help me out, recommend a killer nonfiction book for me...

[druid]

Buckley meant it in the sense of "Don't wish for Heaven on Earth," a refutation to liberal thinking.
And then he got Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II.

[Boys of Summer]

ahhh..
Live and learn!

Thanks all.

[benjirab]

For quality of writing, Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain is a delight - just enough humour, just enough author's voice, just enough interpretation of the facts...

For density and diversity of material around a given topic (asymmetry, in this case) I'd go for Right Hand, Left Hand by Chris McManus (or maybe it was Left Hand, Right Hand - too busy reading the book to remember the title ).

I'm so regularly disappointed by fiction I find non fiction a great comfort to return to in between disappointments....

[werebear]

I'm so regularly disappointed by fiction I find non fiction a great comfort to return to in between disappointments....

That is sadly so for me as well. The more I write my own fiction, the fussier I have become.

But, being an information junkie, I am glad to read good non-fiction.

Anything by Jack Olsen, true crime.

Jared Diamond writes anthropological studies. Guns, Germs, and Steel has delighted everyone I have lent it to.

Barbara Ehreinreich goes undercover to investigate economic realities. Nickel and Dimed is now a classic.

I was blown away by Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Bageant. It's a lyrically written, highly insightful book about the American working class.

[Boys of Summer]

Barbara Ehreinreich goes undercover to investigate economic realities. Nickel and Dimed is now a classic.

This is correct. A GREAT book! so is her newer one, Bait and switched. Brilliants Stuff.

H

[bobueland]

Bob!
A Very Happy and Successful New Year
Vic

Hi Vic-k, Sorry didn't notice this until now. I wish you also a successful year . Love to read what you write, because you almost always write from an unsuspected angle

All the Best
Bob

[vic-k]

ove to read what you write, because you almost always write from an unsuspected angle

Coming from The Master, those words will be cherished. Thank you

Take care
Vic

[bashosfrog]

Mountains beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder. A brilliant story about on of the world's one-offs.

[bobueland]

At the risk of being partial I'll mention

"If You Want To Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit"

by Brenda Ueland

[vic-k]

“I learned... that inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes into us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness.”

Brenda Ueland quote

[Hugh]

I'm currently reading Imperial Life in the Emerald City - Inside Baghdad's Green Zone, by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

With almost every page I turn, I feel like like shouting "I don't believe it", Victor-Meldrew-like. But actually when I think about it, I believe it only too well.

[Skytouch]

A personal favorite of mine is Going Back to Bisbee by Richard Shelton. It is part travelogue, part autobiography, all set in SE Arizona.

[Vermonter17032]

A personal favorite of mine is Going Back to Bisbee by Richard Shelton. It is part travelogue, part autobiography, all set in SE Arizona.

Wow. I can't believe someone else has the same affection for this book that I do.... Heck, I don't think I even know anyone else who has read it! Shelton beautifully evokes the high desert landscape, while exploring many human issues. Needless to say, I second your recommendation highly!

Steve

[Skytouch]

Steve, thanks for your nice response. I was fortunate to live in Tucson in the early 80s, but did not discover this book until a few years later while seeking literary desert withdrawal therapy.

[Vermonter17032]

Sky,

Though I live in New England, I love the southwest. It must have been nice living in Tucson. If you have any recommendations for other books about that area, I'd welcome hearing about them. Of course, I've read Edward Abbey -- Desert Solitaire is a favorite.

Thanks!

Steve