Specifically, looking for nonfiction histories, accounts, or explorations of art, pop/culture, design, technology, politics, history etc. that doesn’t try to hard to be Grandiose (a la Guns, Germs, and Steel) but is still relevant and maybe even a bit of a deep dive (but still interesting).
In other words I have adhd lol.
Some examples of recent reads: a history of malls, a history of the AR-15, the history of J Crew, a book about Picasso et al in Paris, a book about how colors came about, a book about homes (and Home).
by Efficient-Common-17
7 Comments
The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean. It’s about the history of the periodic table
THE FACE — Daniel McNeill….In-depth and fascinating as it goes.
THE ASYLUM — Leah McGrath Goodman….Seriously riveting!
The Feather Thief. It is about a guy who stole a whole bunch of feathers from a museum. But, it also goes a long way into the history of fly fishing and the feather trade, which I did not expect. Really interesting.
{{Cod by Mark Kurlansky}}
I could name many as I probably plow through 100 non-fiction books a year…but I’ll list a couple.
Thinking Fast and Slow
The Power Broker
Chip War
The Rigor of Angels
Time’s Echo
Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible
White Poverty
The Rediscovery of America
Misbelief
Black Earth
The Lords of Finance
Don’t Be Evil
Globalists: The End of Empire and The Birth of Neoliberalism
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
*The God Machine* by James R. Chiles. A history of the development of the helicopter and the people who made it happen.
Pockets by Hannah Carlson
Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson
Many Things Under a Rock by David Scheel
Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks
Revelations in Air by Jude Stewart
How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England by Ruth Goodman
Pigeons by Andrew Blechman