What one non-fiction book would you love people to read?

[Yourinmyspot]

Mine is The Body by Bill Bryson. I found it fascinating and some of the facts in it are amazing, my favourite being the following.

’Every time you breathe, you exhale 25 sextillion molecules of oxygen- so many that with a day’s breathing you will in all likelihood inhale at least one molecule from the breaths of every person that has ever lived. And every person who lives from now until the sun burns out will from time to time breathe in a bit of you. At the atomic level we are in a sense eternal’.

I find that fact fascinating and oddly comforting.

Being Mortal By Atual Gwande
https://amzn.eu/d/0dMF1YTh

Completely changed my view on life and death and strongly believe we owe it to loved ones to open up discussions before we reach the stage of difficult decisions. If I could gift you one book, this is the one.

Another vote for Invisible Women and Henrietta Lacks.

I have read many of these recommendations and whole heartedly agree with them.

My personal favourite is an old one but a book I have re-read many times: The Power of Now by Ekhart Tolle. If you live in the now It’s impossible not to have a happy life. And in many ways his message ties in with the quote from the very first post by the OP - we are essentially eternal.

12 rules for life Jordan Peterson is a self help book (I suppose?) I was bought it as a present. Not read it all but interesting ideas.

If anyone is looking for an autobiography then Irish Olympic athlete Sonia O Sullivan’s Sonia My Story is very no bells and whistles and I read it in hours!!

Atomic Habits by James Clear, really about how you can get good habits into your life, and how the brain works, sometimes stopping this, motivated me and got me back to being a bit energised.

Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy for anyone who needs training help and is starting to hate their puppy 😅

Great thread op!!

A first aid manual that's endorsed by a relevant organisation. Any current edition will do.

Honourable mentions for The Highway Code (most recent edition), Invisible Women, and the old but still relevant Fat is a Feminist Issue.

I've read a fictional version of that story. IE based on the real people. But I'll look out for the non fiction one. Thanks.

Wild Swans

But more recently The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan - fascinating on whether we are overdiagnosing pretty much any condition you can think of

Also agree, the age of diagnosis would have been my 3rd one to recommend. But felt I’d already broken the rules to suggest two. The mental health one is well worth a read if you enjoyed that.

Ooh I have atomic habits but not got around to reading it yet. Did it really make changes for you?

I can’t remember all of the tips in 4000 weeks but it definitely made me accept I cannot do everything, which is a valuable lesson!

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer - an environmental book from the perspective of a Native American - for me she explained the connection to the land and the way it is embodied in their language, such that it helped to « flip » the Western approach in my head.

Also found Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond to be helpful explaining the background of world history, something in the manner of Prisoners of Geography.

"A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton G. Malkiel is brilliant. It's a very accessible guide to how financial markets work and how to invest well.

Coupled with "The Wealth Hoarders" by Chuck Collins which is about how super-rich people keep getting richer through protecting family wealth and paying as little tax as possible. There's not too much to be learned for normal people's personal finances from it, but there are a few tips and tricks here and there.

Ah that's interesting, atomic habits did not work for me first time round, I tried it again recently. I will persevere!

If there's any Rosling goslings out there, Bad Science by Ben Goldacre is pretty good in a similarish vein

Primo Levi - if this is a man/ the truce

This found it's way into my basket "for my DC" definitely not me

Yep I was going to say this one. By Prof Jane Monckton Smith. Excellent book, all women should read it. Or anyone in a relationship really.

Another couple of fascinating books are Unnatural Causes and The Seven Ages of Death, both by Dr Richard Shepherd who was a home office forensic pathologist.

I am also a big fan of Bill Bryson - At Home and his biography of Shakespeare are both brilliant in addition to others already mentioned upthread

whatsit84

It energised me no end, got me thinking about what wasn’t a big deal to do everyday but also stopped my ridiculously long list of things I should do everyday!!

• Wavewalker - Suzanne Heywood
• The Blue Tattoo: the life of Olive Oatman

Wavewalker is fab , another one I'd add.

And forgot to mention Careless People by Sarah Wynn Williams for a taste of how the tech bros really don't give a shit - slightly paranoid that my laptop won't let me type the first i in her surname. She's so censored maybe Apple have put a ban on mentioning her.

Only Plane In The Sky by Garrett Graff

The only plane being the one George W Bush was in on 9/11

Thank you for all the great suggestions. I’m trying to read more non fiction and these books sound like good thought provoking/ eye opening reads. I will make a list for the library.

I recently enjoyed History for Tomorrow by Roman Krznaric - he looks into history for ways in which similar problems to today's were solved in the past - multiculturalism, water management, environment and circular economy, social media, democracy, AI etc. It's very hopeful and can-do - a real tonic.

Another one that I found uplifting was Wilding by Isabella Tree, about the process of rewilding an unproductive farm. What struck me the most was the sheer speed at which nature came roaring back to life when given the conditions to flourish.

And a plus 1 for Braiding Sweetgrass, which I thought was going to be heavy and worthy but was in fact a beautiful, lyrical book about the land, its bounty and the human connection to it.

Well I read it myself in the school library (I'm a teacher) and thought it was very good indeed, so enjoy.

I've come back to recommend Material World by Ed Conway. It's about the conditions minerals and metals are mined under and basically the practical stuff that would need to happen to reverse climate change. It's an eye opener.

I love the sound of that one but I'd probably end up going off grid, living in a yurt and become slightly more feral against the damage being done to our lovely planet