Non fiction ideas

Romantic Outlaws by Charlotte Gordon - it's about the lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley. Fascinating women with fascinating lives and the price they had to pay as women with something to say.

Been meaning to read Mindset by Carol Dweck for a while, has come up in some leadership coaching I've been having at work. Heard Henry Marsh (of Do No Harm) interviewed on the radio this week, he has a new book out which is now definitely on my list.

Kevin Kelly
The inevitable
And what technology wants

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Also Homo Deus by same author

I've enjoyed a lot of the books mentioned here, particularly Joe Simpson and Frank Gardner. Thanks for the heads up on Ed Stafford; I will download that.

Norma Cobb's Arctic Homestead is a fascinating insight into a very harsh lifestyle. I'd also suggest Laurie Garrett's The Coming Plague, a chilling overview of disease and epidemiology.

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.

Mindset by Dr Carol Dweck.

Pompeii by Mary Beard.

Chris Hadfield's 'An astronaut's guide to life on Earth' is a great read - one of the only books I've read more than once. It's interesting and very motivating, and is a great account of how hard he had to work to get into space.

Emma Sky's The Unravelling is a gripping account of her time in Iraq after the last war but before it got as bad again as it is now ... she was an anti-war volunteer advisor seconded from the British Council, and eventually found herself a civilian advisor to a US general. It's illuminating.

Adding a short list of some non-fiction I've read recently:-

Dadland: A Journey Into Uncharted Territory by Keggie Carew. This is her account of her father's experiences in the SOE in WW2, and growing up with him as her dad, and into old age struggling with dementia.

Nigel: My Family and Other Dogs by Monty Don. Just lovely. Really enjoyed this.

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Short, to the point, and very good.

Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon. An account of her struggles with mental health problems from childhood through to present day. Sometimes painful, some humour, uplifting. Very good.

Do No Harm obviously

And thanks gonegrey for the recommendation for the Elizabeth Jane Howard biography. I love her, and have read her autobiography which is fascinating. Will definitely get this one.

I loved Do Not Harm so much I've read it twice. From the recommendations above I'll definitely give the Frank Gardner ones a go.

Good non fiction I've read recentlyish - H is for Hawk, A Shepherd's Life and Black Box Thinking. I'm part way through A Year of Reading Dangerously which although it's non fiction is about reading fiction so could be cheating. A book I love is All Points North by Simon Armitage but will mostly appeal to Northeners.Also like Catlin Moran's Moranthology which is a collection of her writing, a lot of her Sunday Times articles.

The authors in above list that do sci for non-scientists are Matt Ridley and Jared Diamond. Respectively 'Genomes' and 'Guns, Metal and Steel'. Both have done other books.

We have lots of such books, though I've not read them all. I can send a further list if you so wish!

Another one recommending When Breath becomes Air, so beautifully written and what an insightful and extraordinary author.
I have also just read A Dangerous Innocence, the biography of the writer Elizabeth Jane Howard by Artemis Cooper. Could not put it down , fascinating account of her life , a woman trying to make sense of everything through her writing.

Nothing to Envy - fascinating accounts of lives in North Korea. I read it following a recommendation on here. Couldn't put it down.

Two I've absolutely loved are Medieval Graffiti by Matt Champion and The Voices of Morebath by Eamon Duffy. History but from the perspective of ordinary people, rather than kings & queens. Both fascinating stories and gives a new perspective on how religion & churches were part of everyday life.

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot and The Skeleton Cupboard by Tanya Byron are both really interesting reads

I'm half way through When Breath Becomes Air and it's amazing. Quite a lot of brain surgery too but mainly life and death and meaning.

Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford is fascinating Account of an Amazon adventure.

More ideas?

Books I am looking at in this room include a fair amount of nonfiction. Authors include Laurence Rees, Frederick Taylor, Edward Lucas, Bill Bryson, Luke Harding, Misha Glennie, Matt Ridley, Jared Diamond, David Kertzer. Not given titles as they have written several. A lot of 20th century history in there. Also some science for non-scientists. Other themes include blogs of various politicians and actors/performers. Sheila Hancock and Jo Brand being 2 of them.

Other themes - local history and how to trace family history.

HTH

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (sp?) is absolutely fantastic, I think if you liked Do No Harm you'd enjoy it.

If you liked Henry Marsh, you might like When Breath Becomes Air. By Paul Kalanathi.

I too liked Blood and Sand. I've reread it too!

I read a lot of history books. You'd need to say what era appeals before can recommend anything, OP. I see Philippe Sands's book East West Street is now in paperback. There's a thread on it where somebody chucked it in the bin! But for all that lots of people liked it.

Oh yes, Into Thin Air is a cracker.