I've recently discovered that I love reading non-fiction about the Great Outdoors and the things that happen there. I'm talking about books like 'Touching the Void' by Joe Simpson, and Jon Krakauer's books 'Into Thin Air' and 'Into the Wild'. It doesn't necessarily have to be about disasters and tragedies: I really loved this recent FPP about the Alaskan Iditarod. I want to read (but haven't yet) 'Into the Silence: the Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest'. Please recommend me other books in this vein?
posted by meronym on May 2, 2013 - 35 answers

Please recommend stories about mental battles. Specifically, people overcoming deep-seated fears or beliefs. [more inside]
posted by fix on May 3, 2012 - 7 answers

I love non-fiction, but a lot of it is either annoyingly precise or too worthy. I'm looking for fun entertaining bedtime reading that won't tax the mind too much. Any suggestions? [more inside]
posted by cdenman on Sep 10, 2011 - 40 answers

Help me put together a list of the most zeitgeist-y, readable and accomplished "big idea" non-fiction books of recent years. [more inside]
posted by oneaday on Aug 15, 2011 - 31 answers

There's no shortage of excellent "what to read" threads around here, but I'm looking for something a bit more specific. The tricky part is I'm looking for a style and a point of view, rather than a particular genre or subject. [more inside]
posted by TayBridge on Jan 29, 2010 - 46 answers

I'm looking for more great non-fiction books. Requirements: writing to make an English major swoon; a thesis or narrative structure that makes for an organized, logical flow; well-reported; interesting; true, with embellishments of known fact made known by the author. [more inside]
posted by croutonsupafreak on Aug 22, 2006 - 46 answers

What non-fiction books or documentary films explore a subculture or lifestyle as effectively as Henry Chalfant & Tony Silver's Style Wars and Hunter S. Thompson's Hell's Angels? [more inside]
posted by njm on Jul 26, 2006 - 42 answers