I realized I’ve gotten really lazy about reading in the past 18-24 months. I’d appreciate some recommendations from this group on any good historical non-fiction books (what I’ve always really enjoyed) to get me back in the habit. Idk why, but I always have difficulty selecting books based on Amazon’s reviews - they always seem too positive…. here are some books I’ve read in the past few years that I’ve enjoyed to give a sense to what I enjoy - but can always be pushed to go outside that “norm” empire of the summer moon Empire of pain The Panama Papers Billion Dollar Whale Killers of the flower moon River of Doubt Dead Wake Devil in the White City Red Notice A Spy Amongst Friends Inside the Skunk Works
Blackhawk Down Killing Pablo 102 Minutes and Out of the Blue (both 9/11 books) The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King (not exactly historical but if you like poker it's excellent) People's History of The United States Lone Survivor The World Without Us (not exactly historical, but fascinating, tells what would happen if humans disappeared from the earth)
Here are a couple that spring to mind based on what you've shared: We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families (Rwandan genocide) Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic (no explainer required) Both seem to line up with the kind of narrative nonfiction you enjoy. If you want something more hefty, I really enjoy the works of Rick Perlstein.
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage The Outlaw Ocean The Afghanistan Papers The Reign of Terror (Spencer Ackerman) The Shock Doctrine Say Nothing The Mastermind American Radical (Tamer Elnoury) Skeletons on the Zahara
Salt Jesse James. Last rebel of the civil war Sitting bull. Life and times of an American patriot. Rebel yell. Stone wall Jackson bio Grant. By Ron chernow Billy the kid. A short and violent life. Really anything by TJ stiles or Robert utley. Republic of pirates. How pirates worked Destiny of the republic. Assassination of President Garfield Zealot. Jesus life in context The heart of everything that is. Red cloud bio blood and thunder. Life of kit Carson