Looking for new books

[samwise]

So I am usually a big reader but for the past two months I have not been reading anything outside of the internet and magazines. I am looking for some new stuff to read to get out of my reading rut. Tonight I am going to the library and finding something I like. I had been reading a ton of Stephen King lately but I guess I am looking to branch out. I would be interested in most genre's but I am looking for some Non-Fiction, or historical Non-Fiction/Fiction. So does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

[Fatter than Joey]

I read 2 books recently that sort of fit in this genre..

 

Manhunt -- James Swanson -- This is about Booth/Lincoln and the 2 weeks or so that followed the assassination. I learned a lot from this book.

 

In Cold Blood -- Truman Capote -- I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think it is considered one of the top 100 books in the last 100 years.

[hawing]

The library where I work (Wisconsin Historical Society) is filled nearly to the rafters with historical non-fiction. Our collection is over 4 million items (though not all are "books"). We have an extensive sports collection too.

 

Our building is on the UW-Madison campus. If you're a UW System student or employee, you can use your campus ID to borrow items. If you're not, but live in Wisconsin (with ID to prove it), you can get a borrowing card in our library.

 

*end shameless plug*

[samwise]

Hawing,

 

I know the building well, being a History/Poli Sci grad I spent many hours lost in the stacks. This is huge, I did not think I could check stuff out from you guys without having to pay. I can use MadCat again, which make me happy. ( I used it for 4 years working at a library on campus) I may stop by after work and pick some stuff up. I walk by the place 4 times a day. \

 

FTJ- I am going to pick up Manhunt, it looks great.

[hawing]

By the way, we have Manhunt. Woohoo!

 

The fee card (the one that costs $30 a year) is issued by Memorial Library and good for the whole campus, including WHS. It's also good for (free) interlibrary loans, in case you want to get something not owned at UW-Madison. The interlibrary loan option alone can pay for the fee in as little as two off-campus requests.

The card we issue is free, but good only at WHS. If you ever re-enrolled or decided to get a Memorial card, ours would be superfluous and we'd ask you to return it to us.

 

And I run the checkout desk, so if you keep items long enough to be fined, I will own a little bit of you.

 

Also, anyone can use MadCat (though from some computers you have to select guest access). For most other catalogs/indexes, you have to either be enrolled or be using a campus computer. Stupid licensing agreements, getting increasingly restricted.

[Fatter than Joey]

And I run the checkout desk,

 

So then, why we would bother getting a card, if you are the keeper of the keys? Just put a whole bunch of books in a dry-cleaning bag,

and say someone is coming in to pick up the Historical Society's dry-cleaning. (I'm just kidding, unless I'm not).

 

FTJ- I am going to pick up Manhunt, it looks great.

 

Awesome, I'd be very interested to hear your take on the book. No one in my social circles has read it.

[brewizard]

Also, check out The Jefferson Conspiracies - a fascinating book about the demise (murder) of Merriweather Lewis - of Lewis and Clark fame.

 

It seems Thomas Jefferson is the man responsible for suggesting it was suicide when it clearly wasn't...

 

Hmmm...

[ajgodson]

Confessions of an Economic Hitman -- John Perkins .... great book.

[Fatter than Joey]

Also, check out The Jefferson Conspiracies

 

Yep -- Neat book as well --- Although I find just about anything to do with Jefferson and Lincoln interesting -- American Sphinx, is another good book about Jefferson

[RU Rah Rah]

Well, at the risk of engaging in shameless self-promotion, I might point you to my third book, which Oxford Univ. Press published last Monday. When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children, and the Law examines the complex sociolegal issues raised when devoutly religious parents choose to treat their children with prayer rather than conventional medicine. It's pretty heavy stuff (there are lots of dying children, etc.), but it's written more for a general audience than for nerdy academics. (My first two books, also on law and religion, are pretty accessible as well.)

 

If that doesn't float your boat, you might try Bruce Watson's new book on the Sacco and Vanzetti case. I've ready the first 50 pages, and it seems pretty engaging.

[brewizard]

American Sphinx, is another good book about Jefferson

 

Yah. Went through my Jefferson phase. Read everything. I've decided Jefferson is unlikable. Brilliant, not entirely genuine, deeply flawed. But fascinating.

 

Also, Manhunt is a good one.

 

http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/reward.gif

 

 

1491 is a nice historical revision of the 'new world' before Columbus arrived. It goes hand in hand with Guns, Germs and Steel.

 

Really good American history overviews (written by leftist and rightist writers respectively) are:

 

A People's History of the United States

 

A Country Made by War

[Thurston Fluff]

"1491" by Robert C. Mann is a great read. It's a non fiction look at life in the Americas pre Columbus.

 

For pure fun "Peter and the Star Catchers" by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson is a childrens book that reads a lot like Harry Potter. I read it a few weeks back because it was the basis for Peter Pan. As a 40 something, that was part of my childhood thus the interest in how Neverland came to be. If you don't read it for yourself it would be something any kid interested in Harry Potter would like almost as much.

[IslandsAC]

hey sam - I haven't read it but my friend was raving about Founding Brothers - it's a series of about 7 cool stories about some of the central guys from baby America.

[mikevan1818]

For historical non-fiction I would go with Devil in the White City. It a story about the killer that terrorized women during Chicagos Worlds Fair. It really tells a lot about the fair and also about the killer. It is a good read if you get into that stuff.

[Thurston Fluff]

"A World Lit Only by Fire," by William Manchester is another good historical book. It takes a look at the Midevil times up to the renaissance.

[brettac1]

A People's History of the United States

 

I would say probably the best historical book I have ever read.

[fondybrewfan]

My big kick that last year has been

 

Anything by John Grisham

Anything by Vince Flynn (Fictional CIA stories, awesome I think)

Just finished a couple Dean Koontz books, they are alright but not my favorite

 

Tonight I am going to start he Bourne trilogy. I have never seen the movies and I hope I can enjoy the books despite knowinf that Matt Damon played the lead role in the movie. Puke

[GAME05]

"Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer. the movie just came out, too. awesome non-fiction adventure book and very thought-provoking. Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" is also a great story about his Everest climb and disaster.

 

"Hobo," about a man who lives as a rail tramp for a good while.

 

Bukowski's "Post Office" is primarily non-fiction.

 

definitely read Winston Churchill's biography if you have any interest at all in WWII. related to that, Hitler's "Mein Kompf" (sp?) is truly frightening.

 

"Jungle" by Ghinsberg is a great non-fiction adventure about a guy escaping the jungles of Peru.

 

"On the Beaten Path" is one of the best Appalachian Trail autobiographies written, if you like hiking.

 

"Hustler Days" is a great book on the history of billiards relating to its most famous players.

 

biographies of Che Guevara make for good reads, but bear in mind you'll of course get biases. Anderson's is a good read, but he did leave out some negatives. Naturally you'll get some good Castro information in there, which would be timely with him dying soon.

[TooLiveBrew]

"Mein Kompf" (sp?)

Mein Kampf which means, quite literally, "My struggle." Hitler was more than just cruel and obsessed with power. He was deeply troubled, mentally... borderline insane. To be fair, perhaps the latter led to the former(s).

 

Sam, I'd recommend Stephen Ambrose for some historical texts. Serious Wisco tie, too - he received his PhD from UW, and was raised (though not born) in Whitewater, WI.

 

And since the text Jungle was mentioned... if you haven't already, The Jungle (Sinclair) straddles the fiction/non-fiction divide beautifully. After all, Sinclair wrote the book while/after he examined the Chicago meat-packing industry for his work as a journalist. I know it's in the American canon (whatever that phrase really means anymore), and thus many HS's & colleges, but if you haven't read it - read it. Power on every page.

[And That]

"Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt and "The United States of Europe" by T.R. Reid are both quite good. The latter book actually makes me think about moving out of America.

 

Um, William Blake?

[brettac1]

Bukowski's "Post Office" is primarily non-fiction.

 

For some reason, I expected Chuck Bukowski recommendations coming from the dude with the Waits avatar, not Hacksaw Jim Duggan. All kinds of Bukowski is great.

[GAME05]

Mein Kampf which means, quite literally, "My struggle." Hitler was more than just cruel and obsessed with power. He was deeply troubled, mentally... borderline insane. To be fair, perhaps the latter led to the former(s).

well, as long as we're here, Machiavelli is interesting.

"Shogun" is a good look at ancient Japan. the "Hagakure" is a favourite of mine. "Wild Swans" is a good look at three generations of Chinese women: grandmother was a concubine with bound feet, mother grew up under Mao and daughter (and author) got the heck out of there.

[Katuluu]

http://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-100/0293-1/%7B66DB641A-E0DD-45BC-96E1-25F3BB8578E9%7DImg100.jpg

 

 

[gypcasino]

I would be interested in most genre's but I am looking for some Non-Fiction, or historical Non-Fiction/Fiction. So does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Give true crime a shot. Ann Rule is decent as far as contemporary stuff goes. And you can't go wrong with the classics- "In Cold Blood" which was already mentioned, "The Executioner's Song" by Norman Mailer, and."Fatal Vision" by Joe McGinnis is good also.

"House of Secrets" by Lowell Cauffiel is the best I've read in that genre most recently. Check it out if you want to delve into the depths of depravity.

"Our Guys" by Bernard Lefkowitz is a fantastic study of a horrifying crime commited by a group of affluent suburban high school kids and shows how young "jocks" are many times placed on a pedestal.

Although not in the true crime category, I'd also recommend "Seductive Poison" by Deborah Layton, which is about Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. And if you like that see if you can find the Jones biography "Raven" by Tim Reiterman.

[Fatter than Joey]

I started a project a couple of years ago where I started reading all of the predominant biographies of the presidents. The 2 things I have really picked up from reading biographies is the historical aspect of our country -- but also you get a great insight into some very gifted individuals which I find enriching.

 

 

I like David McCullough a lot. Just about all of his books are worth reading.