10 Great Non-Fiction Books
Discover 10 great non-fiction books that educate, inspire, and captivate. Explore top picks across history, science, self-help, and more for your next must-read.
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In Search of the Miraculous
by Petr DemĘąiď¸ a︡novich UspenskiÄ
The record of Ouspensky's eight years of work as Gurdjieff's pupil.
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Memories, Dreams, Reflections
by Carl G. Jung
An eye-opening biography of one of the most influential psychiatrists of the modern age, drawing from his lectures, conversations, and own writings. "An important, firsthand document for readers who wish to understand this seminal writer and thinker." —Booklist In the spring of 1957, when he was eighty-one years old, Carl Gustav Jung undertook the telling of his life story. Memories, Dreams, Reflections is that book, composed of conversations with his colleague and friend Aniela Jaffé, as well as chapters written in his own hand, and other materials. Jung continued to work on the final stages of the manuscript until shortly before his death on June 6, 1961, making this a uniquely comprehensive reflection on a remarkable life. Fully corrected, this edition also includes Jung's VII Sermones ad Mortuos.
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And There was Light
by Jacques Lusseyran
The gripping, heroic story of the early life of Jacques Lusseyran. Through faith in the connection between vivid inner sight and outer events, the young blind man became a leader in the French Resistance and survived the horrors at Buchenwald. One of USA Today's 100 best spiritual books of the century.
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A Distant Mirror
by Barbara Wertheim Tuchman
This is a story of the 14th century, when the whole world seemed to be spinning to its doom, and yet when our modern world was being born.
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The Snow Leopard
by Peter Matthiessen
When Matthiessen went to Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and, possibly, to glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard, he undertook his five-week trek as winter snows were sweeping into the high passes. This is a radiant and deeply moving account of a "true pilgrimage, a journey of the heart".
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Godel, Escher, Bach
by Douglas R. Hofstadter
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll Douglas Hofstadter's book is concerned directly with the nature of "maps" or links between formal systems. However, according to Hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the cell, if consciousness can emerge out of a formal system of firing neurons, then so too will computers attain human intelligence. Gödel, Escher, Bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science: meaning, reduction, recursion, and much more.
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Learn to Play Go
by Soo-hyun Jeong
LEARN TO PLAY GO is an integrated learning book series about the Asian game called Go. Go is 4,000 years old & has approximately 100 million players. It is like chess but the board is larger & the strategies more complex. Volume I assumes no prior knowledge of the game, teaches the rules, fundamental tactics, & strategy & notes the history & current population of players. This is the only such book written by an English-speaking professional master. Asian words are mentioned but the book avoids jargon & is entirely in English. Ages 12 & up, age 7-12 with a parent or teacher, or as a classroom textbook. Try-it-yourself sections in each chapter confirm your progress. Volume I contains a complete punch-out Go set. Since Go contains many Asian philosophical ideas, this is an ideal reference for schools, teachers & libraries. Also for gifts, not only to young students of Asian history, but to people of all ages as a mental discipline similar to the martial arts. Includes a complete listing of clubs in North America & associations around the world. Volumes II through IV are planned for 1995 & 1996. The set takes the novice to a playing strength of 1 dan, the amateur master level. Each book will also be available separately. Order directly from: Good Move Press, 105 Duane St., #38B, New York, NY 10007. 800-600-4373.
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Gods Chinese Son
by Jonathan D Spence
A powerful account of the largest uprising in human history--the Taiping rebellion (1845-64)--in which 20 million Chinese were left dead, God's Chinese Son tells "a story that reaches beyond China into our world and time; a story of faith, hope, passion, and a fatal grandiosity" (Washington Post Book World). Photos. Author lectures & tour.
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Warriors of God
by James Reston, Jr.
Acclaimed author James Reston, Jr.'s Warriors of God is the rich and engaging account of the Third Crusade (1187-1192), a conflict that would shape world history for centuries and which can still be felt in the Middle East and throughout the world today. James Reston, Jr. offers a gripping narrative of the epic battle that left Jerusalem in Muslim hands until the twentieth century, bringing an objective perspective to the gallantry, greed, and religious fervor that fueled the bloody clash between Christians and Muslims. As he recounts this rousing story, Reston brings to life the two legendary figures who led their armies against each other. He offers compelling portraits of Saladin, the wise and highly cultured leader who created a united empire, and Richard the Lionheart, the romantic personification of chivalry who emerges here in his full complexity and contradictions. From its riveting scenes of blood-soaked battles to its pageant of fascinating, larger-than-life characters, Warriors of God is essential history, history that helps us understand today's world.