N is for Non-Fiction

I've decided to do the A to Z Blogger Challenge this year and I'm recommending five books all from the same alphabetical genre each day. So today, N is for Non-Fiction. Most of what I read is fiction, but recently I've stumbled upon some really great non-fiction that shouldn't be overlooked. Here are five of my favorite non-fiction reads.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - This is one of the best books I have ever read from any genre. Henrietta Lacks died of cancer in 1951. Before she died a sample was taken from her tumor and used in the earliest cell research. The HELA cell line (which has been used for more than 90% of all medical research since 1951) was created from Henrietta's cells. Her family, an impoverished African American family in Baltimore didn't discover their mother's cells were still alive until the 1970s. This book beautifully balances the science of cell research with the family story of Henrietta and her five children.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell - I enjoy all of Gladwell's books but this one is definately my favorite. This is the book that claims it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master any subject. Even years after I finished reading this book, I still often find myself thinking about examples brought up in the book, so I guess that means I liked it.

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt - I read Superfreakonomics a couple months ago, but decided to put Freakanomics on this list because in the fiction world, I've made a point of not recommending sequels. I really enjoy both Freakanomics and Superfreakanomics. I don't know that either book actually teaches anything, but they are definitely entertaining reads.

The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson - This is a very interesting account of the massive London cholera outbreak of 1854. Prior to the 1850's nobody knew what caused cholera, and most people believed it was an airborne disease brought on by the horrible smog in the city thanks to burning coal. After the outbreak in 1854 a doctor and a priest managed to piece together a map of all the deaths in the city and link them to one contaminated well. So if you appreciate drinking purified water, this is an interesting tale about how water born pathogens were discovered in the 1800s.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver - Some people don't eat meat. Other people don't eat highly processed foods. Barabara Kingsolver doesn't eat bananas. In this book Kingsolver and her family spend an entire year eating nothing that was grown/produced/killed more than 100 miles from their Virginia home. While I never plan to go to this extreme, and even Kingsolver admits in the book that she looked forward to eating foods from outside her region after the year ends, I do appreciate the idea of eating locally and found this to be a very entertaining book to read.

What about you? What's your favorite piece of non-fiction?