Books I Recommend Today

List compiled by Dennis D. McDonald

About This List

Sometimes people ask me to recommend a book to read next. Here are some to consider from those I have enjoyed and reviewed over the years:

Science, Technology & Media

• Barry Lopez' "HORIZON"

• Barry Lopez' “ARCTIC DREAMS”

• Bernd Heinrich's “THE SNORING BIRD: MY FAMILY'S JOURNEY THROUGH A CENTURY OF BIOLOGY”

• Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace’s “CREATIVITY INC: OVERCOMING THE UNSEEN FORCES THAT STAND IN THE WAY OF TRUE INSPIRATION”

• Tim Wu’s “MASTER SWITCH: THE RISE AND FALL OF INFORMATION EMPIRES”

• David E. Hoffman's “THE DEAD HAND: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE COLD WAR ARMS RACE AND ITS DANGEROUS LEGACY”

• Richard Holmes' “THE AGE OF WONDER: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science”

• Richard Rhodes' “DARK SUN: THE MAKING OF THE HYDROGEN BOMB””

• Siddhartha Mukherjee's THE GENE: AN INTIMATE HISTORY”

History

• Adam Higginbotham: "MIDNIGHT AT CHERNOBYL"

• Alan Schom’s TRAFALGAR: COUNTDOWN TO BATTLE, 1803 to 1805

• Felipe Fernández-Armesto’s “OUR AMERICA: A HISPANIC HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES”

• David McCullough’s “THE PATH BETWEEN THE SEAS”

• Shelby Foote’s “THE CIVIL WAR, A NARRATIVE: FORT SUMTER TO PERRYVILLE”

• Garry Wills' “LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG: THE WORDS THAT REMADE AMERICA”

• Melvyn Bragg's “THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A LANGUAGE”

• Evan Thomas' "SEA OF THUNDER"

• Suketu Mehta's “MAXIMUM CITY”

Fiction

• Umberto Eco's "THE PRAGUE CEMETERY"

• Robert Harris' "AN OFFICER AND A SPY"

• Robert Harris’ “IMPERIUM”

• Gail Tsukiyama's "THE SAMURAI'S GARDEN"

• C.S. Forester's “THE SHIP”

• Junot Díaz' “THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO”

• Charles Portis' “TRUE GRIT”

• Madeline Miller’s "CIRCE"

Science Fiction & Fantasy

• Jeff VanderMeer’s “ANNIHILATION”

• Stephen King's "THE INSTITUTE"

• Stephen King’s “THE STAND”

• Neil Gaiman's "THE GRAVEYARD BOOK"

• Neal Stephenson’s "SEVENEVES"

• Simon Stålenhag's “THE ELECTRIC STATE”

• Marie Brennan's “A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS”

• Clifford D. Simak’s “WAY STATION”

• Tade Thompson's "ROSEWATER"

• Adrian Tchaikovsky's "CHILDREN OF TIME"

Mystery

• Keigo Higashino's "THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X"

• James McBride's "DEACON KING KONG"

• C. J. Box's "WOLF PACK"

• Stephen King's “FINDERS KEEPERS”

Graphic Novels & Stories

• Yeon-Sik Hong's “UNCOMFORTABLY HAPPILY”

• Will Eisner's “THE PLOT: THE SECRET STORY OF THE PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION”

• Osamu Tezuka's “BUDDHA” (volumes 1-8)

• Imogen & Isabel Greenberg’s “ATHENA GODDESS OF WISDOM AND WAR"

• Molly Knox Ostertag's "THE GIRL FROM THE SEA"

• Tamaki & Pugh's “HARLEY QUINN: BREAKING GLASS”

• Guy Delisle's “BURMA CHRONICLES”

List compiled December 22, 2022 by Dennis D. McDonald