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Recommendations based on Living to Tell the Taleby Gabriel García Márquez
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News of a Kidnapping
by Gabriel García Márquez
A non-fiction account of the kidnappings of ten people by Pablo Escobar's Medellín cartel in Colombia.
THIS ASTONISHING BOOK by the Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez chronicles the 1990 kidnappings of ten Colombian man and women–all journalists but one--by the Medellín drug boss Pablo Escobar. ... (Goodreads)
War's Unwomanly Face
by Svetlana Alexievich
An exploration of the lives of Soviet women who served in World War II.
This book is a confession, a document and a record of people's memory. More than 200 women speak in it, describing how young girls, who dreamed of becoming brides, became soldiers in 1941. More than ... (Goodreads)
The Second Sex
by Simone de Beauvoir
A philosophical exploration of the history, struggles and oppression of women in society.
Newly translated and unabridged in English for the first time, Simone de Beauvoir’s masterwork is a powerful analysis of the Western notion of “woman,” and a groundbreaking exploration of inequality ... (Goodreads)
The Prince
by Niccolò Machiavelli
A timeless political treatise on the art of acquiring and maintaining power.
Machiavelli needs to be looked at as he really was. Hence: Can Machiavelli, who makes the following observations, be Machiavellian as we understand the disparaging term? 1. So it is that to know the ... (Goodreads)
The Story of Art
by E.H. Gombrich
Comprehensive overview of art history, from prehistoric to modern times.
The Story of Art, one of the most famous and popular books on art ever written, has been a world bestseller for over four decades. Attracted by the simplicity and clarity of his writing, readers of ... (Goodreads)
Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth
by Warsan Shire
A lyrical exploration of womanhood, identity, and the power of words.
What elevates 'teaching my mother how to give birth', what gives the poems their disturbing brilliance, is Warsan Shire's ability to give simple, beautiful eloquence to the veiled world where ... (Goodreads)
Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche
by Haruki Murakami
A psychological investigation of the 1995 Tokyo sarin gas attack, exploring the impact on the Japanese people.
It was a clear spring day, Monday, March 20, 1995, when five members of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo conducted chemical warfare on the Tokyo subway system using sarin, a poison gas twenty-six ... (Goodreads)
A Moveable Feast
by Ernest Hemingway
A memoir of Hemingway's life in 1920s Paris, exploring its rich bohemian culture.
Hemingway's memories of his life as an unknown writer living in Paris in the twenties are deeply personal, warmly affectionate, and full of wit. Looking back not only at his own much younger self, ... (Goodreads)
The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True
by Richard Dawkins
Exploring the science behind phenomena of the natural world, from the big bang to evolution.
Magic takes many forms. Supernatural magic is what our ancestors used in order to explain the world before they developed the scientific method. The ancient Egyptians explained the night by ... (Goodreads)
The Universe in a Nutshell
by Stephen Hawking
A concise and accessible explanation of the most complex theories in physics, from the Big Bang to black holes.
Stephen Hawking’s phenomenal, multimillion-copy bestseller, A Brief History of Time, introduced the ideas of this brilliant theoretical physicist to readers all over the world. Now, in a major ... (Goodreads)
Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America
by Firoozeh Dumas
A humorous tale of a family's journey to America and their adaptation to a new culture and lifestyle.
In 1972, when she was seven, Firoozeh Dumas and her family moved from Iran to Southern California, arriving with no firsthand knowledge of this country beyond her father's glowing memories of his ... (Goodreads)
Regarding the Pain of Others
by Susan Sontag
An exploration of the power and impact of photographic images of war and suffering.
Twenty-five years after her classic On Photography , Susan Sontag returns to the subject of visual representations of war and violence in our culture today. How does the spectacle of the sufferings ... (Goodreads)
A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
A captivating overview of the natural sciences, spanning the history of the universe.
In Bryson's biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory ... (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)
Civilization and Its Discontents
by Sigmund Freud
Exploration of the psychological underpinnings of human civilization and its discontents.
It stands as a brilliant summary of the views on culture from a psychoanalytic perspective that he had been developing since the turn of the century. It is both witness and tribute to the late theory ... (Goodreads)
Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography
by Roland Barthes
An exploration of the nature of photography and its power to evoke emotion.
A graceful, contemplative volume, Camera Lucida was first published in 1979. Commenting on artists such as Avedon, Clifford, Mapplethorpe, and Nadar, Roland Barthes presents photography as being ... (Goodreads)
On Photography
by Susan Sontag
Examination of the implications of photography and its effects on society.
First published in 1973, this is a study of the force of photographic images which are continually inserted between experience and reality. Sontag develops further the concept of 'transparency'. When ... (Goodreads)
The Art of War
by Sun Tzu
Ancient Chinese military treatise outlining strategies for success in battle.
Twenty-Five Hundred years ago, Sun Tzu wrote this classic book of military strategy based on Chinese warfare and military thought. Since that time, all levels of military have used the teaching on ... (Goodreads)
Tao Te Ching
by Lao Tzu
A collection of wise sayings and reflections on the nature of existence.
A lucid translation of the well-known Taoist classic by a leading scholar-now in a Shambhala Pocket Library edition. Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Teh Ching , or -The Classic of ... (Goodreads)
Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
by Benedict Anderson
Exploration into the development of nations and nationalism, and its impact on society.
What makes people love and die for nations, as well as hate and kill in their name? While many studies have been written on nationalist political movements, the sense of nationality–the personal and ... (Goodreads)
A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy
by Miyamoto Musashi
A study of strategy and martial arts, exploring the secrets of success in life and battle.
'When you attain the Way of strategy, there will not be one thing you cannot see.' - Miyamoto Musashi, Book of Five Rings Shortly before his death in 1645, the undefeated swordsman Miyamoto Musashi ... (Goodreads)
Letters to a Young Poet
by Rainer Maria Rilke
Uplifting and inspiring words of wisdom, encouraging a young poet to find his own artistic voice.
In 1903, a student at a military academy sent some of his verses to a well-known Austrian poet, requesting an assessment of their value. The older artist, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), replied to ... (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)
Down and Out in Paris and London
by George Orwell
An exploration of the dark side of two cities, and how life can be different for the privileged and the destitute.
This unusual fictional memoir - in good part autobiographical - narrates without self-pity and often with humor the adventures of a penniless British writer among the down-and-outs of two great ... (Goodreads)
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
by David Sedaris
A humorous collection of autobiographical essays reflecting on family relationships.
David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother’s wedding. He mops his sister’s floor. He gives directions ... (Goodreads)
Then Again
by Diane Keaton
Actress Diane Keaton reflects on her life, career, and relationships through journal entries and memories.
Mom loved adages, quotes, slogans. There were always little reminders pasted on the kitchen wall. For example, the word THINK. I found THINK thumbtacked on a bulletin board in her darkroom. I saw it ... (Goodreads)
The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
by Miguel Ruiz
A guide to transforming one's life by adopting four simple agreements.
In The Four Agreements , don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements offer a ... (Goodreads)
History of Art
by H.W. Janson
Comprehensive overview of art history, from prehistoric times to modern day. Includes analysis of major works and movements.
For 1000s of art lovers both amateur & professional, esthetic life began with Janson, as his History of Art is often called. In the 1st edition, published in 1962, he spoke to that perennial reader ... (Goodreads)
Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France
by Peter Mayle
A delightful collection of stories and anecdotes about the author's life in the South of France.
A whole new feast of adventures, discoveries, hilarities, and culinary treats, liberally seasoned with a joyous mix of Gallic characters. After trying–what folly!--to live in other places, Peter ... (Goodreads)
When I Was Puerto Rican
by Esmeralda Santiago
A young woman's memoir of her immigrant journey from Puerto Rico to New York City.
Esmeralda Santiago is the oldest child her parents have together, although her father has an older daughter she doesn't know about. Her parents' relationship is damaged as her mother suspects her ... (Wikipedia)
