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NON-FICTION THAT READS LIKE FICTION
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THE
SPIRIT CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN by Anne Fadiman,
1997 [362.1 F] |
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WHAT
SHOULD I DO WITH MY LIFE? by Po Bronson, 2002 [650.1
B] |
| A fascinating
book about epilepsy, the Hmong culture and history, and the American
medical establishment. Fadiman does an admirable job of staying
unbiased while reporting on two groups of people very much in
conflict with one another. It is a book that invokes strong emotions
with every page. |
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Each
chapter takes an in-depth look at one person who is struggling,
or has struggled, with this universal question. Bronson becomes
close to many of his subjects, and as the book continues, very
personal stories are revealed. It is not a book instructing the
reader on how to answer this question, but rather a study of how
different people from different backgrounds all think about it
at some point in life. |
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SEABISCUIT:
AN AMERICAN LEGEND by Laura Hillenbrand, 2001 [798.4
H] |
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A
THREAD ACROSS THE OCEAN: THE HEROIC STORY OF THE TRANSATLANTIC
CABLE by John Steele Gordon, 2002 [384.1 G] |
| Even those of us
who know nothing about horse racing will find this book very hard
to put down. Hillenbrand is an outstanding sportswriter, and the
reader ends up learning a great deal about American history and
horse racing while at the same being highly entertained by a great
story. As you read about the various races, you’ll be leaping
out of your seat, yelling, “Go, Seabiscuit! Go!" |
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This short book tells
the story of the men, the science, and the business behind the
laying of the transatlantic cable in 1866. It is a real page turner
due to Gordon’s wonderful writing style. It is also packed
with facts, maps, photos, and diagrams. Gordon loves footnotes,
and throws in a lot of bonus information for the reader as well;
for example, in one footnote, he provides a very brief history
of the golf ball! |
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MONEYBALL:
THE ART OF WINNING AN UNFAIR GAME by Michael Lewis,
2003 [796.357 L] |
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DR.
TATIANA’S SEX ADVICE TO ALL CREATION by Olivia
Judson, 2002 [306.7 J] |
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MONEYBALL tells many stories. There is the story of Billy
Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland A’s; the story
of Bill James, one of the first sabermaticians (a person who studies
baseball statistics); and the story of Scott Hatteberg, a wounded
catcher who went on to become a star first-baseman. Mostly it
is the story of how baseball is changing from a game where decisions
are made based on gut-instinct to one where decisions are made
based on cold-hard stats. |
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Judson is an evolutionary
biologist who assumes the persona of Dr. Tatiana and gives out
sex advice to various creatures great and small. The book will
make you gasp, laugh out loud, and want to fascinate your friends
with all you’ve learned. The book is filled with information
about how the battle of the sexes evolved and why males and females
of many species behave as they do.
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INTO
THIN AIR: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE MOUNT EVEREST DISASTER
by Jon Krakauer, 1997 [910.4 K] |
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NICKEL
AND DIMED: ON (NOT) GETTING BY IN AMERICA by Barbara
Ehrenreich, 2001 [305.5 E] |
When you open
the pages of this book and begin reading, you are swept away to
the mountains of Tibet. It is a world where talented mountain
climbers, along with rich adventure-seekers, risk their lives
to reach the top of Mount Everest. This book is the epitome of
a non-fiction book that reads like fiction: an up-all-night, can’t-stop-reading
adventure story, that educates while entertaining.
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Ehrenreich is a
journalist who leaves her home, car, and money, and attempts to
live in America as a minimum-wage employee. Along the way, she
meets extraordinary people who are struggling to make ends meet,
and learns what it means to be part of the “working poor.”
This is a thought-provoking study that could change the way you
see American society. |
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Selected by Ashley Waring,
Woodside Library, 12.2003
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