Sonderbooks Nonfiction Index

Nonfiction

Within each category, the books are in order of rating, with the most recent reviews first.
Click on the book title to read the complete review.

Biographical

*****Diary of a Medical Intuitive, by Christel Nani, RN, PhD

*****Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

*****Leaving the Saints, by Martha Beck

*****The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness, by Joel ben Izzy

*****Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck

*****What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson

*****Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig
****Busting Vegas, by Ben Mezrich

****You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again, by Suzanne Hansen

****End of the Spear, by Steve Saint

****The Horses of Proud Spirit, by Melanie Sue Bowles

****The Story of My Life, by Farah Ahmedi with Tamim Ansary
****The Narrow Road, by Brother Andrew, with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
****Up and Down in the Dales, by Gervase Phinn
****Head Over Heels in the Dales, by Gervase Phinn

****Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, by Anne Lamott

****Over Hill and Dale, by Gervase Phinn

****The Other Side of the Dale, by Gervase Phinn
****Journey from the Land of No, by Roya Hakakian
****Inside the Kingdom, by Carmen bin Ladin

****Love in the Driest Season, by Neely Tucker

****Burned Alive, by Souad

****The God I Love, by Joni Eareckson Tada

****The Waiting Child, by Cindy Champnella

****Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich
****The Christmas Box Miracle, by Richard Paul Evans
****Love, Greg and Lauren, by Greg Manning

****Sky of Stone, by Homer Hickam

****The Coalwood Way, by Homer Hickam

****The Oasis, by Petru Popescu
***The Unmistakable Touch of Grace, by Cheryl Richardson

***Tony and Me, by Jack Klugman with Burton Rocks
***Garlic and Sapphires, by Ruth Reichl

***Blowing My Cover, by Lindsay Moran

***Behind Enemy Lines, by Marthe Cohn with Wendy Holden

***Truth & Beauty, by Ann Patchett

***The World of William Steig, by Lee Lorenz
***To the Heart of the Nile, by Pat Shipman
***Uncle Tungsten, by Oliver Sacks
***Guarding the Moon, by Francesca Lia Block
***The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch), by Carroll Spinney with J Milligan
***I Choose to Stay, by Salome Thomas-EL with Cecil Murphey
***I Am the Central Park Jogger, by Trisha Meili

***Blue Dog, by George Rodrigue and Lawrence S. Freundlich
***Portraits 9/11/01
***Ice Bound, by Dr. Jerri Nielsen with Maryann Vollers
***A Year in the Maine Woods, by Bernd Heinrich
***Symphony of Spirits, by Deborah A. Forrest

***Diana's Boys, by Christopher Anderson
***The Walrus on My Table, by Anthony Guglielmo
**The Candidate, by Paul Alexander
**No Ordinary Lives, by David Johnson

Christian

*****A Generous Orthodoxy, by Brian D. McLaren
*****What Does the Bible Really Say About Hell? by Randy Klassen

*****My Descent Into Death, by Howard Storm
*****The Inescapable Love of God, by Thomas Talbott
*****A Year With C. S. Lewis, by C. S. Lewis
*****Unspoken Sermons: Series I, II, and III, by George MacDonald
*****Glimpses of Grace, by Madeleine L'Engle, with Carole F. Chase
*****Discovering the Character of God, by George MacDonald
*****Knowing the Heart of God, by George MacDonald
****The Spiritual Journey Toward a Healed Marriage, by Charlyne Steinkamp
****The Power of a Praying Parent, by Stormie Omartian
****The Power of a Praying Wife, by Stormie Omartian
****A New Kind of Christian, by Brian D. McLaren

****Glimpses of the Devil, by M. Scott Peck, M.D.
****If Grace Is True, by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland
****Let Your Life Speak, by Parker J. Palmer
****Winged Life, by Hannah Hurnaud

****In the Spirit of Happiness, by The Monks of New Skete
****The Hope of the Gospel, by George MacDonald
****The Mystery of Marriage, by Mike Mason
****Wisdom To Live By, by George MacDonald
****Soul Survivor, by Philip Yancey

***All You Really Need to Know About Prayer You Can Learn From the Poor, by Louise Perrotta
***Miracles of Our Lord, by George MacDonald

***If God Is Love, by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland
***Reaching Out, by Henri J. M. Nouwen

***Breaking the da Vinci Code, by Darrell L. Bock, PhD

***A Calendar of Wisdom, by Leo Tolstoy

***Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, by Ace Collins

***Scribbling in the Sand, by Michael Card
***The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey
***George MacDonald in the Pulpit, compiled by J. Joseph Flynn and David Edwards
***A Reason For Hope
***The Prayer of Jabez, by Bruce Wilkinson
**His Name Is Jesus: The Mysterious Yeshua Codes, by Yacov Rambsel

Computers

****The Art and Science of Web Design, by Jeffrey Veen

***Learning Web Design, by Jennifer Niederst
***Cheap Web Tricks, by Anne Martinez

***Poor Richard's Web Site, by Peter Kent

Cross-Cultural

****The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt

****A Castle in the Backyard, by Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden
****As the Romans Do, by Alan Epstein

****Sixpence House, by Paul Collins

****The Way of the Wanderer, by David Yeadon

****There's No Toilet Paper . . . on the Road Less Traveled, edited by Doug Lansky

****Wild Writing Women: Stories of World Travel

****Not So Funny When It Happened, edited by Tim Cahill

****The Philosopher's Demise, by Richard Watson

****River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, by Peter Hessler
****Ripe for the Picking, by Annie Hawes
****My Love Affair With England, by Susan Allen Toth

****A House Somewhere, edited by Don George and Anthony Sattin

****Walking the Bible, by Bruce Feiler
****Angles of Reflection, by Joan L. Richards
****Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes
****The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by T. E. Carhart

****The Hills Is Lonely, by Lillian Beckwith

****Driving Over Lemons, by Chris Stewart

***Our Paris, by Edmund White with drawings by Hubert Sorin

***The Secret Life of the Seine, by Mort Rosenblum

***Notes from a Roman Terrace, by Joan Marble

***Bringing Tuscany Home, by Frances Mayes

***Fly Fishing the River of Second Chances, by Jennifer Olsson
***Slipping into Paradise, by Jeffrey Mousaieff Masson
***Bill Bryson's African Diary, by Bill Bryson
***Abraham, by Bruce Feiler

***Tuscany: True Stories, edited by James O'Reilly and Tara Austen Weaver

***Spanish Lessons, by Derek Lambert

Current Issues

****The End of Poverty, by Jeffrey D. Sachs
****Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins

****The Middle of Everywhere, by Mary Pipher

****Moyers on America, by Bill Moyers
****Losing America, by Senator Robert C. Byrd
****Running on Empty, by Peter G. Peterson
****The Pentagon's New Map, by Thomas P. M. Barnett
****The Working Poor: Invisible in America, by David K. Shipler

****Unfinished Business, by Dr. Julianne Malveaux and Deborah Perry

****The Soul of Capitalism, by William Greider
****Rogue Nation, by Clyde Prestowitz

****Of Paradise and Power, by Robert Kagan
****The Case Against Lawyers, by Catherine Crier
****Longitudes and Attitudes, by Thomas L. Friedman
****The Threatening Storm: The Case For Invading Iraq, by Kenneth M. Pollack

****In Search of America, by Peter Jennings & Todd Brewster

****From the Good Earth, by Michael Ableman

****Suburban Nation, by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck

****Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich

***Terrify No More, by Gary A. Haugen with Gregg Hunter
***Selling Women Short, by Liza Featherstone
***The 9/11 Commission Report
***Homegrown Democrat, by Garrison Keillor
***Seven Money Mantras for a Richer Life, by Michelle Singletary
***What's So Great About America, by Dinesh D'Souza
***Bible Code II: The Countdown, by Michael Drosnin
***Unfinished Business, by Harlan Ullman
***The Lessons of Terror, by Caleb Carr
***Hope Meadows, by Wes Smith
***Living a Life That Matters, by Harold S. Kushner

***The Coming Anarchy, by Robert D. Kaplan

**The Tending Instinct, by Shelley E. Taylor
**Crashing the Party, by Ralph Nader

Historical

****Walking Forward Looking Back, by John Labriola

****One Nation: America Remembers September 11, 2001
***The Lost Painting, by Jonathan Harr
***Founding Mothers, by Cokie Roberts

***Farewell to Model T; From Sea to Shining Sea, by E. B. White

***America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction, by John Steinbeck
***Among the Heroes, by Jere Longman

***Taliban, by Ahmed Rashid

***Saddam's Bombmaker, by Khidhir Hamza
**The Wrong Stuff? by Phil Scott
**Before the Flood, by Ian Wilson
**The Riddle of the Compass, by Amir D. Aczel

**Seabiscuit, by Lauren Hillenbrand

Humorous

*****Life Among the Savages, by Shirley Jackson
****Here Speeching American, by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras
****The Complete Peanuts: 1955 to 1956, by Charles M. Schulz
****The Complete Peanuts: 1953 to 1954, by Charles M. Schulz

****How To Remodel a Man, by W. Bruce Cameron
****The Complete Peanuts: 1950 to 1952, by Charles M. Schulz

****Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss
****Pooh and the Philosophers, by John Tyerman Williams

****It Must Be True, by Denys Parsons

****Traveling While Married, by Mary-Lou Weisman

****I'm a Stranger Here Myself, by Bill Bryson

***Dave Barry's Money Secrets, by Dave Barry

***The Sweet Potato Queens' Wedding Planner/Divorce Guide, by Jill Conner Browne

***Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris
***Hotel Bemelmans, by Ludwig Bemelmans

***Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel, by Scott Adams
***Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz, edited by Chip Kidd

**Dave Barry Turns 40, by Dave Barry

**I Am What I Ate. . . And I'm Frightened!!! by Bill Cosby

**Boogers Are My Beat, by Dave Barry
**My Life in Jokes, by Bob Hope with Linda Hope

Knitting

****The Knitting Experience Book 2: The Purl Stitch, by Sally Melville

****The Knitting Experience Book 1: The Knit Stitch, by Sally Melville
****The Best of Lopi, compiled by Susan Mills and Norah Gaughan
***Knit Lit, edited by Linda Roghaar and Molly Wolf
***Zen and the Art of Knitting, by Bernadette Murphy
***Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac, by Elizabeth Zimmerman
***Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, by Cat Bordi
***The Big Book of Knitting, by Katharina Buss
***The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, by Ann Budd

***Viking Patterns for Knitting, by Elsebeth Lavold

Mathematical

*****Count Down, by Steve Olson

****Feynman's Rainbow, by Leonard Mlodinow

****In Code, by Sarah Flannery with David Flannery

***Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
**The (Mis)behavior of Markets, by Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard L. Hudson
**The Joy of Pi, by David Blattner

Medical

****Against Depression, by Peter D. Kramer
****Depression Fallout, by Anne Sheffield

****Heal Your Headache, by David Buchholz, M.D.
****Secrets, Lies, Betrayals, by Maggie Scarf

****Natural Energy, by Erika Schwartz, M.D. with Carol Colman

****The New Sugar Busters! by H. Leighton Steward, Morrison C. Bethea, MD,
Sam S. Andrews, MD, and Luis A. Balart, MD
****The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution, by Frederick Hahn, Michael R. Eades, MD, and Mary Dan Eades, MD
****Dr. Folkman's War, by Robert Cooke

***Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover, by Bob Greene

***Breathe Well, Be Well, by Robert Fried, PhD

***8 Minutes in the Morning for Real Shapes, Real Sizes, by Jorge Cruise

***My House Is Killing Me! by Jeffrey C. May
***Pain Free for Women, by Pete Egoscue, with Roger Gittines
**Pain Free, by Pete Egoscue

Musings

*****How We Choose To Be Happy, by Rick Foster and Greg Hicks

*****How Good Do We Have To Be? by Harold S. Kushner
*****Waking the World, by Allan B. Chinen, MD
*****Once Upon a Midlife, by Allan B. Chinen

*****Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
*****A Circle of Quiet, by Madeleine L'Engle

*****Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, by Madeleine L’Engle
****The Irrational Season, by Madeleine L'Engle
****The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, by Madeleine L'Engle

****Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers, by Fred Rogers
****How Can We Keep From Singing, by Joan Oliver Goldsmith
****Letters to a Young Therapist, by Mary Pipher
****Sweeping Changes, by Gary Thorp

****The Opposite of Fate, by Amy Tan

****Astonish Yourself! by Roger-Pol Droit
****Of Other Worlds, by C. S. Lewis. Edited by Walter Hooper

****Small Wonder, by Barbara Kingsolver
***My Therapist's Dog, by Diana Wells
***Pitching My Tent, by Anita Diamant

***Money, a Memoir, by Liz Perle

***It's Not Easy Being Green, by Jim Henson, edited by Cheryl Henson
***Nothing Left Over, by Toinette Lippe
***Being Perfect, by Anna Quindlen

***The Meaning of It All, by Richard P. Feynman
***Finding Time for Serenity, by Barbara Cawthorne Crafton
***Life's Work, by Lisa Belkin
***Loud and Clear, by Anna Quindlen
***14,000 Things To Be Happy About, by Barbara Ann Kipfer
***Which Way to the Future? by Stanley Schmidt
***At Home in the World, by Daniel Pearl, edited by Helene Cooper
***Meditations on Middle Earth, edited by Karen Haber

**The Importance of Being Lazy, by Al Gini
**Tales From the Couch, edited by Jason Shinder

Parenting

****Room to Grow, edited by Christina Baker Kline
****There Are No Shortcuts, by Rafe Esquith

****Raisin' Brains, by Karen L. J. Isaacson

****Raising a Reader, by Jennie Nash

****The Myth of Laziness, by Mel Levine, M.D.

****Discipline: The Brazelton Way, by T. Berry Brazelton, M.D. and Joshua D. Sparrow, M.D.

****A Mind at a Time, by Mel Levine, M. D.
***Ready or Not, Here Life Comes, by Mel Levine, M.D.

***Babyhood, by Paul Reiser

***Smart Boys, by Barbara A. Kerr, PhD, and Sanford J. Cohn, PhD

***The Baby Owner's Manual, by Louis Borgenicht, M.D., and Joe Borgenicht, D.A.D.

***Why Boys Don't Talk and Why We Care, by Susan Morris Shaffer and Linda Perlman Gordon
***97 Ways to Make a Baby Laugh, by Jack Moore
***The Trouble With Perfect, by Elisabeth Guthrie, M. D., and Kathy Matthews

***Coloring Outside the Lines, by Roger Schank

Photography

*****Miracle: A Celebration of New Life, by Anne Geddes and Celine Dion

****In Focus: National Geographic's Greatest Portraits

****Lighthouses of Europe, photographs by Philip Plisson and Guillaume Plisson, text by Daniel Charles

****Shoot Like a Pro! Digital Photography Techniques, by Julie Adair King

****Earth from Above, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

****Remarkable Trees of the World, by Thomas Pakenham

****The Universe: 365 Days, by Robert J. Nemiroff and Jerry T. Bonnell

****The Sea, photographs by Philip Plisson

****The Earth from Above: 365 Days, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

****America 24/7, created by Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen

****Lighthouses of France, photographs by Jean Guichard, text by René Gast
****The Complete Guide to Digital Photography, by Michael Freeman

***The Treehouse Book, by Peter and Judy Nelson with David Larkin

***Shoot! edited by Liz Harvey

**Travel Photography, by Susan McCartney

Poetry

****Good Poems, selected by Garrison Keillor
****A Poem a Day, edited by Karen McCosker
***Poem a Day, Volume 3, edited by Retta Bowen, Nick Temple, Nicholas Albery, and Stephanie Wienrich
***Poem a Day, Volume 2, edited by Laurie Sheck

***Committed to Memory: 100 Best Poems to Memorize, edited by John Hollander

***Gilgamesh, rendered in English by David Ferry
***Poems To Read, edited by Robert Pinsky and Maggie Dietz
***The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, selected by Caroline Kennedy

***Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages, selected by Harold Bloom

Reading

****Walking a Literary Labyrinth, by Nancy M. Malone

****Remarkable Reads, edited by J. Peder Zane

****The Child That Books Built, by Francis Spufford

****Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction, by Tom Raabe

***A Passion for Books, edited by Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan

***Where Books Fall Open, paintings by Bascove

Relationships

*****NOT "Just Friends," by Shirley P. Glass, PhD

*****You Don't Have To Take It Anymore, by Steven Stosny, PhD
*****The Script, by Elizabeth Landers and Vicky Mainzel
*****How One of You Can Bring the Two of You Together, by Susan Page
*****The Divorce Remedy, by Michele Weiner Davis
*****For Women Only, by Shaunti Feldhahn
*****Love and Respect, by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
****The Dance of Intimacy, by Harriet Lerner, Ph.D.

****You Just Don't Understand, by Deborah Tannen, Ph.D.

****Getting the Love You Want, by Harville Hendrix, Ph.D.

****The Dance of Anger, by Harriet Lerner, Ph.D.

***You're Wearing THAT? by Deborah Tannen

***Why Do I Love These People? by Po Bronson
***The Introvert Advantage, by Marti Olsen Laney, Psy.D.

***The 100 Simple Secrets of Great Relationships, by David Niven, PhD
***The One Minute Apology, by Ken Blanchard and Margret McBride
***Truly Mars and Venus, by John Gray, Ph.D.

***Connecting, by Sandy Sheehy

Science

****Animals in Translation, by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson

***Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell
***The Botany of Desire, by Michael Pollan

Travel

****Imagined London, by Anna Quindlen

****A Woman's Passion for Travel, edited by Marybeth Bond and Pamela Michael

****The Impressionists' Paris, by Ellen Williams
****Castles of Britain and Ireland, by Plantagenet Somerset Fry

****Castles and Ancient Monuments of Scotland, by Damien Noonan

****Dorling Kindersley Travel Guides: Scotland

****Knopf Guides: Scotland

****The Road from the Past, by Ina Caro
****Storybook Travels, by Colleen Dunn Bates & Susan LaTempa

****Italy Travel Books

****Eyewitness Travel Guide: Germany

****For the Love of Ireland, edited by Susan Cahill

***City of the Soul, by William Murray

***Living in Rome, by Bruno Racine, photographs by Alain Fleischer
***Sahara, by Michael Palin

***Fodor's City Pack: Amsterdam, by Teresa Fisher

***Neuschwanstein, by Gottfried Knapp, photographs by Achim Bunz

***My Paris Sketchbook, by Alain Bouldouyre, text by Christophe Auduraud
***A Traveller's Companion to Venice, edited by John Julius Norwich

***Essential Venice, by Tom Pocock

***My Italian Sketchbook, by Florine Asch
***An Innocent in Ireland, by David W. McFadden

***The Best American Travel Writing 2002 edited by Frances Mayes. Series editor, Jason Wilson
***Castles of England, Scotland and Wales, by Paul Johnson

***Pimsleur Language Programs: German: Complete Course I, Part A

***Pimsleur Language Programs: German: The Complete Course I: Beginners/Part B

***Fodor's Exploring Scotland
***In Search of Ancient Scotland, by Gerald M. Ruzicki and Dorothy A. Ruzicki

***A Day in the Life of California

***Timeless Places: Venice, by Alexandra Bonfante-Warren

***Holland, by Brian Peterson. Text by Helen Colijn.

***France, by Russell Lamb. Text by Dan Harder
***Romantic Irish Landscapes, by Iain Zaczek

***Fodor's Around Paris With Kids

***The Grown-up's Guide to Living in France, by Rosanne Knorr

**Italy in Mind, edited by Alice Leccese Powers
**Venice For Pleasure, by J. G. Links

**Insight CityGuides: Venice

Writing

*****A Writer's Paris, by Eric Maisel
*****Writing About Your Life, by William Zinsser

*****If You Want To Write, by Brenda Ueland

*****Madeleine L'Engle Herself: Reflections on a Writing Life, compiled by Carole F. Chase

*****Bird By Bird, by Anne Lamott

****Seven Steps on the Writer's Path, by Nancy Pickard and Lynn Lott
****Write Away, by Elizabeth George

****The Writer's Book of Hope, by Ralph Keyes
****The Weekend Novelist, by Robert J. Ray
****Take Joy! A Book for Writers, by Jane Yolen
****Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life, edited by Barnaby Conrad and Monte Schulz

***Writers on Writing, introduction by John Darnton

***In Search of the World's Worst Writers, by Nick Page
***A Writer's Book of Days, by Judy Reeves

***Sometimes the Magic Works, by Terry Brooks
***Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, collected and edited by Leonard S. Marcus

***Beyond the Words, by Bonni Goldberg

***Where Inspiration Lives, edited by John Miller and Aaron Kenedi
***Immediate Fiction, by Jerry Cleaver
***It's a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World, by Olga Litowinsky
***Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes, by Raymond Obstfeld
***Letters To a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rillke
**The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life, by Noah Lukeman

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Sonder is a German prefix meaning "special."

Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund