Non-fiction and play recommendations

[wildeabandon]

I think I would like to read a bit more non-fiction than I do currently, and I have a couple of things on my to-read list, but not a lot. Most of what I have read recently has been about psychology or economics, but I'm keen to broaden my horizons (as well as reading more interesting stuff in those genres).

What are your favourite non-fiction books? What do you like about them? Are there any that you found life-changing?

I would also like to read more plays (which, outside of readthroughs, I almost never do), so the same questions apply.

Comments

[damerell]

How Steam Locomotives Really Work, ISBN-13: 978-0198607823, because I am a giant nerd. It does not, alas, start by telling you "haha, it's really all goblins, did you believe all that coal-and-water rubbish?". It's quite readable, with only a slight tendency to leave you going "yeah, but what is a foundation ring, anyway?", and since they're basically enormous heaps of moving parts there's a lot of obscure Facts to know.

The Hornblower Companion, ISBN-13: 978-1557503473, which is a bit of a wheeze since I like it because I like the fiction so much. Each book gets a bit of explanatory text and a map or two from C.S.F., and then there's a chunk of insight into how he came to write the books, the writing process itself, and plot summaries for the stuff he didn't write by virtue of dying at an awkward time. (There's also one or two misogynistic digressions...)

Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail: The Evolution of Fighting Tactics, 1650-1815, ISBN-13: 978-0785814269. You may be spotting a theme here. This is another large solid work full of useful facts, maps, diagrams, etc (and none of the usual pop-hist explanation of how life as an Age of Sail sailor was utterly dismal, because we know that). The authors' central thesis is that developments in tactics and signalling went hand in hand.

This is just off the top of my head...