Best books on non-fiction subjects

[Los Feliz Slim]

Someone here recommended "Phantoms of the Brain" which is about neurology and brain function. It was a great read and I learned a TON. It's like "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" except more modern.

[wet work]

Salt: A World History
Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization

and I also liked,

The Botany of Desire...really cool book.
Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography.

[TER]

[ QUOTE ]
Best book on what used to be whatever car you own, but now it appears that they have a book for whatever of anything you own (cars, washing machines, childeren etc) = a Haynes Manual

I think they're called Chilton Manuals in the US.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, we have both Chilton and Haynes manuals in the U.S., they are just two different brands. The Haynes manuals are excellent, Chilton completely useless.

[matt2500]

On Democracy in America by de Tocqueville is pretty amazing. He predicted the cold war a hundred years in advance.

Pretty much anything by John McPhee. He wrote an entire book about oranges (history, cultivation, etc), and a novella-length article about firewood (yes, firewood). I'm currently re-reading his book The Founding Fish, which is all about shad (natural history of, importance to American Revolution of, fishing for, etc).

[dinopoker]

Golf my Way, by Jack Nicklaus

[GBP04]

has anyone read 1776 by David McCullough? Someone recently recommended it to me and I am wondering if it is worth the read.

[CrayZee]

The Art of Computer Programming, Vols 1-3 -> Computer Science

..but, I don't think I've met anyone that's actually read this set.

[wet work]

Haven't read it in years but I remember The Diversity of Life being a really good book. E.O. Wilson wrote it.

[cliff]

The Mathematical Theory of Communication- Claude Shannon > almost every facet of modern information processing (cell phones, broadband data, data compression, etc.)

[CrayZee]

Oh, BTW, does anyone know what the best user interface (UI) design book is? Thx.