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  & 1 users

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: Bob Harris

2007-06-11

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: Mike Daisey

Tags: non-fiction auto-biography

Description: This was great. I really heartily encourage you to get the audiobook version of this as itThis was great. I really heartily encourage you to get the audiobook version of this as it is read by the author himself who normally performs this and his other writings in a manner similar to Spaulding Gray. Audible has it for download and I'm not sure who else might have it....

2006-03-05

  & 4 users

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: Erik Larson

Tags: history non-fiction

Description: An account of the 1900 hurricane that hit the city of Galveston.

2005-12-05

  & 19 users

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: favorite

Author: Erik Larson

Tags: history non-fiction

Description: Wow! When it comes to history, this one takes the prize. The author does have to dramaticallyWow! When it comes to history, this one takes the prize. The author does have to dramatically recreate events for some situations but he is able to produce mountains of material to support his version of events. The book artfully transposes the World's Fair and Columbian Exposition of 1893 with the life of a serial killer who was living not far from the fair in Chicago. I know it sounds very odd but this is really one of the very best books I've read in a long time.

All of the material about the fair in particular was fascinating. I never realized how important it was nor did I see the repercussions it has even today (for example the fact that we use alternating current for our electricity rather than direct current was influenced by the fair's selection of AC). If you can only read two books on this list, pick Kavalier & Clay and this one....

2005-09-12

  & 1 users

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: Kenneth C. Davis

Tags: history non-fiction

Description: This is a really fun skip through American history. It breaks down the last few hundred yearsThis is a really fun skip through American history. It breaks down the last few hundred years into periods and then covers major events in each. Attention is paid in particular to noting people, places, and things you may have heard of but may not remember or may never have learned about. The author earns extra points for not being shy about calling a bastard a bastard (e.g. when he talks about the worthless Senator McCarthy he's quite blunt, in contrast to some of the recent apologist tomes penned to try and defend him and his actions).

I read the first edition of this book but if you buy it today you'll get a new edition with a few corrections and new material....

2005-09-12

  & 1 users

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: Dava Sobel

Tags: history non-fiction

Description: A history of the solution to finding the longitude of ships at sea (and also cartographersA history of the solution to finding the longitude of ships at sea (and also cartographers on land) to a degree of accuracy. Explains how easy it was for sailors to figure out their latitude but how poor their methods for calculating longitude were and what the costs were in terms of ships, treasure, and men lost. An interesting book that is a very quick read....

2005-09-12

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: —

Authors: Myla Goldberg Alfred W. Crosby Gina Kolata Lynette Iezzoni

Tags: history non-fiction

Description: This book was interesting in spite of itself. Very few people know the scope of the havoc theThis book was interesting in spite of itself. Very few people know the scope of the havoc the flu of 1918-1919. In America alone it killed more Americans than were killed in combat in World War I, II, Korea, Vietnam, and all wars we fought in since. Worldwide it is estimated that 1/2 of the worlds population at the time caught the flu and 20-40 million died from it. Yet for most of my life I thought of the flu as nothing more than an inconvenience and an occasional health threat to the very young or very old. I learned a lot but it certainly wasn't as riveting as say Devil in the White City (also in this list).

If you can find a more highly recommended book about the pandemic then get that, otherwise read this one, it is a serviceable introduction to what happened....

2005-09-12

  & 5 users

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: Michael Moore

Tags: commentary

Description: An excellent book but the unabridged audio version of it leaves something to be desired. ArteAn excellent book but the unabridged audio version of it leaves something to be desired. Arte Johnson (of Laugh-In fame) does a fairly good job of reading the text but has occasional gaffe's that really should have been caught and re-recorded. My favorite was when he incorrectly reads Kim Jong Il as Kim Jong Two.

There are also several sections where it sounds as though he is reading the text aloud for the very first time and somewhat stumbling through it as a result. I'd recommend the book over the audio recording....

2005-09-12

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Author: Michael Palin

Tags: travel autobiography non-fiction

Description: Michael Palin's diary of his trip around the world to try and recreate the fictional voyageMichael Palin's diary of his trip around the world to try and recreate the fictional voyage was entertaining and very illuminating.

I listened to the unabridged audio version of this read by the author and it definitely felt like a companion piece to the series. Even though the series came out a long time ago, I definitely want to get it and watch it....

2005-09-12

  & 1 users

• Current

Type: documentary

Status: I recommend

Authors: Ed Greenwood Elaine Cunningham Harvey Pekar

Tags: comics autobiography non-fiction

Description: If you haven't yet seen the movie American Splendor I recommend you actually see that first.If you haven't yet seen the movie American Splendor I recommend you actually see that first. Then read this collection of stories taken from many years of Harvey Pekar's comic about his life. The movie is a very accessible entry into his material and there is no real overlap between what you see of his life in the movie and the stories here. Pekar demonstrates that he is a writer who can make everyday life interesting....

2005-09-12