1. One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson---Bryson is a master storyteller so his nonfiction reads like one big, gigantic story. You will be captivated by the events of the summer of 1927 viewing through his expert lens. Pick up any book by Bryson for a nonfiction treat.
2. Hot Zone by Richard Preston---with the re-emergence of ebola in Africa, this book, written in 1994, it will open your eyes to this horrible, devastating disease. It reads like a murder mystery.
3. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell---Vowell takes several vacations to visit the sights where US Presidents were assassinated. Along the way the readers learns interesting facts about the presidents, the assassins, and the politics of the day. Written in a very humorous style, it is a fun book to read.
4. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Stories of Those You Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan---Egan, a journalist for the New York Times, interviewed people who survived the Dust Bowl in the 1930s then put their stories together to give the reader an insider's view of what it was like in those days. Why can't high school history teachers make history so interesting?
5. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed---read this book quickly before the movie comes out starring Reese Witherspoon. It is about Cheryl Strayed's hike along the Pacific Coast Trail twenty years before the book was written. She was supremely unprepared for her hike yet she prevailed.
6. How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig---I am a huge fan of this book. If you have children, read this book. If you like Shakespeare, read this book. If you can read, read this book.
7. Fourth Down and Inches: Concussions and Footballs Make-or-Break Moment by Carla McClafferty---I read this book with horrified interest. Science has uncovered many details about the lasting effects of concussions on athletes of all types, not just football players. This book was written for teens and reads quickly.
8. Unbroken: a World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand--- the story of Louis Zamperini, an American Olympic athlete who gets shot down over the Pacific by the Japanese. This is his story of survival and redemption. Hillenbrand is a tremendous writer. Her book Seabiscuit is also a must-read nonfiction book.
9. Bomb: The Race to Build---and Steal---the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin--- Written for teens this book is a fascinating look at the making of the atomic bomb.
10. Bossypants by Tina Fey---a memoir full of the humor one would expect from this comedian.
