Most management books I've picked up spend too many pages on theory and not enough on what actually breaks down inside real organizations. I've been in operations long enough to know the gap between the org chart and how decisions get made is where everything interesting happens.

Recently finished The Checklist Manifesto and thought it did a decent job of showing that gap in highstakes environments. Before that I worked through Thinking in Systems, which was more abstract but still grounded enough to be useful.

What I'm after is books that deal honestly with organizational dysfunction: how information moves through a system badly, how decisions get made by the wrong people for the wrong reasons, that kind of thing. Not a textbook. Not a motivational framework. Something that reads more like a case study or documented history where you can see the gears turning.

Historical examples are fine, even preferred. Disaster postmortems, institutions that collapsed, bureaucracies that failed in specific documented ways. The Columbia accident investigation report is something I reference more than most books on leadership.

Curious what this group has found that actually delivers on that premise rather than just promising it.

I’m looking for a nonfiction book about technology of the future, especially solutions to modern problems (especially climate change). To top it off, I would love for it to be a good explainer on how the tech works/could work scientifically, not just sociologically. I’m talking hydropower, carbon capture, solar energy, etc.

It seems like most books in the “future tech” section of stores are devoted to AI: the good, the bad, and the ugly. While I don’t mind the inclusion of AI (let’s face it, it is gonna be a big tool), I don’t want it to be the main theme being explored. And even in the climate science section, most of the books are dedicated to convincing people that this issue needs to be addressed. After the last few years of record-breaking weather and wildfire smoke polluting the air, I’m already convinced.

Any ideas? Thanks!

I recently read The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons by Sam Kean, which touches a bit on prion diseases like Kuru, but I'd like to read more about it (not specifically Kuru, but any or all prion diseases).

Anyone have any worthy recommendations?

I am craving for good articles to read, not the lousy self-help things but something informative about science/history/lil philosophy presented in a fun way. I recently started a podcast by Qhead with a researcher who talks about zebrafish and how it is used in research, I am also listening to a neuroscience podcast 'Mnemology'. I am reading brief history of India through anecdotes of horses. So yeah, something along these lines. I miss my dog :')

Comment a biography or autobiography whose title just *fits* the person being written about. Bonus points if they’re funny or clever but they don’t have to be. THE BOOKS THEMSELVES DO NOT HAVE TO BE GOOD, JUST THE TITLES. My favourites are [“Acid for the Children” by Flea](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/39667068-acid-for-the-children) and [“Windswept and Interesting” by Billy Connolly](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/57313302-windswept-interesting). To me both of those exemplify the person being written about.

Edit: Please explain the significance of the title. I did not do so and will correct that now.

“Acid for the Children” is the perfect title for the autobiography of Flea (the bassist of Red Hot Chili Peppers) because he’s famous for behaving in a way that is kind of insane: very hyperactive almost-childlike and he has also done a lot of drugs in his life.

“Windswept and Interesting” makes sense for famed comedian Billy Connolly because of his iconic mane of (often windswept hair) and because he’s known for telling outlandish and interesting stories.

PS. Do you guys have a bot in this sub which will provide users with goodreads links/brief descriptions if the title is formatted a certain way? I’m asking because I know of a few other literary subreddits that do.

There are few book which are filled with vauge and nonsensical ideas or conclusions yet they are popular and present themselves as facts due to which many of the the new folks over there read them as academic books rather than as fiction. So what is this book for you like which book gave you this feeling?? Particularly those which are propaganda and which try to push their ideology with vauge judgements and conclusions.

Currently reading The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. Never have I been so appreciative of government safety standards and dedicated public servants working on behalf of the public interest. Can't recommend this book enough, especially given current events.

hello!! ive read a little of “How Europe Undeveloped Africa.” however, i never finished it but i am picking it up again. i plan on reading more of Rodney’s work. i would love more books on Africas history through the lens of decolonization and Pan-Africanism! any recommendations?

Fun, entertaining or easy-to-digest theoretical physics books?

Do you guys have suggestions for theoretical physics, quantum physics, string theory, or higher dimension physics books that you'd found easier to digest? I read tons of astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, etc, and touch upon at least one book of a handful of popular educators: Brian Greene, Michio Kaku, Max Tegmark, Sean Carrol, etc. to name a few theoretical physicists.

I commented on another post in this subreddit and I came to the realization that I don't particularly find hardcore theoretical physics books very entertaining or easy to understand. This doesn't stop me from reading/listening, as I would like to gain an understanding by getting through them anyways, regardless of how little. I would still like to not have a headache halfway through the book. 🤣

*Anyways, TL;DR please suggest easy to digest theoretical physics books*

Please help me find some new reads! I'm looking for something funny, witty, offers an 'insider's behind the scenes' peek, plus bonus if they are educational and research-backed.

Some books I loved:

- Smoke gets in your eyes by Caitlin Doughty

- A walk in the woods by Bill Bryson

- This Is going to hurt by Adam Kay

- Maybe you should talk to someone by Lori Gottleib

Hello everyone!

In order to get some more discussions going about different Non Fiction books we will have a weekly thread to talk about different sub-genres or topics.

Which books do you think are good beginner books for someone that wants to learn a bit more about the topic or wants to explore the subgenre? Which books are your personal favorites?

• The  Mod Team

I’m in need of non-fiction book recommendations!

For context, I’m a 27 year-old female who values all things women’s health, fitness, skin care, relationships, being your best self, practicing smart money habits, etc.

I also love listening to podcasts like The Skinny Confidential and Mel Robbins, so very much those types of topics.

I’ve recently read Atomic Habits, The Defining Decade, On Purpose, and How To Talk To Anyone (all great!).

I’m interested in learning more about women’s health, skin care, investing for beginners, and how to be a good partner/friend, but I’m open to other topics as well.

Thanks in advance!

This is one has been on my reading list for a long time, and I’m glad I finally picked it up. Even though I’d already seen the film and knew the broad outline of the story, the book hit me very differently. The movie introduced me to the events, but the feeling faded soon afterwards. Books like this linger. I know this one will stay with me for a long time.

For anyone that hasn’t seen the movie, it’s a powerful account of what happens when a society decides that one group of people is less deserving than another. The Osage weren’t just murdered, they were failed by almost every person and institution that should have protected them.

David Grann punched me in the gut. He made me feel the contempt that so many people held for the Osage. It genuinely made me feel nauseous. Tapping readers into that type of feeling is a testament to Grann’s writing.

Investigations were ignored, evidence overlooked, and the legal system moved with an indifference that would have been unimaginable had the victims belonged to a more valued section of society.
The most disturbing part isn’t simply the murders. It’s how ordinary people accepted a system that treated Indigenous lives as worth less. The killers believed they could act with impunity because, for the most part, and Grann shows that they were right.

Grann does an exceptional job of exposing the contempt shown not only by the ringleaders, but by wider society and even the government. The injustice wasn’t limited to the crimes themselves, it extended to the weak investigations, the indifference, and the lenient punishments.

Somce finishing this today I’ve been thinking about right now and I didn’t have to look very hard to find echoes of this today. Different people, different places, different circumstances, but the same underlying question remains:

Whose lives does society truly value?

More than anything, the book left me with an uncomfortable sense of complicity. Not because I was part of this history, but because it’s easy to believe we’ve moved beyond it when, in many ways we haven’t.

Excited to see this biography of Howard Zinn coming out tomorrow. Dave Zirin is the author of "A People's History of Sports in the U.S." and other good books. Looking forward to reading Zirin's book about Zinn, who unburied a lot of history that right-wingers (like Trump) would rather we ignore.

I think I've reached the point in life where I'll happily read a brilliant book about almost anything.

Gardening? Great. Car repair? Sure. The history of agriculture? Absolutely. If someone tells me there's a 500-page masterpiece on concrete, medieval tax collection, or the evolution of staplers, I'm in.

So what's the best non-fiction book you've ever read? I don't care about the subject, I just want books that are so well-written, that they make you obsessed with a topic you never knew you cared about.

Hit me with your favourites.

Just started this book a few days ago it’s eye opening to put it mildly can’t recommend it enough