Non-Fic Gift Recommendation. True story that reads like fiction?

[tyaca]

Spy/military/survival/conspiracy?

Any help appreciated!

A bit left-field, but this is a great read, MiL gave it to DH one Xmas and we both really enjoyed it.

Survival - The Worst Journey In The World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard
The Caliban Shore - Stephen Taylor
The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex - Owen Chase
In The Heart of the Sea - Nathaniel Philbrick

Papillon by Henri Charriere

Conspiray: Them by Jon Ronson. Very funny.
Military: Where men win glory, about the war in Irak
Survival: Into the wild by the same Krakauer or
Joe Simpson Touching the Void
Spy? eeehmm.. The spy who came in from the cold?

I think Wild Swans would fit in the category.

The absolute peak of the genre is probably Truman Capote's in cold blood, his reporting on the trial of two alleged murderers. He spent a lot of time with the two of them. Amazing piece of writing

Oh yes to, 'In Cold Blood.' An interesting (and unsettling) read - not entirely sustained but some bits of it are beautifully written.

Thanks all, will get googling your suggestions now

Them is one of my fave all time books. I am always giving copies away. I also love Ronson's Psychopath Test, which I just re-read.

And Wild Swans was ace, I remember reading it when I was in 20s. Might try to get hold of another copy and reread.

OK - I'm thinking more SAS-ish, bit more sensational... !

Another vote for The Caliban Shore - I read it years ago and it's sitting at the other end of the kitchen table, I think I got it down a few days ago to check something about one of the characters that suddenly came to mind. One of my best ever non-fiction reads with a great narrative drive and some fascinating loose ends.

Not sure if it is quite the right lines, but Imperial Life in the Emerald City is incredibly readable, as one of the reviews says it is like reading a true life Catch 22, unbelievable but true.

I know you wanted non-fiction, but there's a marvellous spy writer called Charles Cumming, who John Le Carre really rates etc etc. His 1st novel draws very heavily on his own experiences of being recruited by one of the secret services (can't remember if 5 or 6) so although it's fiction, it's quite fascinating. Really typical etonian / oxford / don recommendation for "foreign office job" stuff. his novels are really very good.