What’s the best non fiction book you’ve read ?

[Dayrider]

In the last year and/or ever?
Looking for inspiration

Fiction in the Archives by Natalie Zemon Davies - brilliant exposition of how women had to present themselves very differently to men in pleas for mercy in murder trials.

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale.

The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom - about her family hiding Jewish people in the war. They were caught and sent to concentration camps. It has always haunted me.

A Train of Powder by Rebecca West

I read a lot of non fiction and particularly like books about North Korea and the Holocaust, most recently on these topics I've read Without You There Is No Us, Suki Kim and The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz, Denis Avey.

Two books not on those topics (but still genocide) that I think are worth reading are We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families, Philip Gourevitch and First They Killed my Father, Loung Ung.
Ten Days in a Madhouse, Nelli Bly, was a bit different and if you haven't read it The Road to Wigan Pier, George Orwell is good too.

It was a long time ago and it may have been because of a personal connection but things went rather badly for me after reading “We wish to inform you…” - I’d go carefully with that one.

Empty cradles by Margaret Humphries , astounding that this was covered up for so long and even now is not universally acknowledged

No time to wave goodbye , about accounts from children who were evacuated during the war

@CrazyCatStory

The immortal life of Henrietta lacks. Being mortal, by Atul Gawande. Do no harm, by Henry marsh. When breath becomes air, by Paul kalanithi.

When Breath becomes Air is a heartbreakingly stunning read.

@FannyBrice I've been looking for a book about children bring sent to Australia for a long time after reading an account in a display in one of the Liverpool Museums (Maritime, I expect) from a survivor. I've just ordered a copy of this.

Underland by Robert MacFarlane
&
The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks

Nothing to Envy

It's about North Korea and people who have escaped. I couldn't put it down. It's fascinating

Forgot to say, it's by Barbara Demick

A State of Fear by Laura Dodsworth.

Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner - one of the Queen's maids of honour at the Coronation and a friend/confidante of Princess Margaret, full of royal gossip and anecdotes, but also fascinating about her life, her marriage and some awful tragedies she has endured.

Clothes Clothes Clothes Boys Boys Boys Music Music Music by Viv Albertine from The Slits - the story of punk rock through female eyes

Any of Virginia Nicholson's social histories of women's lives and experiences through the 20th century, I think there's roughly one book per decade. I enjoyed Singled Out, about the generation of women who remained unmarried after WW1 and how their lives turned out radically different from how they had expected.

How to Survive a Plague by David France. It's about the Aids outbreak in the 80's, mostly focusing on New York & San Francisco. It's a fascinating, heart-breaking read. Anthony Fauci is featured heavily.

I'm currently reading Into the Black by Rowland White, about the development of the space shuttle. Probably helps that I'm a total space nerd but it's really easy to follow, despite me not being scientifically minded at all.

I just bought the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, good to see it with so many recommendations.

The Art of Resilience, Ross Edgely

I couldn't put it down!

Some of these have been mentioned already:-

'The Hare with Amber Eyes' by Edmund de Waal

'Into Thin Air' by Jon Krakauer

'Educated' by Tara Westover

'Travellers in the Third Reich' by Julia Boyd

'Did ye hear Mammy died' by Seamas O'Reilly

I love this thread SO much! Thank you - I currently have about £200 worth of books in my Amazon basket and I haven’t reached the end of the thread yet. Must not accidentally click checkout 😆

Shantaram

Ignore me it's fiction

The Power of Rude by Rebecca Reid.

It’s a great companion read to the CF threads.

Critical by Dr. Matt Morgan.

It's an insight into the life of an intensive care doctor in the form of 12 case studies with follow-ups with the patients at their homes afterwards. If you're interested in medical books this is amazing. Never mind the past year, it's the best non-fiction book I've read in the last ten years, and being bed-bound I read a lot of books.

James Corden's autobiography

• Better by Atul Gawunde Do No Harm by Henry Marsh*

Yes. All the Gawande books are great. Didn't much like the second Henry Marsh book though.

Also, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanathi - the tragic story of a doctor who develops cancer at a young age and races to finish his book before he died, if you don't have tears streaming down your face by the time you reach the end I swear you're inhuman. Actually I think I'll go read it for the eight or ninth time.

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Amazing book.