Favorite Non Fiction Books
A crazy and terrible story of whaling gone wrong. A very interesting world to enter.
Checked this out after reading the Great Brain books. As a non Mormon living in Utah, it was pretty interesting and charming. The sequel, Mama's Boarding House, was even better.
A sordid tale of murder infects that dazzling-sounding wonder of the Chicago's World Fair
An edge-of-your-seat mystery of an insane hobby turning into an incredible find. Follow it up with the great sequel The Pirate Hunters.
The epic story of Magellan's trip around the globe. For another epic sea journey, check out Blue Latitudes about Captain Cook or Mutiny on the Bounty by Peter Fitzsimons.
Bravery and ingenuity in the beginning of the space race. For learning about the future of space travel, check out Packing for Mars.
This traces the early career of the legendary filmmaker/explorer. Another great filmmaker/explorer account is Kon Tiki.
Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea. Quite the trip.
The weird tales surrounding the slow creation of the periodic table of the elements.
I went on a cruise that this guy captained, and was pretty amused by the stories from his career. Another interesting look at cruise ship life is Cruise Confidential.
His stories are very funny to listen to. For other great comedy I'd recommend anything by Dave Barry and Jim Gaffigan.
Their annual collections of fun trivia and history are like crack to me.
Speaking of Mormonism, their history is pretty fascinating. For more incredible religious beginnings, check out Going Clear on Scientology.
Some others I've enjoyed include...
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do by Tom Vanderbilt
Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
The Disaster Artist by Tom Bissell
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt
In The President's Secret Service by Ronald Kessler
Seal Team Six by Howard Wasdin
Blue Blood by Edward Conlon
Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff
Ranger Confidential by Andrea Lankford
Blood Sweat Pixels by Jason Schreier
Sons of the Waves by Stephen Taylor
The Office by Andy Greene
Jim Henson The Biography by Brian Jay Jones
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Apocalypse Never by Michael Shellenberger
Pandora's Lab by Paul Offit
And various stuff by Malcolm Gladwell, Andy Rooney, John Stossel, Charles Osgood, and James Herriot.
Showbiz memoirs I've enjoyed include Born Standing Up by Steve Martin, I Must Say by Martin Short, Mustache Shenanigans by Jay Chandrasekhar, If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell, Like Brothers by Mark and Jay Duplass, Failure is An Option by H. Jon Benjamin, Based on a True Story by Norm Macdonald, I Am C3PO by Anthony Daniels, A Dream About Lightning Bugs by Ben Folds.
Showbiz memoirs I've enjoyed include Born Standing Up by Steve Martin, I Must Say by Martin Short, Mustache Shenanigans by Jay Chandrasekhar, If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell, Like Brothers by Mark and Jay Duplass, Failure is An Option by H. Jon Benjamin, Based on a True Story by Norm Macdonald, I Am C3PO by Anthony Daniels, A Dream About Lightning Bugs by Ben Folds.