Random non-fiction titles

[YesYesAllGood]

Hello,

I'm interested in reading non-fiction on topics I don't necessarily know anything about. Would anyone have recommendations of fascinating books?

Topic is genuinely unimportant (actually, the more obscure the better!) as long as it:

1. Assumes no prior knowledge of the subject and
2. Is written in such an engaging way that anyone could enjoy it?

Thank you!

King Leopold’s Ghost - about Belgium’s colonisation of the Congo. Gripping, brilliant and horrifying

The Knife Man - about John Hunter, a father of surgery and very, very colourful character.

Wedlock - an heiress in Georgian England married a horrible man, it was the gossip fodder of the day.

Empire of Pain - about the Sackler family and the opioid crisis in the US.

all of the books are SO GOOD. I recommend very very highly!

I enjoyed The Life Project by Helen Pearson about longitudinal studies.
The See Through House by Shelley Kline. Living in a unique house designed by her father, a textile designer.

Thank you so much for these suggestions! I'll have a look at these now!

David Crystal Encyclopedia of Language and or of English https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cambridge-Encyclopedia-English-Language/dp/1108437737/ref=sr_1_24?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rU2vxu3SL_6qKepnK6qLzkCvDSAiIvmqvlOB8ADo-14QRd7fW14HRMW9bAafN8CuVRip8TIFHtBo-dSpMSNbYajRbWqDC4fqFtnkGMA2vqXkqiLEQiQNrRC9AVDjtaoL8i30-VA8pI-hiIi9NQC84gHxMMH6KDh3dEra-y9JW-dd9lfbQz-B8Vzf-AHuEjIqIDdphLTvEAtwgTg_37Pr4hQwNUKOdq5Cw-L2mBS9lHw.jt9YthPcCmzzogS7ih_c5Cb8rxVPKImsQyCmFPBF8t0&dib_tag=se&qid=1711271548&refinements=p_27%3ADavid+Crystal&s=books&sr=1-24

I have found all of Tim Marshall's books fascinating- geopolitical and how the geography of countries have shaped how they rule and how things have changed over the years
Much more interesting than I can try and explain sorry 😛

Madeleine Albright’s Fascism - a history of the 20th century which is very readable.

Thanks, everyone! I've added all these titles to my to-read list.

My recommendations would be:

The Madman's Library: the Greatest Curiosities of Literature by Edward Brooke-Hitching
The Choice by Edith Eger
The Slow Road to Tehran: A Revelatory Bike Ride through Europe and the Middle East by Rebecca Lowe
Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the 80s Changed Hollywood Forever by Nick de Semlyen
The Bookseller's Tale by Martin Latham
Utopian Dreams by Tobias Jones

Just finished
Under the Banner of Heaven, totally fascinating about murder in FLDS community
Daughters of Britannia, all about ambassador's wives, amazing women
Chocolate Wars, history of Cadburys & chocolate manufacturers

These four are brilliant:

Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.

Wifedom, by Anna Funder.

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Start Up by John Carreyrou

Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow (about the investigation into Harvey Weinstein, truly shocking).

I'm about to read Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages told from the point of view of its women. By Janina Ramirez.

We’ve just finish watching Under the banner of heaven on TV, fascinating!

‘Four Sisters’ by Helen Rappaport.

Its a biography of the four Romanov Grand Duchesses, daughters of the last Tsar of Russia. Considering that little notice was taken of them as individuals during their lifetimes this book tells all there is to know, in a very engaging way without veering off into conjecture. Very sad towards the end, obviously, but wonderful all the same.

I was gripped by this:

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-radium-girls/kate-moore/9781471153884

A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell was amazing.

Vivian Maier Developed: The Untold Story of the Photographer Nanny by Ann Marks
Biography of Vivian Maier, an amazing photographer, who worked as a nanny and took photos in her spare time. Her work wasn't discovered until after her death.

Oh and the Madman's Library man has a similar book, The Madman's Gallery about weird and wonderful art.

This is really weird and wonderful, made me think a lot about the nature of intelligence and what me mean by it. It's very readable.
Planta Sapiens: Unmasking Plant Intelligence: Amazon.co.uk: Calvo, Paco, Lawrence, Natalie: 9780349128450: Books
Bit worrying for vegans, though....

Second A Woman Of No Importance add the incomparable (desperately sad though) Only Plane In The Sky by Garrett Graff about 9/11

The Searchers: The Quest for the Lost of the First World War by Robert Sackville West

Moving stories but really interesting

www.amazon.co.uk/Searchers-Quest-Lost-First-World/dp/1526613158?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=a23e405f-8480-43a9-9713-198e02d0739a

Tomb with a View by Peter Ross.

Ignore the silly title. It's about graveyards. And death. And life, and love, and people. It's the best book I've read in a long time.

Wow, thank you for all these other suggestions!

Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn

Really enjoyed this one about abandoned areas and how nature retakes these places. It was interesting and a bit different.

Written In Bone by Dame Sue Black

Also interesting but dark - different cases from her work as a forensic anthropologist.

Placemarking!

Pink Camouflage by Gemma Morgan, about being a woman in the army.

Naked Truth by Vicki Rebecca about being a glamour model.

Both of them are fairly short reads. Both are honest and difficult accounts including stories of abuse. Neither are what I expected when I picked them up. Especially the second one

one of my favourite non-fiction books is
How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt: A Handbook for the Lady Adventurer by Mick Conefrey | Goodreads

Bringing back the Beaver by Derek Gow - about rewilding the beaver in the UK, it is very funny!

White Mischief by James Fox - about murder amongst the aristocratic expat community in Africa (Kenya? I think). Was made into a film.