Recommend me a book where I'll learn something...

[fiestabelle1]

Have downloaded a few samples in the past few days and nothings grabbing me. Like fiction but like to learn something at the same time. Set in another country, time period, or with a background subject that i dont know anything about. Happy to try any genre, help me find something to get my mojo back! Best books are the ones that make me want to go away and read more about a place/time/event.

H for Hawk - autobiographical account of a girl training a goshawk. Lots of references to the history of falconery. Surprisingly fascinating.

Do No Harm - memoirs of a brain surgeon. Lots of personal reflection and discussion of ethics, as well as actual brain surgery. Fascinating and very easy to read.

Fantastic, name changed OP here. Am away to download lots of samples to my kindle, exactly the type of books im after.

I like the Dan brown books for interesting facts, particularly inferno which I (think!) is his latest...

Also I second laline Paull and the bees, told from the viewpoint of a bee!

Early William Boyd - all fiction but you learn stuff along the way. An Ice-Cream War is set in the war in German East Africa. I had no idea how it had affected that part of the world. Brazzaville Beach is set in the Congo (though this is never overtly stated) and you'll learn about chimp behaviour and higher maths. The Blue Afternoon is set in the Philippines (if memory serves) and is very interesting about the development of surgical techniques. Boyd generally does his research pretty well. Great reads.

This Thing Of Darkness - Charles Darwin's 5-year voyage aboard the survey brig The Beagle, where he explores the world shortly before he publishes Origin of Species. Fascinating.

The Worst Journey in the World - The story of Scott's deadly 1910–1913 British Antarctic Expedition, written by one of the survivors.

Into Thin Air - A personal account of the disastrous 1997 Everest expedition.

An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth - Great book. You'll learn a lot and not just about space flight.

The Man Who Couldn't Stop - Interesting insight into OCD.

Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven - This book is maybe 10% about Bach's life and 90% about his music. Fascinating and best read while listening to the pieces it talks about on YouTube.

Measuring The World - Brilliant book about Gauss, arguably the greatest mathematician in the world.