What non-fiction book did you read in 2013 that you most recommend?

[arcane1]

I'd have to go with "The Fine Print" by David Cay Johnston. The subtitle is "How big companies use 'Plain English' to rob you blind", and it is equal parts fascinating and enraging. I dog-eared at least 2/3 of the pages, because there was so much good stuff in there.

[Butch McQueen]

1. "Who Stole The American Dream"

By Hedrick Smith. I had to take about a month to read it through because the things I was reading there pissed me off so bad I had to keep putting it down and walking away from it for a few days. The funny part is that any sensible 1%er that read it would probably be equally pissed off at the .1%.

Butch

[russspeakeasy]

13. + 1 and Welcome....

My blood pressure took a real beating.

[godai]

76. Me too.n/t

[calimary]

103. Welcome to DU, Butch McQueen!

Glad you're here! Good recommendation. Sounds utterly infuriating. But then again, no way around that one. What the book discusses WAS and IS infuriating!

[arcane1]

136. Added to the list

Though I'll probably have to follow it with something humorous.

[golfguru]

2. Killing Kennedy

by O'Reilly has amazing details and photo's of JFK assassination story.

[merrily]

113. I hope you borrowed it.

[golfguru]

217. Yes-of course, borrowed it from local library

Not about to enrich O'Reilly. However the book is very interesting read.
Not attempting to place JFK in any bad light. Book is full of facts which
even I did not know, and I follow news closely. I was at my first job
when JFK was killed.

[arcane1]

222. I avoid books written by television personalities.

I don't think Boll-O is qualified to teach me anything about history. He better have a lot of footnotes and references!

[sabrina 1]

223. Saw the tv rendition of the book and it was so bad I turned it off after enduring it for about forty

minutes. The bias was obvious even though I did not know it was an O'Reilly production until much later, but I was not at all surprised when I found out.

Haven't and won't be reading the book, but if the TV version is a true representation of the book, it was trash imho.

[arcane1]

225. It's like Maury Povich writing a book about the war in Vietnam.

[sabrina 1]

230. True, I can usually sit through even the most boring garbage but this was beyond the endurance of

even the most stoic tv viewer. I didn't know it was an O'Reilly production but now that I do, it explains the reaction I had to what appeared to me to be total propaganda and not very well done.

[golfguru]

228. Did not watch TV rendition

There are details of Oswald's life I never knew in the book.
There are wonderful pictures of JFK playing with his very young children.
And it kept my interest from beginning to end which is rare.
I get bored quickly reading non-fiction.

[Logical]

185. Wow, you should be tombstoned for this one. WTF! n-t

[golfguru]

218. Read my post above nt

[sabrina 1]

229. It was as would be expected from O'Reilly. I tuned it out without knowing it was O'Reilly about 40

minutes into the tv rendition of his fact free propaganda piece. When I learned it was from O'Reilly, that explained it all.

[golfguru]

231. And I do not criticize you one bit for that

For me, JFK was the best president in my lifetime. You may be too young to have
watched his live press conferences and other face time on TV. He had more charisma
than all the presidents combined since his unfortunate departure. I saw more people
crying when he died than any other world figure. It was indeed Camelot during JFK.

So I love reading about JFK's life. It does not bother me who writes a book about him.
Frankly I did not see anti-JFK bias in O'Reilly's book. I did not find any blatant lies.

[sabrina 1]

232. Thank you, I understand that. The real footage of JFK was worth watching.

What bothered me about it was that it was intended to push the WC findings despite the huge number of people who do not believe them.

But I understand what you are saying and he certainly did have a huge impact on this country which is why it is all the more tragic that he didn't live to finish the job he started.

I'm glad you enjoyed it and there were so many other more in depth documentaries throughout the month of Nov that people were given a lot to think about regarding his life and death.

Thanks for your comment and I am sorry for any misunderstanding.

[Cal Carpenter]

3. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Highly recommend it.

[arcane1]

12. I second that!

It was a real eye-opener.

[raccoon]

84. I'm about 60% through it...I recommend it too. nt

[Jamaal510]

4. "Politics for Dummies". nt

[Brigid]

9. Hey, I like the "Dummies" books.

I have several on various topics.

[prairierose]

5. Dollarocracy by John Nichols and Robert McChesney...

not only do they talk about how we got to this point of legalized bribery and false advertising but they talk about voter suppression and gerrymandered districts and how all of that affects elections.

I am planning to read Thom Hartmann's The Crash of 2016 soon.

[cilla4progress]

226. Yup - reading this now.

The Crash of 2016.

He gives a very concise, easily digested history and perspective on the current state of our politics and economy. And, of course, I agree with him completely! Learning some new stuff here. Very illuminating, yet comprehensible.

[arcane1]

227. This one sounds good too!

[HuckleB]

6. I finally read "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks."

If you haven't read it, read it!

[duffyduff]

49. Terrific book. Deserved all of the awards it got. n/t

[ancianita]

110. It's awesome.

[Beaverhausen]

126. Yep. A good one for sure

[rucky]

166. I heard about that on Radiolab

meant to pick up the book. Thanks for the reminder!

[HuckleB]

219. Radiolob rocks! -nt-

[Z_I_Peevey]

7. The Dangerous Animals Club by Stephen Toblowsky

Extremely well-written memoir/essay hybrid. It was a pleasure to discover one of my favorite comic actors is also a talented writer.

[Brigid]

8. "God and Empire" by John Dominick Crossan.

A fascinating look at what makes an empire (Crossan is looking at you, USA).

[BrotherIvan]

122. I really enjoyed his book The Historical Jesus

Sheds a lot of light on where the traditions come from, taking the "magic" out. I have many of his books on my list. I'll have to check out God and Empire, thanks.

[chervilant]

131. Though not a recent book,

God is Not Great, by Hitchens, is the best nonfiction I've read this year.

[Jackpine Radical]

10. Thinking: Fast & Slow by Daniel Kahneman.

[Turbineguy]

32. It's definitely easier to get through

than "Choices, Values and Frames"!

[bemildred]

134. +1. Me too. nt

[Demo_Chris]

14. God is Not Great -- Hitchens

[SidDithers]

50. +1...nt

Sid

[Skittles]

102. hey how was that?

[Demo_Chris]

118. It's Hitchens, so it's exceptionally well done. nt

[arcane1]

138. I've been meaning to read that one for a while now

And "Mortality" too.

[Demo_Chris]

152. From Hitchens I would also highly recommend Hitch22. nt

[arcane1]

171. Thanks for the advice! n/t

[broiles]

15. Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield

[Red Knight]

16. Going Clear by Lawrence Wright

Great book about L. Ron Hubbard and the cult of Scientology.

Hubbard was calculating and probably crazy and he managed to connect with the right people, people with deep pockets and establish an insane religion.

[tabbycat31]

74. I enjoyed that one. Gotta love library ebooks.

[sakabatou]

211. That's what I've been reading

[pangaia]

17. Slouching off to Fargo by Neal Karlen

[arcane1]

18. Woohoo! My shameless appeal for a 2014 reading list is paying off!

DUers rock!!!

[JimDandy]

207. Ha! n/t

[OneGrassRoot]

19. "What Then Must We Do?" by Gar Alperovitz n/t

[cleanhippie]

146. I read that too. Great book!

[tabbycat31]

20. What's the Matter With White People

[CTyankee]

43. I liked that...it wasn't the best but it was a good read!

[frogmarch]

21. Love & Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere

http://hawthornebooks.com/catalogue/love-and-terror-on-the-howling-plains-of-nowhere

Love & Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere is a memoir by Chadron, Nebraska author, Poe Ballantine. The main focus of the book is the mysterious death of Chadron State College math professor Steven Haataja in 2006. A documentary has been made based on the book, and I'm looking forward to seeing it when it finally airs on TV.

Steven Haataja’s charred body was found tied with extension cords to a tree just over the hill from my house. The case is still officially open, but local law enforcement is treating the death as a suicide. I don’t believe for a minute it was. I believe the death was a homicide, and I have a strong feeling I know who did it.

I posted about it in the DU True Crime forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1201270

[dhill926]

184. will have to check this out….

always loved his writing in The Sun...

[frogmarch]

192. I don't think you'd regret it.

It's a fascinating case, and he certainly is a wonderful writer.

[LittleBlue]

22. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl- Harriet Jacobs (1861)

An interesting first-hand account of her life as a slave in North Carolina.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

30. For the other side of the picture you might enjoy "Diary from Dixie" by Mary Chesnut.

It's an almost day by day account of the civil war written by the wife of a bigshot in the Confederate government. A sort of very intelligent Scarlett O'Hara who opposed slavery and secession. She didn't oppose slavery for purely humanitarian reasons, she opposed it because of the evil it did to whites (masters who fooled around or raped slave women, and the effect it had on white men).

It's a fascinating read by a woman who lived at the time, living in luxury, surrounded by slaves that she feared, and knew just about every southern general and politician. And, it is very well written and readable.

[LittleBlue]

34. I'll definitely check that out

Right up my alley. Thank you!

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

23. The Glorious Burden

The Glorious Burden, by Stefan Lorant. A history of the American presidency, through LBJ. It delves extensively into the election cycles and the issues of each era, and includes a wide range of photographs and illustrations. The political cartoons from the 18th and 19th centuries are particularly interesting.

I first came across this book as the 2012 election was heating up, and was able to get a copy on Amazon early this year. The book has been helpful to me by showing that our era isn't unique in having such contentious politics, as well as giving me some sense of how our two parties have changed or not changed, over the years. The book is, unfortunately, out of print.

[dixiegrrrrl]

45. Goes right along with

Passage of Power, vol. 4 of Robert Caro's multi volume bio of Lyndon Johnson.
If at all possible, I recommend audio version, it is easier to get thru.
Caro is ...very detailed...
the books have been an eye opener.

follow that with the new movie Parkland, for a total immersion.

[tavernier]

187. I just finished the first volume

Learned a lot of fascinating things about LBJ and that whole period of transition. A real eye opener.

[dixiegrrrrl]

46. The Glorious Burden is available for 1.86

plus 4.00 S&H
at Amazon..I just ordered it, based on your rec.

[Egalitarian Thug]

24. Loved "Debt: The First 5,000 Years". n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

25. The Road to Disunion, Secessionists at Bay 1776-1854 William Freehling

The causes that led to civil war.

It's followed by, The Road to Disunion, Secessionists Triumphant 1854-1861 by the same author. Which I have just gotten but haven't yet read.

[Journeyman]

37. "August, 1865" by Jay Winik. . .

one of the better Civil War books I've read, it details how close the nation came to deteriorating into anarchy in the closing months of the war, and how decisions by a variety of people -- both North and South -- set the stage to bring us together again.

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll look for those two.

[dixiegrrrrl]

194. Are you perhaps thinking of ..April 1965?

That title I can find on Amazon, under the name of Winik, but cannot find any for August 1965.

[Journeyman]

195. My mistake. It is "April, 1865" - the last month of the Civil War . . .

[Adsos Letter]

162. Both were on my reading list in grad school.

Check out Freehling's The South vs. The South: How Anti-Confederate Southerners Shaped the Course of the Civil War. Another gem of his I would not have discovered but for directed reading.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

172. I will. Thanks.

[bhikkhu]

26. "The Better Angels of Our Nature" by Steven Pinker

One of the best science writers of our time (he reminds me of Carl Sagan in some ways), a book about how, from top to bottom, the culture of violence worldwide has changed over the last 60 years. Its a definite eye-opener, and full of studies and research results ("mere facts", as the RW condescendingly might say) - not the view of things one would ever get from watching the media.

I especially like how he looks at studies in a way as to assess their possible weaknesses, and often argues possible alternative explanations to his own points, carefully weighing things to come up with a most likely result rather than a pre-determined result. Letting the evidence lead the argument is a simple way to put it, but his professorial experience is also on display - if one is constantly challenged with opposing points that must be fairly and openly met, one becomes accustomed to seeking out and working through weaknesses in ones own arguments as one goes along. He puts it all on the page, and it is refreshing to see.

[mainer]

29. I liked this one, too. Eye-opening.

Made me so glad not to be living in caveman days.

[rrneck]

55. Agree. It's one of my new faves. nt

[HuckleB]

117. A great book. Everyone in this era should read it!

[arcane1]

135. A friend also recommended this one. Now I'm curious.

[mainer]

27. COOKED by Michael Pollan

If you care about food, and what it means to our bodies, definitely something to read.

[dem in texas]

31. His Book, In Defense of Food is an eye-opener

I enjoyed the book, In Defense of Food and it confirmed a lot of what I had already figured out. I will try to read his latest book.

[ancianita]

111. It's the best read on food I've come across since "Sugar Blues" in the 70's. The chapters on the

nutritionism industry are particularly enlightening, as well as the revelation that micronutrients are the glue that make whole foods' nutrients unduplicatable (is that a word?).

[dem in texas]

28. Pilgrim's Wilderness, A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier

Good read, especially since we used to live in Alaska and we would go to Chitna to dip for salmon. That was in the 70's before the road to McCarthy was open.

[Agony]

139. On the Edge of Nowhere

by Huntington/Elliott about the life of Jimmy that will stick with you forever...

I will read Pilgrim's Wilderness, thanks.

[legcramp]

33. Johnny Carson

by Henry "Bombastic" Bushkin.

[dixiegrrrrl]

54. I read that .

The part I found interesting was how the author, Carson's attorney, blamed his own infidelity on Carson's behavior.
sorta " i would not have cheated on my wife if Carson had not dragged me along to where the gorgeous gilrs were".

Book offered some interesting insights into Johnny, tho.

[nolabear]

61. I'm kind of afraid to read that one. I've always loved Carson.

I'm aware he could be a total bastard (and it sounds like his mother was one of those utterly unpleasable ones, which might explain a lot) but I was utterly charmed by his talent at being him from a pretty early age (lots of late nights). I'd hate to find out more than I wanted to know. I'm tempted, though.

[dixiegrrrrl]

69. One of the takeaways for me, about the book,

is how he and a lot of his show biz contemporaries, were very outgoing on stage, so to speak,
but were at a loss how to be fulfilled when not working.
Booze, drugs and sex seemed to be the most popular to ignore the "terrors, fears and bewilderments"
of life off the staqe.
that dynamic did pertain to Carson.

Another thought I had, while reading Jane Fonda's several books...when you spend that much time in your life in show businesses,
other parts of a person do not become developed.
Many but not all show biz bios reveal people who had little interest or skills in other areas than show biz.
They were rather talented one dimensional beings.

[nolabear]

115. I expect there's often something that is missing.

It gets fed onstage, but the "feeding" it gets offstage as people vie for attention can be massive trouble. As I said I'm not surprised but sorry. He was a cool, cool guy in his role.

[TeamPooka]

78. Napalm: An American Biography, Blazing Ice, Rocking The Pink

Napalm
Napalm is a revelation. In a story that takes us from Harvard Stadium to Vietnam, Robert M. Neer retells the past 70 years of American history through a single extraordinary and terrible invention. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the American way of war and its humanitarian dilemmas. (John Fabian Witt, author of Lincoln’s Code: The Laws of War in American History)
http://www.amazon.com/Napalm-Robert-M-Neer-ebook/dp/B00BL7IVS4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386464074&sr=8-1&keywords=napalm

Blazing Ice
Blazing Ice is the story of the team of Americans who forged a thousand-mile transcontinental ôhaul routeö across Antarctica. For decades airplanes from McMurdo Station supplied the South Pole. A safe and repeatable surface haul route would have been cheaper and more environmentally benign than airlift, but the technology was not available until 2000.
http://www.amazon.com/Blazing-Ice-Pioneering-Twenty-first-Century%C3%86s-ebook/dp/B009NH256S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386464142&sr=8-1&keywords=blazing+ice

Rocking the Pink: Finding Myself on the Other Side of Cancer
In 2008, just as Laura Roppé was poised to burst onto the music scene, her doctor called her with news that left her spinning—she had been diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of breast cancer. Just days earlier, she had signed a dream-come-true contract with a record label; now, she wasn’t even sure how much longer she had to live. Never one to back down to a challenge, however, Roppé gathered her courage, took stock of her priorities, and made a decision: Cancer may take my hair, she told herself, but that’s all it’s getting.

More than a cancer journey, Rocking the Pink is a quirky, charming, and poignant ode to love, friendship, and music. Roppé is unflinchingly honest and unfailingly funny as she tells the story of her odyssey: from childhood dreamer and giddy valet parker to the Hollywood stars to disillusioned lawyer, wife, and mother; from budding songwriter and late-blooming recording artist to determined cancer survivor. Full of raw emotion and humor that will make you laugh through your tears, Rocking the Pink is a chronicle of discovering one's true self through life’s difficult circumstances—and a testament to the hang-in-tough, take-no-prisoners attitude it takes to kick cancer’s butt.
http://www.amazon.com/Rocking-Pink-Finding-Myself-Cancer-ebook/dp/B007OVT8XS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386464305&sr=8-1&keywords=rocking+the+pink

[calimary]

107. Welcome to DU, legcramp!

Good to have you with us! That sounds like a great one! Certainly up my alley! MAN did we EVER love Johnny Carson. He was must-see-TV at the end of every night. I remember when Ed McMahon did a promo saying it was "the late-night place to be!" I named my dorm room that when I was a freshman - in honor of the "Tonight Show."

[dem in texas]

35. Non-Fiction Reading

I have been a book reader all my life and once read mostly fiction. But as I have grown older, I found that I like non-fiction much more. I sometimes get aggravated at the fiction writer, because their story line is so crappy. When I read non fiction, it is more straight forward. One great book I read about two years ago was "Nothing to Envy" about life in North Korea during the early 90's when so many people were starving. That book gave me a real lesson on their culture and some of the problems faced in the far east. My most delicious reading sin is to curl up on my bed with an old cookbook and read the recipes - oh how I love to read old recipes.

I just finished reading an old Mexican cookbook that I found at an estate sale, it was written in part Spanish and part English. In one recipe for a large stew to feed a crowd, the writer tells you to put the stew at 11:00 in the evening, then go to the midnight service at church and pray for your stew to turn out.

[okaawhatever]

38. I love that. I had an old cookbook, Betty Crocker I think that talked about how a woman should also

prepare herself for her husband coming home for dinner and to think of witty things to say.....

[Cobalt73]

36. 2011's Malcolm X biography

"Malcolm X: A life of Reinvention" by Manning Marable

Very interesting information about an influential revolutionary American.

[calimary]

108. Welcome to DU, Cobalt73!

Great to have you here! That one sounds intriguing, as well! Lots of catching up to do, and my favorite book-reading is nonfiction.

[Marrah_G]

39. Spillover

It's about the crossing of animal viruses to humans.

[gollygee]

40. Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity

by Katherine Boo

[truebluegreen]

41. "Washington Rules" by Andrew Bacevich

It's been out for a couple of years but I just got around to it. A real eye-opener on the national security state.

[FarCenter]

42. "The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature" by Steven Pinker

[GeorgeGist]

44. Turn Right at Machu Picchu:

Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time

http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Right-Machu-Picchu-Rediscovering/dp/0452297982

[LuckyLib]

93. Just read this. Very interesting. But the crowd levels at Machu Picchu

made me give up my thought that I would ever travel there.

[dixiegrrrrl]

196. What is the title?

I have been looking for a good book about them, their era.

[Warren DeMontague]

199. "The Brothers"

I just started it, so I can't really vouch, but it looks informative.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Brothers-Foster-Dulles-Secret/dp/0805094970

[Le Taz Hot]

48. Catherine the Great

by Robert K. Massie. VERY interesting historical figure and well-written book.

[duffyduff]

51. Reign of Error by Diane Ravitch

Debunks all of the nonsense put forward by education "reformers."

[LWolf]

53. I'll second that one. nt

[Smarmie Doofus]

180. Thirded. ( Honorable Mention) n/t

[Bigmack]

52. Goliath, by Max Blumenthal

The appalling, well documented history of Israeli abuses of the Palestinian people, written by an American Jewish writer who has both Jewish and Palestinian friends in Israel. Ms Bigmack

[Faygo Kid]

56. "Washington: A Life" by Ron Chernow

I am an avid reader of history/biography, but that one I read that I got for Christmas last year really was the best all year. Read so many that I forgot more than I can remember, but that one stayed with me.

[marmar]

57. Thank you for this thread.....

..... I was just thinking this morning, "I need some new lefty reading material."

[arcane1]

137. I didn't expect so many responses!

There's a non-fiction group here at DU, but it seems to have little activity.

[rrneck]

58. The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

Stephen Greenblatt


One of the world's most celebrated scholars, Stephen Greenblatt has crafted both an innovative work of history and a thrilling story of discovery, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of neglect, changed the course of human thought and made possible the world as we know it.

Nearly six hundred years ago, a short, genial, cannily alert man in his late thirties took a very old manuscript off a library shelf, saw with excitement what he had discovered, and ordered that it be copied. That book was the last surviving manuscript of an ancient Roman philosophical epic, On the Nature of Things, by Lucretius—a beautiful poem of the most dangerous ideas: that the universe functioned without the aid of gods, that religious fear was damaging to human life, and that matter was made up of very small particles in eternal motion, colliding and swerving in new directions.

The copying and translation of this ancient book-the greatest discovery of the greatest book-hunter of his age-fueled the Renaissance, inspiring artists such as Botticelli and thinkers such as Giordano Bruno; shaped the thought of Galileo and Freud, Darwin and Einstein; and had a revolutionary influence on writers such as Montaigne and Shakespeare and even Thomas Jefferson. 16 pages of color illustrations

[navarth]

88. that was an excellent book!

Lucretius lives!

[arcane1]

133. I'll have to check that one out, it sounds fascinating.

Thanks!

[gollygee]

59. I have to recommend The Shock Doctrine too

there's a youtube movie about it as well.

[arcane1]

174. Indeed. One of the few that I've read more than once.

Despite its negative effects on my blood pressure

[99Forever]

60. Thom Hartmann's...

... " The Crash of 2016". Must reading for any informed, thinking person.

[nolabear]

62. The Warmth of Other Sons. About the African American diaspora in America.

It's really wonderful. It follows several families' migrations throughout American history. Very well done.

[scarletlib]

71. I read this about a year or so ago. Found it to be deeply moving.

[scarletlib]

72. American Nations by Colin Woodard.

[Drale]

63. Down the Up Escalator: How the 99% Live in the Great Recession, By Barbra Garson and

Son of the Revolution by Liang Heng & Judith Sharpiro. The first is done from interviews with different people in recent times about their experiences during the Recession and the second is Liang Heng's story growing up in the People's Republic of China during the late 50's, 60's and 70's and all the strife and terrible things that happened to the people of the country.

[dixiegrrrrl]

64. Waht is cool about this thread

is about 2/3 of the books I have read or sitting on the shelf waiting to be read.
good post!

[arcane1]

65. Thanks, I've added quite a few to my list over the course of the afternoon :)

And it's fascinating, seeing all the diverse topics that DUers are into. So much more than just political books. It's exciting!

[lordsummerisle]

66. Agree with the OP

Last edited Sat Dec 7, 2013, 11:26 PM - Edit history (1)

The Fine Print is outstanding. You start out being outraged and by the end you're numb with outrage-exhaustion. I'm amazed that someone could do all that research and not throw their hands up in despair...

[arcane1]

89. I remember thinking the same thing. I half expected the last chapter to be a suicide note.

What was interesting was that I expected it to be mostly about credit card fine print, that sort of thing, but it expanded to pipeline pricing, utility taxes, so many things I never ever gave a second thought to. It was mind-blowing. We're getting ripped off from every possible angle. Angles we didn't even know existed!!

[DreamGypsy]

67. From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time

...by Cal Tech theoretical physicist, Sean Carroll.

A well written, well presented analysis of what we know and don't know about time. I found the material very accessible, though working through all the explanations required some diligence and not infrequent backward page turning to refresh my understanding.

You can get a better understanding of the intent and content of the book from Sean Carroll's website here:

Why do we remember the past, but not the future? Why don't we meet people who grow younger as they age? Why do things, left by themselves, tend to become messier and more chaotic? What would Maxwell's Demon say to a Boltzmann Brain?

The answers can be traced to the moment of the Big Bang -- or possibly before.

Time pervades our lives -- we keep track of it, lament its loss, put it to good use. The rhythms of our clocks and our bodies let us measure the passage of time, as a ruler lets us measure the distance between two objects. But unlike distances, time has a direction, pointing from past to future. From Eternity to Here examines this arrow of time, which is deeply ingrained in the universe around us. The early universe -- the hot, dense, Big Bang -- was very different from the late universe -- cool, empty, expanding space -- and that difference in felt in all the workings of Nature, from the melting of ice cubes to the evolution of species.

The arrow of time is easy to perceive, much harder to understand. Physicists appeal to the idea of entropy, the disorderliness of a system, which tends to increase according to the celebrated Second Law of Thermodynamics. But why was entropy ever small in the first place? That's a question that has been tackled by thinkers such as Ludwig Boltzmann, Stephen Hawking, Richard Feynman, Roger Penrose, and Alan Guth, all the way back to Lucretius in ancient Rome. But the answer remains elusive.

<snip>

If you don't want to spend time reading the ~400 pages of the book, there are two videos available at the link that provide less and more information about the book - 1). a 5 minute comedy interlude on the Colbert show with guest Sean Carroll; and, 2). a 16 minute TEDxCaltech talk by Sean Carroll on Cosmology and the Arrow of Time.

[Fla_Democrat]

68. Start, punch fear in the face, escape average, do work that matters.

By Jon Acuff

I like the audio book better, he has a nice delivery, but it's hard to highlight a mp3.

[AmericanErrorist]

70. Jim Henson: The Biography

by Brian Jay Jones.

[dballance]

73. Great Thread! I like The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene

also:
Neptune's Inferno - about WWII in the S. Pacific
The Last Investigation - Gaeton Fonzi on JFK

[rgbecker]

75. "The Righteous Mind" Jonathan Haidt.

http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/0307455777/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386462638&sr=1-1&keywords=the+righteous+mind

Has an interesting website where you can check to see if you are a conservative or Liberal.

Really great book if you are having trouble understanding why your brother-in-law is such wing nut.

[rrneck]

97. Another winner. Just finished it the other day. nt.

[Luminous Animal]

77. Dirty Wars

[fujiyama]

79. I may have read it last year actually

but I really liked the "Passage of Power" by Caro. It's the fourth of his Johnson biographies and it chronicles his time as VP and the events of that fateful day he became president. Caro's recollection of the assassination day in particular is pretty riveting.

I'd recommend reading all of the Caro Johnson books. They are long and very detailed, but written in a way that isn't dry and tedious. They are a must-read for American political history buffs and cover a lot more personalities and places than just Johnson.

[friendly_iconoclast]

80. "Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes To War" by Max Hastings

Both illuminating and depressing, reading it will show that not much has changed in 99 years...

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

92. I just started reading it. Thanks for the review.

[davidpdx]

81. I haven't had nearly as much time as I'd like to read

The one I did read that I'd recommend is 'I am Malala'.

[Curmudgeoness]

82. "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson

It was hilarious, and disturbing, sometimes at the same time. A memoir about her life growing up with a very dysfunctional family, and the way that she deals with dark mental issues. And she makes you laugh out loud.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

83. Makers-The New Industrial Revolution

By Chris Anderson. Great read about democratizing means of production.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

87. He also wrote "The Long Tail"

"The Long Tail--Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More".

[MineralMan]

85. 1911 Boy Scout Manual.

Read it to learn why. www.Gutenberg.org

[s-cubed]

86. Double Cross. About the 5 moles the Germans thought were working for them,

but who were actually British agents. Fascinating characters, fascinating story. Goes into how the British invented other German agents to feed back false intelligence. Handling the agents was a delicate task. Also discussed the fake Monty and using Patton and lots of tricks to convince the zgermans the invasion would be at Calais. Great read!

[navarth]

90. "Battle Cry Of Freedom" by James McPherson

Just finished it a couple of hours ago. A truly great history of the civil war era. Amazing book, great read!!

This is the fifth civil war book I've read and I also strongly recommend the others:

Lincoln by Gore Vidal;
Cloudsplitter
Thunder At Harper's Ferry
The Confessions of Nat Turner

[exboyfil]

214. Try Shelby Foote's

The Civil War. It makes for a good counter piece with Battle Cry which I enjoyed very much. Some of the other Oxford Books on American History are good as well (I have listened to all that have been completed to this point).

[womanofthehills]

91. "Wild: From Lost to found on the Pacific Coast Trail"

a memoir by Cheryl Strayed of her 1,100 mile hike

[SheilaT]

94. Oh, crap! I should know better than to read threads like this.

So now I've added for more books to my request list at the library. So many books, so little time.

Anyway, here are some good ones I read this year not yet mentioned:
The Boys In the Boat by Daniel James Brown, about the 1936 Olympic Gold medal winning 8 man crew from the University of Washington. Excellent, if for no other reason that it puts you inside their lives in the mid-1930's.

The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America by Ernest Freeberg. Even those who choose to live off the grid, or who go camping without electricity may not fully appreciate what an incredible impact electric lights had when they first became available. The world we live in changed more profoundly than I had ever understood. It also shows how incredibly dangerous electricity was in those early years.

A Great Aridness by William deBuys. Essentially it's the past, present, and future of drought in the desert Southwest. I'd recommend everyone read it along with Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner, which came out in 1986 (I was living in Phoenix at the time) and even though I have not reread it, suspect it is not really outdated at all.

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. The assassination of President Garfield. In his short time as President he actually made some real changes. Well researched and written. So far she has only one other book out, River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey about a trip the ex-president took along the Amazon River. Haven't read it yet, but I'll get to it. I heard her on something on NPR recently and she's working on a book about, if I'm remembering correctly, some relatively obscure part of Franklin Roosevelt's life. I'll be reading that one when it comes out.

[arcane1]

96. Yes! You represent the best of what the Internet has to offer.

I LOVE your suggestions!

[SheilaT]

100. Thank you for your kind words.

I've been saying for years that I sincerely hope that there is some sort of life after death and that there are libraries there.

[arcane1]

175. If there isn't anything to learn in the afterlife, I want no part of it.

Otherwise, what's the point?

[Logical]

144. Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World

[arcane1]

150. Ah, that sounds like a good one too!!

[arcane1]

149. The Edison book sounds really cool n/t

[JaneyVee]

95. I Killed Breitbart by Chris Faraone

[calimary]

109. Indeed? Gotta check that one out!

[octoberlib]

98. Wrapped in the Flag by Clair Connor

A narrative history of the John Birch Society by a daughter of one of the infamous ultraconservative organization’s founding fathers

Long before the rise of the Tea Party movement and the prominence of today’s religious Right, the John Birch Society, first established in 1958, championed many of the same radical causes touted by ultraconservatives today, including campaigns against abortion rights, gay rights, gun control, labor unions, environmental protections, immigrant rights, social and welfare programs, the United Nations, and even water fluoridatio

The daughter of one of the society’s first members and a national spokesman about the society, Claire Conner grew up surrounded by dedicated Birchers and was expected to abide by and espouse Birch ideals. When her parents forced her to join the society at age thirteen, she became its youngest member of the society. From an even younger age though, Conner was pressed into service for the cause her father and mother gave their lives to: the nurturing and growth of the JBS. She was expected to bring home her textbooks for close examination (her mother found traces of Communist influence even in the Catholic school curriculum), to write letters against “socialized medicine” after school, to attend her father’s fiery speeches against the United Nations, or babysit her siblings while her parents held meetings in the living room to recruit members to fight the war on Christmas or (potentially poisonous) water fluoridation. Conner was “on deck” to lend a hand when JBS notables visited, including founder Robert Welch, notorious Holocaust denier Revilo Oliver, and white supremacist Thomas Stockheimer. Even when she was old enough to quit in disgust over the actions of those men, Conner found herself sucked into campaigns against abortion rights and for ultraconservative presidential candidates like John Schmitz. It took momentous changes in her own life for Conner to finally free herself of the legacy of the John Birch Society in which she was raised.

http://www.amazon.com/Wrapped-Flag-Personal-History-Americas/dp/080707750X/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386473524&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=WRAPPED+IN+THE+FALG

[starroute]

99. David Graeber, Debt: The First 5,000 Years

The most brilliantly illuminating work I've read since I can remember. Every chapter contains something to completely upend your assumptions about how the world works.

[calimary]

101. "Top of the Morning" by Brian Stetler - about the "Today" show.

Talked about how Ann Curry was so badly treated, among other things.

Also, "Wonderful Tonight" by Pattie Boyd - subtitled "George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me." Holy Cannoli - how can you lose?!?

[CFLDem]

104. Devil in the White City

Read that then play Bioshock Infinity.

It. Will. Blow. Your. Mind.

[tammywammy]

213. I like Erik Larson a lot

His book In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin was also really good.

[lapfog_1]

105. The Signal and the Noise - Nate Silver

[dhill926]

106. Bill Bryson: One Summer: America, 1927….

Great read. Amazing similarities with our own time….

[Pretzel_Warrior]

120. I just heard about that one. I haven't read any of Bryson's stuff yet

but sounds like I will.

[dhill926]

151. it's different than his personal memoir books….

which are drop dead funny. This is more history, but still amusing at times. A great writer….hope you enjoy.

[flygal]

169. I was going to write this one too!

Love Bill Bryson and this was one of his best.

[ancianita]

112. The best book on the global wealth drainage from nations' economies and the systematic

economic crippling of citizens on every continent.

[merrily]

114. Recc'd

[closeupready]

116. "In Cold Blood" or Howard Carter's "The Tomb of Tutankhamun"

Both written superbly - the former is deeply chilling, and the latter is incredibly fascinating. Enjoy!

[Are_grits_groceries]

128. I have always believed that writing and researching "In Cold Blood"

had a profound effect on Truman Capote and Harper Lee. Learning every detail they could about that horrible crime would alter everyone in some wy.

Harper Lee became a recluse. She may have become one anyway, but after learning about the Clutter family, I'm sure the urge to avoid most people would be appealing.

Capote was always going to be a trip. However, writing that book may have sent his bubble just a little more off of plumb.

There are so many vicious crimes in the news today, that it's hard not to know about some details of them. Capote and Lee lived in an era when that kind of crime could not be news 24/7.

In addition, they learned a lot of details that are usually not released to the general public even today. Finding someone who has a clue to talk with and possibly give you some relief would be next to impossible.

[closeupready]

140. Yes. Capote's attention to detail and his genius at humanizing

the family make the crime deeply disturbing for readers, as if these were people you actually knew from back home, wherever you consider that to be. And for the author, the horror must have hit him psychologically many times worse.

[Smarmie Doofus]

181. True that:

>>>And for the author, the horror must have hit him psychologically many times worse.>>>>


One of my faves. Never a dull moment with the Tiny Terror around. But not quite tough enough for this world.

[raptor_rider]

119. "Two Kisses for Maddy," by Matt Logelin

Beautiful book on loss of a spouse and going through grief on raising a newborn daughter. I've followed his blog since the beginning, and finally finished the book after 2 years, because it makes me cry so much. A very moving journey, and a very dedicated father.

[StrictlyRockers]

121. Steve Jobs - by Walter Isaacson

http://www.maismac.net/steve_jobs_by_walter_isaacson.pdf

This was a great read. Jobs is like a patron saint to many here in Silicon Valley. I really enjoy Isaacson's style. I have also read his biographies of Ben Franklin and Albert Einstein recently.

[1monster]

123. Oops. Read fiction rather than non-fiction. I'll have to think about this one.

[ismnotwasm]

124. "Angry White Men"

By Michael Kimmel

[MFM008]

125. you know................

Ive always preferred NON fiction. But lately have been reading Historical novels like "Wolf Hall", "Bringing up the Bodies" and "The Spanish Queen" Ive found i like the lush descriptions. Non Fiction is getting depressing.

[Prophet 451]

127. "The Obama Hate Machine" by Bill Press

Good account of both the insanity directed at Obama and who's responsible for it.

[dem in texas]

183. The Hunting of the President (about Bill Clinton)

I read the Hunting of the President which was about the "hate machine" that stayed after Bill Clinton all time he was in office and even before. It was an excellent read, they were after him even before he was president and were responsible for "white water" and much more. The book criticizes the main stream press because they took what was said and written at face value and never bothered to verify what these crazy right wingers were saying. Remember what Hillary said about a vast right wing conspiracy trying to bring Bill down? You totally believe it after reading this book.

I will get the Obama Hate Machine. I like Bill Press.

[Are_grits_groceries]

129. "The Tell" by Matthew Hertenstein.

A "tell" is a term used a lot in poker. It refers to some mannerism that might give you a clue about what a person is thinking. These can be minute gestures that you subconsciously pick up.

This book explains "tells" and talks about their predictive value. He refers to a lot of studies and experiments. It is a fascinating glimpse into another facet of human behavior.

[arcane1]

132. Hmm, that sounds like an interesting read!

[SheilaT]

178. I just put it on hold.

Looks like my library has just gotten it, as its current status is "In Processing". I'll probably have it by the end of the week.

[JustAnotherGen]

130. The Wolf Of Wall Street

Read this past spring as I revisited The Great Gatsby - both in print and on screen. Belfort shows how greed overcame him. He is unapologetic too . . . Something to remember about the current wolves. . .

[Logical]

142. Ninety Percent of Everything: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back

Amazing story of the shipping container industry.

[arcane1]

143. Ooh, that sounds really interesting! I worked 10 years in that industry.

I was laid off during the great cost-cutting of 2006, following deals made with Walmart, the Gap, etc, that drove down our revenue.

This one definitely goes on the list. Thanks!!

[Logical]

145. I loved it! n-t

[arcane1]

148. I just now ordered it.

[Logical]

189. Let me know what you think. n-t

[arcane1]

191. Will do! My next book will either be that or a Hitchens book mentioned in this thread

Which comes first will depend on my mood after I'm finished with what I'm reading now

[Logical]

193. I love hitchins stuff. Also..."Letter to a christian nation" by Sam Harris

[arcane1]

234. I finished "Ninety Percent of Everything" last week.

It was more interesting than I expected it to be. Or rather, touched on more topics than I expected. The sinkings and the pirate stories were as gripping as any fiction.

I love the writer's style and prose too, I may have to check out some of her other books.

Thanks for the recommendation!!

[Logical]

235. Glad you liked it! I was fascinated! n-t

[arcane1]

236. Have you read any of her other stuff?

[Logical]

237. No I have not. I need to. n-t

[arcane1]

238. I just ordered "The Big Necessity". This should be interesting, to say the least!

But currently I'm reading "Arguably" by Christopher Hitches. That should keep me busy for the rest of the year

[Logical]

239. I love hitchens! nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

204. You might be interested in

The Shipping Man, then.

Here is blurb from Amazon:
When restless New York City hedge fund manager Robert Fairchild watches the Baltic Dry Cargo Index plunge 97%, registering an all-time high and a 25-year low within the span of just six months, he decides to buy a ship.

Immediately fantasizing about naming a vessel after his wife, carrying a string of worry beads and being able to introduce himself as a "shipowner" at his upcoming college reunion, Fairchild immediately embarks on an odyssey into the most exclusive, glamorous and high stakes business in the world.

From pirates off the coast of Somalia and on Wall Street to Greek and Norwegian shipping magnates, the education of Robert Fairchild is an expensive one. In the end, he loses his hedge fund, but he gains a life - as a Shipping Man.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Shipping-Man-Matthew-McCleery/dp/0983716307/ref=pd_sim_b_4

I have it on my wish list, which means the list that waits for the price to go down after January.

[arcane1]

205. That one looks VERY interesting!!

[arely staircase]

147. The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson

http://www.amazon.com/The-Devil-White-City-Madness/dp/0375725601

[JanT]

153. The Deadly Spin by Wendall Potter

a great read on how people are brain washed.

[Katashi_itto]

154. Disaster at the Pole: The Tragedy of the Airship Italia and the 1928 Nobile Expedition to the North

http://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Pole-Tragedy-Airship-Expedition/dp/1585740497

[Johonny]

155. 1493- read it through 3 times It is what history books should be

[arcane1]

157. Oh, that sounds like a good one! I hadn't heard of it.

Thanks!!

[Johonny]

233. I want to read his 1491 now after reading it

There is so much in the book I never really thought about; From the Spanish silver trade with China via the Philippines which totally changes the food supply in China to the Irish Potato famine right on through to why rubber plantations aren't in South America but in Asia... there is so much information so interestingly put together.

[krispos42]

156. "Guns, Germs, and Steel"

I couldn't finish DCJ's other book, "Free Lunch"; it made me too angry.


I also read "The Blind Watchmaker" recently, but I forget if it was this year or late last year. Another excellent book.

[arcane1]

159. That's the only Jared Diamond book I have NOT yet read.

I loved "The World Before Yesterday", it was one of the highlights of my 2013 reading year

[krispos42]

161. I picked up a copy of "Collapse" at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago

On my to-do list.

[arcane1]

163. That's a fascinating book, and almost insanely detailed :)

"A Short History of Progress" is another good book in that category.

[FarCenter]

200. For post-collapse, there is "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman.

This describes what happens if there are suddenly no humans, e.g. massive epidemic.

If there is a long, slow decline, the recovery would be much longer and messier.

[arcane1]

202. Oh, this one sounds really interesting!

Thanks!!!

[JHB]

215. You must correct that situation. Well worth it.

[arcane1]

224. 'Tis on the List!

[nashville_brook]

158. Twilight of the Elites, Price of Inequality (J.Stiglitz), Spying on Democracy (Heidi Boghosian)

[arcane1]

160. I enjoyed "Spying on Democracy", I'll have to check out those other two.

Thanks!

[Douglas Carpenter]

164. only a few hours ago I finished "Wrapped in the Flag" by Claire Conner

This is a personal story by the daughter of one of the original founders and leaders of the John Birch Society. It shares a lot of insight about the whole world of the extreme right and tells the story of how a fringe tendency of the far right of the Republican Party came to be a major force in America - and how its philosophy came to dominate and lead the modern Republican Party


http://books.google.com/books?id=JWPhb5Jet-wC&dq=Wrapped+in+the+flag&sitesec=reviews



the author on youtube:

[Kablooie]

165. Tussaud

It's an historical novel so not completely non fiction but creates a very involving experience of how the French Revolution developed through the eyes of Madame Tussaud as she ran her wax museum.
It is historically accurate and in a postscript the author explains where she took small liberties with history in order to make a more flowing narrative.

[On the Road]

167. Another Food History by Mark Kurlansky,

this one specializing in the New York City vicinity:

[laundry_queen]

168. I'm so bookmarking this thread.

Alas, I don't have anything to contribute - I've mostly read textbooks this year, LOL, or stuff about dysfunctional people (trying to deal with an ex and parents) or recipe/food/diet books. Nothing I'd wholeheartedly recommend though.

[arcane1]

173. I certainly didn't expect so many good suggestions!

There's enough here to cover most of 2014

[Adsos Letter]

170. Chancellorsville

by Stephen W. Sears.

Sears is an excellent wordsmith examining one of the major battles of the Civil War. Not just a blow-by-blow of the battle itself but also takes a hard look at the pressures both Hooker and Lee were under from their respective governments, as well as a reinterpretation of Hooker's handling of Federal forces.

[R0ckyRac00n]

176. My mind was blown by:

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by neuroscientist David Eagleman

[arcane1]

177. Yes! That was a great book!!

I bought it used, and when it arrived I found that fully 75% of the text had been highlighted by the previous owner. That book led me to devouring as much Oliver Sacks and V.S. Ramachandran that I could get my hands on

[Smarmie Doofus]

179. Hitch 22

His auto-bio.

Still reading it, btw. It's good stuff. His command of the lingo is enough to keep one paying attention even where the subject matter makes one long for the next paragraph.

I'll get finished one of these days.

[intaglio]

182. The Most Powerful Idea in the World

by William Rosen. Subtitled "A Story of Steam" far more of it is about the conditions which allowed the development of technology.

[Logical]

186. Just added it to my Kindle download list! Thanks! n-t

[Logical]

188. Here are some for people who love inventions/technology/etc.....

The making of the atomic bomb - Rhodes, Richard

The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 by McCullough, David

The Chip : How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution

Tube: The Invention of Television

The Invention That Changed the World: How a Small Group of Radar Pioneers Won the Second World War and Launched a Technological Revolution

How Apollo Flew to the Moon by W. David Woods

Crystal Fire: The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age

[a la izquierda]

190. I Rigoberta Menchu.

I'm a historian, so I read for a living. I'm assigning this to grad students, so I figured I should read it.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

197. Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, by Timothy Snyder

It does a good job of conveying the scale of death and destruction on the Eastern Front.

[tammywammy]

198. Resonant Leadership by Boyatzis & McKee

Last Call: The Rise and fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent

[dixiegrrrrl]

206. That would go well with

Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol...by Iain Gately.
which I have on the shelf but not yet read.

[tammywammy]

210. That does sound good.

Unfortunately the majority of my reading is school related, I don't really recommend financial accounting, managerial accounting, business ethics, or business statistics.

[KatyMan]

201. Tune In

Volume 1 of the new Mark Lewisohn Beatles bio. Fantastic. THE Beatles bio. Ends Dec 31st 1962 and vol 2 isn't ecpected for 5 years....

[Voice for Peace]

203. Awake at the Wheel

[Texasgal]

208. Bookmarking!!!

Great reads!

[defacto7]

209. The Orientalist by Tom Reiss

Great perspective of history from the author's study of an unusual and mysterious man.

[JHB]

216. The Machine: A Field Guide to the Resurgent Right

I'm only about 40% through it, but it's a definite must-read for progressives.

The part I find most useful so far is the chapter on the Washington breakfast- and lunch meetings for conservative activists which they use to network and coordinate (Grover Norquist's one isn't the only one). The behavior of the Republicans becomes much more understandable once you account for this alternate outside-the-party leadership apparatus. Nothing like this exists on the progressive/liberal side.

[ScreamingMeemie]

220. "Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity"

It broke my heart and caused a mini-argument in my family. A close family member works for the corp that owns SeaWord...

It is a fascinating read, both for the look at whales in captivity and the stories of those followed by researchers in the wild.

[arcane1]

221. Sounds like it's right up my alley

Fascinating, enlightening, and infuriating