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Pamela S.'s avatar

I’ve read a few of these; The Devil in the White City was a good one.

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Nice! Yeah, I loved that book. Did you hear there's a movie adaptation in the works for that? Martin Scoresese is directing it, and the movie will star Leonardo DiCaprio. It's been delayed for a while, but I can't wait until it comes out. (More info here if you're curious: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/23/dicaprio-scorsese-serial-killer-film-devil-in-the-white-city-back-on-track)

Have you read anything else from Erik Larson? I recently read "Isaac's Storm" and enjoyed it. I'm also planning to read "Dead Wake" soon, which I've heard is fantastic.

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Rayna Alsberg's avatar

In The Garden of Beasts was good too. I didn't want to read it, but it was a selection for our book club, and in the end, I'm glad I read it.

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Okay, good to know! Thanks Rayna!

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Pamela S.'s avatar

I will love to see it when it does!

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Chuck Evans's avatar

If you liked that one, try “Dead Wake”, by the same author. It’s the story of the sinkning of the lusatania

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Sweet, I recently picked that one up. I'll make sure I get to it soon! Thanks Chuck.

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D.L.Stone's avatar

I have only read five on the list but I have a couple of suggestions. American Nations by Colin Woodward, and One Nation Under Gods by Peter Manseau. These two books gave me a picture of the United States I had never before imagined and that I find useful in many ways.

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Great, thank you for the recs! I added them both to my TBR list. :-)

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Ken Murphy's avatar

I haven't read too many of these, but have added some to my list! If adventure is your thing, Ty Gagne has three books out on misadventures in the White Mountains. "Where You'll Find Me," "The Last Traverse," and "The Lions of Winter" are all exceptional, with a special nod to "Traverse."

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Oh sweet, I've never heard of Gagne! I just added "The Last Traverse" to my TBR list so I can check him out. Thank you, Ken! I appreciate it.

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Corinne P. Kevorkian's avatar

Ugh. I read about 60 books a year, fiction and non-fiction, but only read 7 on your list. So many books so little time!

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Bobby Powers's avatar

7 of these is a ton! And I know what you mean by there being WAAAY too many good books out there. I bemoan the fact that I’ll never be able to get to everything I want to read.

One of my favorite quotes is, “As the island of our knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance” (John Wheeler). And that’s how I feel with books: the more I read, the less well-read I feel.

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Robert Guyette's avatar

Our Guys by Bernard Lefkowitz . It’s old but still amazing,

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Someone else just mentioned that on one of my posts, so it must be great! I added it to my Goodreads so I can check it out soon. Thank you, Robert!

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William's avatar

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. A quick read, but very informative about the number 1 infectious disease killer in the world. Quite timely given cuts to USAID and PEPFAR

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Nice! I've been seeing that book around and recently heard someone else recommend it. That sounds like a very timely read. I added it to my TBR list. Thank you, William!

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blindboy's avatar

Robert A. Caro. “The Power Broker” and volumes 1-4 of the LBJ bio …… with 5 to come.

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Bobby Powers's avatar

YESSSSS. Such great books! I'm partway through "The Power Broker" now. It's huge, so I'm going really slowly, but Caro's research is astounding.

I also read LBJ book 1 and loved it. I'm hoping to start book 2 soon. Hopefully Caro can finish book 5 in time. I know he's getting up there in years, and unfortunately his editor Bob Gottlieb recently passed. Have you read Caro's new-ish book "Working"? I've heard that's good too but haven't read it.

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blindboy's avatar

To write Book 1 Caro and his wife Ina, who did much of his research, moved to the Texas hill country and lived there for 3 years to get an understanding of the envitonment and circumstances which were so influential on Johnson. I have read the 4 volumes twice over the years. They are wondrous things.

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Bobby Powers's avatar

It takes an astounding amount of commitment for someone to move to a new state and devote three years to a research quest like that. That's incredible. And I'm impressed you've read Books 1-4 twice! That's amazing.

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Christi Hegstad, PhD, PCC's avatar

What a great list! I bet this was so fun to put together and to revisit all your winners in the process. Many of these books show up on my favorites list as well, so I am definitely making note of others that I haven't yet read. Thanks for sharing!

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Awesome, glad to hear it! Thanks Christi. :-)

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Chelsey Crouch's avatar

I’ve read 12 of them! I put a few more on my own TBR. That said, I like some of Erik Larson’s other books better and also commend any nonfiction by Daniel James Brown if you like Larson’s books!

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Nice! Which book of Larson's should I check out next??

I've also read "Isaac's Storm" and enjoyed it, but not as much as "The Devil in the White City." I was planning to read "Dead Wake" soon, and I also recently picked up "Thunderstruck" and "In the Garden of Beasts." (haha, I probably buy too many books!) But my reading order will likely change based on what you say, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts. :-)

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Chelsey Crouch's avatar

I think Dead Wake is my favorite, but I also loved Devil in the White City. I haven't read Thunderstruck. I have read Garden of Beasts, and it was fine, but I'd read Dead Wake first!

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Okay, good to know! Thanks so much!

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Rayna Alsberg's avatar

I've read several of them and figure that the rest are also great. I would add Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, about the Osage murders, and Say Nothing by Patrick Raddon Keefe, about how the Provo IRA killed and disappeared a widowed mother of 10. Both very well written books that I can truly say changed my life.

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Ohhh, such great additions! I love both of those!! ❤️

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John K's avatar

I’ve read a bunch myself. However, I stopped calling it non-fiction. Everything you read, whether it’s historical, biographical, or other that portends to be non-fiction is really mostly opinion, editorializing and bias. To me, it’s all kind of fiction. Erik Larsen spins a great tale. Steven Ambrose also is quite good especially Undauted Courage. Thanks for your post.

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Thanks John! That's an interesting take. Yeah, the line between fiction and nonfiction is definitely blurry sometimes.

Most of my favorite narrative NF is from authors who invent dialogue and nuances that flesh out the story but aren't 100% factual. Many NF authors today are focused on weaving a page-turning story--following the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law for nonfiction. I'm fine with that as long as I know what is true and what is invented.

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Sherman Alexie's avatar

I often think about Bad Blood when I watch/read/hear the various Internet robber barons.

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Sherman, I'm so flattered that you commented on my post! I read "The Absolutely True Diary..." years ago and couldn't believe when I saw your name pop up. :-)

Yes, "Bad Blood" is great, and that's an apt comparison. My wife and I had the chance to hear John Carreyrou speak at Elliott Bay Books here in Seattle when he rolled through town a few years ago, and it was incredible to hear his stories about PIs and hired muscle following him and his sources to try to intimidate them. It's insane to me that some people in America have the money, power, and guts to pull things like that. I'm so glad Carreyrou's story made a big splash and showed what was really happening inside Theranos.

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Matt Hutson's avatar

Thanks for putting this together, Bobby! It's a great list, and it looks like I've read 10 out of 30.

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Awesome, thanks Matt!

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Danell's avatar

I wrote some of these down and have read a few. Anthony Fauci’s autobiography On Call was so interesting. I would recommend this book. Thanks for your recommendations!

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Bobby Powers's avatar

Great, thanks for the rec, Danell!

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