I swear, I might just give up adult nonfiction entirely. Usually, what I want is a great read that’s an introduction to a topic I know nothing about. With the fantastic nonfiction picture books available, I get to learn about so many new things, and the photos are amazing. It’s like reading magazine articles, but with space for a lot more photos/illustrations. Here are two excellent books I read recently.
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| The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe, by Loree Griffin Burns (Houghton Mifflin, 2010)
I fully expected to like this one, since it’s a science book and I know Loree is an excellent researcher and writer. I especially love the way she handled the uncertainty–the fact that the scientist-detectives don’t yet have a specific answer to their investigation. This was a fast and fascinating read. |
On the other hand, I didn’t really expect to like Driven: A Photobiography of Henry Ford, by Don Mitchell (National Geographic Books, 2010)
I checked this one out because I read a great review of it. But I have little interest in cars, other than "Will it get me from here to there." So I didn’t expect to love this book. But it was completely fascinating. I learned not only about Henry Ford, the person, but about how mass automobile production changed the whole country. And to my surprise, I liked learning every bit! |
The Nonfiction Monday roundup today is at Shelf-Employed. Drop by to find out about lots of terrific nonfiction books!