Book list

I like to read.  I read almost all non-fiction, despite my mother’s concern that I should fill my downtime with something less serious.  But I usually manage to find good non-fiction reads that are still a distraction from the everyday, and hey, you learn something too!  Bonus.

Over the last few years I have sporadically published “book lists” with mini book reviews of the books I had read that season.  I recently realized that I’ve built up a decent collection of tiny little book review – blurbs, I suppose. Anyways, it seemed worthwhile to collect them here, and I’m hoping to read more this year, and I’ll keep adding as I go.  I hope this list will help non-fiction readers find some good books, or even encourage non-non-fiction readers to try something new.

Please feel free to leave comments with your recommendations – I’m always looking for my next good read!

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2009 Reads

All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror
by Stephen Kinzer

Factory Girls
by Leslie Chang

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Previous Years

Listed from most recently read to oldest.

Mao’s Last Dancer
by Li Cunxin
•    I guess this one was a bit of a letdown after Life and Death in Shanghai. Gets a little long-winded and borders on the ego-centric.  Still, I enjoyed it for the historical and cultural glimpses it offered on China.  Recommended.

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World
by Eric Weiner
•    An entertaining tour of some unlikely destinations.  Weiner is looking for the happiest place on earth and seeks to explain why it would be so – Weather? Wealth? Freedom? Spirituality? Certainly not a scientific study, but a fun read.  Highly recommended.

28 Stories of AIDS in Africa
by Stephanie Nolen
•    The 28 stories in this book represent the 28 million people in Africa infected with HIV/AIDS.  Each one is a portrait of a HIV-postive person or family in Africa.  Their stories are heart-breaking and inspiring, but what she conveys best is the overwhelming scope and impact of the disease on the continent.  Extremely readable and informative.  Very highly recommended.

Spy Handler: Memoirs of a KGB Officer
by Victor Cherkashin
•    I actually found this kind of tedious.  This book recounts how the KGB recruited and handled some of the biggest spies against America, and as such should be riveting.  However, the book tends to the mundane and the personal, and loses the big picture.  One Amazon reviewer found it to be “as engaging as your local phone book.”  Perhaps not that bad, but not a standout either.  Take it or leave it.

Life and Death in Shanghai
by Nien Cheng
•    An excellent account of the author’s life before and during the Cultural Revolution.  I found it fascinating, partly because it’s a good introduction to recent Chinese history, but also because it is very well written and gives you a vivid glimpse of what it was like to live in China during that time. Very highly recommended.

Smile When You’re Lying: Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer
by Chuck Thompson
•    A quick read looking back on a career in the travel writing industry.  Essentially a compilation of all the most outlandish travel stories the author has heard or experienced; gets a little tedious.  Good plane reading, but not high culture.

A Walk in the Woods

Julie and Julia

When We Have Hope

Mountains Beyond Mountains

In Defense of Food

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
by A. J. Jacobs
•    A. J. Jacobs sets out to fulfill all the rules in the Bible over the course of a year.  He discovers that some are impossible (he’d have to kill a lot of people) and many are just bizarre; he also does have some spiritual transformation. He makes a point to speak to many different “literalist” groups, from Pat Robinson to the Amish, who vary widely in their interpretations of the literal Word of God. It’s written in daily journal style, so you tend to get a daily snippet on a subject before he moves on to something else the next day – I might have liked deeper investigation into some of the groups or topics.  Still, it was an interesting and entertaining book.  Highly recommended.

Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu
by J. Maarten Troost
•    These next two are fun “escapist” travel reads. This is actually sort of a sequel to “The Sex Lives of Cannibals,” which I haven’t yet read. The author decides that he needs to escape the monotony of the office and return to a more adventurous and laid-back life in the South Pacific.  The book is humorous entertaining and give glimpses into the culture and society of the islands, including an extended (too extended?) investigation into whether and why the tribes actually engaged in cannibalism.  Highly recommended.

Baghdad without a Map and Other Misadventures in Arabia
by Tony Horwitz
•    Another quick, fun read. “Baghdad without a Map” actually doesn’t spend much time talking about Iraq; rather Horwitz spent two years based in Egypt and traveling all around the Middle East.  The essays from all the different countries are hilarious and offer strange glimpses into each place he visits.  Very highly recommended.

The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank
by David Bornstein
•    Loved this one.  The book was written in the mid-90s, so it doesn’t capture a lot of the recent hype about micro-lending and of course the 2006 Nobel Prize.  However, it does spend a lot more time looking at the Grameen Bank’s work at the village level – the focus of the book is much more on the borrowers, the actual bank members, instead of just on Dr. Yunus.  I really liked getting a view of Bangladeshi village life, and the book does a good job of explaining the logistics of micro-lending.  Vivid and interesting.  Very highly recommended.

A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini
•    A rare novel slips into the list!  Another one about Afghanistan.  In this book Hosseini follows three generations of Afghan women who struggle to survive through decades of violence, both inside and outside their homes.  It was good – a page-turner – but I thought it was overly dramatic.  For me, the history of Afghanistan is plenty dramatic and there’s no reason to sensationalize.  On the other hand, it’s probably a pretty accurate portrayal of the culture and history (but what would I really know?). Recommendation? People who like novels will like it.

West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story (audiobook)
by Tamim Ansary
•    Tamim’s mother was American and father was Afghan, so he grew up somewhat divided between the two cultures.  The book retells his childhood in Afghanistan, which he remembers very fondly, and then he moved with his mother back to the states when the Soviets invaded.  Finally, he traveled through Northern Africa and the Middle East in a sort of journey to reconnect with his roots.  I enjoyed the parts of the book about his childhood; they offered some insight about growing up in Afghanistan.  From there it was downhill, detailing American hippie culture and his somewhat aimless travels.  This one gets a pass.

Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times (audiobook)
by George Crile
•    A great book (now a movie, which I hear is also excellent) recounting how Congressman Charlie Wilson got swept away in funding and fighting the Afghan war against the Soviets.  An excellent book; it reads like a novel but really gives you a thorough history of the Afghan / Soviet war and the covert American role.  Very highly recommended.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City
by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
•    This was good … but I wasn’t swept off my feet by Mr. Mortenson.  In fact I found him rather frustrating and disorganized.  That said, he’s achieved huge strides in education in Pakistan, and the book – through him – offers a rare glimpse into the culture of rural Pakistan.  Quick, fascinating read.  Recommended.

May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons: A Journey Among the Women of India
by Elisabeth Bumiller
•    This was a terrific and eye-opening book about women in India today.  Each chapter is sort of a profile about a different woman or social issue in India, ranging from birth control to arranged marriages to Bollywood.  Very highly recommended.

River Town: Two Years on the Yangzee
by Peter Hessler
•    Peter Hessler chronicles his two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in China.  Most interesting are his personal struggles to learn the language (I can relate, at least a little!), connect with the people and understand the culture.  Also touches on the booming Chinese economy, the environmental problems, and the controversial Three Georges Dam project.  As this was written in the mid-90s a follow-up would be interesting.  Highly recommended.

Banker to the Poor (audiobook)
by Muhammad Yunus
•    This book was a disappointment. Dr. Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, comes off as arrogant and condescending, which is unfortunate when his work has been so hugely important in helping the poor. Skip this one and check out “The Price of a Dream.”

Assassination Vacation
by Sarah Vowell

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9-11 (audiobook)
by Lawrence Wright
• A looong book (17 hours on tape, or 480 pages) tracing the extended history of al-Qaeda. I found the beginning chapters unnecessarily detailed, tracing al-Qaeda back to its ideological roots and following some of the early leaders – those that died decades ago – through detailed biographies. (Names were especially hard to keep track of on the audio version.) Maybe skip ahead to chapter 5 or 6. Once things get rolling, it’s an interesting account of the inside workings of al-Qaeda and al-Jihad, spliced together with a detailed account of the US intelligence agencies’ attempts to track and uncover these organizations. The book blames the CIA for impeding the work of the FBI; some reviewers saw this as author bias – perhaps other accounts would find the reverse? Overall, a readable, interesting book for the inside look at both al-Qaeda and the intelligence organizations. Highly recommended, but probably get the hardback copy, not the audio.

The Partly Cloudy Patriot (audiobook)
by Sarah Vowell
• An enjoyable collection of essays about … Abraham Lincoln, pop culture, political campaigns, Canada, the Salem witch trials, being patriotic, and all kinds of other random tidbits; the author is a confessed nerd and history buff whose writing is quirky and entertaining while full of interesting trivia. The much-touted background music on the audiobook was ho-hum, in my opinion, but the reading by the author is exceptional and really brings out her passion for the topics. Entertaining, quick read; the audio version is good for travel. Very highly recommended.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King
• This was a quick read; it’s half auto-biography and half writing manual. As far as writing manuals go, you probably get more straightforward guidelines from something traditional like Elements of Style or Writing Well; as far as inspirational books for writers, this was quite good and also very enjoyable. An interesting look at how King does what he does so well – but as he repeatedly points out, there’s no “magic key.” Highly recommended.

The Ghost Map (audiobook)
by Steven Johnson
• This one got a little big long and dry (but that could have been because I listened to it as an audiobook). It did seem to delve a bit too far into the details and background. Otherwise, a fairly interesting book about a cholera epidemic in the mid 1850s and the struggle to identify its means of transmission, which resulted in a famous map identifying all the infected households and tracing them back to the tainted well from which they had drawn their water. Recommended … if you’re into history.

Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life
by Queen Noor
• An interesting personal account of politics in the Middle East. Queen Noor was an American, born and raised in the US, and the book briefly recounts her childhood and years and a student. She married King Hussein of Jordan when she was 26. She became strongly supportive of the King’s political positions and also undertook many development projects in Jordan and internationally. The book is probably most interesting in discussing the effects of the 1991 Gulf War on the region and on Jordan in particular. Not what you’d call balanced; but memoirs aren’t supposed to be. Highly recommended.

Kabul Beauty School (audiobook)
by Deborah Rodriguez
• Debbie was a hairstylist in Michigan who volunteered with a medical team in Afghanistan just after 9/11 (she had basic first aid training) and discovered that the Taliban had banned all hair salons, leaving lots of women (and even men) desperate for hair stylists in Kabul. She gave haircuts in her free time during her first trip, and later returned to start a charitable school training Afghan women as hairstylists. Entertaining, quick read, and gives some insight into life in Afghanistan. Highly recommended.

The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq
by Rory Stewart
• After the above-mentioned trek through Afghanistan, Rory Stewart (who had formerly served in the British foreign service) volunteered to go to Iraq to help the British set up the Coalition Provisional Authority. He spent a year in the southern region of Iraq trying to run aid projects, set up un-elected but representative local governments, mediate disputes, and avoid general chaos. While his region saw less conflict than Baghdad or other districts, he offers insight into the staggering difficulties faced by the coalition. Very highly recommended.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
• Fascinating and entertaining – surprisingly so. I didn’t think this one would interest me, but I flew through it. Discusses various methods of food production in the US – mass production by industrial farming through to consumption at McDonalds; industrial organic; local-distribution organic; and hunter gathering – and their implications for our health, our economy, and our ecosystem. Very highly recommended.

The Places in Between
by Rory Stewart
• This one is a little slow in places, and I actually understood the “big picture” better – the implications and purpose of the book – when I read a series of articles he wrote as guest columnist for the New York Times. It’s worth looking these up, because the NYT is where he actually talks about his opinions on the politics and the current war in Afghanistan – very interesting stuff from a smart, experienced guy. The book focuses on the culture and customs at the very local level, taking you into (extremely) rural households in his cross-country trek just after the fall of the Taliban. Recommended.

The Ukimwi Road: From Kenya to Zimbabwe
by Dervla Murphy
• A very entertaining and eye-opening book by a travel writer who bicycled through southern Africa in 1992, just when people – and governments – were becoming aware of the extent of the AIDS epidemic. An interesting look at both the personal responses and the varying government programs that were, or were not, being implemented. A little heavy on the anti-US, anti-UN ranting, but otherwise an insightful, enjoyable book. Highly recommended.

The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works–and How It’s Transforming the American Economy
by Charles Fishman
•    Another airport book and also quite good, surprisingly enough. Very well researched and even balanced; doesn’t bash Wal-Mart but explores the impact of Always Low Prices on workers, the environment, competition, etc. etc. The main argument is that Wal-Mart is now so large, and dominates the market so thoroughly, that normal rules of competition and capitalism are no longer sufficient to understand or control it. A great read, and quite informative. Very highly recommended.

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu’s Congo
by Michela Wrong
•    Follows the long rise and longer fall of Mobutu Sese Seko, the president of Zaire for 30 years. Ms. Wrong seeks to understand how a country so rich in resources – copper, timber, diamonds – could be so thoroughly plundered as to owe billions in foreign debt by the time Mobutu was overthrown. Well written and quite interesting; Highly recommended.

Emma’s War: Love, Betrayal and Death in the Sudan
by Deborah Scroggins
•    This recounts the story of how a humanitarian aid worker in Sudan fell in love and married one of the warlords in the country’s civil war, as part of a bigger picture of how humanitarian aid often gets mixed into local politics and the civil war itself. Excellent book, well written, a little more on the serious side. Highly recommended.

Diplomatic Baggage: The Adventures of a Trailing Spouse
by Brigid Keenan
•    Found this one in an airport, and it turned out to be quite entertaining. This is a sweeping memoir of more than 20 years of following her husband from country to country in the British foreign service; it involved many funny encounters, but also took lots of courage on the part of the wives to repeatedly move to places where they didn’t speak the language. Quick, fun read. Highly recommended.

The Bone Woman: A Forensic Anthropologist’s Search for Truth in the Mass Graves of Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo
by Clea Koff
•    I read this one because the author happened to be one of the scientists working on the Missing Persons project here in Cyprus (ie exhuming graves to identify and return bodies). Excellent book – quite autobiographical, but it tells you just what it’s like to be a forensic anthropologist working on War Crimes Tribunals or similar investigations. I found it fascinating. Very highly recommended.

Bitter Lemons of Cyprus
by Lawrence Durrell
•    One of the very few readable books out there on Cyprus, but a very colonial view – written by an Englishman who moved here circa 1955, just before independence in 1960. Does capture the flavor of small-village life (I imagine) and some of the most beautiful places here, and relates the first stirrings of what would become the independence movement. Well written. Recommended … if you have some interest in Cyprus.

Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure
by Sarah MacDonald
•    A fun read about a woman who moves to India (when her boyfriend is assigned there for work) even though she had sworn never to return after backpacking there in her 20s. Though an atheist, she thoroughly explores India’s wide range of religions, and ends up better understanding and appreciating the culture. Well written and entertaining; Recommended.

The Bookseller of Kabul
by Asne Seierstad
•    I didn’t love this as much as everyone else seemed to, mostly because – as far as I could tell – it didn’t follow a sequential timeline, which really bothers me. It gives you a general impression of family life in Afghanistan, at least in one family, but that’s about it. I’d give it an “eh”.

Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell
•    Not as good as The Tipping Point, but also interesting and a quick read. Talks about instinctive decisions, and why they can be smarter than the well-researched kind. If you’re going to read one or the other, I’d probably go for The Tipping Point (also by Gladwell).

Naked in Baghdad: The Iraq War and the Aftermath as Seen by NPR’s Correspondent (audiobook)
by Anne Garrels and Vint Lawrence
•    OK, so I actually listened to this on audiotape – but it was great. Anne was one of the very few unembedded reporters in Baghdad waiting for the American invasion, and she tries to get an idea of what “normal” life was like in Iraq until the Americans rolled in. Also gives an interesting inside look at war reporting. Quick read; Very highly recommended.

A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide
by Samantha Power
•    Excellent book. Starts out a tad bit dry regarding the legal history of the term “genocide”, but then explores several examples and looks at the politics behind the US response. The conclusion: the US has a very consistent policy of doing nothing in response to genocide – but she argues that that should change, and hints that perhaps things are beginning to shift. Highly recommended.

A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
•    For as much as I love his travel writing, this was a tad bit dry – possibly because it’s about science. That said, he does science much better than any science book. Literally covers everything – the birth of the universe and evolution right down to atoms and DNA. Recommended … although probably any other book by him is more entertaining.

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
by William Zinsser
•    Picked this one up at a thrift store last summer and it turned out to be absolutely excellent. I would love to write as well as Zinsser, and he offers practical advice in an enjoyable book. Includes chapters on different types of writing, including travel, memoirs, humor, and business correspondence. Highly recommended.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell
•    Again, not quite up to the hype, but insightful. Talks about how social epidemics start and spread – clothing trends, teen smoking, inner-city crime, etc. Apparently it will help you in business, or something. Quick read. Recommended.

Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel
by Arthur Golden
•    Picked this one up at the supermarket when I was sick and tired of reading about terrorism. Quick read – engaging, if very sad. Interesting look into Japanese culture from the first half of the century. Better than the movie. Recommended.

The Last Great Revolution : Turmoil and Transformation in Iran
by Robin Wright
•    Interesting inside look about trends in Iran and what it’s been like to live there since the Islamic revolution. Sadly, it ends right around 2000 so it doesn’t explain any of the craziness going on now. Skim through the boring parts on theological debates (though relevant), enjoy the parts on culture and political movements. Highly recommended.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
by Jared Diamond
•    Not as fascinating as everyone made it sound, but insightful. A little long and repetitive. Gives a good overview of the biggest trends in human history – why some societies thrived, others didn’t and were conquered. Unless that sounds really fascinating, skip it.

Pathologies of Power : Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor
by Paul Farmer
•    Paul Farmer is a US doctor with years of experience in Haiti, Russia, and other remote places. Great book about health challenges and what hasn’t been done to fix them. Very sad, very disturbing, very readable. Most highly recommended.

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, and Bruce Patton
•    They tell me this is THE book to read about negotiations. Most of the techniques suggested seemed common-sense (e.g. don’t offend the other side), but it was at least nice to know I’m not way out in left field. Quick read. Recommended.

Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics
by Joseph S. Nye
•    Political science theory. Discusses how public opinion impacts a country’s security. Not recommended unless you’re a political scientist (then it’s required).

Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill
by Jessica Stern
•    Again, fascinating. She manages to interview religious militants from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim groups. She tries to understand the reasoning behind the movements, how someone can take a charitable religion and decide it justifies killing. Most insightful look inside terrorism I’ve read (and we’ve read a lot about terror this year). Most highly recommended.

Shake Hands with the Devil : The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda
by Romeo Dallaire and Samantha Power
•    Romea Dallaire commanded the UN troops in Rwanda at the time of the genocide. A very sad book exploring the failures of the UN and telling the story of how they mostly stood by helplessly for lack of troops. Long, but well written. Highly recommended.

See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism
by Robert Baer
•    Nothing like the movie that was apparently based on it (Syriana). Quick, interesting read, but not nearly as informative as Ghost Wars. Gives you an inside look at being a CIA agent. Recommended.

The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith
by Irshad Manji
•    Kind of a rant. Irshad Manji is a lesbian Muslim raised in Canada, who struggled a long time to reconcile these different influences. She makes a strong argument that Islam needs to reform from within by allowing followers to ask questions and reason through their own interpretations. Recommended.

Nine Parts of Desire : The Hidden World of Islamic Women
by Geraldine Brooks
•    Fascinating. The author has personal discussions with Islamic women on everything from profession to sex life. Some women like the restrictions of Islam, some don’t. Good history and religious background too, even if you know next to nothing about Islam. Most highly recommended.

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda
by Philip Gourevitch
•    Terribly sad, but really something you should know about. Gives you a thorough understanding of the Rwandan genocide in a personal, well-written book. I thought it would be way too violent for me, but it’s not unnecessarily so, given the topic. Most highly recommended.

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
by Steve Coll
•    Long and detailed, but probably the best history you’ll find of the region. Goes a long way in explaining the issues we’re having now. Highly readable. Highly recommended.