I’m doing something a little different with my nonfiction lists this year. 50 of the books I read in 2011 were nonfiction; about a third of them were memoirs and a third were specifically related to feminism. I decided to split my “best of” lists accordingly. These are my five favorite general nonfiction books listed in alphabetical order by title:
Columbine by Dave Cullen (2009)
You think you know why Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on their killing spree at Columbine High School like they did, and you think you know what happened during the subsequent investigation…but you don’t! The media quickly jumped to conclusions, and that’s been the official story ever since. Cullen’s meticulous research shows that nearly everything that was fed to the public was a lie.
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (2011)
After the Taliban took over Kabul, women were forced to stay home and couldn’t work. In order to support her siblings, a determined young woman named Kamila Sidiqi started her own dressmaking business from home and was eventually able to help local women support themselves as well. Amazing story. Read my review here.
Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario (2006)
Sonia Nazario recreates the journey of an undocumented immigrant who made the dangerous journey from Honduras to the United States in search of his mother. It’s an incredible look at what many undocumented immigrants suffer through for a chance at a better life. Based on Nazario’s Pulitzer-winning newspaper series. Read my review here.
