What's the best nonfiction you've read this year? (bonus if it was published in 2011)

[DisgustipatedinCA]

I mostly read fiction, so I don't have an entry that was actually published in 2011, but I read a 2007 book called Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, by James Swanson. I found out lots of neat stuff about John Wilkes Booth, and about Lincoln's assassination in general, that I never knew before. The book was written in the style of Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City--it's nonfiction, but written in the style of a novel. The only real problem I have with this is when the narrative becomes too speculative, e.g., ...Booth must have been thinking about freedom being only a river crossing away (that's not a quote, but there are several passages in the book along these lines). Other than that, everything in the book came from direct quotes attributed to the people involved. I recommend the book. 4 stars out of 5.

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. America's Quarterback: Bart Starr and the Rise of the National Football League

(It was published in 2011)

Even if you are not a football fan, or a Packer fan, this is an excellent book. It takes a look at his life, both on and off the field. I couldn't put it down.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

2. Cool. I'm not much of a sports book reader, so the disclaimer...

...that you don't have to like football to enjoy the book is nice to hear. There's a fiction book called The Art of Fielding that's apparently in the same boat--it's about baseball, but some reviews mention that you don't have to be a baseball fan to enjoy the book. Now I have fiction and nonfiction sports bookends to consider. Thanks.

[Jim__]

3. Justice for Hedgehogs - Ronald Dworkin.

I chose this one because it was published in 2011.

Dworkin takes the reader through his views on morality. My best take on it is that Dworkin does believe in an absolute morality, at least to the effect that certain actions are always immoral - for example, torturing children. He doesn't believe this absolute morality exists "out there" somewhere, but that morality is an orthogonal part of the human mind, and we can reach it through thought - although he is not saying that we reason to it.

I don't agree with Dworkin on the nature of morality. But, it is impressive to walk through the exhaustive process that he describes. He argues his case extremely well.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

6. that's really interesting

I'm curious...if morality is part of the mind, and we can reach it with thought, but we cannot reason based on this....what can be done with it? I realize it's an open-ended question whose best answer is probably "read the book", but I was curious, based on what you said about the book. thanks.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. Dance of Dragons

Hands down winnah!

oh wait.. nonfiction.. bummer.
ok,
Brian Switek's Written In Stone: Evolution, The Fossil Record and Our Place in Nature.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

7. You know what makes me happy?

First, thanks for listing Evolution...

But as I mentioned in the OP, I mostly read fiction, so I guess it's ok to hijack my own thread. Back to the subject line at hand: one of life's small pleasures that brings joy to me is having a series of books to read, a series that I know from multiple sources is top-notch. I have never read anything by GRR Martin. I have the Song of Ice and Fire series. 2012 is going to be a good year for reading.

thanks.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. "The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom"

http://www.powells.com/biblio/91-9780465019922-0#product_details

It's long been an open question to me whether Dirac's "prediction" of the existence of anti-matter was anything of the sort. Although he won a Nobel Prize, in large part for predicting the existence of the positron, the story turns out to be more complicated than that, and it's hard to reach a yes-or-no conclusion.

Dirac was certainly the prizewinner for introverted personalities, and this bio would probably be a little shocking to anyone who hadn't already heard a few "Dirac stories".

[DisgustipatedinCA]

8. this is now on my Goodreads list of books to read

Thanks for letting me know about the book--it looks like something I'd love to read, and so I will. Thank you.

[truedelphi]

21. I have been wanting to purchase a book like this

Regarding the atomic structure and also the existence of anti matter, so glad to have this reference to consider.

[eppur_se_muova]

22. It's much more of a biography than a physics book, so it probably won't anwer your questions.

I was interested in the original history of the idea. Dirac himself didn't take it much farther after that.

Bummer. Sorry.

You might try this, if you can find it: http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780471628125-2

[idiotgardener]

9. 2 titles: Green is the New Red and Black Flags and Windmills

Last edited Thu Dec 22, 2011, 01:41 AM - Edit history (1)

http://www.foodfightgrocery.com/green-is-the-new-red/
about the feds prosecuting all kinds of nonviolent protest (especially for animals and the environment) under anti-terrorism laws

https://secure.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=221
about the founders of an aid collective in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

And good idea for a thread!

[jerseyjack]

10. John Dos Passos "The Americans"

Helps explain how we got where we are today.

[RevStPatrick]

11. "Life" by Keith Richards...

It was published in October of 2010, so I guess I don't qualify for the bonus.

Lots of fun, if you like that sex, drugs and rock 'n roll kind of thing.

Actually, I also read Isaacson's bio of Steve Jobs, which was published this year.

These two books are actually very interesting companion pieces. Both of those guys were brilliant and kind of assholes. Interesting glimpses into the kinds of minds that shape our culture.

[mgc1961]

12. Unbroken

An excellent book which I listened to on CD, my second. I liked it so much I bought a paper version for my reference library.

[iamjoy]

44. Yep, Unbroken

I have a Kindle and got it from the library.


It was a darn good read. If it had been fiction, I would have found the whole sequence of events unbelievable. It was not dry, but went at a great pace (very hard to put down)

Also, I'm not religious or spiritual and like the way Ms. Hillenbrand handled the redemption.

[prairierose]

13. Vultures picnic by Greg Palast...

he does an amazing job of tying the fossil fuel industries, banksters and more together. It is interesting and answers many questions. For example, I kept wondering why anyone outside the US would buy the toxic "investments" and destroy their economies or their pension funds buying crap. The answer; the WTO. There are many more interesting answers woven through the book. If you have questions about how we got in such a mess as we are in today, Palast provides answers and names.

[truedelphi]

25. Sounds like a good read. And did you know that

Greg Palast is a graduate of the University of Chicago School of Economics?

Sort of a mind blower -that somehow he went through that place and came out not just with a degree, but with his ethics and imagination intact.

[RoccoR5955]

28. +1

Another amazing work by Palast!

[NJCher]

30. I tried to read Vulture's Picnic

Didn't get past 40 pages. I'm sorry I didn't like it better, because I admire him tremendously as a reporter and followed everything he wrote back when bush stole the election the first time. I want to know what he says in the book, but not bad enough to labor through the esoteric stuff. He has all these names for people and things and he doesn't really explain what they are. You're supposed to just pick that up and I wasn't patient enough to do it.



Cher

[prairierose]

40. Yes, I found his style in this book annoying but...

I did want to know what he knew so I struggled through. After some time, you get used to it because the sources and facts piss you off so much that you keep going.

[russspeakeasy]

14. "With Liberty and Justice For Some", by Glenn Greenwald.

How the 1% perpetuate their crimes against the economy and why they go unpunished.

[usrname]

15. The Disappearing Spoon (nt)

[secondvariety]

24. I read that, too

I liked the background stories of the scientists. I also read Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine". Yikes.

[Lucky 13]

16. Jeffrey Sachs - Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet

Good read. Really presents our current and future economic and environmental state in a way that demands immediate action.

[Lucky 13]

17. Also Lester Brown - Plan B 4.0

[ashling]

46. I am reading The Price of Civilization

Lot's of thoughtful quotes to use for reflection assignments for my college Am. Gov students

[jtuck004]

18. Biopunk: DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life. That young

woman you pass going to her second floor apartment may be pulling out and experimenting with reconstructing DNA, using homemade and purchased on ebay at a discount equipment. Those folks in the garage next door late at night aren't making meth, they are doing experiements in molecular biology.

From a garage near you, next great cure, next great weapon? And in the hands of the 99% <G>

Author: Marcus Wohlsen

[zipplewrath]

19. History of the Alphabet

But I kinda like that kinda stuff.

[dixiegrrrrl]

54. Who is the author, pls?

Amazon lists several books by that title..

and I like "kinda stuff" too!

[zipplewrath]

55. Sorry

Left the dern thing on an airplane.

[dixiegrrrrl]

58. you might like Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

The Babylonians invented it, the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it, and the Church used it to fend off heretics. Now it threatens the foundations of modern physics. For centuries the power of zero savored of the demonic; once harnessed, it became the most important tool in mathematics. For zero, infinity's twin, is not like other numbers. It is both nothing and everything.

In Zero, Science Journalist Charles Seife follows this innocent-looking number from its birth as an Eastern philosophical concept to its struggle for acceptance in Europe, its rise and transcendence in the West, and its ever-present threat to modern physics. Here are the legendary thinkers—from Pythagoras to Newton to Heisenberg, from the Kabalists to today's astrophysicists—who have tried to understand it and whose clashes shook the foundations of philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. Zero has pitted East against West and faith against reason, and its intransigence persists in the dark core of a black hole and the brilliant flash of the Big Bang. Today, zero lies at the heart of one of the biggest scientific controversies of all time: the quest for a theory of everything.

I love stuff like this. Finished "Salt" and "Cod" by Mark Kurlansky a few months ago.

[mainer]

20. Better Angels of Our Nature by Stephen Pinker

It makes me feel better about living in these times, as opposed to the past, when we were pretty much engaged in murdering each other.

[MADem]

23. Isaacson's "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life."

I got the paperback and beat the hell out of it. Cracking good read.

[efhmc]

27. The only other book I have read here. It was very infomative. What a diverse and talented person.

[MADem]

42. I enjoyed it immensely--was sad to have it end!

I also enjoyed the McCullough ADAMS biography that was the basis for the miniseries. A good work, that, as well. And Caro's MASTER OF THE SENATE about LBJ's amazing career and shenanigans was a page-turner, too.

Now, I have my nose in a bit of fiction--La Reina del Sur/The Queen of the South by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. It's VERY good--it would make a fine movie if they haven't done it already.

[efhmc]

26. Making Haste from of Babylon: The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World: A New History by Nick Bunker

In depth analysis of the Puritans or separatist movement from England and Holland to the "new world". There is a great deal of new, revealing information that comes from English sources. I like the way the author doesn't apply present day ideas to the 1600's.

[pscot]

29. The Information by James Gleick

[chervilant]

33. Chaos

also by Gleick, also excellent (although, read it a while back).

[pscot]

41. It's on my list

Also his biography of Newton.

[provis99]

31. Stauffenberg, by Peter Hoffman.

a family biography of the remarkable aristocratic Stauffenberg family, whose most famous member, Claus von Stauffenberg, tried to blow up Hitler. Claus and his brothers appear to be talented geniuses, with a bright mother as well. They had an idea that aristocrats like them should aspire be moral examples to the rest of Germany, a noteworthy cause given that the average German aristocrat of the time cared little more than exploiting the peasants and indulging in drunken orgies.

[DissedByBush]

32. I'm working on the Steve Jobs bio

It's amazing how one man changed so many industries.

But there are flaws in the myth, a man to admire and emulate in some ways, but to learn from his mistakes in others.

[chervilant]

34. Richard Hofstadter

The Paranoid Style in American Politics.

(I also read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine, finally. Absolutely essential read, as is Hofstadter's.)

[hoosierspud]

35. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This a biography of a poor African-American woman who died of cervical cancer in the 1950's. Her tumor cells are the longest lasting cell line ever cultivated and have been used in research in many different areas.

The book brings up issues of bioethics, for instance, can a person claim profits on his or her body tissues that have been used for research or by industry, and patient confidentiality. It also offers a glance into 1950's medicine near the Mason-Dixon Line. And it is a story of a family who soldiers on in hope of a better life for their children in spite of death, poverty, racism, and failing educational and health systems.

[man4allcats]

37. A good one.

I was familiar with the cell line (HeLa as in Henrietta Lacks) from school and actually using that cell line in some research I was involved in at one time, but I never knew the whole story until reading author Rebecca Skloot's excellent account of Henrietta's story.

[hoosierspud]

43. I first read about HeLa cells in the 1970's when I was going through training for my job.

I work in a medical lab and diagnose malignant and pre-malignant cells on patient specimens.

[man4allcats]

36. A People's History Of The United States

by Howard Zinn

[tomp]

38. "Crazy Like Us: the globalization of the american psyche"

by Ethan Watters.

Showing the depth of u.s. imperialism in an unexpected area. Kind of like psychiatric colonialism.

Also: Why We Get Fat (and what to do about it by) Gary Taubes.

Makes an excellent evidence based argument for an Atkins-type diet.

[drynberg]

39. I'm mostly through "The Crash Course", scary stuff...

The Crash Course is a look at where we've been with economy/environment/energy usage and Chris Martenson's outlook is very sober and to me, scary. He truly requires a look at what we're currently doing and his arguments demand changing many behaviors yesterday, or sooner. I find myself not turning on my small hot tub, turning off lights, lowering the thermostat and using the pellet stove more since I started this latest offering of Dr. Martenson. I hope millions read it right away and ACT. The future is a terrible thing to waste...

[Neoma]

45. A Primate's Memoir by Robert M. Sapolsky

Hands down.

[lwo]

47. 23 things they don't tell you

I recently finished "23 things they don't tell you about capitalism" by Ha-Joon Chang. An economist at Cambridge University, the book is comprised of 23 (surprise, surprise) short essays written, it seems to me, from a Keyensian/progressive perspective. The book doesn't require a sophisticated knowledge of economics and provides lots of good amunition for your debates w/ free-market fundamentalists. Indeed, one of his chapters is titled "There is no such thing as a free market." It's accessible, and I liked that he cites data for his arguments.
Progressive Partisan

[TomClash]

48. Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class by Owen Jones

It's basically about Britain but he is writing one about the States next.

[xrayvision2005]

49. Wrongfully accused and the reality of prison life

Published in 2011 - Fantastic reviews

February 2008. A frigid Friday afternoon. The doorbell rings and in rushes a mob of uniformed agents wielding weapons and hand cuffs. “You’re under arrest!” It’s not exactly how he imagined his day would turn out; or his life for that matter.

INCITE—a true story of two men betrayed by their adopted children and tortured for a crime they did not commit is the gripping rendition of a devastating life event by Rhode Island author, Raymond A. Grenier. More remarkable yet is the transcendental emergence from conquered to conqueror. Readers will be transported from an absorbing position of struggle and despair to a plateau of inspiring triumph.

This actual account reveals the horrific details of life behind bars. A journal recorded during nearly nine months of incarceration explores the abject cruelty and punishment suffered by a falsely accused man and his life’s partner.

Interwoven are accounts of episodes that lead to the erroneous apprehension of these Rhode Island natives – a same sex couple – who took in two young siblings on the brink of separation. The teenage biological brother and sister, adopted on the infamous date of Sept. 11, 2001, accuse the couple of sexual abuse six years later. The innocent men are arrested, indicted on charges of child molestation, and held without bail at an adult correctional institution.

They are victimized and endure unspeakable abuse, primarily resulting from coercion by prison staff and state marshals. Release from prison comes nine months later, following a mistrial held in Rhode Island Superior Court, and a plea bargain to avoid further incarceration.

Most significant in the book Incite is its commentary concerning crime and punishment, the criminal “injustice” system, humanitarianism, and compassion. This chronicle of transcendence reveals insight on courage in the face of uncertainty, as well as challenging the conventional concepts of judgment and forgiveness, accentuating the significance of diversity, acceptance, and personal choice.

About the Author: Raymond Grenier lives in Rhode Island. He has undergone hip restoration surgery as a result of being attacked in prison. He says, “Names have been changed to protect the innocent and shield the guilty.”

INCITE (ISBN: 9781609116712) is available at www.amazon.com

[fe6252fes]

50. interesting post...

[Teamster Jeff]

51. "Life" by Keith Richards

[PDJane]

52. Willful Blindness by Margaret Hefferman.

Explains a great deal about the wall street crash and groupthink. Worth reading.

[Yavapai]

53. Incognito: The secret lives of the brain.

A very good read with many fascinating facts.

Just started "The better angels of out nature", so far good read.

[white_wolf]

56. One I just started reading that seems like it will be interesting is

Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley. I figure anyone so demonized by so many people must at least have lived an interesting life.

[Odin2005]

57. The Goldilocks Planet: The 4 Billion Year Story of Earth's Climate

http://www.amazon.com/The-Goldilocks-Planet-Billion-Climate/dp/0199593574

[closeupready]

59. Treasure Islands, by Nicholas Shaxson -

published in 2012. About offshore tax havens and their sinister role in the world's underground economy.

[trailmonkee]

60. Le Freak, Nile Rodgers

[Michelle311]

61. A Journey In to Divine Love

Published November 2011 written by Michelle Turner

She has the entire Chapter 8 available for a free read on bookdaily.com. The book comes with 5 different meditations that have been getting rave reviews. She also has a companion cd available of the meditations.

Either way the book is about her spiritual journey in life! I really enjoyed it and have not heard of anyone who has read it that had anything bad to say about it. I don't know, just thought I would throw this one into the mix since it is nonfiction afterall. Check it out and see if you like it just as much as everyone else I have heard that's read it. You can find it on amazon.