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I always wondered how it came to be that the tiny country of Belgium had such a large colony in Congo.
Now I know enough to keep me awake at night..................
The man who mistook his wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks. Fascinating stuff. Each chapter can be read as a stand-alone so you can dip in and out of it (although you will not want to put it down).
I've enjoyed every Oliver Sacks book I've read. I'm just starting to read Hallucinations right now.
Another one, not by Oliver Sacks but by Rebecca Skloot, which I thoroughly enjoyed and plan to re-read is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. To quote from the back cover of the book, "Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells - taken without her knowledge in 1951 - became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew."
So many good suggestions on this thread! Thanks, everyone!
Keep the list going people!
I have seen a few books on here that I never heard of, but am now interested in. Will definitely be picking up that Carrot Quinn book mentioned above.
I've enjoyed every Oliver Sacks book I've read. I'm just starting to read Hallucinations right now.
Another one, not by Oliver Sacks but by Rebecca Skloot, which I thoroughly enjoyed and plan to re-read is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. To quote from the back cover of the book, "Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells - taken without her knowledge in 1951 - became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew."
So many good suggestions on this thread! Thanks, everyone!
"Someone Knows My Name" aka "The Book of Negroes" was one of the best books I've read in the past ten years. I could not put it down, and I realize now that I don't look at any African American people in the same light as I did before reading this book, so I'd say it made a profound impact on me.
In Lawrence Hill’s wonderfully written fictional slave narrative, “Someone Knows My Name,” the protagonist exhibits similar “proof on my flesh” of slavery’s barbarity. But to do so, she must face her audience. The evidence Aminata Diallo has to offer is inscribed above her breast, the enslaved female body instantly sexualized. Captured at around the age of 12, she was marched to the African coast and branded, “a finger’s length above my right nipple,” before embarking on the monstrous Middle Passage.
The book is marketed as fiction because not much is known about the main character so a lot of it is conjecture when it comes to her personal life. But the historical events and even the things that happen to her in this book are based on true events and real people - she is just a composite of more than one person.
Another suggestion for animal lovers (and anyone who enjoys humorous non-fiction) is the All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot. They are all about his life working as a vet in rural England.
Another suggestion for animal lovers (and anyone who enjoys humorous non-fiction) is the All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot. They are all about his life working as a vet in rural England.
You know what - if you love this book (and it's a really good book), I think you would like The Pennine Walkies. A middle aged man and his middle aged dog decide to walk the Pennine Trail in northern England. It's full of gentle humor and it's very interesting! An easy, delightful read - I was very pleasantly surprised!
The original Boogie, reluctant hero of the South West Peninsular Path, was the Mongrel from hell. Mark Wallington's New Boogie, like New Labour, appears a much trendier and more wholesome incarnation -until, that is, Mark gets him on the Pennine Way. This is the big one in every sense. Clearly Boogie will do fine -but will Mark be up to the task?
Boogie is his dog.
Honestly, I'll be the first to admit that it sounds sort of lame, but the book was actually so good that I couldn't put it down.
If you like Bill Bryson, you would probably like this book.
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey Paperback – October 10, 2006
by Candice Millard
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller
Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown, 1607, and the Settlement of America – April 8, 2008
by Benjamin Woolley
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed AmericaFeb 10, 2004
by Erik Larson
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sad to hear he has passed. 
