Nonfiction that Reads Like Fiction
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose (978 AMB)
Meriwether Lewis led an expedition that was both a success and a failure. In his trek across the American continent, he mapped and recorded a journey that had never been recorded before. But none of his goals were reached, and it haunted him until his death.
It’s Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong (B ARMSTRONG)
This is the story of a journey from inauspicious beginnings through triumph, tragedy, transformation and transcendence. It is the personal story of Lance Armstrong's life from childhood through early success, nearly fatal cancer, recovery, survivorship, more triumph (victory in the 1999 Tour de France). An inspiration to all who read it.
Expecting Adam by Martha N. Beck (362.1 BECK)
Put aside your expectations. This book is written by a Harvard graduate – but it tells a story in which hearts trump brains every time. It's a tale about mothering a Down syndrome child that opts for sass over sap, and it's a book of heavenly visions and inexplicable phenomena that is as down-to-earth as anyone could ask for. This small masterpiece is Martha Beck's own story – of leaving behind the life of a stressed-out superachiever, opening herself to things she'd never dared consider, meeting her son for (maybe) the first time...and "unlearning virtually everything Harvard taught her about what is precious and what is garbage."
Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil by John Berendt (975.8 BEREN)
A true tale of mystery and crime, this book details the murder of a young male prostitute and how the trial that followed captivated the entire city of Savannah, Georgia, in the early 1980s. Hilarious and chilling at the same time, this work is full of intriguing, eccentric characters.
All Over But the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg (B BRAGG)
Rick Bragg grew up in rural Alabama, where knowing how to fight was more important than knowing how to read. In 1965, he was six years old when his mother decided to leave her alcoholic husband and take her three sons and live with her parents. This book of memoirs is a tribute to his mother, Margaret, who had to work hard just to eke out a minimal existence for her children but was large in spirit.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (917.4 BRYSO)
This book chronicles Bryson's adventures as he attempts to travel from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. Although he never fully completes the journey, he still offers historical insights and a new perspective on an important part of the American wilderness.
Running with Scissors by August Burroughs (B BURROUGHS)
Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead ringer for Santa and a lunatic in the bargain. Suddenly, at age 12, Augusten Burroughs found himself living in a dilapidated Victorian in perfect squalor. The doctor's bizarre family, a few patients and a pedophile living in the backyard shed completed the tableau. Here, there were no rules; there was no school. The Christmas tree stayed up until summer and Valium was eaten like Pez. And when things got dull, there was always the vintage electroshock-therapy machine under the stairs...
Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before by Tony Horwitz (910 HOR)
Two centuries after James Cook's epic voyages of discovery, Tony Horwitz takes readers on a wild ride across hemispheres and centuries to recapture the Captain's adventures and explore his embattled legacy in today's Pacific. Horwitz, a Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Confederates in the Attic, works as a sailor aboard a replica of Cook's ship, meets island kings and beauty queens and carouses the South Seas with a hilarious and disgraceful travel companion, an Aussie named Roger. He also creates a brilliant portrait of Cook: an impoverished farmboy who became the greatest navigator in British history.
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (B FARMER)
At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Farmer, brought up in a bus and on a boat, found his life's calling in medical school: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. This book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer – brilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haiti – blasts through convention to get results.
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel (B KIMMEL)
In this first book, Kimmel has written a love letter to her hometown of Mooreland, Ind., a town with an unchanging population of 300 in America's heartland. Nicknamed "Zippy" for her energetic interpretation of a circus monkey, she could not be bothered to speak until she was three years old, and her first words involved bargaining with her father about whether or not a baby bottle was still appropriate. Born in 1965, Zippy lived in a world filled with a loving family, peculiar neighbors and multitudes of animals, including a chicken she loved and treated like a baby. Her story is filled with good humor, fine storytelling and acute observations of small-town life.
There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz (305.23 KOTLOW)
This portrait of inner-city life focuses on two young brothers growing up in the projects of Chicago. It is a fascinating look at what it takes to live and survive in a world unknown to most of middle-class America. The courage displayed by these two young men in the face of such frightening roadblocks as crime, poverty, drugs and violence, is inspirational.
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer (289.3 KRAKA)
At the core of this book is an appalling double murder committed by a pair of Mormon Fundamentalist brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a revelation from God commanding them to kill their blameless victims. Krakauer constructs a multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence and unyielding faith. In the process, he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America's fastest-growing religion, analyzes the abduction of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart (and her forced "marriage" to her polygamous kidnapper) and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (364.15 LARSON)
The story of two men's obsessions with the Chicago World's Fair, one its architect, the other a murderer. The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and others.
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett (B PATCHETT)
Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy met in college in 1981 and, after enrolling in the Iowa Writers' Workshop, began a friendship that would be as defining to both of their lives as their work was. In her memoir, Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy wrote about losing part of her jaw to childhood cancer, the years of chemotherapy and radiation, and then the endless reconstructive surgeries. In Truth & Beauty, the story isn't Lucy's life or Ann's life, but the parts of their lives they shared. This is a portrait of unwavering commitment that spans 20 years, from the long, cold winters of the Midwest, to surgical wards, to book parties in New York.
Bitter Harvest by Ann Rule (364.15 RULE)
In Kansas, on October 23, 1995, the opulent home of Dr. Debora Green burned to the ground. Two of her children died in the blaze. A mother's worst nightmare – or was it? In the aftermath of the fire, the police built a solid case that implicated Debora Green in the murder of her children. Ann Rule tells the story of the lives of the protagonists, the events that led to the fire, and unveiling motivations that could lead an intelligent and successful woman to do the unthinkable.
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (641 SCHLO)
In the first part of the book, Schlosser claims that the advent of fast food following the end of World War II also signaled everything from a decline in real estate values to pollution, obesity and a shift in the class structure. The second half of the book discusses the food itself, highlighting the lack of standards and enforcement in food-handling practices, and attacking the industry for allowing unsafe practices to flourish.
Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles by Anthony Swofford (956.7044 SWOFFORD)
When the marines – or "jarheads," as they call themselves – were sent in 1990 to Saudi Arabia to fight the Iraqis, Swofford was there, with a hundred-pound pack on his shoulders and a sniper's rifle in his hands. It was one misery upon another. He lived in sand for six months, his girlfriend back home betrayed him for a scrawny hotel clerk, he was punished by boredom and fear, he considered suicide, he pulled a gun on one of his fellow Marines, and he was shot at by both Iraqis and Americans. Swofford weaves this experience of war with vivid accounts of boot camp, reflections on the mythos of the marines and remembrances of battles with lovers and family.
Enslaved By Ducks by Bob Tarte (B TARTE)
When Bob Tarte left the city and bought a house in rural Michigan, he was counting on a tranquil life. At first, it was a little disorienting: Songbirds in the morning. Vultures sailing overhead by day. Raccoons prowling the property at night. Then, Bob married Linda. She wanted a rabbit, and that was just the beginning. Wouldn't a parrot be fun? Linda said. Bob suddenly found himself constructing pens, cages, barriers; buying feed, scooping poop, spoonfeeding at mealtime. One day he realized that he no longer had a life of quiet serenity but had become a servant to a relentlessly demanding family: Stanley Sue, a gender-switching African grey parrot; Hector, a cantankerous shoulder-sitting Muscovy duck; Howard, an amorous ringneck dove; and a motley crew of others. Somehow, against every instinct in him, Bob had unwittingly become their slave.
Mama Makes Up Her Mind by Bailey White (814 WHI)
This fascinating bit of storytelling introduces the reader to a group of eccentrics who inhabit a small town in southern Georgia. Told in memoir form, it brings the reader into a world of strange customs, peculiar eating habits and the unique ways of dealing with everyday life. The characters are what brings it all together, each equally charming and hilarious in their own way.