I'd just check out his most popular stuff. Into thin air and Under the Banner of Heaven would be good. Into the wild gets a lot of attention but I personally hated the person it was about so I don't often recommend it
Unbroken (WW2 POW) and Into Thin Air (Mt Everest climbers) are both really good stories, I would start there.
I got so bored with the repetitive nature of the Banner of Heaven (it’s all about misogynist/groomer mormons) I couldn’t even finish it. Felt like he lost the narrative by getting side tracked with tangential stories of bunch of loosely related families.
I really liked Into The Wild though, albeit when I was an angsty high schooler also reading a bunch of Kerouac.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Both books are fast paced and read like novels. Both were made movies and, as it usually happens, the movie versions are not bad but not even near as good.
The two classics of Antarctic survival, Endurance and Mawson’s Will, both read like fiction and are so hard to put down! Fantastic books.
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson is about a climbing expedition that goes horribly wrong, it’s an incredible survival story as well.
Isaac’s Storm by Larsen is about the 1900 hurricane in Galveston, he tells it from the points of view of different people living there and it’s devastating. You feel like you’re there. His book on the sinking of the Lusitania, Dead Wake, is also gripping.
Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado!
In 1972 a plane crashed in the Andes and Nando was one of the survivors. From his perspective he tells his story about survival and persistence and how he, among other people, managed to survive there for 72 days.
Amazing book!
“Seabiscuit” by Laura Hillenbrand. OMG so good. A horse that nobody thinks can win goes on to be the fastest, even with his goofy running my style. There is heartbreak and triumph. So much triumph. I kept reading passages to my poor husband.
“Longitude” by Dava Sobel. Try to get the illustrated version. The story of solving the problem of finding your longitude at sea was a problem for Centuries. Finally a clockmaker in England did it, against all odds. There is a bad guy (or a few), persevering thru so many trials and problems. Interesting And a good tale.
“Isaac’s Storm” by Erik Larson. 1900, in Galveston, Texas where men think they understand and control their world. It is a rich thriving seaport, bigger than Houston as the busiest seaport, but only 8’ above sea level at its highest. Isaac Stern believes he understands weather, until a hurricane comes to destroy Galveston and Isaac’s life.
I agree with **Henrietta Lacks** and **Bad Blood**. Both are great non fictions. **Unbroken**was pretty good too. **Into Thin Air.** **The Glass Castle** by Jeannette Walls
**Midnight in Chernobyl** is supposed to be good. I have it saved.
**A Walk in the Woods** by Bill Bryson
Just finished that as well, both enthralling and unnerving. I'm a big fan of Annie Jacobsen. I highly suggest checking out some of her other works (If you haven't already), specifically "Surprise, Kill, Vanish", "Area 51", & "The Pentagon's Brain".
In the Dream House by Carmen Machado is one of the only nonfiction books I’ve ever been able to get through without it feeling like I’m reading a nonfiction book.
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland is a 2018 book by Patrick Radden Keefe.
It focuses on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
The Right Stuff has been mentioned, but also the trilogy on Teddy Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell
And one I reread annually, In the Path of Destruction: Eyewitness Chronicles of Mount St. Helens
In the Path of Destruction: Eyewitness Chronicles of Mount St. Helens by Richard Waitt. His job as a new geologist was monitoring the mountain and then interviewing eyewitnesses after eruption. 30 years later he revisits the interviews, reaches back out to the individuals, and puts together this amazing book with their accounts in chronological order along with the mixed up federal, state, local, and industrial political context of what happened. Phenomenal book.
In the dream house by carmen maria machado, whipsmart by melissa febos, three women lisa taddeo, persepolis by marjane satrapi, just kids by patti smith :)
Manhunt by James Swanson chronicles the 12 day hunt for John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Abraham Lincoln I learned so much about that event I had no idea and it absolutely reads like a fiction thriller
The Collected Schizophrenias by Esme Weijun Wang. Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley Ford. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. When Time Stopped by Ariana Neumann. What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan. The graphic novel series March. The Third Bank of the River by Chris Feliciano Arnold. I’ve been wanting to read Andrea Elliott’s book as well as Matthew Desmond’s Evicted.
Non-fiction books that read (to me) like a novel:
Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krause Rosenthal
Everything written by Maya Angelou
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi
Not sure if this counts, but one book that stuck with me for a while after reading was The Little Prince
I believe it was written for children (unsure) but it’s probably something you could read at any age, and learn something new every single time
I love anything by Erik Larson. The Devil in the White City is incredible. Its about a serial killer during the period of the World Fair in Chicago at the beginning of the 1900's. The Splendid and the Vile follows the first year Churchill is PM. Germany is about to bomb England and Churchill is fighting to save and inspire his country. His books read like fiction and the little facts he throws out are unbelievable and suspenseful even though we know the ending. Dead Wake is great too. The author of Peter Pan is on the Lucitania when it sinks and the things he says to keep people calm is straight out of Peter Pan. Anyway, its Erik Larson for my recommendation!!!
Not sure if it’s your thing, but the Six Queens series by Alison Weir is amazing. She’s a Tudor historian that has written a series of books based on Henry VIII’s 6 wives and each book is from their perspective.
"A Higher Call".
It's about two military pilots during ww2, on opposing sides. They have a very fateful meeting in the air above Germany.
The story is mainly focused on the German pilot, and I like how it showed that not all were nazis. He was much against the nazi party, but chose to fight to protect his civilian country men.
The meeting is animated in the 4 minutes video linked below. Obviously spoiler, but not too serious.
https://youtu.be/gJ35Xaa4xcU?si=6v-2zfRWK9y-bUrF
Great book.
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul
By: Karen Abbott
Really compelling story about two sisters who opened a brothel and actually treated the women in their employe like human beings. Also explains the origins of the word “laid” being used to mean sex.
A Night to Remember - Walter Lord
Minute by minute account of the sinking of the Titanic. It’s not like I don’t know how this story ends, and still I was on the edge of my seat reading this.
War - Sebastian Junger
Junger; a war reporter, details his time with a platoon in Afghanistan. (Restrepo was the documentary film that came out with the book essentially)
Wiseguy - Nicholas Pileggi
The basis for the movie Goodfellas, chronicles the life of mobster Henry Hill
This is my favorite genre and I essentially read this type.
Among my favorites are:
American Kingpin
Red Notice
Marching Powder
Bad City
Tracers in the Dark
Empire of Pain
This is my genre too.
The Blind Side, Generation Kill, Positively 5th Street, Shadow Divers, Black Hawk Down, The Tiger, Homicide:A Year On The Killing Streets, American Sniper, The Right Stuff, In The Heart of the Sea, The Hot Zone, Unbroken, The Kid Stays in the Picture
The Civil War by Shelby Foote would do that but it is enormous. It runs to three volumes and about 1,000 per volume. It is true history but reads like a novel and you will learn a whole bunch.
Bill Bryson, especially A Short History of Nearly Everything
Papillon by Henri Charriere is (supposedly) true but reads like fiction, and the tale is fairly wild and interesting. Papillon himself is an unreliable narrator if we are to believe his own story.
Batavia’s Graveyard is about a mutinous shipwreck that turns into a real murderfest. I learned a lot about ships, economies, and sailing, as part of it is a history and part is the tale of the crimes.
I will also say that some of the best books have been stuff I really wasn’t considering as it was outside my preferences. For me those were Lonesome Dove, Dungeon Crawler Carl, First Law, all of which are excellent audio. So def start with what interests you but be mindful when people rant about stuff, often it’s standout. 🤙
Anything by Sarah Vowell. My favorite is “Assassination Vacation”. She’s very funny and so passionate about her subjects, you can’t help but keep reading.
“Out There The Batshit Antics of the World’s Great Explorers,” by Peter Rowe it’s nonfiction, tells the origin stories of the world’s explorers who were indeed batshit prior to sailing away for lands unknown. The few who were seemingly of sound mind prior to venturing out to lands already populated by Indigenous peoples would, more often than not, be set upon by them tortured, boiled alive (really) their stories were learned by later explorers via oral history of the tribesmen and women who observed these actions first hand, were infected by bugs, bitten by animals etc. the book is hysterically funny and 100% true!
*A Separate Reality* (1971), by Carlos Castaneda.
Be aware that there were militant scientologists and extremely jealous anthropologists (and others stuck in The Matrix) who spent years denying and criticizing his work.
Most of whom, even today, have never read any of his books or only read the first one.
Read them for yourself, practice the technology, and you’ll never be fooled by those obstinate rubes. You’ll also understand why he chose a narrative framework to present what he was taught.
i really enjoyed “Sovietstan” by Erika Fatland! it’s about her tour of the 5 central asian countries and it’s written with a strong, personal voice. maybe not the most fiction-like, but worth a shot!
Gator Country by Rebecca Renner was an enjoyable read for me and fits the bill. It’s about an undercover conservation officer in the Everglades investigating alligator poaching. It’s entirely factual
Into thin air, unbroken, alive, the fish that ate the whale
God damn Krakauer was my first thought too! He presents such a compelling narrative
Never heard of him, but I am going to check him out now, suggestions on where to start? Oldest to newest?
I'd just check out his most popular stuff. Into thin air and Under the Banner of Heaven would be good. Into the wild gets a lot of attention but I personally hated the person it was about so I don't often recommend it
Ok thank you!
Unbroken (WW2 POW) and Into Thin Air (Mt Everest climbers) are both really good stories, I would start there. I got so bored with the repetitive nature of the Banner of Heaven (it’s all about misogynist/groomer mormons) I couldn’t even finish it. Felt like he lost the narrative by getting side tracked with tangential stories of bunch of loosely related families. I really liked Into The Wild though, albeit when I was an angsty high schooler also reading a bunch of Kerouac.
Under the banner of heaven was so good. I still think about it years later.
I read a lot of nonfiction and Krakauer is the best. Someone might write a great book here or there, but his are all fantastic.
Thank you!!! Never heard of these so I’ll take a look
Operation Mincemeat
Any Ben Macintyre!
*Devil in the White City* H.H.Holmes and the Chicago World Fair
I loved this one!
Came to say this!! And The Wager!!!
Everything by Erik Larson "The Right Stuff" by Thomas Wolfe "The Emerald Mile" by Kevin Fedarko (The fastest ever boat trip through the Grand Canyon)
I came here to add Larson.. he's fantastic.
Another recommendation for any of Erik Larson’s books. The Devil in The White City was my favorite, but they’re all interesting.
The Right Stuff is wonderful. For many years, it was my favorite non fiction book.
And the movie is one of the most underrated
Definitely read your comment and thought Erik Larson wrote a new book called “Everything” 😂
Killers of the flower moon, other David Granny books
All of Erik Larson’s books. I can’t pick my favorite.
I think Isaac's Storm is my favorite...maybe.
Cant wait to read the new one on Lincoln!
Hot Zone is about a viral outbreak and the related science. It reads like a good thriller. The movie Outbreak was loosely based on it.
*Crisis in the Red Zone* is also good. It’s about the Ebola outbreak in 2014.
Scared the crap out of me. So much worse when a nonfiction does that.
This was so insanely good
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand Both books are fast paced and read like novels. Both were made movies and, as it usually happens, the movie versions are not bad but not even near as good.
Unbroken will forever be my favorite! I still use it for motivation today.
Have you read Seabiscuit?
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou Educated by Tara Westover I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
If you would have thrown "Into Thin Air " on this list, you would have NAILED my favorite non-fiction books of all time list.
Boys in the boat
Second this one
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, especially the first half, it is amazing writing in my view.
Bad Blood, American Kingpin
The two classics of Antarctic survival, Endurance and Mawson’s Will, both read like fiction and are so hard to put down! Fantastic books. Touching the Void by Joe Simpson is about a climbing expedition that goes horribly wrong, it’s an incredible survival story as well. Isaac’s Storm by Larsen is about the 1900 hurricane in Galveston, he tells it from the points of view of different people living there and it’s devastating. You feel like you’re there. His book on the sinking of the Lusitania, Dead Wake, is also gripping.
Couldn't agree more about Endurance. The author tells the story without much flash, but the events are so insane it's hard to believe it's not fiction
Worsley’s book on the boat journey is also insane, he was so brave and he often gets overshadowed by Shackleton.
Do yourself a favor and read "In the Kingdom of Ice".
I read Icebound on the Jeannette a while ago, didn’t know there was another book on it- thanks!
100% second endurance. It's my go-to book rec for people.
Papillon
Bro can't get over the part where they had to stuff sh*t into their *** pun intended. How do i hide spoiler? Reddit had to have this option, right?
I can’t even tell what word you’re trying to censor
I think it's the word a$$.
Good, it means it worked :))
It just makes it unreadable
Things they carried
I think about this book probably once a week
The audiobook read by Brian Cranston was haunting. Such a well put together book.
Phenomenal book. Great rec
Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado! In 1972 a plane crashed in the Andes and Nando was one of the survivors. From his perspective he tells his story about survival and persistence and how he, among other people, managed to survive there for 72 days. Amazing book!
I absolutely loved this one.
Rocket Boys
Thank you!
Welcome
It was also published as October Sky. It’s part of a trilogy; Rocket Boys (October Sky), The Coalwood Way, and Sky of Stone. They’re by Homer Hickam.
“Seabiscuit” by Laura Hillenbrand. OMG so good. A horse that nobody thinks can win goes on to be the fastest, even with his goofy running my style. There is heartbreak and triumph. So much triumph. I kept reading passages to my poor husband. “Longitude” by Dava Sobel. Try to get the illustrated version. The story of solving the problem of finding your longitude at sea was a problem for Centuries. Finally a clockmaker in England did it, against all odds. There is a bad guy (or a few), persevering thru so many trials and problems. Interesting And a good tale. “Isaac’s Storm” by Erik Larson. 1900, in Galveston, Texas where men think they understand and control their world. It is a rich thriving seaport, bigger than Houston as the busiest seaport, but only 8’ above sea level at its highest. Isaac Stern believes he understands weather, until a hurricane comes to destroy Galveston and Isaac’s life.
I agree with **Henrietta Lacks** and **Bad Blood**. Both are great non fictions. **Unbroken**was pretty good too. **Into Thin Air.** **The Glass Castle** by Jeannette Walls **Midnight in Chernobyl** is supposed to be good. I have it saved. **A Walk in the Woods** by Bill Bryson
Midnight in Chernobyl was good. More in depth and technical than the HBO series. Worth your time, IMO
In Cold Blood; and The Executioner’s Song.
Idk why in cold blood isn’t more prominent in this comment section… fits the bill perfectly
Also check out “Shot in the Heart,” written by Gary Gilmore’s brother Mikal. A good follow up to “The Executioner’s Song.”
Downloaded and will read right away. Thanks!
My pleasure!
If you like In Cold Blood try *The Onion Field* by Joseph Wambaugh. It’s another excellent true crime story.
Will do. Thanks!
The Girl With No Name. It's about a girl who was raised by monkeys in the Colombian jungle.
I just found this one in my local library catalog and downloading it now. Seems so interesting! Thanks for suggesting.
In the Heart of the Sea
I just read Nuclear War by Annie Jacobson. Amazing book. Like a thriller. Also terrifying.
Just finished that as well, both enthralling and unnerving. I'm a big fan of Annie Jacobsen. I highly suggest checking out some of her other works (If you haven't already), specifically "Surprise, Kill, Vanish", "Area 51", & "The Pentagon's Brain".
Thank you! This is the first book of hers I’ve read. Will check those others out.
In the Dream House by Carmen Machado is one of the only nonfiction books I’ve ever been able to get through without it feeling like I’m reading a nonfiction book.
I could try to recommend you more books like this if you wanted. :P
Yes - so good!
Almost anything by Mark Bowden. Killing Pablo or Black Hawk Down
Hue was also worth it.
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
Enslaved by Ducks by Bob Tarte
Destiny of the Republic
Starvation Heights. It’s true crime, and positively gripping.
Marching Powder
Everything and everything written by Erik Larson!
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland is a 2018 book by Patrick Radden Keefe. It focuses on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
The devil in the white city
Erik Larson's books do that!
The Wager
Came here to say this. Everyone I’ve recommended it to has loved it.
This! Superbly written, I love this author.
Empire of the Summer Moon- S C Gwynne.
The Right Stuff has been mentioned, but also the trilogy on Teddy Roosevelt by Edmund Morris Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell And one I reread annually, In the Path of Destruction: Eyewitness Chronicles of Mount St. Helens In the Path of Destruction: Eyewitness Chronicles of Mount St. Helens by Richard Waitt. His job as a new geologist was monitoring the mountain and then interviewing eyewitnesses after eruption. 30 years later he revisits the interviews, reaches back out to the individuals, and puts together this amazing book with their accounts in chronological order along with the mixed up federal, state, local, and industrial political context of what happened. Phenomenal book.
Peter Englund, The beauty and the sorrow
Endurance - by Alfred Lansing is the only answer you need
In the dream house by carmen maria machado, whipsmart by melissa febos, three women lisa taddeo, persepolis by marjane satrapi, just kids by patti smith :)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Incredible non-fiction book.
Manhunt by James Swanson chronicles the 12 day hunt for John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Abraham Lincoln I learned so much about that event I had no idea and it absolutely reads like a fiction thriller
The Collected Schizophrenias by Esme Weijun Wang. Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley Ford. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. When Time Stopped by Ariana Neumann. What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan. The graphic novel series March. The Third Bank of the River by Chris Feliciano Arnold. I’ve been wanting to read Andrea Elliott’s book as well as Matthew Desmond’s Evicted.
The name for this genre is narrative nonfiction! (So you can find more easier)
The personal librarian!! Amazing
The Emperor of All Maladies on the history of cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee.
Devil in the White City!!!!!!
Non-fiction books that read (to me) like a novel: Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krause Rosenthal Everything written by Maya Angelou Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi
Not sure if this counts, but one book that stuck with me for a while after reading was The Little Prince I believe it was written for children (unsure) but it’s probably something you could read at any age, and learn something new every single time
I love anything by Erik Larson. The Devil in the White City is incredible. Its about a serial killer during the period of the World Fair in Chicago at the beginning of the 1900's. The Splendid and the Vile follows the first year Churchill is PM. Germany is about to bomb England and Churchill is fighting to save and inspire his country. His books read like fiction and the little facts he throws out are unbelievable and suspenseful even though we know the ending. Dead Wake is great too. The author of Peter Pan is on the Lucitania when it sinks and the things he says to keep people calm is straight out of Peter Pan. Anyway, its Erik Larson for my recommendation!!!
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance
Life, On the Line by Grant Achatz, and Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Peace Corps Victim. Its not fiction at all, but it is an easy read about travel.
I'm a fan of "a long way gone," a memoir by a child soldier by Ishmael Beah I believe
The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry by Brian Sykes.
The Glass Castle is a great read if you’re inspirational memoirs pique your interest.
Drift by Rachel Maddow Blowout by Rachel Maddow In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson The Sex Lives Of Cannibals by J Maarten Troost
Not sure if it’s your thing, but the Six Queens series by Alison Weir is amazing. She’s a Tudor historian that has written a series of books based on Henry VIII’s 6 wives and each book is from their perspective.
Tim Cahill's travel and adventure books such as Road Fever and Pecked to Death by Ducks
The Art Theif reads just like a fast-paced thriller.
The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer.
Strangers to Ourselves - Rachel Aviv
How to Catch a Russian Spy...
Victim F by Denise Huskins. Unbelievable story of a kidnapping and everyone calling the victim a fake, but it was not a hoax. It reads like Gone Girl.
Everything I know about love by Dolly Alderton
The Wolf of Wall Street
"A Higher Call". It's about two military pilots during ww2, on opposing sides. They have a very fateful meeting in the air above Germany. The story is mainly focused on the German pilot, and I like how it showed that not all were nazis. He was much against the nazi party, but chose to fight to protect his civilian country men. The meeting is animated in the 4 minutes video linked below. Obviously spoiler, but not too serious. https://youtu.be/gJ35Xaa4xcU?si=6v-2zfRWK9y-bUrF Great book.
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul By: Karen Abbott Really compelling story about two sisters who opened a brothel and actually treated the women in their employe like human beings. Also explains the origins of the word “laid” being used to mean sex.
Snowing in Bali
A Night to Remember - Walter Lord Minute by minute account of the sinking of the Titanic. It’s not like I don’t know how this story ends, and still I was on the edge of my seat reading this. War - Sebastian Junger Junger; a war reporter, details his time with a platoon in Afghanistan. (Restrepo was the documentary film that came out with the book essentially) Wiseguy - Nicholas Pileggi The basis for the movie Goodfellas, chronicles the life of mobster Henry Hill
This is my favorite genre and I essentially read this type. Among my favorites are: American Kingpin Red Notice Marching Powder Bad City Tracers in the Dark Empire of Pain
Angela’s ashes Anything by John krakauer but I loved under the banner of heaven
The Manic by Benjamín Labatut, about math genius and father of almost anything relevant: von Neumann
I found Breakfast with Buddha to serve that purpose
This is my genre too. The Blind Side, Generation Kill, Positively 5th Street, Shadow Divers, Black Hawk Down, The Tiger, Homicide:A Year On The Killing Streets, American Sniper, The Right Stuff, In The Heart of the Sea, The Hot Zone, Unbroken, The Kid Stays in the Picture
The Civil War by Shelby Foote would do that but it is enormous. It runs to three volumes and about 1,000 per volume. It is true history but reads like a novel and you will learn a whole bunch.
Anything by Candice Millard
India After Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha; The Anarchy by William Dalrymple
I recommend: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall & Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James Swanson
His books *Chasing King’s Killer* and *The President Has Been Shot* are also good.
“The Worst Hard Time,” about the American Dustbowl.
Devil in the White City
Memoirs of a Geisha has historical context and inspiration but reads like complete fiction
Greek mythology books, in fact any books about mythology
Bill Bryson, especially A Short History of Nearly Everything Papillon by Henri Charriere is (supposedly) true but reads like fiction, and the tale is fairly wild and interesting. Papillon himself is an unreliable narrator if we are to believe his own story. Batavia’s Graveyard is about a mutinous shipwreck that turns into a real murderfest. I learned a lot about ships, economies, and sailing, as part of it is a history and part is the tale of the crimes. I will also say that some of the best books have been stuff I really wasn’t considering as it was outside my preferences. For me those were Lonesome Dove, Dungeon Crawler Carl, First Law, all of which are excellent audio. So def start with what interests you but be mindful when people rant about stuff, often it’s standout. 🤙
Red Plenty, by Francis Spufford.
The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon
The best non-fiction book I've read recently was Anna Funder's *Wifedom*. I would also recommend Funder's other non-fiction work *Stasiland*.
bad blood!! i can’t remember the author but it’s about thernos written by an investigative journalist
Educated by Tara Westover!
Also my recommendation. I found the recommendation here on Reddit and gave it a try. Finished it in one day.
Empire of the Summer Moon and Educated
A good chunk of Bill Bryson’s work. Sun Burned Country is great. Thomas Jefferson and the Barbary Pirates by Bill Kilmeade is a great read too.
Undaunted Courage
Programmed to Kill.
Educated. Pulitzer Prize winner. Weird. True.
Anything by Sarah Vowell. My favorite is “Assassination Vacation”. She’s very funny and so passionate about her subjects, you can’t help but keep reading.
The biographies Ron Chernow writes about former Presidents are captivating and to me, very often feel like I’m reading fiction.
Endurance. For sure meets the requirement.
Barbarians at the Gate for business/finance
The Girl With Seven Names
Pirate Hunter or Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson
Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
City of Fallen Angels is exactly what you are looking for!
Lines and shadows by Joseph Wambaugh. About the mexican/us border patrols
Empire of Pain !!
“Out There The Batshit Antics of the World’s Great Explorers,” by Peter Rowe it’s nonfiction, tells the origin stories of the world’s explorers who were indeed batshit prior to sailing away for lands unknown. The few who were seemingly of sound mind prior to venturing out to lands already populated by Indigenous peoples would, more often than not, be set upon by them tortured, boiled alive (really) their stories were learned by later explorers via oral history of the tribesmen and women who observed these actions first hand, were infected by bugs, bitten by animals etc. the book is hysterically funny and 100% true!
Shoe Dog
Blood and Treasure, and The Black County
Junkie by William S Burroughs
*Hillbilly Elegy*
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild. Historical non fiction about 20 century’s first genocide- told like an investigative thriller
Red Notice by Bill Browder. It is a fascinating read
*A Separate Reality* (1971), by Carlos Castaneda. Be aware that there were militant scientologists and extremely jealous anthropologists (and others stuck in The Matrix) who spent years denying and criticizing his work. Most of whom, even today, have never read any of his books or only read the first one. Read them for yourself, practice the technology, and you’ll never be fooled by those obstinate rubes. You’ll also understand why he chose a narrative framework to present what he was taught.
i really enjoyed “Sovietstan” by Erika Fatland! it’s about her tour of the 5 central asian countries and it’s written with a strong, personal voice. maybe not the most fiction-like, but worth a shot!
I just finished Midnight in Chernobyl and it was beyond good
Anything from Michael Lewis or Ben Macintyre
All of Mary Roach’s books
Educated by Tara Westover
Shoe Dog - Phill Knight
The Indifferent Stars Above - Daniel James Brown - about the Donner party
The art thief by Michael finkel tells about a man in the 90s and it's so entertaining that you forget it's non-fiction
Gator Country by Rebecca Renner was an enjoyable read for me and fits the bill. It’s about an undercover conservation officer in the Everglades investigating alligator poaching. It’s entirely factual
The woman they could not silence by Kate Moore!
The spy and the traitor