Books that teach through osmosis?
June 2, 2008 1:36 PM Subscribe
What are your favorite books that you can learn through osmosis from reading?
I'm looking for novels, memoirs, etc. that have a good story, and that will teach me something along the way as well. One example would be Michael Ruhlman's "The Making of a Chef." So, what are your favorite books that teach through osmosis?
I'm looking for novels, memoirs, etc. that have a good story, and that will teach me something along the way as well. One example would be Michael Ruhlman's "The Making of a Chef." So, what are your favorite books that teach through osmosis?
Very similar to Making of a Chef is Bill Buford's Heat. I've read both and loved both.
posted by boomchicka at 1:48 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by boomchicka at 1:48 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Cosmos.
posted by Mblue at 1:50 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Mblue at 1:50 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
You might do well to look for biographies of people you admire, or people in fields that interest you. For example, if you're at all interested in urban planning or NYC history, you might really like The Power Broker. It chronicles Robert Moses' crazy life and accomplishments, both the good and the bad.
posted by boomchicka at 1:54 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by boomchicka at 1:54 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Herman Wouk's Winds of War novels - WWII
James Michener's novels always begin with lots of historical, geological and other information.
Leon Uris' novels have lots of good historical and political info.
My brother recommends Bernard Cornwell and, especially, Patrick O'Brian for political/historical fiction.
posted by theora55 at 2:08 PM on June 2, 2008
James Michener's novels always begin with lots of historical, geological and other information.
Leon Uris' novels have lots of good historical and political info.
My brother recommends Bernard Cornwell and, especially, Patrick O'Brian for political/historical fiction.
posted by theora55 at 2:08 PM on June 2, 2008
Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood. (You won't learn anything advanced, but you'll probably pick up a few interesting things)
posted by -harlequin- at 2:09 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by -harlequin- at 2:09 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Sophie's World for philosophy from the Pre-Socratics through Sartre, though I haven't read it myself.
posted by ga$money at 2:31 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by ga$money at 2:31 PM on June 2, 2008
The Gangs of New York is technically not a novel, but it reads a lot like one. Very entertaining, if you have a strong stomache.
If you don't mind the challenge of sorting the (intentional?) misinformation from the fact, try Cryptonomicon or any of Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle" novels.
Jack London is always good for a learning experience, but I gather experienced dog mushers treat Call of the Wild like parody. (I was always partial to White Fang.)
posted by lodurr at 2:37 PM on June 2, 2008
If you don't mind the challenge of sorting the (intentional?) misinformation from the fact, try Cryptonomicon or any of Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle" novels.
Jack London is always good for a learning experience, but I gather experienced dog mushers treat Call of the Wild like parody. (I was always partial to White Fang.)
posted by lodurr at 2:37 PM on June 2, 2008
On a similar note, I think Stephenson's The Diamond Age is a great example of lessons embedded in narrative -- and without the deliberate misinformation of the Baroque Cycle.
There are a number of food-based autobiographies (Ruth Reichl and Julia Child come to mind) that have techniques and recipes sprinkled throughout. I always found those fun, and those two in particular are very good reads.
posted by tigerbelly at 2:52 PM on June 2, 2008
There are a number of food-based autobiographies (Ruth Reichl and Julia Child come to mind) that have techniques and recipes sprinkled throughout. I always found those fun, and those two in particular are very good reads.
posted by tigerbelly at 2:52 PM on June 2, 2008
Bringing Down the House, the book that inspired the movie "21".
You'll learn to count cards by the end, not well, but you'll know the theory. And it reads like a novel.
posted by Precision at 2:54 PM on June 2, 2008
You'll learn to count cards by the end, not well, but you'll know the theory. And it reads like a novel.
posted by Precision at 2:54 PM on June 2, 2008
Johhny Tremain - a little bit of Revolutionary War stuff
Forever - history of Manhattan, in bits and pieces from pre-Revolutionary days to 9/11.
Middlesex - history again, this time of Detroit and a little bit of Greece/Turkey.
posted by LionIndex at 3:00 PM on June 2, 2008
Forever - history of Manhattan, in bits and pieces from pre-Revolutionary days to 9/11.
Middlesex - history again, this time of Detroit and a little bit of Greece/Turkey.
posted by LionIndex at 3:00 PM on June 2, 2008
The Long Firm trilogy by Jake Arnott gives some excellent background on British history through from the 60's to now.
posted by merocet at 3:05 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by merocet at 3:05 PM on June 2, 2008
Brunelleschi's Dome - the architecture and engineering of the Dome itself, but also Renaissance Florence
The Devil in the White City - fiction and not exactly obscure, but the contextual parts on the World's Fair and Daniel Burnham are magnificent
posted by carbide at 3:10 PM on June 2, 2008
The Devil in the White City - fiction and not exactly obscure, but the contextual parts on the World's Fair and Daniel Burnham are magnificent
posted by carbide at 3:10 PM on June 2, 2008
I just finished The Devil in White City by Erik Larsen. Not the type of book I typically pick up, but I'm glad I did. I learned a lot about the World's Fair and Chicago at the turn of the century, among other things.
posted by prior at 3:21 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by prior at 3:21 PM on June 2, 2008
How about mathematics? Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture by Apostolos Doxiadis and The Parrot's Theorem by Denis Guedj are interesting novels and I've seen people who don't like mathematics read them and enjoy them.
posted by ersatz at 4:17 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by ersatz at 4:17 PM on June 2, 2008
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz provides a relatively extensive look at the Dominican Republic under Trujillo.
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 4:58 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 4:58 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
The Last Samurai, by Helen DeWitt.
posted by languagehat at 5:51 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by languagehat at 5:51 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Also on the math side, Flatland is a classic that includes social satire as well - quasi-Swiftian in feel. The Number Devil was written for children, but is quite enjoyable, although it may be more didactic than you're looking for.
I love James Burke, too. His stuff is not fiction/memoir, just straight non-fiction on the history of science, but he has a gift for engaging narrative.
posted by clerestory at 6:01 PM on June 2, 2008
I love James Burke, too. His stuff is not fiction/memoir, just straight non-fiction on the history of science, but he has a gift for engaging narrative.
posted by clerestory at 6:01 PM on June 2, 2008
1. I'm currently reading Carl Sagan's Contact. I still have a ways to go in the book but the movie did something huge for me. For the first time ever, it made me give claims of religious knowledge at least the benefit of the doubt. Funny that I should learn that lesson from Carl Sagan. The lesson of the movie, at least, is that you can't truly ever know what someone else can or can't know. And you can't really prove to anyone else that you know what you know. But you know... you know?! Or maybe better said, there are things that you can know that you could never prove to someone (while there are others that you could). You won't see me in church anytime soon and I still have my doubts, but it has broadened the unknowingness of my agnosticism to a less judgemental place. All I really know is I don't know and I can't speak for anyone else. I don't know how much the book will wind up being like the movie.
2. On a related note, the best lesson I ever learned about how little any of us really knows about anyone else's reality/culture other than our own was in Ann Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down. I say reality/culture because the book shows you that culture defines reality to a degree that you would not believe. I mean some things are universal, right? This book turns that idea on its head. You can read an excerpt here.
It's not a novel, but is very worthwhile if you want to learn something important. It's a chronicle of a Hmong family's experience trying to get medical care for their epileptic daughter after they emigrated from Laos to California. These are people who see epilepsy as a sort of special shamanic gift, not a medical condition that needs treatment, and whose reality is defined by and underpinned by lots of mythical stuff and malevolent spirits. And they can't even read in their own language, much less in English, yet they have loads of pill bottles with instructions on the labels that they're supposed to understand. Meanwhile they understand that what they really need to do is sacrifice a chicken to appease the offended spirit who stole their daughter's soul, or if that doesn't work then a pig. I'm telling you, I'm not doing the differentness of their understanding of reality any justice here. Meanwhile the daughter suffers the consequences.
But the back and forth between what the parents are thinking and what the doctors are thinking will surprise you. You think you know, but you don't know. The book really makes you question. I've never learned more about an aspect of life from a book than from that one. Reality is entirely mutable, entirely subjective, and even when you think you know a lot about a culture other than your own, you don't know a tenth of it and probably can't ever really see through its eyes or understand it. Yet you interact with someone and unconsciously assume that they are operating by the same rules as you. They're not! That's the seed of all cultural conflict, but really it can apply to the sexes, to generations, to classes, to business cultures, and really between any two given people. It's an excellent lesson and a powerful call for openmindedness and tolerance.
It's also a handy history lesson in the shitty treatment of people who support the US abroad in exchange for promises of protection. Guess how it turns out?!
posted by Askr at 6:35 PM on June 2, 2008
2. On a related note, the best lesson I ever learned about how little any of us really knows about anyone else's reality/culture other than our own was in Ann Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down. I say reality/culture because the book shows you that culture defines reality to a degree that you would not believe. I mean some things are universal, right? This book turns that idea on its head. You can read an excerpt here.
It's not a novel, but is very worthwhile if you want to learn something important. It's a chronicle of a Hmong family's experience trying to get medical care for their epileptic daughter after they emigrated from Laos to California. These are people who see epilepsy as a sort of special shamanic gift, not a medical condition that needs treatment, and whose reality is defined by and underpinned by lots of mythical stuff and malevolent spirits. And they can't even read in their own language, much less in English, yet they have loads of pill bottles with instructions on the labels that they're supposed to understand. Meanwhile they understand that what they really need to do is sacrifice a chicken to appease the offended spirit who stole their daughter's soul, or if that doesn't work then a pig. I'm telling you, I'm not doing the differentness of their understanding of reality any justice here. Meanwhile the daughter suffers the consequences.
But the back and forth between what the parents are thinking and what the doctors are thinking will surprise you. You think you know, but you don't know. The book really makes you question. I've never learned more about an aspect of life from a book than from that one. Reality is entirely mutable, entirely subjective, and even when you think you know a lot about a culture other than your own, you don't know a tenth of it and probably can't ever really see through its eyes or understand it. Yet you interact with someone and unconsciously assume that they are operating by the same rules as you. They're not! That's the seed of all cultural conflict, but really it can apply to the sexes, to generations, to classes, to business cultures, and really between any two given people. It's an excellent lesson and a powerful call for openmindedness and tolerance.
It's also a handy history lesson in the shitty treatment of people who support the US abroad in exchange for promises of protection. Guess how it turns out?!
posted by Askr at 6:35 PM on June 2, 2008
Chuck Palahniuk seconded.
posted by ludwig_van at 6:49 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by ludwig_van at 6:49 PM on June 2, 2008
U.S.A. the trilogy by John Dos Passos. One of the most underread, undersyllabussed (sp? word?) books of the late century. All sorts of thing to learn there.
posted by emhutchinson at 7:00 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by emhutchinson at 7:00 PM on June 2, 2008
The Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels teach you a great deal about naval life in the Napoleonic era, though historical novels feel like cheating in answering this question, so perhaps we should go with Clockers, which will teach you about drug dealing.
posted by shothotbot at 8:15 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by shothotbot at 8:15 PM on June 2, 2008
"What is the What" was a fairly educational story for me about the lost boys and the sudanese conflicts, at least in terms of adding a non-academic perspective.
"Confessions of a Yakuza" was also a very interesting book about japanese culture in the early part of the century.
"Armies of the Night" also has a lot of education in it, as do a lot of mailer's other books I've been told.
These are all books that are personal narratives based around events I knew little about.
posted by Large Marge at 12:28 AM on June 3, 2008
"Confessions of a Yakuza" was also a very interesting book about japanese culture in the early part of the century.
"Armies of the Night" also has a lot of education in it, as do a lot of mailer's other books I've been told.
These are all books that are personal narratives based around events I knew little about.
posted by Large Marge at 12:28 AM on June 3, 2008
seconding The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz - extraordinary book
One River: Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazon Rain Forest by Wade Davis is a superb biography of Richard Evans Schultes, the founder of ethnobotany mixed in with a memoir of Davis' own explorations of that region - it reads like a novel & you'll learn all manner of thing about history, biology, botany, indigenous cultures of the amazon rainforest, & much more
Also, The World as I Found It by Bruce Duffy is an engaging & well-researched novel about Ludwig Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell, & G.E. Moore at Cambridge - full of interesting info concerning the history, philosophy & culture of early 1900s Europe.
posted by jammy at 5:24 AM on June 3, 2008 [1 favorite]
One River: Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazon Rain Forest by Wade Davis is a superb biography of Richard Evans Schultes, the founder of ethnobotany mixed in with a memoir of Davis' own explorations of that region - it reads like a novel & you'll learn all manner of thing about history, biology, botany, indigenous cultures of the amazon rainforest, & much more
Also, The World as I Found It by Bruce Duffy is an engaging & well-researched novel about Ludwig Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell, & G.E. Moore at Cambridge - full of interesting info concerning the history, philosophy & culture of early 1900s Europe.
posted by jammy at 5:24 AM on June 3, 2008 [1 favorite]
The Poisonwood Bible
by Barbara Kingsolver
the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy.
posted by InstantSanitizer at 8:56 AM on June 3, 2008
by Barbara Kingsolver
the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy.
posted by InstantSanitizer at 8:56 AM on June 3, 2008
Dan Brown claims all the information in The Da Vinci Code is true.
posted by HotPatatta at 9:12 AM on June 3, 2008
posted by HotPatatta at 9:12 AM on June 3, 2008
Here is a similar thread regarding learning about historical events from novels.
posted by triggerfinger at 11:09 AM on June 3, 2008
posted by triggerfinger at 11:09 AM on June 3, 2008
The Devil in the White City - fiction and not exactly obscure,
AFAIK, this is non-fiction, although half the chapters are written in a narrative style.
posted by smackfu at 11:42 AM on June 3, 2008
AFAIK, this is non-fiction, although half the chapters are written in a narrative style.
posted by smackfu at 11:42 AM on June 3, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by shotgunbooty at 1:37 PM on June 2, 2008