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As a big fan of non-fiction books, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorites. Whether shopping for gifts for someone, or perhaps we share the same interests, these are some of my favorite books.
History
I’m an avid history book reader. From ancient history to modern, to me there is no more exciting stories than those that really happened. I love reading about American history, particularly the Revolutionary War, and that’s where I start my list.
First off, I recommend anything written by David McCullough
. When it comes to writing history, he’s second to none. While I’ve enjoyed all of his works, I’ve especially enjoyed both 1776 and John Adams, for their Revolutionary War tales.
If you like that era, there are many, many biographies that you may enjoy. I believe it is the most interesting generation of American history, and one of the most fascinating eras of all of history. There are great biographies available on George Washington called His Excellency, and one on Thomas Jefferson called American Sphinx that are must reads.
Other books from that time period I recommend are The Glorious Cause, practically a textbook on the Revolutionary War, and Adams vs. Jefferson, which examines the election of 1800, one of the most interesting in America’s history.
When it comes to American history, I have to say I was blown away by William Bennett’s two volume set entitled America: The Last Best Hope. This two-volume set was the best version of “our history in a nutshell” that I’ve ever come across. Five hundred years worth of American history packed into two easy to read books. No generation is overlooked, and no single event is overblown. If you are looking to get into reading about American history, this is the place to start.
Other recommendations for history:
Alexander Hamilton
The Federalist Papers
Common Sense, Rights of Man & Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer
Religion
I am not a religious person, but I love reading about religion and each religion’s history.
The Closing of the Western Mind is one of my favorite books of all time. It traces the roots of Christianity from it’s inception through it’s first few hundred years. With great details and information about the early Catholic Church and how it related to the Roman Empire, this book is so informative you may read it twice just to get it all.
I bought War Without End to try to better understand the on going war between Israeli and Palestinians. I found the book to be slow early on, then it just kept getting more and more interesting. If you’re already an expert on Jewish/Palestinian relations, this may rehash some stuff you know, but if you’re not familiar, but interested, I highly recommend it.
Whether you’re a believer or an atheist, there is no denying that The God Delusion and God Is Not Great are both quality reads. If you are a religious person, sometimes it’s a good exercise to read something that may make you question your faith, and if your not religious, you may find a lot of interesting arguments in these books. While Richard Dawkins (God Delusion) may be a bit harsh and in your face, I think Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great) is one of the best writers out there on any topic.
Sports
There are so many sports books out there that it is tough to distinguish between them when standing at the store. But there are some great writers and books out there for you.
First of all, you can never go wrong with a David Halberstam book. Not only is he a great history writer, but he is an amazing sports writer. Summer of ‘49 and The Teammates are as good as you’ll find in the sports section of the book store.
I grew up in New Jersey, worshipping the 1986 New York Mets. If only I’d known that The Bad Guys Won, I might not have based my childhood around that team. Nevertheless, they still are my favorite team of all-time, but there sure are some stories about that team.
If you’re a baseball fan, you need to read Moneyball. Whether you agree with the whole book or not, there is no doubt that it is revolutionizing the game. What Billy Bean and sabermetrics has done for baseball is as revolutionary as artificial turf. Must read for any baseball fan.
Other recommended sports books:
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream
Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL
Who’s Your Caddy?: Looping for the Great, Near Great, and Reprobates of Golf
Science
While not everything in the world of science is easy for everyone to get, there is no doubt that it is interesting. And it can be fun to try to understand things that are complex. I personally enjoy books on physics and astronomy — beginning of the universe type of things. But I also enjoy the classics, the original writings on major topics.
The place to start when delving into physics and science is Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, then it’s sequel A Briefer History of Time. Hawking is a master of explaning the complex in layman’s terms. His books will make you interested in black holes when you never even thought about them before.
If you like those books, you’ll enjoy Big Bang: The Origin Of The Universe, which is a more advanced take on the beginning of time and physics. For as complex as it is, it is very readable. This book also provides a solid history of physics.
When it comes to science, I like to read the originals, like The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. You can also read the original works of the greats like Kepler, Newton, Galileo, Copernicus and Einstein in the book On the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy. There is a brief preface to each major work in the book, but the majority of the writing in here is the original theories by these scientific greats. This is a great book to have in your library, but a tough one to just sit and read.
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That’s a solid non-fiction list for you to pick from. I will add more as I read more and recommend more, but this, to me, is the basis of my non-fiction library. There are many more complimentary books to go with these, but for now, this is my list.
Feel free to recommend one to me.
