Category: Non Fiction

Categories
2012 Non Fiction Uncategorized

Thinking in Numbers by Daniel Tammet

Thinking in Numbers: How Maths Illuminates Our Lives

Five words from the blurb: imagine, universe, counting, mathematics, everyone

Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant with an amazing ability to recall words and numbers. I loved his autobiography, Born on a Blue Day, so much that I went to hear him talk at the Edinburgh Festival last month. His new book, Thinking in Numbers, aims to promote a love for mathematics. Tammet explains that the subject is similar to fiction in that there are many different genres, each of which you will enjoy to a greater or lesser extent dependant on your personal taste.

Like works of literature, mathematical ideas help expand our circle of empathy, liberating us from the tyranny of a single, parochial point of view. Numbers, properly considered, make us better people.

Thinking in Numbers proved this concept by highlighting many different areas, some which I loved and others which bored me completely.

The book is divided into 25 chapters, each exploring a different area of mathematics. Tammet uses real life examples to show how important numbers are with topics as diverse as snow, Tolstoy and poetry. My personal favorites included the section that explained the different ways other cultures count and the one estimating how long an individual will live.

The quality of Tammet’s writing has improved massively since Born on a Blue Day. Everything was written clearly, with complex theories explained cleverly so that those unfamiliar with them could understand, whilst those already knowledgeable weren’t patronised.

I was a little disappointed that the book didn’t include any more explanation of the way Tammet sees numbers as complex, colourful shapes, but I did enjoy the more personal chapter about the thoughts that went through his head as he broke the world record for reciting Pi to 22,514 decimal places.

I found this book thought provoking – it is one of those books that you find yourself quoting to others. I guarantee that you won’t enjoy every chapter, but there is enough contained within it to entertain everyone.

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Categories
2011 Non Fiction Recommended books

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

Zeitoun

Five words from the blurb: Hurricane Katrina, flooded, neighbours, nightmare

In 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans. Zeitoun is the true account of what happened to one man, a hard working resident who stayed in the city to protect his property and ended up in prison suspected of terrorism. This is the kind of unbelievable story that you’d never find in fiction. The twists and turns are staggering and it is shocking to discover that the events of this book happened in a modern American city.

Zeitoun begins by introducing the reader to Abdulrahman and his family. Abdulrahman was born in Syria, but emigrated to New Orleans where he set up a successful decorating business, employing a number of people around the city. The book covers the few days preceding the storm; goes on to show the effects of the strong winds and flooding on Abdulrahman’s neighbourhood; and culminates in the shocking way that Abdulrahman was treated by American authorities.

The writing was engaging throughout, the pace slowly building towards the shocking climax. I was worried that I’d find much of this book disturbing, but that wasn’t the case. Several distressing events were mentioned, but they were written so skillfully that they never traumatised me.

The book is well researched, with each account fact checked against many others. It is all intelligently written, but never becomes overburdened with statistics as the emotions of the people involved remains the priority throughout.

 This book is narrative non-fiction at its best. It highlights the way that American authorities managed to make a natural disaster even worse than it already was, but also shows the strength of the human spirit. I found many sections extremely poignant and found this quote from near the end especially moving:

It could have been avoided, she thinks. So many little things could have been done. So many people let it happen. So many looked away. And it only takes one person, one small act of stepping from the dark to the light.

Zeitoun does a fantastic job of showing the Muslim religion in a positive light whilst highlighting the racism that is present in some sections of American society. It is compelling, shocking and insightful.

Highly recommended. 

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Categories
Non Fiction

Merchants of Culture by John Thompson

Merchants of Culture

Five words from the blurb: publishing, world, marketing, books, money

Merchants of Culture provides detailed information about the publishing industry in Great Britain and America. By interviewing professionals and studying sales statistics John Thompson provides a comprehensive analysis of the changes in the industry over the last hundred years.

This book isn’t an easy read – it is a text book packed with technical information and detailed statistical analysis. Some sections fascinated me, but others were explained in far too much depth for the casual reader.

Before I began blogging I knew nothing about the publishing industry, but over the years I’ve come to realise what a complex, high risk business it is. This book explains every aspect of the industry: from the way agents and scouts discover authors, and the types of deals they secure; right through to the changing way books are sold in book shops and on the Internet.

The publishing industry works in a very different way to other retail sectors and I was surprised by some of the statistics: 

…for every 100 new hardcovers shipped out, somewhere between 30 and 60 will come back to the publisher as returns.

I also found the impact of film releases and TV appearances surprisingly large:

The only problem with this book is that it is going out of date fast. It was only published in 2010, but I already found that much of the information on digital publishing was out-of-date.

I think this book is a must read for anyone who works in the publishing industry and authors could also benefit from learning more about rights and marketing issues before they sign a contract with a publisher. Anyone else with an interest in the publishing industry will find a lot of interesting facts, but be aware that you may have to wade through a lot of technical detail to find it.

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Many thanks to Litlove for drawing this book to my attention.

Categories
Non Fiction

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Slum

Five words from the blurb: slum, Mumbai, family, connections, shocking

My favourite book is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry so I am drawn towards other books that are set in Indian slums. Behind the Beautiful Forevers was written by the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Katherine Boo, after she spent four years living with the residents of Annawadi, a slum near Mumbai’s international airport. The book is a non-fiction account of their lives, highlighting the terrible situations that they have to endure and the corruption that is a part of their every day life.

The book reminded me of Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick. The journalistic writing style was engaging and all the facts were given in a clear and precise way. The most interesting aspect of the book was learning that corruption was actually useful for some of those living in the slums – being able to manipulate officials was one of the only ways that slum residents were able to improve their lives.

The main focus of the book was the legal trial of one family falsely accused of murdering another slum resident. I liked the fact that the book didn’t simply concentrate of their basic survival and introduced the Indian justice system to the reader. The journalistic style of writing enabled the facts to be given without prejudice, giving the reader an insight into the way slum residents are treated by authorities.

My main problem with the book was that I was familiar with the plight of those living in Indian slums already.

To jumpstart his system, he saw that he’d have to become a better scavenger. This entailed not dwelling on the obvious: that his profession could wreck a body in a very short time. Scrapes from dumpster-diving pocked and became infected. Where skin broke, maggots got in. Lice colonized hair, gangrene inched up fingers, calves swelled into tree trunks, and Abdul and his younger brothers kept a running wager about which of the scavengers would die next.

Tragically the story of these people isn’t new and I’d read about similar events many times before.

I also thought that too many people were introduced. The writing was clear enough for me to be able to place them all and understand their part in events, but I failed to form an emotional connection to them. Several people died during the course of the book, but I’m afraid that I didn’t care enough to get the tissues out. Perhaps this was intentional:

Annawadi boys broadly accepted the basic truths: that in a modernizing, increasingly prosperous city, their lives were embarrassments best confined to small spaces, and their deaths would matter not at all.

I wish that the book had concentrated on Abdul. As a teenager his perspective on life was the most interesting to me and I think that having one central focus would have given the book a greater depth of emotion.

If you have no idea what life in the slums is like then I suspect this book will shock you. I can see why many people are naming it as their book of the year, but without that emotional connection to the characters I was unable to fall in love with it.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

 Touching, informative, observant, and irresistably readable, I cannot recommend this fine book enough. BookeyWookey

 …an eye-opening read that introduced us to the extremes of a rapidly prospering city. Take Me Away

Behind the Beautiful Forevers is beautifully written, informative, and an important piece of investigative journalism. Between the Covers

Categories
2010 Non Fiction

Little Princes by Conor Grennan

Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

Five words from the blurb: Nepal. children, volunteer, reunite, families

Earlier in the year I asked people to name their favourite narrative non-fiction books. Little Princes was mentioned by so many people that I felt I had to get a copy. Having read it I can see why they love it – Little Princes is an inspiring example of how much one person can achieve when they have the motivation and determination to do so.

Conor Grennan was twenty-nine-years-old when he realised he needed more excitement in his life. He quit his day job and decided to go travelling around the world for a year. In order to impress his friends he registered to volunteer at an orphanage in Nepal for the first three months, but once there he fell in love with the children and couldn’t abandon them. He has spent the rest of his life doing everything he can to help these vulnerable children, occasionally risking his life to do so.

I loved Conor’s honest, friendly approach to life. He made no attempt to hide the more selfish areas of his personality and it was wonderful to see his attitude to life change over the course of the book. 

His writing was engaging throughout and packed with emotion.  

If walking into the responsibility of caring for eighteen children was difficult, walking out on that responsibility was almost impossible. The children had become a constant presence, little spinning tops that splattered joy on everyone they bumped into. I would miss that, of course. But the deeper sadness, the deluge of emotion, came from admitting that I was walking out on them. 

It was perfectly paced and I loved the way it was structured to ensure that the information was revealed slowly, creating a compelling narrative that hooked me throughout. I especially loved Conor’s trek into the mountainous area of Nepal. It reminded me of the fabulous book, Touching The Void, and I had my heart in my mouth throughout this section.

If I’m forced to criticise this book I’d say that it occasionally gets a bit too sentimental, but when faced with the joy of little children I guess that is hard to avoid and I’m willing to forgive it.

This book does a fantastic job of highlighting the problem of child trafficking in Nepal. It is heartwarming and inspiring.

Highly recommended.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

It made me laugh out loud and moved me to tears. S. Krishna’s Books

…the moving, memorable story of an unexpected hero in an unlikely place… The 3 R’s Blog

…a remarkable, heart-breaking and heart-warming book. The House of the Seven Tails

Categories
2012 Books in Translation Non Fiction Recommended books

HHhH by Laurent Binet

HHhH Translated from the French by Sam Taylor

Five words from the blurb: mission, assassinate, Nazi, novelist, truth

There has been a lot of hype surrounding this book, but it is all justified. HHhH breaks the mould, creating a new genre that will change the way you look at non-fiction and lead you to question the accuracy of everything you read.

The book tells the compelling story of two Czechoslovakian parachutists who were sent to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the chief of the Nazi secret services. Dropped near Prague in 1942 the pair spend months plotting the event, relying on the support of a secret network of people. The book also charts the rise of Heydrich, explaining the important role he had in the creation of the Nazi death camps.

Throughout the book the author explains the research he did to obtain each fact and ensures that nothing is ambiguous. To retain the gripping narrative style Binet frequently makes things up, but every time he does so the passage will be followed by one that explains exactly which parts were fabricated:

That scene, like the one before it, is perfectly believable and totally made up. How impudent of me to turn a man into a puppet – a man who’s been dead for a long time, who cannot defend himself. To make him drink tea, when it might turn out that he liked only coffee. To make him take the bus, when he could have taken the train. To decide that he left in the evening, rather than the morning. I am ashamed of myself.

I loved this honesty and it made me realise how many difficult choices authors of historical fiction must make each time they write a scene.

I love meta-fiction and so appreciated the way the author addressed the reader directly. His chatty style was easy to read and often amusing. He made some blunt, often scathing, comments about other historical fiction authors, but although I didn’t always agree with him, it was refreshing to read about someone not scared to voice their opinion.

I’ve seen a few comments about people avoiding this book because of the Holocaust connections, but although the death camps were mentioned, this book does not describe them in graphic detail. It isn’t a depressing book; it is a gripping story revolving around whether or not the parachutists will be successful in their mission. It does take a while for the pace to build, but the final few chapters were some of the most exciting I’ve ever read. I couldn’t put it down and was totally engrossed in the story of these men.

HHhH shares many themes with The Street Sweeper, but unlike that amazing book, this is flawless. HHhH has leaped over The Street Sweeper to become my favourite read of 2012 so far.

Highly recommended.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

I kept finding myself frustrated. Just when a section of non-fiction was beginning to really grip an authorial intervention would break the spell.  Just William’s Luck

The style is an unusual construction, but for me it was highly effective and extremely engaging. The Little Reader Library

I remain, however, equally fascinated and irritated by this volume – I still can’t call it a novel. Gaskella