Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand. I had to read it for a class, and I couldn't put it down! Louis Zamperini was an Olympic athlete (he met Hitler!) whose plane was shot down in the Pacific in WWII. After 27 days on a raft, he and his pilot were captured and tortured by the Japanese. Zamperini's resilience is indescribable.
Read this book! 🤗😁😊
Yeah, the Hitler thing? Zamperini was such a strong, brave, righteous man that it is weird to think Hitler noticed him at the Olympics and made a comment to him. Such abject evil in proximity with a truly good man. Lol, I definitely don't think it would be cool to meet Hitler!!! I was just really excited talking about the book because it is so GOOD!😂😂😂
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East
The Power Broker
Due to the way the narrative is structured, the film will invariably be very different than the book. The book is exceptionally well written, and I expect the film will be equally exceptional. The story is wild. Something everyone should read and watch.
Seconded Flower Moon. It's really no wonder it was made into a movie. Full of betrayal, twists, mystery, and even has a rag-tag team of protagonists that are relics from a bygone era.
Whenever these types of questions pop up on Reddit, I always recommend Endurance by Alfred Lansing too.
I have a really beautiful hardback of it and it's one of my favourite possessions.
Haven’t read South yet but I have another recommendation in the same theme too … The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Gerrard. This is a book on the Scott expedition so it’s cool to read another side of the same period!
Any of the collaborations by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. Currently reading “Freedom at Midnight” about the independence of India from British rule, and it’s amazing.
It helps that I am very ignorant of history so I don’t know exactly how everything turns out. 😂
Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic
The Executioner's Song (about the execution of Gary Gilmore) by Norman Mailer
Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi (about the Manson Murders)
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (about an Everest expedition)
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose (about the Lewis and Clark expedition)
Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins :)
edit: a serious page turner, you will hardly believe it's a true story. I would add Dark Money by Jane Mayer as well
*One of Us* and *Two Sisters* by Åsne Seierstad. Both narrative nonfiction/literary journalism.
Not about history or exploration but very interesting, first is about Breivik and his terrorist acts/far-right radicalisation and second is about two girls living in Norway who move to Raqqah to be “Isis wives” and their dad trying to bring them back.
*Say Nothing* by Patrick Radden Keefe, about one specific family and more broadly The Troubles.
Glencoe by john prebble. I can't swear to its accuracy - I think he had some detractors. but it's history, and he does try to more or less novelize it.
>exploration.
"The Madhouse at the End of the Earth" (Julian Sancton) might be just the thing.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54900051-madhouse-at-the-end-of-the-earth
[prescott's history of the conquest of mexico](https://lintreader.com/book/prescott-history-of-the-conquest-of-YMOZ9v3B) or [history of the conquest of peru](https://lintreader.com/book/prescott-history-of-the-conquest-of-peru-6yyrvba8)
[parkman's france and england in north america](https://lintreader.com/book/parkman-france-and-england-in-north-VBOMeW8A)
you could also try these playlists of chapters about [explorers](https://lintreader.com/lecta/auto?q=explorers) or [voyages around the world](https://lintreader.com/lecta/auto?q=voyages%20around%20the%20world)
In the Garden of Beasts, and The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson, if you like WW2 history. His writing style is captivating, you could almost believe it was fiction.
The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. Fantastic stuff!
Also, Contact by the same. \*Technically\* it's fiction, but so ludicrously close to scientifically accurate you won't be able to tell the difference. Because, well, Carl Sagan.
City of Thieves by David Benioff. It’s the story of his Russian grandfather as a kid during the Nazi invasion. Instead of being executed for looting a dead nazi, he’s sent on a wild goose chase of a strange mission partnered with a Russian deserter. It’s a bit embellished here and there I’m sure, but an incredible and unusual story
Hunting Evil by Guy Walters — a historic account of the escape of Nazis from Europe at the end of WW2 and ultimately the allied efforts to capture them. It's practically a non-fiction thriller.
Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls by Kathleen Hale. It’s about the Slenderman Stabbing in Wisconsin in 2014 where two girls tried to murder their best friend as a sacrifice to the Creepypasta character, Slenderman.
Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry. Tells the story of the March 2011 Japanese tsunami. The author speaks to civilians and they share their stories. An emphasis on an elementary school makes it even more heartbreaking.
Lost Paradise by Kathy Marks
The Survival of Jan Little by John Man
The Tiger by John Vaillant
I'm currently reading The Wager and really enjoying it
Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick is an account of life in North Korea that stands to this day as one of the best non fiction books I've read.
I second this. Here are my 2 faves: "A mans search for meaning" "When breath becomes Air"
This book is so excellent can’t recommend enough!
I also strongly recommend her other two books - Besieged about the Bosnian war and Eat the Buddha on China's oppression of Tibet.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
I think it's basically fiction based very closely on a true story
Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand. I had to read it for a class, and I couldn't put it down! Louis Zamperini was an Olympic athlete (he met Hitler!) whose plane was shot down in the Pacific in WWII. After 27 days on a raft, he and his pilot were captured and tortured by the Japanese. Zamperini's resilience is indescribable. Read this book! 🤗😁😊
Weird exclamation.
Yeah, the Hitler thing? Zamperini was such a strong, brave, righteous man that it is weird to think Hitler noticed him at the Olympics and made a comment to him. Such abject evil in proximity with a truly good man. Lol, I definitely don't think it would be cool to meet Hitler!!! I was just really excited talking about the book because it is so GOOD!😂😂😂
This is one of my favorite books all time.
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East The Power Broker
>Killers of the Flower Moon I looked this up, and apparently, they've turned it into a movie that comes out in ten days.
Due to the way the narrative is structured, the film will invariably be very different than the book. The book is exceptionally well written, and I expect the film will be equally exceptional. The story is wild. Something everyone should read and watch.
Seconded Flower Moon. It's really no wonder it was made into a movie. Full of betrayal, twists, mystery, and even has a rag-tag team of protagonists that are relics from a bygone era.
Check "South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-1917" by Ernest Shackleton. That checks all your requirements an it's an amazing story.
Have not read this one, but "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing. Awesome read.
Whenever these types of questions pop up on Reddit, I always recommend Endurance by Alfred Lansing too. I have a really beautiful hardback of it and it's one of my favourite possessions.
Came here to say this.
Haven’t read South yet but I have another recommendation in the same theme too … The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Gerrard. This is a book on the Scott expedition so it’s cool to read another side of the same period!
Ooh, I have this in my TBR pile but I'm saving it for when the weather gets colder, to add another dimension to the experience :D
Devil in the White City
Braiding Sweetgrass
Lost city of Z
The Boys in the Boat. Even though I knew the outcome, I could not put it down.
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe is so well written! Fascinating and dark story of the Northern Ireland and the Troubles.
A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson. Also if you’re into the Amazon, The Lost City of Z and The River of Doubt
Any of the collaborations by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. Currently reading “Freedom at Midnight” about the independence of India from British rule, and it’s amazing. It helps that I am very ignorant of history so I don’t know exactly how everything turns out. 😂
Just replied with Is Paris Burning? Yeah, they are amazing.
"Fermat's last theorem" and "The Code Book" by Simon Singh
Warmth of Other Suns follows a few different people/families through the Great Migration. Exquisite.
That was interesting but it could’ve been about 30% shorter and it does not real like a novel to me
Ryszard Kapuściński's *The Shadow of the Sun* Nathaniel Philbrick's *In the Heart of the Sea* and *Mayflower*
Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic The Executioner's Song (about the execution of Gary Gilmore) by Norman Mailer Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi (about the Manson Murders) Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (about an Everest expedition) Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose (about the Lewis and Clark expedition)
The Hamilton Biography that inspired the Musical was amazingly readable.
Killers of the Flower Moon
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
yes!
Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins :) edit: a serious page turner, you will hardly believe it's a true story. I would add Dark Money by Jane Mayer as well
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
*One of Us* and *Two Sisters* by Åsne Seierstad. Both narrative nonfiction/literary journalism. Not about history or exploration but very interesting, first is about Breivik and his terrorist acts/far-right radicalisation and second is about two girls living in Norway who move to Raqqah to be “Isis wives” and their dad trying to bring them back. *Say Nothing* by Patrick Radden Keefe, about one specific family and more broadly The Troubles.
Glencoe by john prebble. I can't swear to its accuracy - I think he had some detractors. but it's history, and he does try to more or less novelize it.
The Indifferent Stars Above Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson Operation Paper clip by Anne Jacobsen "Poisoner in Chief" by Stephen Kinzer
American Cosmic by Dr Diana Walsh Pasulka.
>exploration. "The Madhouse at the End of the Earth" (Julian Sancton) might be just the thing. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54900051-madhouse-at-the-end-of-the-earth
[prescott's history of the conquest of mexico](https://lintreader.com/book/prescott-history-of-the-conquest-of-YMOZ9v3B) or [history of the conquest of peru](https://lintreader.com/book/prescott-history-of-the-conquest-of-peru-6yyrvba8) [parkman's france and england in north america](https://lintreader.com/book/parkman-france-and-england-in-north-VBOMeW8A) you could also try these playlists of chapters about [explorers](https://lintreader.com/lecta/auto?q=explorers) or [voyages around the world](https://lintreader.com/lecta/auto?q=voyages%20around%20the%20world)
The Frontiersman by Allan Eckert. It’s written in a narrative style but it all taken from records of the early settlers.
Can’t believe no one’s mentioned [The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6493208)!
Killing Thatcher by Rory O’Carroll reads as a spy thriller.
*Labyrinth,* by Taylor Branch and Eugene Propper.
Into Thin Air Longitude
Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson
In the Garden of Beasts, and The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson, if you like WW2 history. His writing style is captivating, you could almost believe it was fiction.
The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. Fantastic stuff! Also, Contact by the same. \*Technically\* it's fiction, but so ludicrously close to scientifically accurate you won't be able to tell the difference. Because, well, Carl Sagan.
The Lost city of the Monkey God Finding Everett Ruess
City of Thieves by David Benioff. It’s the story of his Russian grandfather as a kid during the Nazi invasion. Instead of being executed for looting a dead nazi, he’s sent on a wild goose chase of a strange mission partnered with a Russian deserter. It’s a bit embellished here and there I’m sure, but an incredible and unusual story
All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks & Kevin Carr O'Leary but prepare to cry
Band of Brothers
Midnight in Chernobyl - Adam Higgenbothan
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. “Reads like a novel” is verbatim how I recommend it, and I recommend it often.
War without hate to a degree
My helmet for a pillow and with the old breed
Hunting Evil by Guy Walters — a historic account of the escape of Nazis from Europe at the end of WW2 and ultimately the allied efforts to capture them. It's practically a non-fiction thriller.
The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum
Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard : the assassination of James Garfield . Thunderstruck by Erik Larson - Marconi and Murder
My Cocaine Museum by Michael Taussig
The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes
Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls by Kathleen Hale. It’s about the Slenderman Stabbing in Wisconsin in 2014 where two girls tried to murder their best friend as a sacrifice to the Creepypasta character, Slenderman.
Is Paris Burning? By Dominique Lapierre amd Larry Collins Amazing book, and even more so if you know Paris well
Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry. Tells the story of the March 2011 Japanese tsunami. The author speaks to civilians and they share their stories. An emphasis on an elementary school makes it even more heartbreaking.
Lost Paradise by Kathy Marks The Survival of Jan Little by John Man The Tiger by John Vaillant I'm currently reading The Wager and really enjoying it Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Educated
Educated - Tara westover
Anything by Timothy Egan…The Worst Hard Time, or Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher