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Recommendations based on Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13by Jim Lovell
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
by Carl Sagan
A critical look at superstition and pseudoscience, advocating for the power of science and reason.
How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? ... (Goodreads)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer
A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)
The Right Stuff
by Tom Wolfe
The heroic story of the first American astronauts, and their incredible feats of courage.
Tom Wolfe began The Right Stuff at a time when it was unfashionable to contemplate American heroism. Nixon had left the White House in disgrace, the nation was reeling from the catastrophe of ... (Goodreads)
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
by Mark Bowden
A detailed account of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, where US soldiers fought Somali militia in a brutal urban warfare.
On October 3, 1993, about a hundred U.S. soldiers were dropped by helicopter into a teeming market in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia, to abduct two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. The action ... (Goodreads)
John Adams
by David McCullough
Biography of the second President of the United States and his contributions to the founding of the nation.
The enthralling, often surprising story of John Adams, one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived. In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous ... (Goodreads)
Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever
by Bill O'Reilly
A detailed account of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and its impact on the nation.
A riveting historical narrative of the heart-stopping events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the first work of history from mega-bestselling author Bill O'Reilly, The anchor of, ... (Goodreads)
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
by Chris Hadfield
Experiences and insights from a veteran astronaut's career, empowering readers to achieve their greatest goals.
Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a ... (Goodreads)
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
by Mary Roach
Exploring the science, technology and culture of human space travel.
The best-selling author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity. From the Space Shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new ... (Goodreads)
Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot
by Bill O'Reilly
A detailed account of the events leading up to the assassination of President Kennedy.
Tthe anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts in gripping detail the brutal murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—and how a sequence of gunshots on a Dallas afternoon not only killed a beloved president ... (Goodreads)
The Beatles: The Biography
by Bob Spitz
An in-depth look at the rise of the iconic band from their early days to their eventual global domination.
Even before the Beatles hit the big time, a myth was created. This version of the Beatles legend smoothed the rough edges and filled in the fault lines, and for more than forty years this manicured ... (Goodreads)
1776
by David McCullough
A riveting account of the events leading up to and during the American Revolution.
In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence - when the whole American ... (Goodreads)
The World Without Us
by Alan Weisman
A thought experiment exploring how the Earth and its species would fare without the presence of humans.
A penetrating, page-turning tour of a post-human Earth In The World Without Us , Alan Weisman offers an utterly original approach to questions of humanity's impact on the planet: he asks us to ... (Goodreads)
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History
by John M. Barry
Chronicling the 1918 influenza pandemic, examining the medical, social and governmental responses.
At the height of WWI, history’s most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It ... (Goodreads)
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
by Caroline Alexander
A gripping account of the famous Antarctic exploration, led by Ernest Shackleton.
In August 1914, days before the outbreak of the First World War, the renowned explorer Ernest Shackleton and a crew of twenty-seven set sail for the South Atlantic in pursuit of the last unclaimed ... (Goodreads)
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America
by Timothy Egan
The heroic story of how Teddy Roosevelt and the US Forest Service fought the largest wildfire in US history.
On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, whipping the hundreds of small blazes burning ... (Goodreads)
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
by Sebastian Junger
A harrowing account of a fishing boat's journey into the heart of an epic storm.
"Takes readers into the maelstrom and shows nature's splendid and dangerous havoc at its utmost". October 1991. It was "the perfect storm"–a tempest that may happen only once in a century--a ... (Goodreads)
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
by Stephen E. Ambrose
An epic narrative of the American soldiers of Easy Company during World War II.
As good a rifle company as any, Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, US Army, kept getting tough assignments–responsible for everything from parachuting into France early DDay morning to the ... (Goodreads)
Citizen Soldiers: The US Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany
by Stephen E. Ambrose
A compelling account of courage, determination and sacrifice shown by the US Army during World War II.
From Stephen E. Ambrose, bestselling author of, Band of Brothers, and, D-Day, the inspiring story of the ordinary men of the U.S. army in northwest Europe from the day after D-Day until the end of ... (Goodreads)
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
by Carl Sagan
Reflection on humanity's place in the universe, and its responsibility to protect life on Earth.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carl Sagan traces our exploration of space and suggests that our very survival may depend on the wise use of other worlds. This stirring book reveals how scientific ... (Goodreads)
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
by Richard Rhodes
Historical narrative of the scientists and engineers who developed the atomic bomb.
Here for the first time, in rich, human, political, and scientific detail, is the complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside ... (Goodreads)
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don't
by Nate Silver
An exploration of the art and science of prediction, examining why some predictions succeed while others fail.
Nate Silver built an innovative system for predicting baseball performance, predicted the 2008 election within a hair's breadth. He solidified his standing as the nation's foremost political ... (Goodreads)
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking
Exploring the depths of time and space and the emergence of the universe.
In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold ... (Goodreads)
His Excellency: George Washington
by Joseph J. Ellis
Biography of the first President of the United States and the key role he played in the founding of the nation.
To this landmark biography of our first president, Joseph J. Ellis brings the exacting scholarship, shrewd analysis, and lyric prose that have made him one of the premier historians of the ... (Goodreads)
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
Comprehensive biography of the Founding Father, delving into his contributions to the American Revolution.
An alternate cover edition can be found, here., Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow presents a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired, ... (Goodreads)
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
by Harold G. Moore
An account of the Battle of Ia Drang in Vietnam, told from the perspective of the soldiers who fought it.
Each year, the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps selects one book that he believes is both relevant and timeless for reading by all Marines. The Commandant's choice for 1993 was We Were Soldiers ... (Goodreads)
The Boys of Summer
by Roger Kahn
Exploring the lives of a legendary baseball team and the lasting impact of their championship season.
This is a book about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke ... (Goodreads)
Desert Solitaire
by Edward Abbey
A personal account of a season spent as a park ranger in the American wilderness.
First published in 1968, Desert Solitaire is one of Edward Abbey’s most critically acclaimed works and marks his first foray into the world of nonfiction writing. Written while Abbey was working as a ... (Goodreads)
Cosmos
by Carl Sagan
Voyage through the vastness of space, unlocking the mysteries of the universe.
Cosmos has 13 heavily illustrated chapters, corresponding to the 13 episodes of the Cosmos television series. In the book, Sagan explores 15 billion years of cosmic evolution and the development of ... (Goodreads)
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
by Alfred Lansing
True story of a remarkable Antarctic expedition, a testament to the power of courage and tenacity.
The harrowing tale of British explorer Ernest Shackleton's 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole, one of the greatest adventure stories of the modern age. In August 1914, polar explorer Ernest ... (Goodreads)
The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself
by Daniel J. Boorstin
A comprehensive history of human discovery, from ancient times to modern era, exploring the evolution of human knowledge and understanding.
An original history of man's greatest adventure: his search to discover the world around him. In the compendious history, Boorstin not only traces man's insatiable need to know, but also the ... (Barnes & Noble)
