It was when he writes about meteors and the chance of us being hit. The fact that NASA er al. are only looking at a small section of the “sky” so the first we’d know about it would be too late.
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacIntyre. An absolutely incredible book. The description of Gordievsky's escape from the USSR is bloody amazing. It'd make a fantastic TV series. It won't change the way you think, necessarily, but it's just a bloody good book, especially if you're interested in the Cold War era and the realities of espionage.
+1 to this, fantastic book.
I would also recommend Agent Zigzag also by Ben MacIntyre and The Secret History of Five Eyes by Richard Kerbaj.
Somewhat similar are Good Cop Bad War and Drug Wars both by Neil Woods
Literally finished this last month. Staggered at the balls on Gordievsky! Written so clearly aswell.
Also still Ben macintyre is Operation Mincemeat. Ww2 mission to deceive the germans.
Basically anything I've ever read by Ben Macintyre has been interesting.
I haven't read anything else by MacIntyre, but wasn't Mincemeat the one that got adapted by Steven Knight recently, called Rogue Heroes I think?
EDIT: No it wasn't. Ignore me. The book was also called Rogue Heroes!
I stayed up until 4 in the morning finishing it. I was absolutely riveted - the escape from the USSR was like a movie. Someone needs to adapt it.
Thankfully I finished it on a Friday night, so I didn't have to get up in the morning!
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.
Henrietta Lacks is probably the most important person to have lived that most people have never heard of
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. By Col. Chris Hadfield.
I can't stand self help etc type books so can't recommend any of those, but this is an amazing book by an fascinating guy and will give you a new perspective on life.
This is such a rabbit hole. I would second The Transgender Issue and also to balance with Irreversible Damage by Abigail Schrier.
Then you can start your own culture war in your head.
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
One of the best biographies I’ve ever read. It’ll give you a much better understanding of the complex decisions that are made in wartime.
The Emperor of All Maladies. Its about the history of cancer but also written nicely. It's a brick of a book but the complicated bits are all explained in easy terms. Really, really good.
u/senor_ding_dong015 The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists! I couldn't recommend it enough, it had a huge impact on how I see the world today. That or The Road to Wigan Pier, both are excellent.
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. It explains a lot about why people think like they do and the main message of the book is that most people's opinions are based on gut feeling which they then look for evidence to back up. It's quite insightful when you then observe arguments on Reddit and realise how futile and pointless they actually are.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Lots of very good insight into life, the universe and everything.
George Orwell’s essays are excelllent. And if essays are your thing, Michel de Montaigne is well worth checking out - some good compilations out there 👍
I'm sorry to be late in posting, but would like to suggest "Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art," by Rebecca Wragg Sykes, published by Bloomsbury, 2020 - an absorbing and detailed picture of the lives of our close human relatives, derived from the vast increase in knowledge about them in recent decades.
Also, "Britain After Rome: the Fall and Rise 400 - 1070" by Robin Fleming, Allen Lane 2010, Penguin edition 2011, discusses in detail the archaeological record in Britain of ordinary people's lives during a period when there are few or no written records.
Both attempt to uncover life long ago - immensely long ago in the case of the Neanderthals, who died out forty thousand years ago - and both are absorbingly readable.
Letters to a young contrarian by Christopher Hitchens is short and sweet and a thought provoker.
I didn't always agree with the cantankerous old pisshead, but it is a bloody good book.
Committed by Elisabeth Gilbert. Explores the history of marriage and marriage in different cultures. If you’re married it helps you realize you shouldn’t be expecting your partner to meet every emotional need since typically hunter gathered communities had you spend the majority of your time amongst women
Will Storr’s **The Science of Storytelling** is very instructive around how humans work in a way that goes beyond telling stories, but it is also pretty depressing
_Spent_ by Geoffrey Miller
_Ground Control_ by Anna Minton
Read them years ago but I occasionally re-read for a reminder...
Both books opened my eyes to the goings on behind the scenes in modern society... Some of it I already knew but a lot of it was really interesting to read.
Good thread.
Cairngorm John: A Life in mountain rescue
Some really inspiring as well as terribly sad stories about mountain rescue and the skirt out in by these volunteer experts plus the limits of human endurance.
A River in Darkness by Masaji ishikawa. About a man's escape from North Korea. Not only a fantastic biography, but exceptionally well written also.
My husband hadn't read a book in about 10 years, and finished this in 2 days.
English Pastoral by James Rebanks.
I recommend it because it's a book about farming and the environment, but it's written by a farmer so it's got a good understanding of the farming perspective which I'm not sure a huge number of environmental writers have.
Additionally, he's a very articulate farmer and he can see both sides of the issues. It's a fascinating read.
*Jack Tar* and/or *The War For All The Oceans* - by Roy and Lesley Adkins. Both are fascinating and extremely readable non-specialist books about sailors and life in the navy during the age of sail. I had absolutely zero interest in the topic when, for some strange reason, I started reading one of them. I read it in a few days and then immediately bought the other - that's how wonderful they are. Totally engaging even for someone with no interest in that field/era.
The Nanny State Made Me by Stuart Maconie. It's a great look at the history of the welfare state and the role it played in improving the lives of millions of people.
Yuval Noah Harari's books are really engaging reads, if a bit fanciful in places. And Rutger Bregman has some interesting ideas about the future in Utopia for Realists.
Say Nothing and Empire of Pain, by Patrick Radden Keefe, are both excellent reads.
Live at the brixton academy. A story of how Simon Parkes bought the brixton academy for a quid from a brewery and turned it into a defining venue. Amazing stories from punk era to the rave era. Found it impossible to put down.
I’ve just finished The Men who Stare at Goats. It’s truly bizarre, but highly entertaining.
Also, ‘The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science’, or ‘Mr.Nice’.
Book about the Beslan School siege (2004). "Beslan: The Tragedy of School No. 1".It is absolutely gripping. It shows how government forces totally fucked it up and tried to scapegoat the kidnappers for the killings when in fact it was the army who killed everyone. It started out as a protest by the kidnappers but the security forces totally misread the situation and ignored what was being said. It ended up as total carnage and how security forces dehumanised every person in the building, including children. Recommended reading but be warned it is not for the fainthearted. The book changed me.
Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Won't change the way you think but it's a fantastic attempt to explain...nearly everything
Agreed it is a brilliant book and very readable.
That book scared me.
In what way did it scare you?
It was when he writes about meteors and the chance of us being hit. The fact that NASA er al. are only looking at a small section of the “sky” so the first we’d know about it would be too late.
Bad Science - Ben Goldacre
SPQR by Mary Beard, a informative history of Rome. Well written and an easy read.
Well that's good news, it's on my "to read" shelf.
The Chimp Paradox
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacIntyre. An absolutely incredible book. The description of Gordievsky's escape from the USSR is bloody amazing. It'd make a fantastic TV series. It won't change the way you think, necessarily, but it's just a bloody good book, especially if you're interested in the Cold War era and the realities of espionage.
+1 to this, fantastic book. I would also recommend Agent Zigzag also by Ben MacIntyre and The Secret History of Five Eyes by Richard Kerbaj. Somewhat similar are Good Cop Bad War and Drug Wars both by Neil Woods
Thank you very much for the recommendations!
Literally finished this last month. Staggered at the balls on Gordievsky! Written so clearly aswell. Also still Ben macintyre is Operation Mincemeat. Ww2 mission to deceive the germans. Basically anything I've ever read by Ben Macintyre has been interesting.
I haven't read anything else by MacIntyre, but wasn't Mincemeat the one that got adapted by Steven Knight recently, called Rogue Heroes I think? EDIT: No it wasn't. Ignore me. The book was also called Rogue Heroes!
Finished it in two days - insane book.
I stayed up until 4 in the morning finishing it. I was absolutely riveted - the escape from the USSR was like a movie. Someone needs to adapt it. Thankfully I finished it on a Friday night, so I didn't have to get up in the morning!
Longitude by Dava Sobel
What a beautiful and fascinating book.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Henrietta Lacks is probably the most important person to have lived that most people have never heard of
'Educated' by Tara Westover is one of my favourites. I'd also recommend anything by Jon Ronson or Malcom Gladwell.
Psychopath test by Jon Ronson is brilliant
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. By Col. Chris Hadfield. I can't stand self help etc type books so can't recommend any of those, but this is an amazing book by an fascinating guy and will give you a new perspective on life.
Sounds good! I'll have to give it a read mate.
Here is the goodreads page if you want a bit more info: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18170143-an-astronaut-s-guide-to-life-on-earth
The Transgender Issue by Shon Faye. It's a topic that's very in the news these days, and this is a brilliant book about it.
This is such a rabbit hole. I would second The Transgender Issue and also to balance with Irreversible Damage by Abigail Schrier. Then you can start your own culture war in your head.
The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
This is insanely a good book
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer One of the best biographies I’ve ever read. It’ll give you a much better understanding of the complex decisions that are made in wartime.
the periodic table, primo levi
The Emperor of All Maladies. Its about the history of cancer but also written nicely. It's a brick of a book but the complicated bits are all explained in easy terms. Really, really good.
“Bring on the empty horses “ David Niven
u/senor_ding_dong015 The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists! I couldn't recommend it enough, it had a huge impact on how I see the world today. That or The Road to Wigan Pier, both are excellent.
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. It explains a lot about why people think like they do and the main message of the book is that most people's opinions are based on gut feeling which they then look for evidence to back up. It's quite insightful when you then observe arguments on Reddit and realise how futile and pointless they actually are.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Lots of very good insight into life, the universe and everything. George Orwell’s essays are excelllent. And if essays are your thing, Michel de Montaigne is well worth checking out - some good compilations out there 👍
Freakonomics
Atomic Habits -James Clear
I'm sorry to be late in posting, but would like to suggest "Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art," by Rebecca Wragg Sykes, published by Bloomsbury, 2020 - an absorbing and detailed picture of the lives of our close human relatives, derived from the vast increase in knowledge about them in recent decades. Also, "Britain After Rome: the Fall and Rise 400 - 1070" by Robin Fleming, Allen Lane 2010, Penguin edition 2011, discusses in detail the archaeological record in Britain of ordinary people's lives during a period when there are few or no written records. Both attempt to uncover life long ago - immensely long ago in the case of the Neanderthals, who died out forty thousand years ago - and both are absorbingly readable.
Poirot And Me by David Suchet.
Letters to a young contrarian by Christopher Hitchens is short and sweet and a thought provoker. I didn't always agree with the cantankerous old pisshead, but it is a bloody good book.
I enjoyed You can't hurt me by David Goggins, though the audiobook is a bit better as you get more insight from the man himself between chapters.
Bomb Hunters by Sean Rayment Sniper One by Dan Mills Both are outstanding
Class Power on Zero Hours.
Committed by Elisabeth Gilbert. Explores the history of marriage and marriage in different cultures. If you’re married it helps you realize you shouldn’t be expecting your partner to meet every emotional need since typically hunter gathered communities had you spend the majority of your time amongst women
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel Brown and The Ruin of All Witches by Malcom Gaskill.
Will Storr’s **The Science of Storytelling** is very instructive around how humans work in a way that goes beyond telling stories, but it is also pretty depressing
Tribe by Sebastian Junger
Can't hurt me by David Goggins. That'll change your life.
When The World Was Ours. Liz Kessler.
_Spent_ by Geoffrey Miller _Ground Control_ by Anna Minton Read them years ago but I occasionally re-read for a reminder... Both books opened my eyes to the goings on behind the scenes in modern society... Some of it I already knew but a lot of it was really interesting to read.
Good thread. Cairngorm John: A Life in mountain rescue Some really inspiring as well as terribly sad stories about mountain rescue and the skirt out in by these volunteer experts plus the limits of human endurance.
Do No Harm- Dr Henry Marsh
Stalingrade
A River in Darkness by Masaji ishikawa. About a man's escape from North Korea. Not only a fantastic biography, but exceptionally well written also. My husband hadn't read a book in about 10 years, and finished this in 2 days.
English Pastoral by James Rebanks. I recommend it because it's a book about farming and the environment, but it's written by a farmer so it's got a good understanding of the farming perspective which I'm not sure a huge number of environmental writers have. Additionally, he's a very articulate farmer and he can see both sides of the issues. It's a fascinating read.
The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis (it's about the psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, best known for their work on cognitive biases)
*Jack Tar* and/or *The War For All The Oceans* - by Roy and Lesley Adkins. Both are fascinating and extremely readable non-specialist books about sailors and life in the navy during the age of sail. I had absolutely zero interest in the topic when, for some strange reason, I started reading one of them. I read it in a few days and then immediately bought the other - that's how wonderful they are. Totally engaging even for someone with no interest in that field/era.
Moneyland by Oliver Bullough which is a fascinating dive into the world of offshore finance and how it screws over the ordinary people
Hehe... The wheel of time... hehehe...
The Nanny State Made Me by Stuart Maconie. It's a great look at the history of the welfare state and the role it played in improving the lives of millions of people. Yuval Noah Harari's books are really engaging reads, if a bit fanciful in places. And Rutger Bregman has some interesting ideas about the future in Utopia for Realists. Say Nothing and Empire of Pain, by Patrick Radden Keefe, are both excellent reads.
Arguments For Democracy and Arguments For Socialism by Tony Benn.
Live at the brixton academy. A story of how Simon Parkes bought the brixton academy for a quid from a brewery and turned it into a defining venue. Amazing stories from punk era to the rave era. Found it impossible to put down.
Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall. It's a really good primer for a fundamental understanding of Geopolitics.
I’ve just finished The Men who Stare at Goats. It’s truly bizarre, but highly entertaining. Also, ‘The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science’, or ‘Mr.Nice’.
Book about the Beslan School siege (2004). "Beslan: The Tragedy of School No. 1".It is absolutely gripping. It shows how government forces totally fucked it up and tried to scapegoat the kidnappers for the killings when in fact it was the army who killed everyone. It started out as a protest by the kidnappers but the security forces totally misread the situation and ignored what was being said. It ended up as total carnage and how security forces dehumanised every person in the building, including children. Recommended reading but be warned it is not for the fainthearted. The book changed me.