La Joice/2010-11
Non-Fiction Independent Reading Project
Directions:
Read a book that is focused on a topic that you would
like to learn more about. Think about subjects, people
or topics that intrigue you – something or someone
that makes you curious to know more.
Tips for finding books:
- Ask a bookseller or librarian
- Search amazon.com (or another book site) by
category, or search a book you like and see what
others are recommended on that page.
- Read the first page. I always read the first page
and if I want to keep reading I pick it.
Non-Fiction Suggestions
Organized by General Subject
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Politics/Economics
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and
the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark
Halperin
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria
Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins*
Descent into Chaos by Ahmed Rashid
Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
3 Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen
Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con
that is Breaking America by Matt Taibbi
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
Operation Mincemeant: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan
Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory by Ben
Macintyre
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women
Worldwide by Nicholas Kristoff
The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein*
Business
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids and the Long Con
that is Breaking America by Matt Taibbi
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by
Nassim Taleb
The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life
You Want, and Change the World by Chris Guillebeau
Biography and Memoir
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama*
The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley
Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix by Charles
R. Cross
The Beatles by Bob Spitz
I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert*
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The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou*
Kabul Beauty School: An American Goes Behind the Veil by
Deborah Rodriguez
The Other Side of the Sky by Farah Ahmedi
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beal
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by
Siddhartha Mukherjee
Favorite Wife: Escape from Polygamy by Susan Ray
Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member by
Sanyika Shakur
Always Running: Gang Days in L.A. by Luis Rodriguez
History
The Lost City of Z by David Grann*
A Voyage Long and Strange by David Horowitz*
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson*
Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything your American History
Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
India Calling by Anand Giridharadas
Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic by Tom
Holland*
People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared
Diamond
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by
Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Story of Britain by Rebecca Fraser
(If you’re at all interested in British history or royalty please
ask me, I have too many recommendations to include here!)
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War/Military
Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley*
Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell*
D-Day by Stephen Ambrose*
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge
War by Sebastian Junger
Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon
Krakauer
Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific by
Robert Leckie
The Killing of Crazy Horse by Thomas Powers
The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little
Bighorn by Nathaniel Philbrick
Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US
Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan by Doug Stanton
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War
and Society by Dave Grossman
Sports
The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling
The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons
Born to Run by Christopher Mcdougall
The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s
Childhood by Jane Leavy
Open by Andre Agassi
La Joice/2010-11
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Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a
Winning Life by Tony Dungy
It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance
Armstrong
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aaron Ralston
Sports Illustrated Top 100 Sports Books:
http://dpi.state.wi.us/rll/wrlbph/sports.html
Science
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by
Mary Roach
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach
Earth: A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race by Jon Stewart
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness,
Love and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the
Elements by Sam Kean
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the
Ocean by Susan Casey
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution –
and How it Can Renew America by Thomas Friedman
Arts/Entertainment
Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi
Life by Keith Richards
Motley Crue: The Dirt - Confessions of the World's Most
Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee
The Long Hard Road Out of Hell by Marilyn Manson
Decoded by Jay-Z
_________[X-Men,/Lost) and Philosophy (a series that
connects philosophy to pop culture shows/movies) by
various authors
Apollo’s Angels: The History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans
The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their
Epiphanies in the Dark by Robert Elder
Here We Go Again: My Life in Television by Betty White
Adaptations: From Short Story to Big Screen by Stephanie
Harrison
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
Animals and Environment/Nature
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
by Vicki Myron
Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His
Girl by Stacey O’Brien
Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned
About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat by Gwen
Cooper
Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals
by Temple Grandin
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John
Vailiant
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
Animals and Environment/Nature (cont.)
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,
and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Simon Winchester
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Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World by Michael
Pollan
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in
History by Erik Larson
Religion/Spirituality
90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper
Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado
Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit
by Francis Chan
The Reason for God: Belif in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy
Keller
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart
Tolle
God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Controversial Topics Today:
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by
Eric Schlosser*
Inside Terrorism by Bruce Hoffman by William Easterly
The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the
Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good by William
Easterly
Stones in Schools: Promoting Peace with Education in Afghanistan
and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson
Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion
by Anthony Pratkins.
Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man’s Prison by T.J. Parsell
Not for Sale by David Batstone
Miscellaneous
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (cooking)*
Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan (social science)
48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene (psychology)
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson (travel)
Accidental Enlightenment: The Extraordinary Travels of a
Modern-Day Gulliver by Stephen Banick
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
(mythology)*
* Books I have personally read and highly recommend
Warning: Some books on this list have strong language
and/or some sexual content - please look through the
book first to make sure you feel comfortable reading
the novel before selecting it.