Nonfiction books?

September 23, 2005 8:29 PM

TeacherFilter: I'm looking for a NON-fiction text for my tenth-grade students.

I wanna teach a non-fiction text, but I want to avoid teacher-y books like Maya Angelou and Anne Frank. What I really want is a non-fiction text that...let me start over...

I was thinking of teaching Fast Food Nation, but when I was looking at it I realized: There's no narrative. My kids need something that goes somewhere. I was thinking about Blink, but again, no real narrative. The best example I can give of the type I want to teach is Genius by James Gleick, a book that has a narrative, is non-fiction, and that by reading you can learn something more than just literature--like quantum physics. Get me?

I teach urban black kids--high schoolers--who can handle high intellectual stuff, but not overly tough vocabulary. A book like Genius, while interesting to me, is not what they would find interesting.

I'm lucky. My school will probably be willing to buy anything I ask for (I'm that lucky).

To recap: Non-fiction. Interesting to urban teenagers. Must have narrative structure. Kids will learn something beyond the narrative like physics, anthropology, kung fu, gigantism, whateverthefuck.

Help me, smart people of the Filter, you're my only hope.

I thank you all in advance.

posted by etc. to education (67 comments total)

what about a biography? or a historical thing? (i don't have specific suggestions but something about a life or growth or awakening or action, etc)
posted by amberglow at 8:41 PM on September 23, 2005

Anything from Oliver Sacks (link to his bibliography) for neurological/medical/psychological things. "The man who mistook his wife for a hat" is most popular.
But might not be interesting for teenagers, and not so much narrative.

Or anything from Bill Bryson for travel stories. I think they might like this. He's a great non-fiction writer, and the books are funny, but still informative. The one about Europe could be interesting. It's called "Neither here nor there".
Personally I love "The Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson, and it definately has a narrative too: it's a documentation of a trip through "small town America" that Bill Bryson made in search of the kind of town that brings back the ultimate memories from his childhood. It's very funny (not so much when I describe it in 1 sentence, but it really is) and grade 10 urban kids can probably laugh at the silly things of small towns, or else learn about them.
posted by easternblot at 8:44 PM on September 23, 2005

Hiroshima? That's a non-fiction text that I remember as blowing my mind in high school.
posted by saladin at 8:46 PM on September 23, 2005

Guns, Germs, and Steel?

Aside from having enough narative to be sufficient for an English class, it covers a lot of other subjects so it might be difficult to support.

I like amberglow's idea about a biography; how about Kerouac's On The Road? True, it *is* fictional, but based on his autobio.

Clinton's My Life?

I'm suspecting that Goedel, Escher, and Bach might be a little too much.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 8:47 PM on September 23, 2005

"A Fly for the Prosecution" might be a lot of fun for them to read- it details M. Lee Goff's adventures in the early days of the field of forensic entomology. I say fun, because it's gross- everything you ever wanted to know about rolling maggot balls, blow flies, and flesh-eating beetles- and probably a few things you didn't.

It has a fairly clear narrative, detailing Goff's rising career (he basically invented forensic entomology,) and even though the subject matter can be morbid, he has a great, wry sense of humor and a light narrative voice. You get to learn about entomology, forensic entomology, *and* what it takes to become an expert in a scientific field. I really enjoyed it, anyhow, and I think it's pretty accessible language and subject-matterwise.
posted by headspace at 8:47 PM on September 23, 2005

I really like Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman. The book is about Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman and gives a little background on the Manhattan Project and postwar physics. It's fun to read and tame enough for high school students. Mr. Feynman talks mostly about chasing girls and his life in general and his vocabulary shouldn't be out of reach for your students.
posted by Alison at 8:50 PM on September 23, 2005

OUtstanding Books for the College Bound's list: http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/outstandingbooks/outstandingbooks.htm

Metamorphosis by David Suzuki. Suzuki and his family (and many others of Japanese-Canadian heritage) were held in internment camps during World War II. He grew up to be a geneticist who made important discoveries about fruit flies. (The book discusses his work and makes it really interesting.) In 1979, he became the host of The Nature of Things, a TV show that airs in more than 50 countries. He's become known for his environmental activism and runs the David Suzuki Foundation. He won a United Nations Environment Program medal for some of his work. The book covers much of this, but it also explores his personal life. It goes into the mistakes he made with his family. It shows his own metamorphosis.
posted by acoutu at 8:53 PM on September 23, 2005

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make by specifically mentioning that they are Black students. That said, though, I know there's an autobiography of Assata Shakur that a friend read. It's written in very familiar language, but the concepts are very much still there. Actually, the former chairperson of the Black Panthers, Elaine Brown, also wrote a book. She gave it to me, but I never got around to reading it, so I can't comment on its contents.

I remember reading Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and loving it. I think I was in the minority, though -- it was a bit too "out there" and long for most of my peers.

And as for Fast Food Nation - do your students really need a book that "goes somewhere"? This might be a good time to give them the opportunity to really dive into a book and discuss it critically. I'm thinking that they might get more out of a read at home / class discussion format for this book then they would out of some Dickens joint. But that's my opinion.
posted by dihutenosa at 8:55 PM on September 23, 2005

I second Oliver Sacks.

I also recommend A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman, which is about the plague!

and

A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong

and (especially)

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
by Erik Larson

Description from Amazon.com:

Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing.

If your students enjoy this wonderful book, they will probably also enjoy this related, interactive-fiction game: 1893 - A World's Fair Mystery
posted by grumblebee at 8:58 PM on September 23, 2005

some possibilities, although the degree to which urban high school students will like them varies:

1. A Brief History Of Time, by Stephen Hawking (also a phenomenal documentary if that'll help engage the kids.)

2. Nigger by Dick Gregory

3. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote

4. Unbelievable: The Life, Death and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. by Vibe Magazine (definitely check it out yourself to make sure you think it's educational enough.) (alternative: Tupac Shakur, by Quincey Jones (!!!) and Vibe Magazine)

5. Two Words: Hunter S. Thompson (fine, two words and an initial.)

6. There are a ton of other types of books, but these examples should hopefully fire your imagination for where you can go with this type of thing.
posted by shmegegge at 9:00 PM on September 23, 2005

Gideon's Trumpet, by Anthony Lewis.

The story behind Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court case that said that you by-God get an attorney in felony cases even if you can't afford one. It's a gripping, compelling story in its own right. It's still a fabulous introduction to the Court, and the case was gigantically important.

As an added bonus, it should be cheap.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:06 PM on September 23, 2005

I'd like to avoid episodic kinds of things, or rather text made of many small narratives, like Hiroshima appears to be (correct me if I'm wrong--I just read tha Amazon info), and Man Who Mistook... is.

I'd rather one text with one narrative.

I don't mean to be picky, I am already really interested in the suggestions so far and will be looking at them all.

Additional consideration: Theme of growth or maturation (in any guise).

Dihutenosa: I mention that they're Black (thank you for correcting my capitalization) for informative puposes. I'm not trying to be...anything...I just want to get put you all in their shoes. And I'm right with you on FFN, but they'll get bored of the lack of narrative and then teaching it won't be fun. I want us all to have fun, you know.

Another note on preview: You are all kickass.

Devil in the White City sounds badass. Hadn't even thought of In Cold Blood, and it's timely.

Please keep up the great ideas.
posted by etc. at 9:07 PM on September 23, 2005

Are your students reading (or watching) any Shakespeare? Will in the World is remarkable. And it actually DOES deal with growth and maturation. (There's a section in it about the young Will S. poaching rabbits, which may have been why he had to flee Stratford and move to London.)
posted by grumblebee at 9:20 PM on September 23, 2005

grumblebee: I'll pass that along to my co-teacher, who also has a Shakespeare class. Thanks.
posted by etc. at 9:25 PM on September 23, 2005

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger is a thought. Brilliant piece of writing, focussed narrative, set in a high school, lots to say about sport and society. Also was recently a movie, which might further help your students engage it.

Or A Million Little Pieces by James Frey maybe? About to be Oprahfied, so it'll be talked about all over the place. Unique literary style, and it's a pretty much totally sanctimony-free tale of beating addiction, thus heavy on the growth/maturation thing without talking down to your students.

And as shmegegge hinted, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson is one of the finest works of American writing there is, non-fiction or otherwise, and should be required reading by anyone who wants to understand American society and/or American literature.
posted by gompa at 9:26 PM on September 23, 2005

I Wonder as I Wander by Langston Hughes is an awesome book, it's an autobiographical travelog. It might be cool to have african americans read an autobiography by an influential african american writer. I really like this book, it's got a breezy kind of narrative appropriate vocabulary, I don't remember any objectionable situations. You could do worse.
posted by I Foody at 9:59 PM on September 23, 2005

Anthony Walton's Mississippi is an excellent nonfiction book about a man who retraces his family's history in the Deep South.
posted by qslack at 10:06 PM on September 23, 2005

The Road From Home is a reconstructed account of one girl's experience in the Armenian genocide. I really liked it.

Blood Red Sunset is a Chinese guy's memoir of his experiences in the Cultural Revolution. This one is good for themes of personal growth.
posted by thirteenkiller at 10:10 PM on September 23, 2005

Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser might be an interesting read. I think there were narrative elements.
posted by cloeburner at 10:11 PM on September 23, 2005

Travels with Charley

by John Steinbeck
posted by meta87 at 10:14 PM on September 23, 2005

i've been meaning to get ben steins "How to ruin your life" for my nephew. could be very interesting.
posted by sadie01221975 at 10:18 PM on September 23, 2005

I think there is way too little politics/economics/history taught at the high school level, so here are my recommendations:

Michael Jordan the New Global Capitalism by Walter LaFeber.

Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould (or anything else by Gould)

From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman (I know, I know...but this is before 9/11 made him crazy. Excellent introduction to the Middle East).

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X, Alex Haley

Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth by M.K. Gandhi, Sissela Bok
posted by slow, man at 10:21 PM on September 23, 2005

They are unrelated, but A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson and Night by Elie Wiesel seem to fit the bill. I read the latter in high school and have never regretted it.
posted by HiddenInput at 10:24 PM on September 23, 2005

The Hot Zone is particularly appealing when addressing science related process and issues with high school students.
posted by ptm at 10:30 PM on September 23, 2005

House by Tracy Kidder is an amazingly good book that explores the design and construction of a house in western Massachusetts, especially focusing on the relationships between the builder, clients, and architect. Personality differences with a common goal.
posted by Vidiot at 10:39 PM on September 23, 2005

What sort of class are you teaching? Your request seems a little broad, but maybe you intended that.

Depending on what you're teaching, you might consider Will in the World (as grumblebee suggested), Into Thin Air (about climbing Everest) or Into the Wild (about roughing it — and dying — in Alaska) by Jon Krakauer, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (about growing up in Africa) by Alexandra Fuller, any of the many books about Antarctica (The Worst Journey in the World, Endurance, etc.), or Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris. The latter doesn't have one continuous narrative, but many small ones describing the process leading to important discoveries. (This book made me realize Galileo was a jerk and at least partially responsible for the shit heaped upon him.) Also maybe Undaunted Courage (about Lewis and Clark) or Founding Brothers (a fantastic exploration of the founding brothers).

I had saved my ultimate, perfect recommendation for last, but now that I've reached the end of my comment, I've forgotten it. Typical. I'll post another comment if I remember...
posted by jdroth at 10:43 PM on September 23, 2005

The Path Between the Seas
posted by hortense at 10:58 PM on September 23, 2005

Black Boy by Richard Wright

Too obvious?
posted by clh at 11:51 PM on September 23, 2005

Angela's Ashes? It's non-fiction, narrative, coming-of-age (or just surviving a miserable childhood), and has a bit of Irish and US History as well.
posted by stefanie at 1:14 AM on September 24, 2005

I second any of Bill Bryson's books too, though the ones like Mother Tongue and A Short History of Nearly Everything contain a fair amount of incorrect or misleading information. His narratives are great though.

In that same vein, might you try some travel writing? I'm particularly fond of The Sex Lives of Cannibals and No Touch Monkey. I guarantee the titles will make them want to actually read the books, and they're actually interesting when you get into them.

The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh is a good choice too, I think. I'm sure that the kids were given both sides of the Vietnam War in their history classes, but I think Bao Ninh does a good job of really driving it home. Plus, it's got war and stuff.

Along with Alison, I'm also a big fan of Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. It might get a little technical for your students at times (some parts are just a page or two of him talking about very specific physics problems), but overall it's a really interesting account of a weird guy's life.
posted by borkingchikapa at 1:31 AM on September 24, 2005

"The Story of Dirt" is fascinating and readable. I can't find it on Amazon, though. It's a nice tale about dirt, the skin of the earth, our breadbasket and life, and how we can't survive without it. Loam. Particulate Organic Matter. Soil. Black gold.

I really wish I had a chance to read this book in high school. It's entertaining, informative, and transformative. It really makes you take stock of your priorities and look at the world around you - and the ground beneath your feet - in a totally different light.

I would try to avoid foisting Godel, Escher and Bach on tenth graders. If they're ready for that they'll find it. If they aren't ready for it some of them may experience periodic episodes or permanent states of fugue-like insanity, with a high probability of brisantly exploding heads. Messy. It's a very nice book - one of my favorites of all time - but it's about as dangerous as heroic ubermensch doses of LSD.
posted by loquacious at 2:18 AM on September 24, 2005

Maus? It won a Pulitzer, and you could break from the norm pretty severely in assigning a graphic novel. Though at the same time, it's a very subjective, fairly narrow view of a massive event... Cooler than Anne Frank though, for sure.

Hunter S. Thompson would be great. I have Hell's Angels sitting on my "to read" pile at the moment, which I might consider in lieu of Fear and Loathing since it's really quite exposed.
posted by rfordh at 2:38 AM on September 24, 2005

I second "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote.
posted by Frank Grimes at 8:04 AM on September 24, 2005

Oooh. Stefanie's suggestion is fantastic. Angela's Ashes might be perfect for this group.
posted by jdroth at 8:17 AM on September 24, 2005

how about Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and if the kids take to that book well, follow it up with Into The Wild...
posted by hummercash at 8:27 AM on September 24, 2005

I ALWAYS suggest Devil in the White City for non-fiction, awesome book.

And I always... umm... the opposite of suggest... Bill Bryson. Very annoying guy who's way too full of himself and unwilling to reconsider any part of the thesis he set out with just because he's bothered by some pesky facts. Also seems like a "Damn kids, get off my lawn!" sort of guy, which is not the sort of author I'd assign for high-schoolers.
posted by dagnyscott at 8:59 AM on September 24, 2005

I think the Hot Zone is a perfect idea!
posted by 31d1 at 9:00 AM on September 24, 2005

Will in the World was a slog for this college-graduate English major professional writer to read. I wouldn't recommend it for 10th graders.

I'm gonna second/third/whatever Devil in the White City -- it was one of the most compelling non-fiction books I've read in a long time.

Students will learn cool random facts, like how the ferris wheel was invented. They'll get some insight into a different historica era -- the turn of the last century. And there's a serial killer involved, which really can't lose when you're talking about teenagers. If you're in Chicago, you've really got to read it.

"The Autobiography of Malcolm X" is also a great book. Your students will learn about the early civil rights movement, and watch a character grow through faith, then beyond it. I would imagine it might be even more relevant today than it was when I read it six years ago, because Malcom X's struggle to understand Islam is so important in the second half of the book.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 9:18 AM on September 24, 2005

I've read most of the books on this list so far, and The Autobiography of Malcom X is the one I would reccomend, and not simply because he was black. The early parts of his life are really entertaining, with detailed descriptions of various low-lifes he consorted with. The later parts of the book deal with his decision to educate himself. It should be required reading.
posted by phrontist at 9:25 AM on September 24, 2005

You might look into "Driving Mr. Albert" by Michael Paterniti. It's a pretty good story with some interesting side trips. And the whole Einstein's-brain-in-a-jar thing might be a good hook for high school kids.
posted by gd at 9:34 AM on September 24, 2005

How about these:

Frederick Douglass: "The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass"

Truman Capote: "In Cold Blood" (I know it was suggessted above, but I'd like to suggest it again!)

Michael Herr: "Dispatches"

Peter Matthiesen: "Under the Mountain Wall"

Barbara Tuchmann: "The Guns of August"

George Orwell: "Down and Out in Paris and London"

All of these are great non-fiction books, a little removed from the culture of the hear-and-now.
posted by josh at 9:36 AM on September 24, 2005

Devil in the White City is a great recommendation.

Maybe... A Rumor of War? Philip Caputo. It's a Vietnam memoir.

My boyfriend recommends Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea... despite the title, he says it's amazing.
posted by elisabeth r at 9:37 AM on September 24, 2005

Herr, Matthiessen, and Orwell are especially good writers--the Matthiesen in particular is amazing. And everyone should read Frederick Douglass--maybe they've already read it.

Also, what about Thoreau's "Walden"? Or Emerson's essays?
posted by josh at 9:39 AM on September 24, 2005

Looking at my own shelves, the book that came to mind was Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity, by David Foster Wallace. It does have some of Wallace's more rococo stylistic elements, but it's still a fairly easy read and has a nice narrative to it.
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:02 AM on September 24, 2005

I would've loved Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer in High School.
posted by dgeiser13 at 12:30 PM on September 24, 2005

Richard Rhodes' "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" and "Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb." One [I forget which] won a Pulitzer, and it's very interesting stuff. Lots of history and a fair amount of [well-explained] science.
posted by ubersturm at 12:36 PM on September 24, 2005

Living at the Edge of the World : How I Survived in the Tunnels of Grand Central Station by Tina S.
posted by daninnj at 12:50 PM on September 24, 2005

Seconding "Into Thin Air", or possibly "Touching the Void" by Joe Simpson (which has the film tie in too).
posted by hardcode at 12:51 PM on September 24, 2005

I really liked The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe despite its length and difficulty. Although I was in 8th grade when I read it, so 10th graders might have an easier time. Also, Bound For Gloryby Woody Guthrie is the only biography/autobiography that I've ever enjoyed.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 12:55 PM on September 24, 2005

The Color of Water. Excellent.
posted by oflinkey at 12:56 PM on September 24, 2005

RATS!
All city dwellers should read this one. And I second Into the Wild, among others.
posted by slow, man at 1:13 PM on September 24, 2005

I third - whatever - Angela's Ashes.
posted by arcticwoman at 1:15 PM on September 24, 2005

Angela's Ashes is an excellent selection, but so might be Mountains Beyond Mountains : The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder. And some of Paul Farmer's own writings would be within the abilities of strong students.
posted by diodotos at 1:20 PM on September 24, 2005

I third Into the Wild. Great book. I might recommend skipping parts in the second half, when Krakauer goes off on his own stories. Especially for city kids, I think it would be very striking. It certainly made an impact on me (west coast town kid).
posted by devilsbrigade at 1:24 PM on September 24, 2005

just a followup to my Into Thin Air suggestion from before... was in a rush to run out and didn't get a chance to explain. I read both of those books in 10th/11th grade and of all the books I had to read in high school, those are 2 of maybe 5 or so total that I would love to read again... and I'm not a big fan of reading (because I'm so slow at it, probably ADD related).

And the class discussions we had about those books were very interesting as well.

I just noticed Hot Zone on preview and think that would be an excellent choice as well... ya gotta keep it fun and exciting or risk losing their attention (games on your TI-83, anyone?).
posted by hummercash at 2:21 PM on September 24, 2005

"In Cold Blood" is a great book, based on actual events, but I wouldn't call it non-fiction in the strictest sense of the world. Truman Capote took a lot of liberties to create his masterpiece.

I'll also second Barbara Tuchmann's "The Guns of August," about the events that led to the start of World War I. The writing is incredible.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 2:23 PM on September 24, 2005

I'll put my votes in for "Into the Wild" and "Friday Night Lights."
posted by SisterHavana at 2:48 PM on September 24, 2005

How about Freakonomics, or Everything Bad is Good For You?
posted by box at 4:57 PM on September 24, 2005

We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow we will be Killed with our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
posted by Airhen at 7:53 PM on September 24, 2005

A World Lit Only by Fire : The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance - Portrait of an Age by William Manchester

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
posted by the_bone at 8:34 PM on September 24, 2005

There's so much good stuff here that I'll be coming back to this thread for years to come. I would mark every comment as a "best answer" if I weren't so lazy.

Thanks to all.
posted by etc. at 8:55 PM on September 24, 2005

As far as Hunter S. Thompson goes, while I agree that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is one of the finest things ever committed to paper, and Hells Angels is also a good read, the first kind of blurs the non-fiction line more than a bit (in the greatest interest of subjective higher truth, of course), and the second isn't really HST at his best...

As an alternative, if you're considering Thompson, you might want to consider "Fear and Loathing: on the Campaign Trail '72" as an alternative -- it's more mainstream HST, probably a little bit less "fictionesque" than Las Vegas, and offers some very interesting insights into that period of American politics...

John Taylor Gatto's "The Underground History of American Education" would be a lot of fun, but teaching it probably would come with more than a few consequences...
posted by nonliteral at 12:56 AM on September 25, 2005

I forgot to mention Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia" -- that would be another good one.

I'm kind of weirded about by suggestions like "Everything Bad is Good For You." That's a fun book, but I think having kids read these kinds of pop-sci books that make (potentially wrong) arguments is a bad idea. They have no context in which to evaluate their reading. You don't want them reading "Blink" and coming away thinking that "Blink" is truth.

Just my $0.02. Also, I thought of some more:

Joan Didion - "Slouching Towards Bethlehem"

Ambrose Bierce - "Phantoms of a Blood-Stained Period" (I can't recommend this enough!--it's a collection of Bierce's short fiction, essays, newspaper articles, letters, even his maps and diagrams from the Civil War. Even excerpts from this would be amazing. It includes the very well-known "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.")
posted by josh at 9:26 AM on September 25, 2005

I loved both of these when I was in high school:
Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon
posted by belladonna at 8:56 PM on September 25, 2005

I am reading Sacks' An Anthropologist on Mars, a series of seven tales about people who suffer from different forms of brain disfunction. They really are good stories, yet they expose you to things about your brain that defy common sense. He goes real easy on vocabulary, and as there are seven different stories, it would be easy for high school kids to get through. Plus, you might be able to show the movie Awakenings which is based on Sacks' life.
posted by phewbertie at 5:35 AM on September 26, 2005

Almost anything by James Burke will give a lot of historical perspective. Knowledge Web might be tough to do in a class setting due to its "choose your own story" layout.

Circles is a fun read, but the chapters are very short and they all end up where they started. Interesting in a literary way, but they don't "go anywhere".

I think Connections is a great fit for what you've asked. Each story starts with something inconsiquential and ends with something familiar and spectacular.
posted by kc0dxh at 9:44 AM on September 26, 2005

The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:33 AM on September 26, 2005