Nonfiction Book Reviews

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I was discussing books with a coworker the other day (hi, Corrine!) and she told me that she has tried time and again to read nonfiction books because she feels like she should.  After all, you learn so much more from nonfiction than you do fiction, and she wants to learn.

But she says that she can’t get through any nonfiction books because they are all so boor-ring!!!  She said (and I quote), “I start reading, and within minutes, my head is down on my chest, and I’m sleeping.  I just can’t stay awake through those books!”

I used to have that perception of nonfiction books too.  Nonfiction?  No way.  That’s boring, dry stuff!  Let’s read some fiction, where there’s action and storylines and FUN stuff.  Right?  Yeah, I see you nodding your head.  It’s true - fiction is almost universally thought of as the interesting books, and nonfiction as the dry tomes that only desperately dull people read.

Leaving aside the debate of whether I am desperately dull or not (no comments from the peanut gallery!) I think that there are a lot of nonfiction books that do not deserve the title of dull, and that anyone could enjoy reading.  I figured that it was about time I put together a list of my top ten favorite nonfiction books.  None of these books are academic treatises on a subject, I give you my solemn oath.

Most of these books I’ve written reviews of on here; in those cases, I have linked to the reviews.  Also, I am trying to link to a variety of books, so that if you’re not interested in biographies, for example, you might want to read a book about finances or relationships.  So it isn’t that I have ADHD or something (although that is possible…)

Let’s get going, shall we?

1. Marley and Me by John Grogan: If you do not laugh while reading this book, there is a good chance you are dead.  I just thought you should be aware of that.  There could be some sort of freaky sixth sense thing going on here.  I have not watched Marley and Me the movie, so I have zero input on that (although here’s a great review of Marley and Me the movie from another site).  Marley and Me the book is actually the book I ended up recommending to my coworker.  We’ll see if she enjoys it as much as I think she will.
2. Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand: No top ten list of mine would be complete without including my other favorite animal nonfiction book, Seabiscuit.  There is a lot more to this book than just Seabiscuit the horse, which at times can seem overwhelming, but it really helps set the stage for horse racing, which makes the racing portions of the book come alive.  Again, I have not watched the movie.  Anyone seeing a trend here?  Hmmm…
3. John Adams by David McCullough: This is one I have not written a review of yet, but it was one of the first nonfiction books that I ever read, and absolutely turned me on to biographies of historical figures, and especially biographies written by David McCullough.  He is a fantastic writer; at the end of John Adams, I actually cried because, you know, John Adams died.  (Hope I didn’t just ruin it for anyone.)  But that’s how strongly McCullough makes you care about his subjects of his books.  I did write a review of his masterpiece, 1776: Illustrated Edition, so check that out.  And no, I did not watch the John Adams movie either, in case you were wondering.
4. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson: There is no way to walk away from this book without feeling inspired, uplifted, and full of the can-do spirit.  Well, I guess you could if you were dead, but didn’t we already go over that?  Anyway, when I read a fiction book of how someone works hard to overcome incredible odds, I nod and smile and think, “Well of course he did!  It’s easy to do that in the fiction world.”  But when I read nonfiction book about a homeless mountain climber building hundreds of schools in the Middle East and doing his part to bring peace to the world…Well, it’s just hard to argue with that, you know?  And even harder to not want to do something yourself to help.
5. Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls: If you’re up for a depressing but touching and truly wonderful memoir, then this is just the book for you.  There is a reason this book was on the New York Bestseller’s list for ages.  If you have not read it before, go forth and read.  I guarantee your complete satisfaction, or your…well, sorry, you’re just screwed.  But really, you should be satisfied.  Most likely.
6. Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall: If you’re into polygamy books, then you absolutely must check out Stolen Innocence.  I’ve read most of the polygamy books out there, and I enjoyed this one the most.  Elissa manages to tell her depressing story without being completely depressing and/or bitter to the bitter end.  It is also the best edited out of the polygamy books; some of the other ones could have stood to have a little better editing job done.  If you read one polygamy book, make it this one.
7. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman: In the crowded books-about-relationships field, Five Love Languages is consistently rated one of the top books of the genre.  There is a reason for this: The book plain makes sense.  If you’re in the market for a great book to help you out with your relationship with your loved one, then you must buy this book.  Between Five Love Languages and Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, you honestly cannot go wrong.
8. Hands of My Father by Myron Uhlberg: This is a fantastic memoir of a boy growing up during the Depression, son of two deaf parents.  I will be posting my review of it soon, but suffice it to say that I LOVED it.  Really and truly.  Check it out on Amazon in the meanwhile.  You won’t be sorry.
9. Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey: If you’re looking for a book on personal finances (how to manage your money) then this it.  Look no further.  Ramsey manages to make the book not only chockful of interesting information, but also interesting, inspiring, and easy to read.
10. Hubble: The Mirror on the Universe by Robin Kerrod and Carole Stott: Of course I couldn’t put together a list of my favorite nonfiction books without listing an astronomy book.  There are a lot of books that offer collections of space pictures, but I have to say that this the best one I’ve ever come across.  Gorgeous pictures, quality printing job, insightful info…You really can’t get any better than this book for space pictures.

So, did I miss any?  What is your favorite nonfiction book?  And if you say you don’t have one, then get reading!  I’d suggest starting with one the above books.  All are guaranteed to be snore free.

Or something like that…

Hava

Prophet’s Daughter: My Life with Elizabeth Clare Prophet Inside the Church Universal and Triumphant by Erin Prophet was the story of a cult that I had never heard of previous to picking this book up at the library.  I guess the Church Universal and Triumphant reached their heyday in 1990; I was just a child at that point, so I missed the whole thing entirely.

So here’s a brief synopsis for those who are likewise oblivious:

Elizabeth Clare Prophet (yes, her last name really was “Prophet” - she married a guy by the name of Mark Prophet) was the head of a New Age religion that incidentally, Mark Prophet started.  After his death, Elizabeth took over, and over time, the power quite simply went to her head.  She stopped talking as much about “decrees” and “energy” and moved on to prophesying that various catastrophes would hit the United States, everything from earthquakes to nuclear warheads.

Many religions have spent their time and energy in prophesying the end of the world - Elizabeth’s undoing came when she stated exactly when these catastrophes would happen, down to the very day they were to occur.

Her followers, sure that her words were divinely inspired, followed the call and moved with her to Montana, where they started building underground bunkers and storing up food to survive what had been prophesied to be a deployment of nuclear warheads, followed by a 7 year period of no ability to farm or grow food in any way.  Add in the destruction of all civilization (with only the righteous being spared, of course) and this was a true Armageddon scenario.

In an attempt to be one of the righteous (and prepared) ones to survive, the members of the church handed over their life savings and property to the church, quit their jobs, and moved to Montana to help build these bunkers.  Over a two-year period, the church spent roughly $20 million dollars in their quest to be ready for the end of the world, and caused environmental damage that took years to repair.

Well, the night came and went, and no nuclear bombs exploded.  Life continued on as it always did.  The cult survived, damaged, but still limping forward.

It sounds like an incredibly interesting book, right?  Except something about it just fell flat for me.  The book was labeled a “921″ in the Dewey Decimal system at the library, meaning that it was supposed to be either an autobiography or a biography, but it read more like a history of the Church Universal and Triumphant, with only a part of it being about Erin Prophet, the daughter.

Also, I think Erin was striving hard to be balanced and factual in her telling of the story, which I heartily applaud, but for some reason with this book, it only served to make the story removed from me, like I felt like I was reading everything through a thick glass wall.  I never felt like a part of the story, and I never really cheered on the protagonist or worried about what she was going to do next.

This distance is surprising - Erin certainly had a lot to be upset about.  Elizabeth ran her life with an iron fist.  She told Erin who to marry (worse yet, she told the husband-to-be when to propose and where to propose), she told Erin she couldn’t use birth control, and even went so far as to control when the newly married couple could have sex.  It was very disturbing.  The control that Elizabeth Prophet had over her daughter would be almost incomprehensible to the average American.  It seems like there would have been more anger on Erin’s part than she showed in the book.

So in the end, I have mixed feelings about the book.  I am glad to have learned more about cult culture, especially its history here in the US, but on the other hand, I think this is a book that I’ll easily forget about.  There are some books that stay with you long after you turn the last page (like Seabiscuit or Three Cups of Tea) but for me, this just won’t be one of them.

If you are intensely interested in cults in general, or the Church Universal and Triumphant in particular, than you’ll definitely want to check Prophet’s Daughter out.  I think you’ll find it fascinating.  But for the rest of us, I only give it a 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Hava

PS Just to see what others thought of the book, I went and checked out the reviews on Amazon and was surprised by what I found on there. Either people loved it or they hated it, and almost all of the reviews seemed to be done by people who are either current or ex-members of this cult. The ex-members all seemed to love the book - the current members (not surprisingly) all seemed to hate it. So I’d take anything you read on there with a grain of salt.

I picked up Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand while doing check-in.  When I saw the book, I thought, “I’ve always wanted to read that book.  I wonder if I should take it home with me.”  Within seconds, I was pulling another copy of the book out of the book drop.

“Hmm…” I thought.  “Kinda weird two people would return the same book on the same day.”  And then I pulled out another copy.  And another.  All together, I pulled out seven copies of that book - I’m guessing that some local group got together and read it as a book of the month or something. ??? But I took it as a sign that I ought to get my rear in gear and read this book that was apparently so good, they just had to make it into a movie.

Now that I’ve read Seabiscuit, I understand why it became a Hollywood blockbuster.  This book is absolutely fantastic.  The writing is superb, the pictures are terrific (I read the “Special Illustrated Collector’s Edition” which I highly recommend - the pictures definitely added something special to the book) and the pacing impeccable.

By the end of the book, I felt like I knew Seabiscuit as well as an old friend.  And when he died (sorry if I ruined the ending there, but this story did take place in the ’30s) I cried.  I know that’s rather ridiculous (what was I expecting to have happen?) but it’s just that this horse had so much spirit, it was heart-breaking to finally say goodbye to him.

One thing that made this book so fantastic is that it wasn’t just about Seabiscuit.  It was also about the Great Depression, about horseracing, about what it takes to be a jockey, and especially about the people around Seabiscuit, who saw his true potential.  Seabiscuit was doomed to a life of obscurity, until these men saw something in him that no one else did.  I felt like I got to know the men who loved Seabiscuit, and came to love them too.

A couple of things to keep in mind: I don’t particularly count myself as a huge horse lover.  My grandfather had horses that I rode as a child, and they were quite simply some of the orneriest things you’d ever come across.  I got stepped on and thrown off more times than I care to count.  So yes, you can love this book even if you don’t love horses.

Secondly, I have never watched Seabiscuit the movie, so I did not pick up the book with preconceived notions.  Since I have never paid attention to the world of horse racing before, I knew almost nothing about Seabiscuit.

So if even someone like me (with little knowledge or understanding of horses, horse racing, or Seabiscuit in particular) could absolutely love and adore this book, it seems like pretty much anyone could.

Now I just need to watch the movie.  While I’m watching Seabiscuit, I also need to watch Marley and Me, another book that I’ve read and reviewed that’s been turned into a movie.   I really loved Marley the book, so I’m hoping I’ll love the movie just as much.

As for Seabiscuit: An American Legend I give it an easy 5 out of 5 stars.  Heck, I should probably give it a couple of extra stars just ’cause.  If you haven’t read Seabiscuit yet, you need to.  It is easily one of the best books I’ve read in the past year.

Hava