topic Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot. in Community Chat

What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

qualitygal — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 10:46:02 GMT

My life is still fairly busy and to set down and curl up with fiction, isn't happening now. But in the past, I leaned to many NF books. Are there others out here, who enjoy NF too? If so, what are some of the books you've enjoyed? Thanks.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

lovescats — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 15:58:29 GMT

I am just finishing Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art by Carl Hoffman which is both at times chilling and dry. It gives a lot of background on the tribes and colonial Dutch government of New Guinea This book gives you a lot to think about.

The author criticizes the Rockefellers for having all that money and never really finding out what happened but I can't criticize them for that because if this was my relative how much would I really want to know and carry with me in my mind. Michael did have a twin sister. The official cause of death was drowning. 2 Catholic priests missionaries did file reports on what happened but the Dutch government and Church covered them up and did not make them public but they were never destroyed. The Church and government felt there really wasn't any tangible proof.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

chiclets — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 16:59:04 GMT

The Blooding by Joseph Wambaugh. The scientific breakthrough of genetic printing. An interesting and easy read. It does not disappoint.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

bozismydog — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 15:04:14 GMT

On 3/17/2013 sunala said:
I'm not ordinarily a non-fiction reader but I've read some excellent ones I'd like to share.

Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock - a true story about these two women (one black, one white) whose lives intersected when Elizabeth tried to attend high school in Little Rock during the time of integration, and how Hazel, also a student, hatefully tried to stop her. It was an excellent and informative read.

The Diary of Anne Frank -

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick - Stories about ordinary people living in present day North Korea. Fascinating insight into their lives that I never ever knew.

Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza - One girl's story of faith and healing in Rwanda during the genocide. This book was absolutely breathtaking and I was totally unable to put it down.

Those are the books I can think of now. I'm enjoying this thread very much.

Sunny

I also loved Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagzira. She also wrote Led By Faith which is fabulous as well!!

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

sue bee — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 18:56:28 GMT

Four that come to mind is An Accidental Cowboy by Jameson Parker. He used to be on Simon and Simon in the 80's but this book deals with the aftermath when he was shot in the early 90's and his struggle with depression and PTSD as well as his life as a cowboy. Eventually he found his way out of the darkness. Inspiring story. Also Not Young Still Restless by the late Jeanne Cooper about her career before and after she went to Young and The Restless which can be a colorful read. Also Shirley Jones- A Memoir by Shirley Jones about her life which is a great read. Lastly The Grand Illusion by Styx bassist Chuck Panozzo is about his life in the band and him coming out then dealing with Aids. Luckily it has an happy ending. A very inspiring and emotional read.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

Danky — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 01:30:35 GMT

THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY and UNBROKEN...........two of the best books I have ever read.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

LoriLori — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 14:36:08 GMT

On 11/15/2013 glmama said:
One that I haven't read, but I've been meaning to for the past year or so is: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Anyone here read this?

Yes, and I loved it. I couldn't put it down or could anybody I lent it to, which was many family members and friends.

It's about a black woman with cancer in the 1950s. She had cervical cancer and was treated at Johns Hopkins where they discovered her cultured cells never die, making them incredibly desirable to researchers everywhere.

Her family was dirt poor and millions of dollars were made by the institution selling her cells to researchers worldwide, without her knowledge. And the family never saw a dime. And you (and you and you and you) may actually have her cells in you right now, have a little piece of this woman in you, which is amazing.

It's a compelling and unique story (the like of Henrietta's cells has never been seen before or since) and Oprah bought it which worried me but I just read that it will be made for HBO. I just hope the more sensational aspects of the story are not emphasized, it is so dramatic in its plain facts.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

Linders Back — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 02:08:08 GMT

Our book club read a couple of really good NF over the past year or so (including Henrietta Lacks, Devil in the White City and Unbroken already mentioned and very good). I would recommend both:

Destiny of the Republic: a Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard concerns the assassination of James Garfield and reads like a medical thriller. He was shot, but the bullet didn't kill him. Very interesting.

And Guest of Honor: Booker T Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner that Shocked a Nation by Deborah Davis which is about the parallel lives of BTW and TR and the reaction when TR invited BTW to dine with his family in the White House (the first Black man to dine there who wasn't a member of the help). Interesting in light of where we are today.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

knmt — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 02:43:55 GMT

If you like Miranda Hart from Call the Midwife, she has a cute book written like she is talking to a girlfriend called, IS IT JUST ME?

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

sunala — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 18:48:57 GMT

One of my favorite non-fiction books was Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock, by David Margolick.

Here is the Amazon description, as mine won't do the book justice:

The names Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan Massery may not be well known, but the image of them from September 1957 surely is: a black high school girl, dressed in white, walking stoically in front of Little Rock Central High School, and a white girl standing directly behind her, face twisted in hate, screaming racial epithets. This famous photograph captures the full anguish of desegregation - in Little Rock and throughout the South - and an epic moment in the civil rights movement.

In this gripping book, David Margolick tells the remarkable story of two separate lives unexpectedly braided together. He explores how the haunting picture of Elizabeth and Hazel came to be taken, its significance in the wider world, and why, for the next half-century, neither woman has ever escaped from its long shadow. He recounts Elizabeth's struggle to overcome the trauma of her hate-filled school experience, and Hazel's long efforts to atone for a fateful, horrible mistake. The book follows the painful journey of the two as they progress from apology to forgiveness to reconciliation and, amazingly, to friendship. This friendship foundered, then collapsed - perhaps inevitably - over the same fissures and misunderstandings that continue to permeate American race relations more than half a century after the unforgettable photograph at Little Rock. And yet, as Margolick explains, a bond between Elizabeth and Hazel, silent but complex, endures.

I literally could NOT put this book down!

EDIT: I'm so sorry for the size of the book on the post. I tried deleting it but it's getting wonky and won't let me. But at least you can see the photo of the two girls quite clearly.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

qualitygal — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 15:07:11 GMT

Got that book out of the library, "Heaven Really Does Exist". It was small, so I really just skimmed through it, to get to the quotes of them talking. That's all I wanted to know from that book anyway. It moved to slowly for me to read each and every little bit.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

yellowBeetle — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 15:25:15 GMT

I, too, much prefer non-fiction. I think my ratio is about 80% to 20% non-fiction over fiction! Here are some of my faves -

I love everything by David McCullough. His biographies of John Adams and Harry Truman are wonderful, as is his book on the Revolutionary War, "1776."

If you are interested in LBJ, Robert Caro is the author to read.

Carl Sferrazza Anthony writes brilliantly about the First Ladies.

For recent political history I have enjoyed the two books by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin - "Game Change" and "Double Down."

And for the Civil War, I love Shelby Foote's books.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

lovescats — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 16:22:18 GMT

I've mention this book before but now it has been optioned for a movie by the creator of glee, american horror story and nip/tuck and other movies which I've never seen. Also this website has a lot of good pictures and stuff about the book. Empty Mansions by by Bill Dedman an Paul Clark Newell Jr

http://www.emptymansionsbook.com/film/

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

beckyb1012 — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 17:40:38 GMT

All Bill O'Reilly books;

Julie Nixon Eisenhower's Pat Nixon The Untold Story;

Doris Kerns Goodwin's The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

Anglophilly — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 17:41:04 GMT

Two recent reads: Lucy Lethbridge's "Servants". Very different view than Downton Abbey's downstairs.

"Do You Believe in Magic?" by Paul Offit, M.D. He's a top doc at Childrens Hosp. of Phila. The people who should read it, won't. A critical view of alternative medicine, especially the variety promulgated by TV hucksters.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

Qlady100 — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 11:41:28 GMT

I always suggest the easy, quick reads by Og Mandino, especially his fiction books. I know this is a Non-Fiction category, but he is a teacher in a way that you could think of the "message" as non-fiction. If you want a heart-touching, feel good, memorable, teaching book, read his stories. You might find yourself like me, recommending them to everyone you know, even young people, great for teens, all reader's of all ages. He's just not to be missed.

I have given his books to men and women, children of all ages, ministers, doctors, people of all walks of life, they all love him. It's a shame he died in mid-life and couldn't continue to write. These are little jewels not to be missed.

If you have never read him, please try his books, I know you won't regret it.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

z-da! — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 20:57:10 GMT

The. Glass Castle And The triple Agent. I also love some of the books already mentioned. You won't be disappointed with the books I suggested.

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

Mustang Shar — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 03:06:52 GMT

On 3/17/2013 sunala said:
I'm not ordinarily a non-fiction reader but I've read some excellent ones I'd like to share.

Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock - a true story about these two women (one black, one white) whose lives intersected when Elizabeth tried to attend high school in Little Rock during the time of integration, and how Hazel, also a student, hatefully tried to stop her. It was an excellent and informative read.

The Diary of Anne Frank -

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick - Stories about ordinary people living in present day North Korea. Fascinating insight into their lives that I never ever knew.

Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza - One girl's story of faith and healing in Rwanda during the genocide. This book was absolutely breathtaking and I was totally unable to put it down.

Those are the books I can think of now. I'm enjoying this thread very much.

Sunny

Thank you! Just d/l Nothing To Envy, sounds fascinating .

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

qualitygal — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 15:33:38 GMT

On 8/27/2014 beckyb1012 said:
All Bill O'Reilly books;

Julie Nixon Eisenhower's Pat Nixon The Untold Story;

Doris Kerns Goodwin's The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys

Oh I have to check on Julie Eisenhower's book. Always felt sorry for Pat, I remember so much of that time. Love books on Kennedy's and their families. Thanks for that info beckyb!!

Re: What are some of the best Non fiction books that you've read? I lean in that area a lot.

qualitygal — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 15:34:42 GMT

Thanks to so many of you others!! Fabulous mentions! Thanks again.