Week 8 - Narrative non-fiction titles.

Here are some titles to ponder, that I managed to find on my search.  I will start with Faith:

In the 294.3 call number I found Saltwater Buddha: A surfer's quest to find zen on the sea by Jaimal Yogis.    It seems to be a little bit memoir with a spiritual twist, and follows his travels with a surfboard to communes and monasteries while looking for enlightenment.    I have read memoirs with a Buddhist twist before, and think I might enjoy this one.

 

 

There is a healthy dose of zoology science non fiction lurking in the 599's.   While browsing the new book shelves, I happened across two that look interesting.   Into the Great Silence: a memoir of discovery and loss among vanishing orcas by Eva Saulitis follows a young college graduate who becomes fascinated by orcas, and how that changes her career path to follow and study them.   It appears to have a strong ecological message and a poetic, literary style that will be sure to appeal.   The other one I found was called Love, Life and Elephants: An American love story by Dame Daphne Sheldrick.    Part love story as the author marries the warden of the Tsavo National Park , and part story of her ability to hand rear orphaned baby elephants,  this is sure to be a treat for people who like to learn as well as learn about a remarkable woman. 

For history,  in the 900's,  I discovered   The Borgias: The Hidden History by G.J. Meyer.     I chose this one because of the current television program that highlights this famous Italian dynasty.  People who watch the show will want to learn more about them, and this book is thoroughly researched and promises to cut through gossip and slander about the Borgias, to settle in on something closer to the truth.

 

Finally, I give you true crime.  You only need to wander over to the 364's to find a myriad of choices that you can take home, from contemporary, gruesome tales of madness to more detailed and researched historical stories.  I usually prefer the latter, so I discovered  The Inventor and the Tycoon: a gilded age murder and the birth of moving pictures by Edward Ball.  This one looks rather fascinating because it is about Eadweard Muybridge, who many of us know as the inventor of slides that could be sped up to show movement.    What we did not know is that when he discovered that a child born to his wife was not his, he also became a killer.    This is more literary with rich historical detail that will give a reader much more about a time period than simply a crime.  I also found  The Prince of Paradise:  The true story of a hotel heir, his seductive wife, and a ruthless murder by John Glatt.   This takes us to a glamorous time of excess in Miami Beach Florida in the 1950' and 60's  and introduces us to the heir of the Fontainbleu Hotel.   He was surround by the rich and famous in his youth, Sinatra, Elvis, Ann-Margret.   But years later he is found beaten to death and duct taped to a chair.  Who could have committed this heinous crime?

 

All of these books look like things I would read and enjoy, so I found some great narrative non fiction to work with.    Reviews of two of them, later.