“ I want to read facts/autobiography/travelogue type of thing.”
Miracles of Life - J G Ballard’s brilliant autobiography, starting with his childhood in Shanghai when he was locked up in a Japanese internment camp during WWII.
The Outsider: My Life In Intrigue - Frederick Forsythe (author of The Day The Jackal). Not just an autobiography but also a headfirst dive into many pivotal moments of the last 50 years. Great stuff.
The Worst Journey In The World - Scott’s disastrous Arctic expedition, written by one of its survivors.
Operation Mincemeat - Ben Macintyre’s fantastically detailed book about how allies tricked Germans with documents planted on a corpse in the sea.
Total Recall - Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography. I thought this would be a bit of a laugh and was
when it turned out to be an amazingly inspirational story of forward planning and determination. I definitely recommend it.
Born To Run - Journalist travels to Mexico to find an elusive tribe that regularly runs ultra marathons for fun among themselves, without a single running injury. Great book with fascinating insights and a lot of fun to read too, even if you are not a runner.
Confessions Of A Sociopath - M E Thomas. Author is a woman and an officially diagnosed sociopath (previously called ‘psychopath’) and this is her explanation /manifesto of what it’s like to be one. This was a great read.
Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer’s account of the disastrous Everest climb of 1996 that killed so many people. Really well-written.