Favourite Non-Fiction Books?

[YorkNecromancer]

I read a lot of non-fiction, which informs a great deal of my life. I was wondering if anyone else was the same, and if so, what are your favourite non-fiction books?

Mine are:

We Did Nothing (http://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Did-Nothing-doesnt-always/dp/0141012900/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388338059&sr=8-1&keywords=we+did+nothing) - harrowing account of life as a UN-embedded journalist, and how the lack of funding/political will serves to render the UN nothing but a PR exercise for the developed world. Tragic, and thought-provoking.

Injustice: Why Social Inequality Persists (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Injustice-Why-Social-Inequality-Persists/dp/1847427200/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388337991&sr=8-1&keywords=injustice+why) - statistical analysis of a HUGE amount of worldwide societal metadata (seriously, there's like, 25 years of data from every nation on Earth), looking in depth at the horrors social inequality inflicts on every strata of society, including the super-rich (who have the highest rates of clinical/suicial depression). A fascinating read.

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Things-They-Dont-About-Capitalism/dp/0141047976/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388337980&sr=8-1&keywords=23+things+they) By Cambridge University's leading economics professor. Fascinating analysis of the 2008 financial crisis, and the dangers of pure free-market economic thinking. Looks at a lot of data, and provides an easy access point for anyone wanting to learn more about capitalism and how it works.

Scurvy (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scurvy-Surgeon-Mariner-Gentleman-Greatest/dp/1840243570/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388337973&sr=8-2&keywords=scurvy!) Utterly engaging historical treatise on the nature of scurvy, and how it defined world history (way more than you think!) Well-written and consise, I was so interested, I finished it in an afternoon.

Fast Food Nation (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fast-Food-Nation-All-American-Doing/dp/0141006870/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1388338568&sr=8-4&keywords=eric+schlosser) nothing to do with the Morgan Spurlock film. A huge, in-depth look at the fast food industry and the way it ruthlessly exploits every level of the production process, from the animals through to the abbatoir workers, to burger-flippers (who company top-tier management genuinely regard as little better than apes). Eye-opening, as with almost all Schlosser's work.

What non-fiction do you like?

[Mr Mystery]

I'm a fan of anything Fortean, but given its nature I'm not 100% sure it counts as non-fiction!

[Kirsten]

do you count philosophy in non fiction? I have the complete works of Aristotle and Plato and love reading both. otherwise books on ancient history.

[YorkNecromancer]

do you count philosophy in non fiction?

Of course.

I do love Noel Carroll's 'The Philosophy of Horror' (http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Philosophy-Horror-Paradoxes-Heart/dp/0415902169/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388341987&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=phlosophy+of+horror) Great book.

Machiavelli's 'The Prince' is good reading too. Horrible stuff.

[Kirsten]

I am a big fan of Thomas Hobbe's Leviathan, but only the first third or so of the book, really interesting up to there, then it goes a bit silly. Otherwise, Gustav Schwab Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece, J Lendon Soldiers and Ghosts, Xenophon A History of my Times, Herodotus The Histories.

[DWest]

Ignition, by John D. Clark. If you've ever even cracked half a grin at an episode of Mythbusters, you'll love this book, although obtaining a copy is a non-trivial exercise. The book covers the history of rocket fuels, and contains lots of anecdotes about chemicals with very interesting properties, such as the perennial favorite, Chlorine Trifluoride: ”It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water-with which it reacts explosively."

[Wildeybeast]

Of course.

I do love Noel Carroll's 'The Philosophy of Horror' (http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Philosophy-Horror-Paradoxes-Heart/dp/0415902169/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388341987&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=phlosophy+of+horror) Great book.

Machiavelli's 'The Prince' is good reading too. Horrible stuff.

I thought the prince was an honest and insightful account into the reality of human nature (at least in regards of politics). Excellent reading.

[YorkNecromancer]

I thought the prince was an honest and insightful account into the reality of human nature (at least in regards of politics).

Yup.

That's why it's so horrible; a vision of the world where those in power are incapable of any human goodness. Whenever I come across something that so thoroughly successfully rubs my face in just how selfish, cruel and awful people are driven to be by necessity, it kind of bums me out. :(

[Deadlift]

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Starting Strength. Yep this book is my bible. It's one I still go back to after so many years and not only because it's a great training book, but it's got some really funny comedic elements too.

One quote I remember with a smile is

"If you want to build strength in your legs, then you must do squats" "if you want to build your ego, do the leg press"

[Kirsten]

I always remember a book my mum has about how to invest money, and the risk rating was measured by the number of naked men doing one handed handstands on motorbikes...

[Psychosplodge]

We Did Nothing (http://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Did-Nothing-doesnt-always/dp/0141012900/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388338059&sr=8-1&keywords=we+did+nothing) - harrowing account of life as a UN-embedded journalist, and how the lack of funding/political will serves to render the UN nothing but a PR exercise for the developed world. Tragic, and thought-provoking.

I don't read a lot of non-fiction, though I think I've read that.
Is it the one where the reporter keeps seeing an insurance assessor at all these disasters/conflicts and he collects copies of his own death certificate from each country as kinda a morbid hobby?
[/spoiler]

The ones that stand out for me are

Making a killing About a PMC in Iraq.
Apache Dawn About the army air corps in Afghanistan
Vulcan 607 About bombing the Falklands before the liberation forces landed.

I also remember something I read about an american woman who married an English man and her observations about "the English" but cant remember what its called, plus it's hilarious because the broad sweeping statements seem so serious, when they're obviously limited to the middle-class privately educated circles that her husband is from.

[Wolfshead]

The Complete History of Jack the Ripper by Philip Sugden. If anyone ever asks me to recommend a Ripper text, I always say this one. It's got the most thorough and objective look at the case and the East-End of London at the time of the Whitechapel Murders. While he does talk about the suspects later on, Sugden makes a point of not playing the "who dunnit?" game at all, as there is not enough evidence to conclusively say that any of the suspects were the killer/s. It's well written, informative and isn't full of the flights of whimsy and imagination that Ripper books often are, and that's why it's a favourite of mine.

[DarkLink]

Joker One and the Heart and the Fist are both very intense memoirs from a Marine and a Navy SEAL, respectively. The Last Stand of Fox Company is also a very interesting look at one of the roughest battles in modern military history. But now that I think about it, the non-fiction I read is almost exclusively military history.

[Wildeybeast]

Yup.

That's why it's so horrible; a vision of the world where those in power are incapable of any human goodness. Whenever I come across something that so thoroughly successfully rubs my face in just how selfish, cruel and awful people are driven to be by necessity, it kind of bums me out. :(

I don't think the message is that they are incapable of human goodness. I think the message is that they shouldn't be good purely for the sake of altruism as it won't get them anywhere. You can still do good things within the scope of the prince, but only when it gets you something in return

[daboarder]

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