What was the last good non-fiction book you read? Or if you prefer, what are some good non-fiction books?
>>8149692
King Leopold's Ghost was amazing. It deals with Belgium's role in the Scramble for Africa. Very well researched and according to reviewers very unbias considering the subject matter
Rise of the Islamic state was pretty good as well.
Immanuel Wallerstein - World-systems Analysis: An Introduction
I plan to read the three volumes of his Modern World-Systems Analysis soon, but this was a great, short (roughly 90 pages) background to his world-systems theory.
Simon Winchester - The Professor and the Madman
Interesting read that tells the story of one of the people chiefly responsible for the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. He went mad from what he saw as a surgeon in the U.S. Civil War, spending the final decades of his life in a home for the criminally insane, where he did his work for the OED. Highly recommend.
>>8149692
The last good one I read would be the last one I read, Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan by Roger S Keyes.
Here's some of my favorites over the past year, OP:
>Understanding Japanese Woodblock-Printed Illustrated Books: A Short Introduction to Their History, Bibliography and Format
>Netsuke: The miniature sculpture of Japan
>The fall of language in the age of English by Minae Mizumura
>The book of yokai : mysterious creatures of Japanese folklore
>Letterletter by Gerrit Noordzij
>Japanese stone gardens : origins, meaning, form
>An essay on typography by Eric Gill
>Alice in many tongues : the translations of Alice in Wonderland
>Penguin by design : a cover story, 1935-2005
>Sherlock Holmes in Japan
and pic related of course
I also really like Marie Kondo's stuff but that's probably not to /lit/'s general taste.
>>8149716
>He went mad from what he saw as a surgeon in the U.S. Civil War, spending the final decades of his life in a home for the criminally insane
Damn that sounds fascinating. I watched a documentary recently that covered the scope of death in the Civil War. Had no idea before how gruesome it was.
Thanks for the suggestions anons.
>>8149969
>Damn that sounds fascinating
It really is. I waa going to give one or two examples of specifically how his madness manifests, but I didn't want to spoil the surprise in case you actually pick it up. I'll just say it ranges from entertaining to things that will literally make your jaw drop. And the fact that this is the same person who authored thousands upon thousands of original OED entries makes it just incredible.
>>8149692
Actully just finished this one last night. Was an amazing read. My contempt for the chinese has only grown stronger, but it's great to read about.
>>8150094
