Leisure Reading: Non-Fiction

In this book Summerscale tells the story of Inspector Jonathan Whicher who's demeanor and belief in pursuing the truth no matter the cost inspired the fictional detective archetype.

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.

Prosecuting Attorney in the Manson trial, Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the twentieth century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders? Here is the gripping story of this famous and haunting crime.

This is the story of one of the most fascinating killers in American history--of his magnetic power, his bleak compulsion, his double life, his string of vulnerable victims. It is also the story of Ann Rule, a writer working on the biggest story of her life, tracking down a brutal serial killer.

Written by the mother of Emmett Till's Mother Mamie Till-Mobley and Journalist Chris Benson this book tells the account of Till's murder.

The definitive book about the sinking of the Titanic seeks to tell the story of that night by interviewing living survivors and reading the materials they had left behind.

Larson in his usual style tells the story of the sinking of the Lusitania and its killer Unterseeboot-20.

One of the books responsible for the emergence of Native American studies. Brown describes how the US Government destroyed the the culture of the Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains.

This National Book Award winner from Joseph J. Ellis tells the story of how the Founding Fathers built our nation.

In "Alone Together," MIT technology and society professor Sherry Turkle explores the power of our new tools and toys to dramatically alter our social lives. It's a nuanced exploration of what we are looking for--and sacrificing--in a world of electronic companions and social networking tools, and an argument that, despite the hand-waving of today's self-described prophets of the future, it will be the next generation who will chart the path between isolation and connectivity.

It's undeniable-technology is changing the way we think. But is it for the better? Amid a chorus of doomsayers, Clive Thompson delivers a resounding "yes." The Internet age has produced a radical new style of human intelligence, worthy of both celebration and analysis. We learn more and retain it longer, write and think with global audiences, and even gain an ESP-like awareness of the world around us.

A look at the exploits of the men of E Company during World War II describes how they parachuted into France early D-Day morning, parachuted into Holland during the Arnhem campaign, and captured Hitler's Bavarian outpost. TV BAN

The bestselling author of "Devil in the White City" turns his hand to a remarkable story set during Hitler's rise to power. The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history.

Esquire reporter Michael Herr tells us about his day to day experiences covering the Vietnam War.

This book by Karnow seeks to inform the reader about the background of the conflict in Vietnam and the course of the war. It chronicles the history of the War in Vietnam from the end of the Second World War to the Fall of Saigon.

A fascinating portrait of Europe from 1900 up to the outbreak of World War I. The century since the end of the Napoleonic wars had been the most peaceful era Europe had known since the fall of the Roman Empire. In the first years of the twentieth century, Europe believed it was marching to a golden, happy, and prosperous future. But instead, complex personalities and rivalries, colonialism and ethnic nationalisms, and shifting alliances helped to bring about the failure of the long peace and the outbreak of a war that transformed Europe and the world.

The Pulitzer Prize winning and acclaimed book by Tuchman describes in great detail the first month of WWI.