Nonfiction can be tough for people to get into. If you’re looking for something that isn’t just “War History” or “Biography”, these are some of my best recommendations for nonfiction.
- Tiger – John Vaillant
This is the story of a man eating tiger in Eastern Russia. That is an oversimplification and barely scratches the surface of what this book contains. It is an epic adventure from the initial deaths to the hunt to the ultimate conclusion. It is a story about a hunt to the death, a tracker and prey. The book breaks down the progression smoothly and reads more like a novel than a recounting of a historical event. - Physics of the Impossible – Michio Kaku
As a science fiction enthusiast, I love looking at the big science topics and wondering how plausible they would be. Kaku is a master of this, breaking down the ideas into pieces and asking how close we are. Whether it’s hover cars or time travel, Kaku is very good at breaking the concepts and physics down into something understandable and ultimately deciding how likely it is to be in our future. Whether it’s a few years away or requires a major re-understanding of our laws of physics, this puts expectations into clear categories without being a buzzkill. - Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
When I was in college, we read this one as part of a Intro to Psychology course. Since reading it, I’ve always felt that Gladwell is one of the best nonfiction writers out there. Taking seemingly unconnected examples and connects them with not only solid facts and research, but a very clear connective theme. This book is a great example of that, finding patterns and connections of all the “greats” in whatever their field is. It almost feels like one of those “productivity hack” suggestion, but it truly changes how I viewed “excellence”. - Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel – Carl Safina
As someone who works with animals, the connection between humans and animals has always been something that fascinates me. Our idea of intelligence, empathy, and understanding are all often measured against human performance to determine how “smart” an animal is. But we’re just beginning to understand how animals think and this book is a wonderful exploration of that field! - Elephant Company – Vicki Constantine Croke
This is probably my number one recommendation when it comes to nonfiction. It’s about an elephant logging company in Burma during WWII. There were elements of war history, biography, and animal adventure, but written in a way that was more of a story. Even my mom, who doesn’t read much, thought this was a good read! I definitely recommend this for anyone who enjoys adventure, history, animals animals and the connections we have to them!