25 Fascinating Nonfiction Reads
Posted on July 5, 2019
by Connie C
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Fascinating Nonfiction Reads
Autobiographies / Biographies / Memoirs
Becoming by Michelle Obama
An intimate and uplifting memoir by the former First Lady chronicles the experiences that have shaped her remarkable life, from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago through her setbacks and achievements in the White House.
In Pieces : A Memoir by Sally Field
In this intimate, haunting literary memoir, an American icon tells her own story for the first time — about a challenging and lonely childhood, the craft that helped her find her voice, and a powerful emotional legacy that shaped her journey as a daughter and a mother.
The Good Neighbor : The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King
Drawing on original interviews, oral histories and archival documents, the author traces the iconic children’s program host’s personal, professional, and artistic life through decades of work.
Barracoon : The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston
Presents a previously unpublished work that illuminates the horror and injustices of slavery in the true story of one of the last known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade, Cudjo Lewis, who was abducted from Africa on the last “Black Cargo” ship to arrive in the United States.
The Honey Bus : A Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees by Meredith May
An extraordinary story of a girl, her grandfather and one of nature’s most mysterious and beguiling creatures: the honeybee.
Maid : Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land
A journalist describes the years she worked in low-paying domestic work under wealthy employers, contrasting the privileges of the upper-middle class to the realities of the overworked laborers supporting them.
The Sun Does Shine : How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton
A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit.
Backstage Pass by Paul Stanley
The New York Times bestselling author and legendary front man and rhythm guitarist of KISS grants fans an all-access backstage pass to his personal life, and shows them how to pursue a royal rock n’ roll lifestyle of their own.
Educated : A Memoir by Tara Westover
Traces the author’s experiences as a child born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, describing her participation in her family’s paranoid stockpiling activities and her resolve to educate herself well enough to earn an acceptance into a prestigious university and the unfamiliar world beyond.
A Kind of Mirraculas Paradise by Sandra Allen
A narrative of life with schizophrenia describes the author’s relationship with her uncle and how he was marginalized and labeled throughout his formative years before embarking on an adulthood shaped by the limitations of mental health care in America.
When They Call You a Terrorist A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors
A lyrical memoir by the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement urges readers to understand the movement’s position of love, humanity and justice, challenging perspectives that have negatively labeled the movement’s activists while calling for essential political changes.
A Higher Loyalty by James Comey
The former FBI director shares previously undisclosed experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career, from Mafia prosecutions and the Martha Stewart scandal to the Bush administration’s electronic surveillance and the Clinton email investigation.
History
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, the 1986 Los Angeles Public Library fire, while exploring the crucial role that libraries play in modern American culture.
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee : Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer
An anthropologist’s chronicle of Native American life from the Wounded Knee massacre to the present traces the unprecedented resourcefulness and reinvention of distinctive tribal cultures that assimilated into mainstream life to preserve Native identity.
Jefferson’s Daughters : Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America by Catherine Kerrison
A portrait of the divergent lives of Thomas Jefferson’s three daughters reveals how his white daughters struggled with the realities of lives they were ill-prepared to manage, while the daughter he fathered with a slave did not achieve freedom until adulthood.
Indianapolis : The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic
A human drama unlike any other—the riveting and definitive full story of the worst sea disaster in United States naval history. Based on years of original research and new reporting, two acclaimed authors deliver the riveting and emotionally wrenching full story of the worst sea disaster in United States naval history: the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during World War II — and the fifty-year fight to exonerate the captain after a wrongful court martial.
Crime / True Crime
Bad Blood : Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Recounts the story behind Theranos, the medical equipment company that misled investors to believe they developed a revolutionary blood testing machine, detailing how its CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, perpetuated the lie to bolster the value of the company by billions.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark : One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
An account of the unsolved Golden State Killer case traces the rapes and murders of dozens of victims and the author’s determined efforts to help identify the killer and bring him to justice.
A Serial Killer’s Daughter : My Story of Faith, Love and Overcoming by Kerri Rawson
What is it like to learn that your ordinary, loving father is a serial killer? Kerri Rawson, the daughter of the notorious serial killer known as BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill), tells the nightmarish story of that discovery and of her long journey of faith and healing.
The Killer Across the Table : Unlocking the Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators with the FBI’s Original Mindhunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
The legendary FBI criminal profiler, number-one New York Times bestselling author, and inspiration for the hit Netflix show Mindhunter delves deep into the lives and crimes of four of the most disturbing and complex predatory killers, offering never-before-revealed details about his profiling process, and divulging the strategies used to crack some of America’s most challenging cases.
General Nonfiction
Cravings. Hungry for More by Chrissy Teigen
Cravings: Hungry for More takes us further into Chrissy’s kitchen . . . and life. It’s a life of pancakes that remind you of blueberry pie, eating onion dip with your glam squad, banana bread that breaks the internet, and a little something called Pad Thai Carbonara. After two years of parenthood, falling in love with different flavors, and relearning the healing power of comfort food, this book is like Chrissy’s new edible diary: recipes for quick-as-a-snap meals; recipes for lighter, brighter, healthier-ish living; and recipes that, well, are gonna put you to bed, holding your belly. And it will have you hungry for more.
Dopesick : Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy
Chronicles America’s more than twenty-year struggle with opioid addiction, from the introduction of OxyContin in 1996, through the spread of addiction in distressed communities in Central Appalachia, to the current national crisis.
It’s Not Supposed to be This Way by Lysa Terkeurst
New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst unveils her heart amid shattering circumstances and shows readers how to live assured when life doesn’t turn out like they expected.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephen Brusatte
A sweeping narrative scientific history that tells the epic story of the dinosaurs, examining their origins, their habitats, their extinction, and their living legacy.
The Moment of Lift : How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates
A timely call to action for women’s empowerment identifies the link between women’s equality and societal health, sharing insights by international advocates in the fight against gender bias.
Featured Image Credit: Image by Thought Catalog from Pixabay.
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