Kinder, Gary. Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. (Engineer’s scheme to salvage $1 billion)
Junger, Sebastian. The Perfect Storm. (Swordfish boat vs. Mother Nature)
Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air. (Everest climb gone wrong)
Larson, Erik. Isaac’s Storm. (1900 hurricane still deadliest of all time)
Sobel, Dava. Longitude. (Thorniest scientific problem of 18th century is solved)
Childs, Craig. Atlas of a Lost World: Travels in Ice Age America. Chronicles the last millennia of the Ice Age: the violent oscillations and retreat of glaciers, the clues and traces that document the first encounters of early humans, and the animals whose presence governed the humans' chances for survival.
Werbach, Adam. Act Now, Apologize Later. (former Sierra Club pres. On steps to stop environment loss)
Fromm, Peter. Indian Creek Chronicles. (modern day Walden in Idaho wilderness)
Winchester, Simon. The Map the Changed the World. (obscure historical figure with strong impact on civ.)
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird. (practical advice for aspiring writers and life in general)
Alvarez, Walter. T.Rex and the Crater of Doom (story of impact theory of dinosaur extinction development)
Roach, Mary. Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers(humorous, touching, and respectful look at how scientists utilize the human body)
Silverstein, Ken. The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor (boy's obsession with nuclear energy creates radioative device with potential to spark environmental disaster in his community)
Menzel, Peter and Faith D'Aluisio. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.(photo-chronicle of families around the world, the food they eat, and how uncontrollable forces like poverty, conflict and globalization affect our most elemental human need – food)
Firlik, Katrina. Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside.(honest appraisal of work as a doctor)
Melville, Greg. Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-Oil-Powered Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future (humorous road trip with the author and his college buddy in a converted 1980’s Mercedes from Vermont to California, and learn a little about how to be more eco-friendly along the way)
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden (spends 26 months alone in the woods to "front the essential facts of life.")
Thompson, Gabriel. Working in the Shadows: A Year of Doing the Jobs (Most) Americans Won’t Do (author works in various unskilled labor jobs providing engaging and gruesome details)
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (story of a woman whose cancerous cells were developed in culture without her knowledge and became the HeLa line scientists used in researching some of the most important and astounding medical discoveries of the 20th century)