Looking for an engaging, well-paced nonfiction read? Check out this list made by librarians at The Seattle Public Library. Annotations from review sources, as cited. (December 2024).
Pathogenesis
A virtuoso analysis of the fallout from encounters between deadly viral and bacterial pathogens and human populations that lacked immunity. The result is a fascinating look at history from the perspective of its tiniest protagonists. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
View Pathogenesis
Chop, Fry, Watch, Learn
A well-researched biography of the woman the New York Times called “the Julia Child of Chinese cooking." An appealing story of a determined home cook who taught generations how to prepare authentic Chinese food. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
View Chop, Fry, Watch, Learn
The Demon of Unrest
In his latest appealing historical excavation, Larson…examines the run-up to the Civil War during the six months between Lincoln’s November 1860 election and the surrender of Fort Sumter. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View The Demon of Unrest
Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones
Film producer Mattoo reflects on leaving Kashmir during the violent 1980s in her insightful and surprisingly funny debut. Distinguished by its sharp wit and beating heart, this is a salve for wanderers of all stripes. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones
The Best Minds
Dazzling . . . both a breathtaking and tragic portrait of a man with vast potential and a reckoning on how schizophrenia is treated and understood. This is a tough one to forget. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View The Best Minds
Black Ball
Runstedtler, a professor of African American history at American University and a former member of the Toronto Raptors’ dance team, is well acquainted with the massively popular sport’s “unspoken racial politics,” and she has the ambition to look beyond the palatable victory narratives of recent years. A strong, engaging look at a poignant, neglected aspect of pro sports. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View Black Ball
Bite
A delightful examination of teeth throughout history. Vertebrate zoologist Schutt, a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History, teams with illustrator Wynne to create a lively, deeply informed investigation of the origin, development, and significance of teeth. A fascinating romp through evolutionary history. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View Bite
Heartbreak City
Relearn the history of Seattle by examining it through the games people played. Scott makes a compelling case that through sports, we can learn our urban histories in a way that provides clarity about past, present and future. (The Nation)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View Heartbreak City
Brave the Wild River
Sevigny paints a picture by describing other elements of the canyon journey…She goes beyond botanizing and writes about the ancestral Puebloan residents of the area, mapmakers, former explorers, honeymooners. (Los Angeles Review of Books)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View Brave the Wild River
How to Say Babylon
Poet Sinclair recounts her harrowing upbringing in Jamaica in this bruising memoir. Readers will be drawn to Sinclair's strength and swept away by her tale of triumph over oppression. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View How to Say Babylon