Grade 11 Reading List: Nonfiction                                                                    

 

Blink : the power of thinking without thinking

153.4 GLA      Gladwell, Malcolm, 1963-

Presents a study of how people think without thinking, looking at the brain processes involved in making snap decisions, discussing why some people seem to have great instincts while others consistently choose unwisely, and examining ways to control the process.

      

You are not so smart : why you have too many friends on Facebook, why your memory is mostly fiction, and 46 other ways you're deluding yourself

153.4 MCR     McRaney, David.

Author critically examines irrational human behavior.

                  

Talent is overrated : what really separates world-class performers from everybody else

153.9 COL      Colvin, Geoffrey.

The author debunks the myth that some people are born with innate talent, and maintains that the secret to exceptional performance in any field depends on how hard the individual challenges himself.

                  

Outliers : The Story of Success.

302 GLA         Gladwell, Malcolm

Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

 

The tipping point: how little things make a big difference

302 GLA         Gladwell, Malcom

Explains why major changes in society often happen suddenly and unexpectedly and describes the personality types who are natural originators of new ideas and trends.                

 

Guns, germs, and steel : the fates of human societies

303.4 DIA       Diamond, Jared M.

Traces the development of primitive societies showing why some groups advanced more rapidly than others and how this progression explains why various populations stabilize at specific phases of development while others continue to evolve.            

 

No one's world : the West, the rising rest, and the coming global turn

303.48 KUP    Kupchan, Charles.

Argues that as the world becomes more politically and ideologically diverse, emerging powers will not follow the West's lead, resulting in a world without a central force.

                  

Where good ideas come from

303.48            Johnson, Steven

Examines the origins of ideas that influence careers, lives, societies, and cultures and discusses how to cultivate innovative thinking.

 

The post-American world : release 2.0

303.49 ZAK    Zakaria, Fareed.

Argues that in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the American government needs to transform its global strategy and learn to share power, create coalitions, build legitimacy, and define the global agenda in order to recover its political, economic, and social standing on the world stage.

                  

The world without us

304.2 WEI      Weisman, Alan.

Presents a narrative nonfiction that examines the human impact upon the earth and how it would respond without the pressure of human presence.

                  

Shadows of forgotten ancestors : a search for who we are

304.5 SAG      Sagan, Carl, 1934-

Explores peoples origins and how they were shaped by life's adventure on this planet.

      

The Lolita effect : the media sexualization of young girls and what we can do about it

305.23 DUR   Durham, Meenakshi Gigi.

Examines five myths presented in advertising and mass media trends and how they effect young girls and boy's understandings of sex and sexuality, including the idea that there is only one kind of sexy, and that sexual violence can be "hot."

                  

Born to Buy.

305.23 SCH    Schor, Juliet

Explores how marketing targeted at children has created a generation obsessed with labels and objects, and offers parents practical suggestions to help them combat the marketing messages, understand the negative impact they have on children, and protect their child's emotional and social well-being.

 

Nickel and dimed: on not getting buy in America

305.5 HER      Ehrenreich, Barbara

Author Barbara Ehrenreich relates her experiences from 1998 to 2000, during which time joined the ranks of the working poor as a waitress, hotel housekeeper, cleaning woman, nursing home aide, and Wal-Mart clerk to see for herself how America's "unskilled" workers are able to survive on only $6 or $7 an hour.

 

Wars, guns, and votes : democracy in dangerous places

306.2 COL      Collier, Paul.

Examines the ethnic divisions and insecurities that plague developing countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, where civil unrest, military coups, and failing economies thrive, and suggests ways those problems can be rectified and democracy brought to power without military intervention.

                  

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

306.872 NUJ  Ali, Nujood

Ali Nujood, the first child bride in Yemen to win a divorce, tells the story of her experiences after her father arranged for her to be married in 2008 at the age of ten to a man three times her age, describes what happened when she sought out a judge in order to get a divorce, and discusses the impact of her actions on traditional Yemen culture and society.

 

Hot, flat, and crowded : why we need a green revolution-- and how it can renew America

320.5 FRI       Friedman, Thomas L.

Argues that the United States needs to adopt an environmentally friendly national strategy to be healthier, wealthier, and more secure, innovative, and productive.

                  

Leftist governments in Latin America : successes and shortcomings

320.53 WEY   edited by Kurt Weyland, Raúl L. Madrid, Wendy Hunter.

Can Latin America's "new left" stimulate economic development, enhance social equity, and deepen democracy in spite of the economic and political constraints it faces? This is the first book to systematically examine the policies and performance of the left-wing governments that have risen to power in Latin America during the last decade.

 

The dictator's learning curve : inside the global battle for democracy

321.8 DOB      Dobson, William J.

Author describes the inner workings of today's authoritarian regimes from all across the world, including Venezuela, China, Russia, Malaysia, Burma, and Iran.

                  

Overthrow.

327.7 KIN       Kinzer, Stephen

Chronicles the history of U.S.-orchestrated regime change in countries and kingdoms around the world, beginning with Hawaii in 1893 and continuing into the twenty-first century with the invasion of Iraq.

 

Failed states: the abuse of power and the assault on democracy.

327.73 CHO    Chomsky, Hoam

Author argues that the United States shares features with other failed states and is therefore posing a danger to American citizens and other around the world by failing to protect its citizens from violence and destruction while trying to control what the government deams dangerous nations and leaders.

 

Why nations fail : the origins of power, prosperity, and poverty

330 ACE         Acemoglu, Daron.

Examines the factors that influence whether a nation is rich or poor, explains the economic institutions that underlie economic success in the twenty-first century, and discusses China and its growth, America's future, and an effective way to help millions overcome poverty.

                  

Freakonomics.

330 LEV         Levitt, Steven

Authors explore the economics of real-world issues often viewed as insignificant, such as the extent to which the Roe v. Wade decision affected violent crime, and examine hidden incentives behind all sorts of human behavior.

 

The end of the euro : the uneasy future of the European Union

332.4 OVE      Overtveldt, Johan van.

Discusses the risk of the Euro as a single currency governed by many member countries.

 

100 Heartbeats: the race to save earth’s most endangered species

333.95 COR    Corwin, Jeff

Wildlife biologist and conservationist Jeff Corwin shares the stories of animals around the world that are facing endangerment, focusing on species whose situations bring attention to problems in the ecosystem that can be solved.

                  

Capital : a new abridgement critique of political economy

335.41 MAR   Marx, Karl, 1818-1883.

This 1867 study—one of the most influential documents of modern times—looks at the relationship between labor and value, the role of money, and the conflict between the classes.

                  

The new new thing: a silicon valley story

338.4 LEW     Lewis, Michael

Traces the development of Silicon Valley and the Information Age, focusing on the work of Jim Clark, a young man whose companies have helped shape the Internet revolution.

 

Where am I wearing? : a global tour to the countries, factories, and people that make our clothes

338.4 TIM      Timmerman, Kelsey, 1979-

Presents an account of the author's attempts to learn about the lives, personalities, and dreams of the people who make his five favorite clothing items, and discusses the forces, politics, and economics of globalized labor in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, and other places where garment workers live in poverty.

      

The Facebook effect : the inside story of the company that is connecting the world

338.7 KIR       Kirkpatrick, David,

Explores the inside story of Facebook, its founders, and how it became a social networking sensation.

      

Common wealth : economics for a crowded planet

338.9 SAC       Sachs, Jeffrey.

Argues that the increasing world population will soon require a new economic paradigm that requires every person to become more cooperative, environmentally aware, and science based in order to deal with the realities of the overcrowded planet.

                  

Glass Castle

362.92 WAL Wall, Jeannette

Presents a memoir of the author's childhood growing up in an abusive and neglectful nomadic family in the deserts and mountains of the southwest U.S., eventually running away with her brother and sisters so they could support each other on their own.

 

Silent spring

363.738 CAR  Carson, Rachel, 1907-1964.

Rachel Carson's 1962 environmental classic "Silent Spring," identified the dangers of indiscriminate pesticide use.

 

In Cold Blood

364.1 CAP      Capote, Truman

Classic crime story that recreates the slaying of the Clutter family of Kansas, and the capture, trial, and execution of their murderers.

                  

No choirboy: murder, violence and teenagers on death row

363.66 KUK    Kuklin, Susan

A collection of essays in which inmates at American prisons who were sentenced to death while still in their teens share their thoughts and feelings about how they ended up in prison and how they feel about capital punishment.

 

The omnivore's dilemma : a natural history of four meals

394.1 POL      Pollan, Michael.

Offers insight into food consumption in the twenty-first century, explaining how an abundance of unlimited food varieties reveals the responsibilities of consumers to protect their health and the environment.

                  

Fast food nation : the dark side of the all-American meal

394.1 SCH      Schlosser, Eric.

Traces the history of the fast food industry and discusses how it arose in postwar America.                 

 

Race : a history beyond black and white

394.2663 ARO           Aronson, Marc.

Author traces the history of racial prejudice in the Western world from ancient times to the present, identifying events and individuals that have influenced people's conceptions about race.           

 

Acid tongues and tranquil dreamers: tales of bitter rivalry that fueled the advancement of science and technology

509 WHI         White, Michael

Explains how some of history's most important scientific breakthroughs arose from bitter rivalries, professional jealousies, personality conflicts, and orneriness as opposed to a need to better the world's understanding of humankind.

 

The mathematical universe: an alphabetical journey through the great proofs, problems and personalities

510 DUN        Dunham, William

Introduces an intriguing selection of proofs, disputes and unsolved mysteries ranging from the age of Greek geometry to the frontier of infinite series.

 

Fermat’s enigma: the quest to solve the world’s greatest mathematical problem

512.74 SIN     Singh, Simon

Examines the historic quest to find a proof for seventeenth-century French mathematician Pierre de Fermat's Last Theorem, discussing the life and discoveries of Fermat; eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth century attempts to solve the mathematical riddle; and the work of Princeton professor Andrew Wiles who announced in 1993 that he had found an answer.

 

A brief history of time : from the big bang to black holes

523.1 HAW    Hawking, S. W. (Stephen W.)

Provides an introduction to today's scientific ideas about the cosmos and reviews past theories. Also covers black holes, quarks, antimatter, and other mysteries of physics.

                  

Einstein : his life and universe

530.092 ISA   Isaacson, Walter.

Draws from Albert Einstein's personal letters to tell his life story and examine his way of thinking, exploring his methods of questioning the world and showing how this shaped his politics and morality.

                  

The elegant universe : superstrings, hidden dimensions, and the quest for the ultimate theory

539.7 GRE      Greene, B. (Brian), 1963-

Relates the scientific story and the human struggle behind the search for the string theory--the ultimate theory which scientists believe is capable of describing all physical phenomena, large and small; and discusses how the theory is impacting human understanding of space and time.

 

Thin ice : unlocking the secrets of climate in the world's highest mountains

551.51 BOW  Bowen, Mark (Mark Stander)

Offers a detailed background of the science of climatology and explains how carbon dioxide and water vapor interact to regulate the earth's thermostat arguing that scientific evidence shows that use of fossil fuels has accelerated global warming.

                  

The making of the fittest : DNA and the ultimate forensicrecord of evolution

572.8 CAR      Carroll, Sean B.

Explores the latest research into DNA and what it has revealed about how species adapt and change, discussing what researchers are learning about DNA and its ability to shape the human race and what these new findings mean for the future of science, medicine, and humanity.         

 

Tales of a shaman's apprentice : an ethnobotanist searches for new medicines in the Amazon rain forest

581.6 PLO      Plotkin, Mark J.

Author recounts his travels and studies with some of the most powerful Amazonian shamans in his search for new medicinal plants

                  

Never Cry Wolf

599.7 MOW    Mowat, Farley

Describes an Arctic summer spent watching and tracking the activities of a wolf family.

 

The lives to come : the genetic revolution and human possibilities

599.93 KIT     Kitcher, Philip, 1947-

A guide to the research scientists are conducting in the field of genetics, looking at the moral and social issues raised by the ability to predict hereditary diseases, and discussing ways in which biomedical tools may be used to enhance the quality of human life.

                  

Genome : the autobiography of a species in 23 chapters

599.93 RID     Ridley, Matt.

Author probes the scientific, philosophical, and moral issues arising as a result of the mapping of the genome. It will help you understand what this scientific milestone means for you, for your children, and for humankind.

      

The boy who harnessed the wind: creating currents of electricity and hope

609.2 KAM     Kamkwamba, William and Bryan Mealer

The author details how he ignored naysayers and was able to bring electricity and running water to his Malawian village when he built a makeshift windmill out of scrap metal and spare parts.

 

Medicine Quest

615     PLO     Plotkin, Mark J.

Discusses the marriage of natural products, indigenous wisdom, and biotechnology and details discoveries that are producing medical products such as painkillers, anticoagulants and antitumor agents.

 

An anthropologist on Mars : seven paradoxical tales

616.8 SAC     Sacks, Oliver W.

Presents the histories of neurological patients whose departure from normalcy brings a new perspective to their individual worlds.

      

Awakenings

616.8 SAC     Sacks, Oliver W.

A series of case studies of some of the people who developed a sleeping-sickness after World War I and remained in a sleep state until given the drug L-Dopa. Also describes their lives, the transformation after awakening, and then describes parts of the film made from these case studies.

                  

Wasted : a memoir of anorexia & bulimia.

616.85 HOR   Hornbacher, Marya

A vivid, honest, and emotionally wrenching memoir, Wasted is the story of one woman's travels to reality's darker side -- and her decision to find her way back on her own terms.

 

Girl, Interrupted

616.89            KAY    Kaysen, Susanna

The author describes her two-year stay at a psychiatric hospital renowned for its famous clientele and for its progressive methods of treatment.

 

Nobody Nowhere: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic

616.89 WIL    Williams, Donna

Autobiography of Donna Williams telling of her struggle with autism and coming to terms with the mental illness.

                  

Friday night lights : a town, a team, and a dream

796.332 BIS   Bissinger, H.G.

Author chronicles a high school football season in the life of Odessa, Texas and shows how single-minded devotion to the team shapes the community and inspires--and sometimes shatters--the teenagers who wear the uniforms.

 

Outcasts united : an American town, a refugee team, and one woman's quest to make a difference

796.334 ST    St. John, Warren.

American-educated Jordanian Luma Mufleh founds a youth soccer team comprised of children from Liberia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkan states, and elsewhere in the refugee settlement town of Clarkston, Georgia, bringing the children together to discover their common bonds as they adjust to life in a new homeland.

                  

Driven: teen phenoms, mad parents, swing science and the future of golf

796.352 COO  Cook, Kevin

Examines the sport of golf in the twenty-first century with a focus on the younger generations of players, and describes life for the teenagers at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy, and also covers the lives of David Leadbetter, Michelle Wie, Ty Tryon, Mu Hu, and others.

 

Into thin air : a personal account of the Mount Everest disaster

796.52 KRA    Krakauer, Jon.

The author relates his experience of climbing Mount Everest during its deadliest season and examines what it is about the mountain that makes people willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense.

                  

Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books

820.9 NAF      Nafisi, Azar.

The author presents a memoir of her life in post-revolutionary Iran, focusing on her organization of a group of young women in 1997 who met secretly once a week to read and discuss forbidden works of Western literature.

                  

The snow leopard

915.49            Matthiessen, Peter

The author discusses his experiences on a 250-mile journey through the Himalaya Mountains and his attempts to locate the Lama of Shey in an isolated monastery.

      

In Patagonia

918.2 CHA      Chatwin, Bruce

Classic travel book of Bruce Chatwin's journey through the exotic region of Patagonia in South America in 1974, and includes historical facts, and anecdotes.

 

The Long walk: the true story of a trek to freedom

940.54            RAW  Rawicz, Slavomir

The harrowing true tale of seven escaped Soviet prisoners who desperately marched out of Siberia through China, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, and over the Himalayas to British India.

 

The return : Russia's journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev

947.086 TRE  Treisman, Daniel.

A history of post-communist Russia, following the country's evolution since the 1990s, and arguing that Russia is emerging as a strong and independent country and a pivotal player in world affairs.

                  

Chinese lessons : five classmates and the story of the new China

951.05 POM   Pomfret, John.

Presents the stories of five graduates from Nanjing University, and focuses on the impact the politics and government of China played on shaping their lives.

                  

Pakistan : deep inside the world's most frightening state

954.91 WEA   Weaver, Mary Anne.

A portrait of Pakistan, its land, and people, discussing the legacies of the U.S.-sponsored jihad in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and examining the reasons why the author believes the nuclear-armed country has become one of the world's most dangerous places.

                  

The Arab uprisings : what everyone needs to know

956.05 GEL    Gelvin, James L., 1951-

Examines the revolutionary protests that have occurred in the Middle East since late 2010, covering what sparked the uprisings and where the demands for democracy and human rights came from, and exploring such topics as labor, religious groups, monarchies, the implications of the uprisings, and more.

                  

First they killed my father : a daughter of Cambodia remembers

959.604 UNG Ung, Loung.

Loung Ung, one of seven children of a high-ranking government official in Phnom Penh, tells of her experiences after her family was forced to flee from Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army, discussing her training as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, and telling of how her surviving siblings were eventually reunited.

                  

A long way gone : memoirs of a boy soldier

966.404 BEA  Beah, Ishmael, 1980-

Ishmael Beah describes his experiences after he was driven from his home by war in Sierra Leone and picked up by the government army at the age of thirteen, serving as a soldier for three years before being removed from fighting by UNICEF and eventually moving to the United States.

 

Conversations with Myself

968.06 MAN   Mandela, Nelson

Nelson Mandela draws on his own journals, personal letters, and other writings to offer insight into his life, sharing his own thoughts, hardships, accomplishments, and beliefs.

 

Playing the enemy: Nelson Mandela and the game that made a nation

968.06 CAR    Carlin, John

Describes how the 1995 rugby World Cup helped Nelson Mandela unite the country of South Africa and bring about the end to the country's apartheid and bitter racial tensions.

                  

The conquest of new Spain Translated with an introduction by J.M. Cohen

972 DIA          Díaz, Bernal

Vivid, powerful and absorbing, this is a first-person account of one of the most startling military episodes in history: the overthrow of Montezuma's doomed Aztec Empire by the ruthless Hernan Cortes and his band of adventurers.

 

Forgotten continent : the battle for Latin America's soul

980.03 REI     Reid, Michael.

Author offers his perspective on the political and economic choices of Latin America from 1810 to the present.                

 

Brazil on the rise : the story of a country transformed

981 ROH         Rohter, Larry, 1950-

Provides an account of modern-day Brazil, looking at how the country grew over the course of two decades from debt-ridden to the world's eighth largest economy.

 

Comandante: Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela

987.06 CAR    Carroll, Rory

Discuses the life and career of Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez who had been called a savior as well as a dictator.

 

The silence and the scorpion : the coup against Chávez and the making of modern Venezuela

987.06 BRI     Nelson, Brian A.

Recounts the events surrounding the April 11, 2002, march in which nearly one million people marched to Hugo Chávez's presidential palace demanding his resignation and discusses how those events shaped Venezuela's economy, government, and people.       

      

Steve Jobs

BIO JOB           Isaacson, Walter.

A biography of Steve Jobs, focusing on his intense personality and creative success as the founder of Apple, based on interviews with Jobs and more than a hundred, friends, family, and colleagues.

                  

Breaking night : a memoir of forgiveness, survival, and my journey from homeless to Harvard

BIO MUR         Murray, Liz, 1980-

Liz Murray, who was homeless at the age of fifteen and had drug-addicted parents, reflects on how she overcame obstacles and eventually attended Harvard University.

                  

The clockwork universe : Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the birth of the modern world

BIO NEW        Dolnick, Edward, 1952-

Examines how, at the end of the seventeenth century, a group of geniuses that included Isaac Newton re-imagined the field of science by finding intricate and precise patterns that regulated the world and the chaos that seemed to exist in it.

 

The Blind side: evolution of a game

BIO OHE         Lewis, Michael

Details the life of University of Mississippi football player Michael Oher, who was raised by a crack addicted mother and adopted at the age of sixteen by a wealthy family, and explores the rising importance and salary of the offensive left tackle in the game of football.

 

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance: an inquiry into values

BIO PIR           Pirsig, Robert M.

A father and his eleven-year-old son take a motorcycle trip across the country, and together, the two learn about life, love, and identity.

      

Three Little Words

BIO RHO         Rhodes-Courter, Ashley

Ashley Rhodes-Courter provides an account of her life, focusing on the nine years she spent in Florida's foster care system after being removed from her mother at the age of three, and explaining how her life changed after she was adopted.

 

Where Men Win Glory

BIO TIL           Krakauer, Jon

Presents a biographical discussion of Pat Tillman, covering the true events and actions surrounding the death of the U.S. Army soldier by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, and examines the misrepresentation of his story by the Bush administration before the truth was revealed.

 

Walden

BIO THO         Thoreau, Henry David, 1817-1862.

Presents an annotated version of the 1854 edition of "Walden," in which Thoreau offers his philosophy of life and observations of nature gleaned from two years of solitude living in a cabin on Walden Pond in Massachusetts.

 

Black Boy

BIO WRI         Wright, Richard

An autobiography describing the author's struggles against the dehumanizing southern social environment of the Jim Crow South.

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