What's the best non fiction book you've read this year?

[Squishedpickle]

Hi, I'm looking for some recommendations for good non fiction books please. What book have you read recently that have been interesting and engaging? No particular topic, just looking to broaden my horizons a bit.

Thanks!

Educated by Tara Westover, The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay and the Cut Out Girl by Bart Van Es. Apparently Mother Ship by Francesca Segal is brilliant read too, so it's on my list.

Gosh thank you, an amazing array of suggestions.

Invisible women has come up loads so I will start there, but plenty to add to the list!

Thank you all

Can I second Into Thin Air by jon Krakeur. Also a good Xmas present for difficult to buy for men or women come to that.

This is going to hurt by Adam Kay

I prefer fiction to non-fiction but I'd thoroughly recommend these books:-

'Into Thin Air' by Jon Krakauer. I saw the movie 'Everest' but had some unanswered questions at the end of it, so I turned to this book for answers. So well written and, like a previous poster, I have no interest whatsoever in mountain climbing.

'Educated' by Tara Westover. A fascinating insight into a Mormon survivalist family and the author's struggle to obtain an education, against all odds.

'Travellers in the Third Reich' by Julia Boyd. A portrayal of Germany between the two World Wars and the rise of Nazism, as recounted by visitors to Germany during this period.

'The Hare with the Amber Eyes' by Edmund de Waal. The author inherits 264 Japanese netsuke which have passed down through his family, and researches their origin and the journeys they have made through the years.

'The Radium Girls' by Kate Moore. This book tells the story of female factory workers in the US who were employed to paint clock and watch dials with a luminous substance made from radium. You can probably guess what happens next. Sad and horrifying in equal measure. I'll never complain about health and safety again.

I'll have a look through the other contributions for inspiration for myself, with an eye to Christmas wish lists.

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

This is amazingly gripping and a shocking story of what people can get away with and how people can be duped and manipulated. It's page turning, interesting and its central character is Elizabeth Holmes - a young business woman who became the first female billionaire from a start up.

Don't be put off by the subtitle because it's not really about silicon valley at all - it's about power, women in business and the extraordinary evils done to protect money and wealth.

There is also a fabulous section at the end about the work done by the writer - a journalist - to get his expose even onto the pages of a newspaper.

It is a fantastic page turning book and I have very little interest in business or silicon valley. It's more about human interactions and manipulation of people - could not recommend it enough.

Rise Up women by Diane Atkinson. An interesting read about the story of the suffragette movement

Education by Tara Westover. Brilliant autobiography of growing up unschooled in a Mormon junkyard.

The Salt Path! Amazing book!

Fierce Bad Rabbits: The Tales Behind Children's Picture Books by Clare Pollard.

Another vote for Invisible Women, by Caroline Criado Perez.

Absolutely fantastic. I listened to it on audible - twice!

RHS Genealogy for Gardeners, plant families explained and explored.

Right through from the early evolution of plants to the present day. Fascinating for anyone who likes gardening or natural history.

"Sapiens" and "Homo Deus" both by Yuval Noah Harari.
Fascinating and easy to read.

Another vote for The Hare with Amber Eyes.

If you're interested in that era, The Last Mazurka by Andrew Tarnowski a tale of war, passion and loss...
and
Ill Met By Moonlight by W Stanley Moss, a real Boy's Own adventure story about the capture and abduction of German General Kreipe from Crete, featuring Patrick Leigh-Fermor, are both wonderful reads.