*Thank you for your responses, everyone. I will definitely be checking out some of these.
Don’t know if it’s my all-time favorite, but I really enjoyed Moonwalking With Einstein. It’s a glimpse into competitive memory champions and the techniques they use. Written in a very casual, investigative style.
I don’t read much non-fiction, but “Masters of Doom” by David Kushner is fantastic, if you are interested in the video game that revolutionized gaming.
I definitely second this!
Another classic in the game history space - Game Over - is one of my favorites too. MoD is probably better written, but then GO’s subject matter draws me in a little more.
Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer - it explains in detail the biology and evolutionary history of parasites, and some of the incredible science that goes into studying and understanding them.
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan - plain English explanation of what the scientific method is and why it’s our best way of understanding the world. It also explains how to think more critically about the world and how to identify pseudoscience.
Parasite Rex changed how I think about a lot of systems. Really mind expanding
In order of recall,
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
Why Nations Fail
A Short History of Nearly Everything
God Is Not Great
Gödel, Escher, Bach
The Smartest Kids in the World
Clausewitz, On War, bc I’m interested in military history. I have a bunch of books in storage, and it’s the only one I really miss. The Howard/Paret translation is the best. Handel’s “Masters of War” has a great explication (besides the one that Howard/Paret provide.)
The game engine that Paradox uses in their games is named after him. For reasons
Hunter S. Thompson - Hell’s Angels
Jake Adelstein - Tokyo Vice & Tokyo Noir
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson and A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold. Hell, I’ll also throw in Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley. I should reread that.
- Margaret J. Wheatley - Turning To One Another: Simple Conversations To Restore Hope To The Future
- David C. Korten - The Great Turning: From Empire To Earth Community
- Alfie Kohn - No Contest: The Case Against Competition
- Shareable - Sharing Cities: Activating The Urban Commons
- Michael Moss - Salt Sugar Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us
- Johann Hari - Lost Connections: Uncovering The Real Causes of Depression–And The Unexpected Solutions
- Michael N. Nagler - The Search For A Nonviolent Future
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow.
skunk works by ben rich, about his work as chief of the lockheed skunk works during the time they built the sr-71 blackbird and the f-117 nighthawk.
the soul of a new machine by tracy kidder, about the development of the data general eclipse minicomputer.
The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Bloom! It’s so good!
Humble Pi by Matt Parker. It’s about common mistakes people make in math and the real world consequences of these mistakes
A book about how to make medicine and food out of wild plants by some former military medic.
Zero - The Biography of A dangerous Idea. Charles Seife
The Proud Tower, and The First Salute, Barbara Tuchman
The Proud Tower is about the rapid changes going on in the years leading up to WW1. The sad fact is that many people thought that a war might be a good way to slow things down and get back on track.
The First Salute. At some point, some nation had to recognise the American colonies as an actual country. The american Revolution from a different angle
in no particular order:
The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor’s Heroic Search for the World’s First Miracle Drug
The Wave: In the Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean
Among the Thugs: The Experience, and the Seduction, of Crowd Violence
Anything by Mary Roach or Bill Bryson
