Nonfiction: The Mercury 13 - it’s about the first group of women who were trained to go into space. Well written, and very interesting: one of those lost stories that, if it were in history textbooks, might make HS history classes interesting.
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
1632 by Eric Flint
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
.
I would vote for Cryptonomicon also - takes a little while to get started but is a great read.
Anything by Joe Simpson is also worthwhile - Touching the Void is so much better than Into Thin Air
If you read “Into Thin Air”, you should also read, “The Climb”, by Anatolee Boukarev. Anatolee is the guide that Krakauer kind of hung out to dry. It’s a different perspective on the same events.
“Flyboys” by James Bradley. The story of nine airmen shot down in the pacific during WWII. One of them being George Bush.
“IBM and the Holocaust” by Edwin Black. It looks at the stategic alliance between Nazi Germany and IBM, which at the time was America’s most powerful corporation. The interaction of govt. and corporations makes it timely.
“China Inc.” by Ted Fishman
“Down the Great Unknown” by Edward Dolnick. It’s the story of John Wesely Powell’s 1869 journey down the Grand Canyon.
“In Harm’s Way” by Doug Stanton. The sinking of the USS Indianapolis, the ship that devilered “the bomb.”
“Blind Man’s Bluff, The story of American Submarine Espionage” by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew.
Business/Getting Ahead
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Why We Want You to be Rich by Kiyosaki and Donald Trump ( a little infomercially but it really spoke to me)
“Spiritual” Work
The End of Faith by Sam Harris to stir the debate over religion.
History
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
**Fiction **(wasn’t on your list, but these were good reads)
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
*State of Fear *by Michael Crichton - will challenge your ideals on global warming (regardless of what your ideals are)
Health
Eat, Drink and be Healthy by Walter Willet - simply the best no-non-sense guide to healthy eating/living
*The Omnivore’s Dilemna - *my sister-in-law read this and said it was very eye-opening
I attempt to give out a J.D. Salinger book every year and Truman Capotes A Christmas Memory. A Christmas Memory is probably the finest short story of the last 100 years, its at the end of Breakfast at Tiffany’s or you can sometimes find it as a standalone book.