mentioned (What Happened to Kansas, Freakonomics), I recommend God's Politics : Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It by Jim Wallis and Strip City : A Stripper's Farewell Journey Across America by Lily Burana.

[singerwife]

The Boys of My Youth, Jo Ann Beard
The Liar's Club, Mary Karr
All Over But the Shoutin', Rick Bragg
At Home in the World, Joyce Maynard
Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
An American Childhood, Annie Dillard
Safekeeping, Abigail Thomas

[Katy]

I've enjoyed the following:

* My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

* How to Make Love Like a Porn Star by Jenna Jameson (her bio, not actually a "how-to :D

* The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer

[Freckles]

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The Oxford English Dictionary , and pretty much anything else by Simon Winchester

emmjay I have always loved that book. Quick read too.

~~~~~~~~~~~
My List:
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions ~Mezrich

Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There ~Brooks


The Mommy Myth : The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined Women ~Douglas

The Mask of Motherhood: How Becoming a Mother Changes Our Lives and Why We Never Talk About It~Maushart

[filmgirl7]

Recently it seems like everybody is talking trash about Tom Cruise, and bashing him for his belief in scientology. I don't support everything he says and I'm not a scientologist at all, but I just think before commenting on scientology, it would be a good idea to read Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard. That's just MHO.

Whether or not you wish to do that, you should check out anything by Sylvia Brown, such as The Other Side and Back and Life on the Other Side. If you can keep an open mind about the topic, you may find these enlightening or inspirational. Those books really changed my life, and the way I viewed the world!! :)

[JBB]

Jump In by Mark Burnett

[pixiecat]

If you are into food/cooking at all, I really recommend The Man Who Ate Everything - written by food critic Jeffrey Steingarten.

[jeepgirl]

I HIGHLY recommend:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0310247454.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

and

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/034542705X.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

I love books, particularly non-fiction. More later...

[MLA]

I love, love, love I'm a Stranger Here, Myself, by Bill Bryson
Amazon.com
In the world of contemporary travel writing, Bill Bryson, the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods, often emerges as a major contender for King of Crankiness. Granted, he complains well and humorously, but between every line of his travel books you can almost hear the tinny echo: "I wanna go home, I miss my wife."
Happily, I'm a Stranger Here Myself unleashes a new Bryson, more contemplative and less likely to toss daggers. After two decades in England, he's relocated to Hanover, New Hampshire. In this collection (drawn from dispatches for London's Night & Day magazine), he's writing from home, in close proximity to wife and family. We find a happy marriage between humor and reflection as he assesses life both in New England and in the contemporary United States. With the telescopic perspective of one who's stepped out of the American mainstream and come back after 20 years, Bryson aptly holds the mirror up to U.S. culture, capturing its absurdities--such as hotlines for dental floss, the cult of the lawsuit, and strange American injuries such as those sustained from pillows and beds. "In the time it takes you to read this," he writes, "four of my fellow citizens will somehow manage to be wounded by their bedding."

The book also reflects the sweet side of small-town USA, with columns about post-office parties, dining at diners, and Thanksgiving--when the only goal is to "get your stomach into the approximate shape of a beach ball" and be grateful. And grateful we are that the previously peripatetic Bryson has returned to the U.S., turning his eye to this land--while living at home and near his wife. Under her benevolent influence, he entertains through thoughtful insights, not sarcastic stabs.

Mother Tongue, also by Bill Bryson
Amazon.com
Who would have thought that a book about English would be so entertaining? Certainly not this grammar-allergic reviewer, but The Mother Tongue pulls it off admirably. Bill Bryson--a zealot--is the right man for the job. Who else could rhapsodize about "the colorless murmur of the schwa" with a straight face? It is his unflagging enthusiasm, seeping from between every sentence, that carries the book.
Bryson displays an encyclopedic knowledge of his topic, and this inevitably encourages a light tone; the more you know about a subject, the more absurd it becomes. No jokes are necessary, the facts do well enough by themselves, and Bryson supplies tens per page. As well as tossing off gems of fractured English (from a Japanese eraser: "This product will self-destruct in Mother Earth."), Bryson frequently takes time to compare the idiosyncratic tongue with other languages. Not only does this give a laugh (one word: Welsh), and always shed considerable light, it also makes the reader feel fortunate to speak English.

Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan (a frequent guest on The Motley Fool radio show)
From Publishers Weekly
Ever wonder what it means when the Fed raises interest rates? Or why there are occasional fears of inflation? To the rescue comes this simplified and chatty nontextbook textbook. Using words rather than math, it makes economics accessible, comprehensible and appealing. Wheelan, the Economist's Midwest correspondent, breezily explains the big picture, including finance, capital markets, government institutions and more. His informal style belies the sophisticated and scholarly underpinnings of his subject. Wheelan champions the often-maligned science: "Economics should not be accessible only to the experts. The ideas are too important and too interesting." Well before book's end, highly persuasive yet simply illustrated concepts sway the reader. Complex ideas are demystified and made clear, using familiar examples, such as the price of sweatshirts at the Gap. A chapter on financial markets compares a grapefruit and ice cream fad diet with get-rich-quick schemes. (He wryly offers the mantra "Save. Invest. Repeat.") Similarly, an explanation of interest rates compares them to "rental rates," an easy-to-grasp concept. And to convey what the major international institutions do, Wheelan writes: "If the World Bank is the world's welfare agency, then its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the fire department responsible for dousing international financial crises." Wheelan's simplicity does not mask the detailed encapsulation of complicated issues, such as relative wealth, globalization and the importance of human capital. He smartly shows that while economic consequences can be global, they are also a part of everyday life.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

[Myra]

The Genuis Factory by David Plotz, who writes for Slate.
http://www.thegeniusfactory.com/

And The Color of Water by James McBride.

[EmilyZA]

I just finished this and loved it:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0060934913.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[shimmerstar]

Beautiful Jim Key- about the "smartest horse in the world". It was interesting and touching.

I just started "Lies my teacher told me". So far it's pretty interesting, and I've learned some things. It takes on history text books and talks about how they gloss over and change things from history, and create myths that everyone believes.

[nylons73]

I second Emily's recommendation of Kitchen Confidential. I loved it, and I dont even know how to cook! lol. I gave it to my dad for father's day a few year's back and he just loved reading it too. Definately a must-read! :)

I would like to recommend two books -

The first one is called Walking With the Wind by John Lewis. Rep. John Lewis is a US Congressman from Georgia and was extremely active in the Civil Rights Movement. He was, essentially, Dr. Martin Luther King's right hand man for many of the marches and projects that were going on in the 60's. He was beaten severely by police on horseback, during the march across the Edmund Petit Bridge in Alabama, footage that you will see every year on tv when the anniversary of the march comes around. I will tell you that this single book changed my entire life.

The second book I recommend is Expecting Adam by Martha Beck . It was recommended to me by another WC'r (thanks Jonesey!) and I just loved it. It's about a woman who gets pregnant with a down syndrome child, while she's attending graduate school at Harvard. The book is a real eye opener as the author discusses the battles she faces, both physically and emotionally during this difficult time in her life. I just loved it.

ETA- I want to second singerwife's recommendation of 'All Over But The Shouting' by Rick Bragg. What a truly phenomenal book!

[polarama]

I 2nd the recommendation for Jeffrey Steingarten's books. His food essays are so much fun to read.

I am in the middle of Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires, about her days as the food critic for the NY Times.

Sarah Vowell's Assasination Vacation had me in stitches (this one is worth the audiobook--Conan O'Brien does the voice of Robert Todd Lincoln).

[PG-rated]

I don't get much time to read, and most of these books are on my vacation list, so I'm glad to hear them recommended. :)

I just finished Garlic and Sapphires, and really enjoyed it. I plan to copy down a few of the recipes - it really made me want to cook!

[meatpie]

I loved David McCullough's John Adams (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743223136/qid=1120186780/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-3775872-1437607?v=glance&s=books&n=507846).

But then again, I'm a history nut.

LOVED this as well. Have you read 1776 yet? Any other recommendations? I think we have the same taste as I'
m a history nut as well.

[ManteoChik]

I loved the book Let's Roll by Lisa Beamer. It's a book she wrote about her husband who was one of the people on the plane to storm the cabin and crash the plane in the PA field during 9-11 before it got to the White House. She writes about his life and who he was as a person and about their life together and their two children and another one on the way. It was such a good book but also a little sad.

[Carrie K]

I love non fiction. I third Emily's recomendation of Kitchen Confidential . I really liked it too. Oh, and I second MLA about Bill Bryson. I was reading A Walk in the Woods at the doctors office and I thought they were going to cart me away to the loony bin when he walked in while I was laughing hysterically at one passage.

I've been reading Spanking the Donkey by Matt Taibbi. He was covering the Kerry/Bush campaign for the Rolling Stone and....some other magazine that I can't think of. It's pretty funny although it a fairly horrifying backstage look at politics.

Salt by Mark Kurlansky was interesting too. I knew salt was important in the old days, and that salary is a derivative of the word, but there was so much more. He also wrote a book callled 1968 about - wait for it - the year
1968. The youth revolution at the time was worldwide, which surprised me.

[tgray99]

Not sure if this one has been posted or not:

True North: Peary, Cook, and the Race to the Pole (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393057917/qid=1122005277/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-2478565-4249568?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

On April 21, 1908, American explorer Frederick Cook reached the North Pole. A year later, fellow Arctic pioneer Robert Peary denounced him, claiming to have reached the Pole first. In this first-rate tale of adventure, bravery and perfidy, Henderson (And the Sea Will Tell) attempts to identify the winner. In 1891, Cook, recovering from the deaths of both his wife and child and seeking adventure, was hired by Peary as chief medical officer on an expedition to Greenland. The men clashed, setting the stage for later conflict (and providing excellent fodder for this exciting book). Hooked on extreme cold weather quests, Cook journeyed to the Antarctic and was also the first to summit Mount McKinley. In Henderson's telling, Peary too craved adventure, but his insatiable desire for fame was his driving force. "Remember, mother, I must have fame," Henderson quotes Peary saying in a letter to his mother. When Peary learned Cook had reached the Pole before him, Peary painted Cook as a liar and a fraud. According to Henderson, Cook reacted to the barrage by going into seclusion, and when he emerged, it was too late to save his reputation. Peary's claim to the Pole was later dismissed, but Cook's achievement was never recognized. This adventure yarn delivers as both a cautionary tale and a fitting memorial to polar exploration.

[lawyerlee]

I've been meaning to bump this thread up for ages. Tonight I finally thought of it when a had a chance to do so and add some reviews. :) I read about half non-fiction and half novels, so I thought I'd see if I could renew some interest in this thread and get some new ideas for good non-fiction reads. My "to be read list" is already huge and always growing, but I still like adding to it. ;) :D

This thread died a long time ago, so I've shared my reviews of all the non-fiction I've read so far in 2006 below. :)

My Reviews:

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner:
This is a pretty cool non-fiction read. The concepts are not very sophisticated, in my opinion, but the authors do present some interesting thoughts in a new way. It's worth reading.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach:
Very cool and worth the creep-out factor.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson:
One of the best nonfiction books I've read. Larson combines the stories of the Chicago World's Fair and a suburban Chicago serial killer of the same period. It reads more like a novel than a work of nonfiction, and I highly recommend it.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion:
This was different than I expected. I appreciated her skill in crafting this kind of story and respect her for writing something so personal. I think it would be hard to expose yourself the way she does and open yourself up for scrutiny as to such profoundly raw topics in your life.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls:
This truly warmed my heart and gave me hope. I know it probably sounds weird because I get the sense that many people who've read it really didn't enjoy anything about it. Don't get me wrong - I found myself hating the parents. Just hating them and wishing for them to change. But I am so inspired by Jeannette's beautiful writing and the way she captured the kind of enduring loyalty and love that a child can experience for a parent, even a really bad, neglectful or mean parent. And even though I would never wish to have the experiences she and her siblings did, I truly admire the way she, Brian, and Lori never gave up on their dreams of having meaningful, happy lives.

Becoming Justice Blackmun by Linda Greenhouse:
I loved it. Greenhouse's exploration of Blackmun's life-long friendship with Chief Justice Burger is fascinating, though ultimately quite sad. Any legal nerd like myself will love this, but I think people who aren't ordinarily very interested in the Court or its justices will enjoy this book, too.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan:
This book was enjoyable enough. It was an easy read and a wonderful tribute to Ryan's mother. I didn't love it, but I liked aspects of it quite a lot.

Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs:
This is the first book of his that I've read, and I adore his sarcastic, mean, ego-centric way of looking at the world. I'm taking his earlier memoir, Running with Scissors with me on vacation next week, and I can't wait to dive into it.

Encyclopedia of An Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal:
This is a very cool book. She has a gift for being funny, endearing, snarky, and a little wacky without coming off like she's trying too hard.

Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back by Norah Vincent:
This is a fascinating non-fiction read. At first I bristled at Vincent's suggestion that men, especially white men in America, struggle with their role and experience legitimate difficulties when they try to live up to societal expectations. Oh, boo hoo, I thought. But as Vincent continued describing her experiences and what she learned about the men she became acquainted with as an outsider turned insider, I started to see what she was talking about. Yes, it is wonderful to be in a position of privilege in society. But that does not insulate one from cultural pressures. There is a trade off. Even putting herself in this position ended up being a trade off for Vincent. Being her male alter ego, Ned, took a serious toll on her psychologically. As much as we might think men and women are basically the same, a lot about her experience shows us that this just isn't true

Currently reading (in non-fiction):

Grub: Ideas for an Urban, Organic Kitchen by Anna Lappe and Bryant Terry
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
A Delicate Balance: Living Successfully with Chronic Illness by Susan Milstrey Wells

[meatpie]

I just recently finished Flags of our Fathers and it was wonderful. Horrifying, but really well done. If anyone likes war stories, this is a great book (plus, the movie comes out later this month...)

[Rosebud]

I think I've recommended these in other threads as well:

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission To Fight Terrorism and Build Nations... One School At a Time (http://www.amazon.com/Three-Cups-Tea-Terrorism-Nations/dp/0670034827/sr=8-1/qid=1160518779/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-6782209-1714452?ie=UTF8) by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin

Paris to the Moon (http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Moon-Adam-Gopnik/dp/0375758232/sr=1-1/qid=1160518876/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-6782209-1714452?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Adam Gopnik

Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood (http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Lets-Dogs-Tonight-Childhood/dp/0375758992/sr=1-1/qid=1160518916/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-6782209-1714452?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Alexandra Fuller

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (http://www.amazon.com/Under-Banner-Heaven-Story-Violent/dp/1400032806/sr=1-1/qid=1160519010/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-6782209-1714452?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Jon Krakauer

My DH is reading this and says he likes it a lot so far:

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason (http://www.amazon.com/End-Faith-Religion-Future-Reason/dp/0393327655/sr=1-3/qid=1160519245/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-6782209-1714452?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Sam Harris

[Southlooper]

The Color of Water by James McBride is a beautiful book.

Amazon.com
Order this book ... and please don't be put off by its pallid subtitle, A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, which doesn't begin to do justice to the utterly unique and moving story contained within. The Color of Water tells the remarkable story of Ruth McBride Jordan, the two good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Jordan, born Rachel Shilsky, a Polish Jew, immigrated to America soon after birth; as an adult she moved to New York City, leaving her family and faith behind in Virginia. Jordan met and married a black man, making her isolation even more profound. The book is a success story, a testament to one woman's true heart, solid values, and indomitable will. Ruth Jordan battled not only racism but also poverty to raise her children and, despite being sorely tested, never wavered. In telling her story--along with her son's--The Color of Water addresses racial identity with compassion, insight, and realism. It is, in a word, inspiring, and you will finish it with unalloyed admiration for a flawed but remarkable individual. And, perhaps, a little more faith in us all.

From Library Journal
Like Gregory Williams's Life on the Color Line (LJ 2/1/95), these two memoirs describe growing up interracial from the perspective of the sons of African American fathers and white mothers. McBride, an accomplished journalist and musician, has viewed the yawning chasm of racial division from both sides and, despite carving out a successful life, has been scarred. Unlike Williams and Minerbrook, though, he focuses on a single, singular parent, a rabbi's daughter who later helped her husband establish an all-black Baptist church in her home and saw 12 children through college. His mother's own story, juxtaposed with McBride's, helps make this book a standout. Recommended for all collections. Minerbrook's father came from Chicago's African American high society, his mother from rural Missouri. He paints a detailed portrait of their family life, of relationships complicated by the fact that "human emotions, when mixed with racial issues, are prone to shatter like glass." Nearing middle age, he seeks out the white side of his family, who have rejected his mother and her offspring, and achieves a well-deserved catharsis. Still, his accounts of the almost unrelenting prejudice of white against black, black against white, light-skinned black against dark-skinned black, and so on are deeply disturbing. One is left to borrow the words of another recent commentator and say that this cancer does indeed make me want to holler. Highly recommended.
-?Jim Burns, Ottumwa P.L., Ia.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

[greenbunny]

I recommend The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Catches-You-Fall-Down/dp/0374525641/sr=8-1/qid=1161175365/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2447297-5631063?ie=UTF8) by Anne Fadiman.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. Winner of the National Books Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest, and the Boston Book Review Rea Award for Non-fiction, Anne Fadiman's compassionate account of this cultural impasse is literary journalism at its finest.

[Emily]

I agree with the recommendation of Expecting Adam. That book is phenomenal, one of my favourite books now.

[lawyerlee]

I agree with the recommendation of Expecting Adam. That book is phenomenal, one of my favourite books now.
That has been on my list since it first came out, and I still haven't read it. I'll have to make it a priority. And the library has Kitchen Confidential on hold for me right now, so that will probably be my next book. I'm excited to finally read it! :)

[Amuse Bouche]

Oh, I loved Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. And Freakonomics.

A couple of cool nonfiction books I've read:

In the food category:

Home Cooking and More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin -- these are essays on cooking, originally published in Gourmet. Colwin writes as if she's speaking to an old friend, and there are recipes, too.

Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser -- the chick lit of cooking nonfiction books, but a fun and light read.

Julie and Julia by Julie Powell -- about cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

I'd also recommend anything by Jeffrey Steingarten

Historical:

The Arcanum by Janet Gleeson -- very cool history of porcelain, which is much more exciting than you would think.

Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond

[textualgirl]

Great thread.

I'm reading Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore To The Revolution by Caroline Weber and it is fantastic.

[colz85]

I loved Ann Fessler's The Girls Who Went Away (http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Who-Went-Away-Surrendered/dp/1594200947) It's about women pre Roe v Wade and how unwed pregnancies were handled. Eye opening. The way these women were treated by everyone from their own families to the medical profession to clergy....disgraceful.


From Publishers Weekly
Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to keep the baby," says Joyce, in a story typical of the birth mothers, mostly white and middle-class, who vent here about being forced to give up their babies for adoption from the 1950s through the early '70s. They recall callous parents obsessed with what their neighbors would say; maternity homes run by unfeeling nuns who sowed the seeds of lifelong guilt and shame; and social workers who treated unwed mothers like incubators for married couples. More than one birth mother was emotionally paralyzed until she finally met the child she'd relinquished years earlier. In these pages, which are sure to provoke controversy among adoptive parents, birth mothers repeatedly insist that their babies were unwanted by society, not by them. Fessler, a photography professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, is an adoptee whose birth mother confessed that she had given her away even though her fiancé, who wasn't Fessler's father, was willing to raise her. Although at times rambling and self-pitying, these knowing oral histories are an emotional boon for birth mothers and adoptees struggling to make sense of troubled pasts. (May 8)

I'm currently reading Difficult Conversations (http://www.amazon.com/Difficult-Conversations-Discuss-what-Matters/dp/014028852X/sr=8-1/qid=1161492695/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0709880-2318424?ie=UTF8) after having it recommended to me at a recent workshop.

[jen]

A co-worker gave me a book to read that a friend of hers wrote.

Monique and The Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali
by Kris Holloway

This book is amazing. It is just a really wonderful, moving story... quick read too!

Reviews:
From Publishers Weekly
This tender, revelatory memoir recalls the two years Holloway spent as an impressionable Peace Corps volunteer in the remote village of Nampossela in Mali, West Africa. It centers on her close friendship with Monique, the village's overburdened midwife. When Holloway (now a nonprofit development specialist) arrived in Nampossela in 1989, she was 22; Monique was only two years her senior. Yet Monique, barely educated, working without electricity, running water, ambulances or emergency rooms, was solely responsible for all births in her village, tending malnourished and overworked pregnant women in her makeshift birthing clinic. With one of the highest rates of maternal death in the world, these Malian women sometimes had to work right up until and directly after giving birth and had no means of contraception. Holloway especially noted Monique's status as an underpaid female whose male family members routinely claimed much of her pay. Monique shared her emotional life with Holloway, who in turn campaigned for her rights at work and raised funds for her struggling clinic. Holloway's moving account vividly presents the tragic consequences of inadequate prenatal and infant health care in the developing world and will interest all those concerned about the realities of women's lives outside the industrialized world. B&w photos, map. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description
What is it like to live and work in a remote corner of the world and befriend a courageous midwife who breaks traditional roles? Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Mali Midwife is the inspiring story of Monique Dembele, an accidental midwife who became a legend, and Kris Holloway, the young Peace Corps volunteer who became her closest confidante. In a small village in Mali, West Africa, Monique saved lives and dispensed hope every day in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter and where many children are buried before they cut a tooth. Kris worked side-by-side with her as they cared for each other through sickness and tragedy and shared their innermost secrets and hopes. Monique’s life was representative of many women in one of the world’s poorest nations, yet she faced her challenges in extraordinary ways. Despite her fiercely traditional society and her limited education she fought for her beliefs—birth control, the end of female genital mutilation, the right to receive a salary, and the right to educate her daughters. And she struggled to be with the man she loved. Her story is one of tragedy joy, rebellion, and of an ancient culture in the midst of change. It is an uplifting tribute to indomitable spirits everywhere. Monique and the Mango Rains is a fascinating voyage to an unforgettable place, a voyage spent close to the ground, immersed in village life, learning first-hand the rhythms of this world. From witnessing her first village birth to the night of Monique’s own tragic death, Kris draws on her first-person experiences in Mali, her graduate studies in maternal and child health, medical and clinic records, letters and journals, as well as conversations with Monique, her family, friends and colleagues, to gives readers a unique view—and a friend in West Africa.

[HeatherFL]

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.

REVIEWS

Amazon.com
Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover. --Brangien Davis --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Freelance writer Walls doesn't pull her punches. She opens her memoir by describing looking out the window of her taxi, wondering if she's "overdressed for the evening" and spotting her mother on the sidewalk, "rooting through a Dumpster." Walls's parents—just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book—were a matched pair of eccentrics, and raising four children didn't conventionalize either of them. Her father was a self-taught man, a would-be inventor who could stay longer at a poker table than at most jobs and had "a little bit of a drinking situation," as her mother put it. With a fantastic storytelling knack, Walls describes her artist mom's great gift for rationalizing. Apartment walls so thin they heard all their neighbors? What a bonus—they'd "pick up a little Spanish without even studying." Why feed their pets? They'd be helping them "by not allowing them to become dependent." While Walls's father's version of Christmas presents—walking each child into the Arizona desert at night and letting each one claim a star—was delightful, he wasn't so dear when he stole the kids' hard-earned savings to go on a bender. The Walls children learned to support themselves, eating out of trashcans at school or painting their skin so the holes in their pants didn't show. Buck-toothed Jeannette even tried making her own braces when she heard what orthodontia cost. One by one, each child escaped to New York City. Still, it wasn't long before their parents appeared on their doorsteps. "Why not?" Mom said. "Being homeless is an adventure." Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

[Rosebud]

Reviving this thread! I'm pretty sure these books have been mentioned either here or in the What Are You Reading? thread, but I finally read them and would definitely recommend.

Devil in the White City : Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor.

Dreams from My Father : A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

Barack Obama, a black man raised by his white mother and grandparents, decided to journey to Kenya to learn more about his African father after receiving news of his death. This memoir is not about his father's life, but about Obama's, and he brings that home with an intimate tone rather than that of his public speeches. Throughout the book, the U.S. Senator looks at race from the point of view of someone who has seen and been part of a variety of cultures, and he explains how his perspective shaped his views.

Big Chief Elizabeth : The Adventures and Fate of the First English Colonists in America by Giles Milton

Giles Milton's Big Chief Elizabeth is a sprawling, ambitious tale of how the aristocrats and privateers of Elizabethan England reached and colonized the "wild and barbarous shores" of the New World. Milton's story ranges from John Cabot's voyage to America in 1497 to the painful but ultimately successful foundation of the English colony at Jamestown by 1611. However, the main focus of the book is Sir Walter Raleigh's elaborate and tortuous attempts to establish an English settlement on Roanoke Island, in present-day North Carolina, following the first English voyage there in 1584.

[1MegMeg]

A big ditto to everyone who recommended Freakonomics (http://www.amazon.com/Freakonomics-Economist-Explores-Hidden-Everything/dp/006073132X/sr=8-2/qid=1168355136/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-7496033-7412640?ie=UTF8&s=books). Another book I really enjoyed, which looked at Clinton's failed health care reform act as a way to study the media and public opinion is Politicians Don't Pander (http://www.amazon.com/Politicians-Dont-Pander-Responsiveness-Communication/dp/0226389839/sr=1-1/qid=1168355199/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-7496033-7412640?ie=UTF8&s=books).

If you are into travel/adventure books, here's two that I recently read and loved.

Jupiter's Travels (http://www.amazon.com/Jupiters-Travels-Years-Around-Triumph/dp/0965478521/sr=1-1/qid=1168355273/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-7496033-7412640?ie=UTF8&s=books)
Odyssey to Ushuaia (http://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Ushuaia-Motorcycling-Adventure-Tierra/dp/1556524404/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_2_1/103-7496033-7412640)

[chefker]

I've started reading My Life In France (http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-France-Julia-Child/dp/1400043468/sr=8-1/qid=1168358754/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6928796-7067234?ie=UTF8&s=books), by Julia Child & Alex Prud'homme. It's a really enjoyable read thus far.

From Publisher's Weekly:


Starred Review. With Julia Child's death in 2004 at age 91, her grandnephew Prud'homme (The Cell Game) completed this playful memoir of the famous chef's first, formative sojourn in France with her new husband, Paul Child, in 1949. The couple met during WWII in Ceylon, working for the OSS, and soon after moved to Paris, where Paul worked for the U.S. Information Service. Child describes herself as a "rather loud and unserious Californian," 36, six-foot-two and without a word of French, while Paul was 10 years older, an urbane, well-traveled Bostonian. Startled to find the French amenable and the food delicious, Child enrolled at the Cordon Bleu and toiled with increasing zeal under the rigorous tutelage of éminence grise Chef Bugnard. "Jackdaw Julie," as Paul called her, collected every manner of culinary tool and perfected the recipes in her little kitchen on rue de l'Université ("Roo de Loo"). She went on to start an informal school with sister gourmandes Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, who were already at work on a French cookbook for American readers, although it took Child's know-how to transform the tome—after nine years, many title changes and three publishers—into the bestselling Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961). This is a valuable record of gorgeous meals in bygone Parisian restaurants, and the secret arts of a culinary genius. Photos. First serial in the New York Times Magazine and Bon Appétit. (Apr.)

[AmandaLeigh]

A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom

This book is very interesting. It looks at all the differnt ways women and marraige have been seen throughout history. It will make you think about what roles you play in society today.

[ilovepink]

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

[karina]

i didn't read it yet ....

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/1890626570.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

In The Red Zone: A Journey Into The Soul Of Iraq

Investigative journalist Vincent reports on his travels through Iraq during the American led occupation. He uses encounters with Iraqis he met during his four months there as a way to measure US success in fighting "Islamofascism," which he believes justifies the US invasion and ongoing occupation. Claiming to have penetrated the Iraqi mind, he argues that there may have been mistakes in the occupation, but the implanting of "democracy" in Iraq is necessary to protect the US from the "despair and self-loathing at the center of the Muslim world."

i just read about this author today -- he was killed in iraq by insurgents while in iraq doing research

[pixielou]

a couple recent reads

Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
A pretty insightful look at a life in africa during colonialism. I appreciated how the author was not embarassed to admit that her family believed in white rule. I had to reread the beginning to figure out "why" her parents decided to move to the middle of a war zone - missed it during the first read thru. And then it all made sense. Kinda, but not really. I appreciate what her parents did, though I still think they are nuts!

Turning the Tables by Steven A. Shaw
Even though I didn't find the book very useful (seriously, I don't need my own personal sushi chef), I did enjoy the book. I found the author to be a bit arrogant - almost felt like he was talking down to the common man. And there was very little advice in the book - seemed more like a big propoganda piece for his own career.

~pixie

[Rosebud]

a couple recent reads

Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
A pretty insightful look at a life in africa during colonialism. I appreciated how the author was not embarassed to admit that her family believed in white rule. I had to reread the beginning to figure out "why" her parents decided to move to the middle of a war zone - missed it during the first read thru. And then it all made sense. Kinda, but not really. I appreciate what her parents did, though I still think they are nuts!

I absolutely loved this book! It's one of those stories you wouldn't believe if you didn't know it was true. And the way it presents the politics & race relations of the time is very thought provoking.

[curlyjr]

I recommend "Coming of Age in Mississippi" by Anne Moody.
A powerful, honest, wonderful book about racism and the cicil rights movement.

[mgrace]

Great thread!

Some of my favorites:

The Conscience of a Liberal, Paul Wellstone
Population 485, Michael Perry
From Here You Can't See Paris, Michael Sanders
A Year in Provence, Peter Mayle
Off Main Street, Michael Perry

Other good ones:
Garlic and Sapphires, Ruth Reichl
Coming Home to Eat, Gary Paul Nabhan
Freakonomics
Encyclopedia of An Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich


I'm in the process of (still) reading and recommend:

Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan
My Life in France, Julia Child
Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama

[1MegMeg]

I am currently reading Final Exam by Pauline Chen. It's about a liver transplant surgeon's reflection on mortality and dying. Excellent so far!

[pixielou]

I just recently read Faithful by Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King. The 2 authors chronicled the 2004 Boston Red Sox season. Granted they got lucky since that is the year that the Sox won the World Series and that probably led to a lot to the success of the book. SO's writing was a bit bland - he tended to do a ton of play by play of each game - seriously, it's 3 years later - i don't need to know pitch counts and who struck out in the 4th inning. But SK really did a great job in the role of "color commentary". He really was able to capture the euphoria of red sox fans, was able to capture the highs and lows, thrills and despair that make for a season. I think it's a great read for any sports fan - just skip over a lot of SO's writing, and pretend SK is writing about your favorite team!

I also recently read White Mischief by James Fox. This was the story of the murder of Lord Erroll in Kenya in 1945. I had been expecting a murder mystery type of book - even though I knew it was non-fiction. So that led a bit to my dissapointment. It read more like a legal text book case study at times. The first 1/3 of the book was the events that led up to Lord Errolls murder, including the arrest and trial. The rest of the book was a review of all the players and speculation as to who could have committed the murder, an analysis of abilities, alibi's etc. At times the book was really dry, but other times I just couldn't put it down. If you have any interest in colonial Africa, it's a great book.

~pixie

[kd 9.21.02]

I just read Rebecca Walker's Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood After a Lifetime of Ambivalence (http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Love-Rebecca-Walker/dp/1594489432/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0676568-4839146?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174671460&sr=8-1). (As many of you may know, Rebecca is the daughter of Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/1594489432.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_V43700163_.jpg

It's a quick read and I really enjoyed it. Rebecca is a somewhat controversial woman but in her memoir, especially toward the end, she really came across like an "every woman" (for lack of a better term). Her relationship with her mother is strained and upsetting to read about.

My Amazon order with The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much? (http://www.amazon.com/Feminine-Mistake-Are-Giving-Much/dp/1401303064/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0676568-4839146?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174672590&sr=1-1) just arrived and I'm dying to read this book. It "tackles head-on the popular myth that a man is a financial plan."

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/1401303064.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_V43428599_.jpg

[Dizzy]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, or not, but "What is the What" by Dave Eggers WILL change your life!! =-) It was absolutely incredible (and eye-opening) and I highly highly highly recommend it. For anyone who doesn't know about it, it's a "fictional" account of the Lost Boys of Sudan based on one Lost Boy's story. It's a must-read.

[lawyerlee]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, or not, but "What is the What" by Dave Eggers WILL change your life!! =-) It was absolutely incredible (and eye-opening) and I highly highly highly recommend it. For anyone who doesn't know about it, it's a "fictional" account of the Lost Boys of Sudan based on one Lost Boy's story. It's a must-read.
Thanks for the suggestion. It definitely sounds like something I'd be interested in.

Both of those books sound really good, kd 9.21.02. I'm off to read a little more about them right now. Thanks! :)

[sublime311]

DH is a huge fan of this book he just finished reading. He would stop every two seconds to share. I'll read it next.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath

Book Description (from amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/1400064287/ref=dp_proddesc_0/104-4001711-8786331?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books))

Mark Twain once observed, “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on.” His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus public-health scares circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas–business people, teachers, politicians, journalists, and others–struggle to make their ideas “stick.”

Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the brothers Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the “human scale principle,” using the “Velcro Theory of Memory,” and creating “curiosity gaps.”

In this indispensable guide, we discover that sticky messages of all kinds–from the infamous “kidney theft ring” hoax to a coach’s lessons on sportsmanship to a vision for a new product at Sony–draw their power from the same six traits.

Made to Stick is a book that will transform the way you communicate ideas. It’s a fast-paced tour of success stories (and failures)–the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers; the charities who make use of “the Mother Teresa Effect”; the elementary-school teacher whose simulation actually prevented racial prejudice. Provocative, eye-opening, and often surprisingly funny, Made to Stick shows us the vital principles of winning ideas–and tells us how we can apply these rules to making our own messages stick.

[Secret_Squirrel]

I recently read: "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider" by Ishmael Beah (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/magazine/14soldier.t.html?ex=1326430800&en=18db63da3854259e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss).

It's about how he became a child solider during the civil war in Sierra Leon, his rehabilitation and eventual new life in America. It's at once heartbreaking and makes you feel like the world is entirely too unfair; and inspiring that hope is still hidden in the hearts of some who seem so far gone.

[pixielou]

secret squirrel that one is in my to read pile. i'm looking forward to reading it.

speaking of African literature - I recently re-read The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley. A timeless read - I had to keep reminding myself that this took place pre WWI. Full of lovely description, wonderful imagery of Africa, lush descriptions of the sites and sounds. My issue (at least this read through - the author is writing about the time period when she was 6-8 years old, and she wrote this book when she was 50+. So I do question the accuracy of her memories.

I also re-read A Seal Called Andre by Harry Goodridge and Lew Dietz. I first read this a good 20+ years ago when the book forst cam out - and I kinda remember it as Love Story - except between some old guy and a seal. This time thru, I found myself "outraged" at the fact that some guy wanted a seal for a "pet", without - what we now consider - due respect for the animal. Interesting how times have changed.

~pixie

[Rosebud]

I heard a discussion about this book today on NPR and it sounded fascinating.

A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy (http://www.amazon.com/Year-Without-Made-China-Adventure/dp/0470116137/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-6644737-3630859?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184796721&sr=8-1) by Sara Bongiorni

It's the true story of a family who tries for one year to not purchase anything that is made in China. It proves to be very, very difficult and gives them all sorts of insight into how connected the USA and China are through commerce.

In the interview I heard, the author described how hard it was to find sneakers for her toddler that weren't made in China (and having to mail order some from Italy at three times the price of the Chinese version). Some things (like a replacement blade for their blender) they just couldn't find without a "made in China" tag, so they just didn't use their blender.

Has anyone read this and would recommend it?

[imagirliegirl]

My favorite non-fiction book ever is The Firm by John Grisham. I read it in one sitting years ago and it's still my favorite book to date.

[Sin Nombre]

My favorite non-fiction book ever is The Firm by John Grisham. I read it in one sitting years ago and it's still my favorite book to date.

While I loved this book as well, "The Firm" is fiction, like most Grisham thrillers. Perhaps based upon real-life experiences, but fiction nonetheless.

However, John Grisham published a book last fall called "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town", which is non-fiction (true crime). I have it and cannot wait to read it -- but I'm waiting for a weekend so I, too, can read it one sitting!

[nylons73]

While I loved this book as well, "The Firm" is fiction, like most Grisham thrillers. Perhaps based upon real-life experiences, but fiction nonetheless.

What she said. ;) But...that WOULD be pretty incredible if it was a non-fiction book!

[pixielou]

I just read Monique and the Mango Rains - which I think was recommended a few times on this thread (or maybe the What are you Reading? thread. . .) It was excellent. I read it in a day. I though the author was a bit self-important. I've never been to Mali - but would love to go there (I've been to Southern Africa and East Africa, but never West Africa).

I'm starting Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War by Nathaniel Philbrick. It's for my bookclub. This book sets out the story of the first settlers who brokered a peace with the native americans and the subsequent generation who waged a war instead. Not something I would necessarily pick out on my own - but it should be an interesting read - especially with Thanksgiving a few weeks away (gosh - it really is!)

~pixie

[BumbleB]

Pixie- I read Mayflower earlier this year and thought it was very good. I was expecting it to be very dry, but found it interesting and well written. I also started 1776 - and haven't finished that one because it is much more dry than Mayflower (IMO).

I also found out soon after reading it that my first ancestors to make it to America landed only 10 years after the Mayflower - after reading the book that just blows me away. The harsh realities of making a new life out of the American landscape just fascinate me.

Another book I just recently finished: Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende is a fantastic narrative of the founding of Chile by Europeans and the struggle there between the indigenous peoples of that land and the Europeans. Fiction, based very closely on the record of one woman's life.

[nawsgirl]

I've been told a few times that Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali is excellent, but haven't read it yet...

From Amazon.com
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Readers with an eye on European politics will recognize Ali as the Somali-born member of the Dutch parliament who faced death threats after collaborating on a film about domestic violence against Muslim women with controversial director Theo van Gogh (who was himself assassinated). Even before then, her attacks on Islamic culture as "brutal, bigoted, [and] fixated on controlling women" had generated much controversy. In this suspenseful account of her life and her internal struggle with her Muslim faith, she discusses how these views were shaped by her experiences amid the political chaos of Somalia and other African nations, where she was subjected to genital mutilation and later forced into an unwanted marriage. While in transit to her husband in Canada, she decided to seek asylum in the Netherlands, where she marveled at the polite policemen and government bureaucrats. Ali is up-front about having lied about her background in order to obtain her citizenship, which led to further controversy in early 2006, when an immigration official sought to deport her and triggered the collapse of the Dutch coalition government. Apart from feelings of guilt over van Gogh's death, her voice is forceful and unbowed—like Irshad Manji, she delivers a powerful feminist critique of Islam informed by a genuine understanding of the religion. 8-page photo insert. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[pixielou]

BumbleB thanks for the insight on Mayflower. I think I'm up to about page 30 - after 2 nights of reading. I'm screwed - my book club is next Tuesday! I will say I'm enjoying it so far. And learning a lot.

I came to realize that the only time i studied the Pilgrims in school was during 4th or 5th grade history. During the intro too the book, the author made the note that most people take the story of the First Thanksgiving with a grain of salt. My first reaction when I read that was "Gosh - that story isn't true???"

I have the feeling that I won't get it finished before the book club meeting. But I know that I will continue reading until I finish. This is totally why I have rejoined a book club - to get me to read things that I normally wouldn't read.

~pixie

[Purple]

I just finished reading Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza who survived the Rwandan genocide. It was so moving that I finished it in a day. Even though I am not Catholic, her faith just moved me.

Immaculée shares her miraculous story of how she survived during the Rwanda genocide in 1994 when she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor’s house for 91 days! In this captivating and inspiring book, Immaculée shows us how to embrace the power of prayer, forge a profound and lasting relationship with God, and discover the importance of forgiveness and the meaning of truly unconditional love and understanding—through our darkest hours.

Proceeds from book sales will be donated directly to the Left to Tell Charitable Fund.

Here is a link (http://www.lefttotell.com/about/index.php) to her site.

[Rosebud]

bumpity bump. Who's reading nonfiction these days? Would love some more good ideas.

[diam124]

I'm reading Same Kind of Different As Me - not a difficult read at all, but an interesting story. I'm about 1/2 way through it.

[Taurus]

My NF book club recently loved Isabel Allende's memoir The Sum of Our Days. We are currently reading Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World by Koepper. Other favorites from the past year have ranged from Candy Girl by Diablo Cody to The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls to Under the Banner of Heaven by Krakauer. Last month was Just Do It, about a couple with two young kids who had sex for 101 days straight. Kinda funny at times for those of us who are parents, but we were less than enthused by the writing. I have tried in vain to have chosen The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee. One member has suggested a few times the book diam just posted.

[Sevilla]

I'm in the middle of reading Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood by Susan Lindh

This is an interesting book and well worth reading if you're interested in the issue of the commercialization of kids and the deliberate of manipulation of their preferences for the sake of profit and money. The book covers the issue of marketing to children as seen in different areas of life (commercials, children's tv, toy stores, fast food happy meal tie-ins, corporate involvement in schools). As a parent it was helpful to read b/c it made me more conscious of this issue but it was also frustrating b/c of how consumerism and materialism are just so saturated in our culture and economy regardless of their harmful effects.

[emmjay]

Some nonfiction I read over the summer:

The Worst Hard Time (http://www.amazon.com/Worst-Hard-Time-Survived-American/dp/0618773479/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221174465&sr=8-1) about the people who stayed in the Dust Bowl during the 30s. This was an awesome book! I never knew much about the Dust Bowl beyond The Grapes of Wrath, and I found it fascinating.

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story (http://www.amazon.com/Zookeepers-Wife-War-Story/dp/039333306X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221174585&sr=1-1) about the zookeeper of the Warsaw Zoo and his family during WWII. They were Christians who used the zoo as a place for Jews to hide. Very interesting.

The Omnivore's Dilemma (http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/0143038583/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221174673&sr=1-1) - I think most people have heard of this one, but it's about the way we get our food in the US. Very thought-provoking, and somehow managed to be depressing and inspiring at the same time.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Gone-Memoirs-Soldier/dp/0374531269/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221174701&sr=1-1) - about one of the boy soldiers in Sierra Leone. Kind of disturbing to read at times because we are so sheltered from what is happening in so much of Africa, but I thought it was worth reading.

I know I read more that I can't think of off the top of my head - I'll update if/when I remember!

[Myra]

A Prayer for the City
Imperial Life in the Emerald City
There are no Children Here
Random Family

[Dizzy]

I really enjoyed Lost on Planet China by Troost, if you like travel writing.

[Rosebud]

Some good ones that I've read this year:

Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King by Antonia Fraser
Really fascinating biography of Louis XIV, primarily focused on the relationships he had with his mother, wife and mistresses.

A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth's Castle by Liza Campbell
Excellent, nicely written memoir by the daughter of the last Thane of Cawdor Castle in Scotland. It's about growing up with privilege in a family torn apart by an alcoholic, mentally ill father. Really good.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
The author moves to a rural farm and she and her family pledge that for one year they will only eat what they can grow themselves or buy in their local community. This really made me think differently about food and our impact on the environment. Highly recommended.

[KiKi'sMommy]

Jean Sasson wrote a series about a Saudi Arabian Princess who details the life of royalty and women in the male dominated society.

The series starts with:

Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia

and also includes:

Princess Sultana's Daughters
Princess Sultana's Circle

These books are both sad and inspiring. A peek into a pretty mysterious society.

[Rosebud]

Oh, and I've talked about this book obsessively in the "What Are You Reading" thead, but since it's nonfiction I'll yammer on about it here, too. The best book I read last year:


The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million (http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Search-Six-Million/dp/0060542993/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221322479&sr=1-1) by Daniel Mendelsohn

Daniel Mendelsohn's The Lost is the deeply personal account of a search for one family among his larger family, the one barely spoken of, only to say they were "killed by the Nazis." Mendelsohn, even as a boy, was always the one interested in his family's history, but when he came upon a set of letters from his great uncle Schmiel, pleading for help from his American relatives as the Nazi grip on the lives of Jews in their Polish town became tighter and tighter, he set out to find what had happened to that lost family. The result is both memoir and history, an ambitious and gorgeously meditative detective story that takes him across the globe in search of the lost threads of these few almost forgotten lives. (Amazon.com)

[FallingforPhil]

Over the summer, I really enjoyed:

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_16?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=why+right+brainers+will+rule+the+world&sprefix=why+right+braine&sprefix=why+right+braine), by Daniel Pink

and...

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food-Eaters-Manifesto/dp/1594201455/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221324609&sr=8-1), by Michael Pollan

Next up is A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, which the high school I teach at is using for this year's "One Book, One School" program.