If you’re looking to read something hard-backed and heavy at the beach this year, Zócalo has selected the non-fiction books that piqued our interest and that we plan to haul to the shore over the next few months. Below, our contributors’ 15 recommended titles for nerdy summer reading.
Andrew J. Bacevich’s Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War
Tom Bissel’s Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter
H.W. Brands’ American Dreams: The United States Since 1945
Pascal Bruckner’s The Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay on Western Masochism: The prolific French essayist explains why guilt actually hurts the West’s attempts to address the wrongs of its past.
William Dalrymple’s Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India: Monks, mystics, dancers and poets reveal traditions of old in a rapidly modernizing country.
Sarah Ellison’s War at the Wall Street Journal: Inside the Struggle To Control an American Business Empire
Christopher Hitchens’ Hitch-22: A Memoir
Eugene Kaplan’s What’s Eating You?: People and Parasites
Amitava Kumar’s A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb
Dominic Lieven’s Russia Against Napoleon: The True Story of the Campaigns of War and Peace
Sebastian Mallaby’s More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite
Raghuram G. Rajan’s Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy
Barry Rubin’s The Muslim Brotherhood: The Organization and Policies of a Global Islamist Movement
Jeff Scheshol’s Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court
Megan K. Stack’s Every Man in This Village is a Liar: An Education in War
*Photo courtesy lorello.
These are all non-fiction. Where is the fiction? Where is the great literature of the present? Where are the great writers? Is fiction dead? I’m only half joking.
How could you miss out on the best little book of the year? Paperback, small, easy to carry, informative, written for all- the most nerdy and the less-informed with a terrific sense of humor. “California Crackup” by Joe Mathews and Mark Paul published by UC Press.
This book is going with my doctor on his honeymoon to Maui- need I say anymore? Put this in your book bags and enjoy.
Hi Roger, thanks for your comment. We believe fiction is alive and kicking, but here at Zocalo we focus on non-fiction titles and the world of ideas. Hope you enjoy reading!
Hi Robin, Great reading tip. Stay tuned for an interview with Joe Mathews on California Crackup in coming weeks.
really enjoyed getting lead by your list into the Dalrymple talk at the Hammer, such an interesting voice he has, could listen for hours.
Please! I’m still catching up with the books I bought from several of this year’s speakers. Even though I’m “sort of retired” I’m having trouble keeping up. I am one of Zocalo’s biggest fans and applaud your efforts.
One more “must read” recommendation: “Tattoos on the Heart,” by Father Gregory Boyle, SJ. Luminous, uplifting, and wildly delightful–this is a work of grace and splendor.
Who knew that a story about James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, would be so completely compelling? Read the wonderfully readable “The Destiny of the Republic” by Candice Millard to learn about the political process of the late 19th century, the medicine and science of the time, the story of his assassin. Most of all, come to know this man as a truly brilliant, principled man of character and honor in a time of corruption and the spoil system.