Recommend non-fiction books about sport, crime, racing etc.

[GlobalExplorer]

After a foray into science fiction I got back into reading non-fiction.

But over the years I have already read so much on WWII and history that it is now literally coming out of my ears. I realized many other topics are hardly ever covered: technics, sports, dangerous occupations, real crime, racing, mountaineering etc.

The problem with the internet is there are millions of books, but the problem is to find the really good ones. Going by amazon ratings or title is naive, as I found through several mispurchases in the past. So I now first sort out everything written by some moron who plasters the text with lots of superfluous adjectives and all kinds of irrelevant bull****, since the majority of books fall into this category.

I am also not interested in illustrated books which consist of 50 pages text and 100 color photographs, and costs 40 bucks, no matter how nice they are. Only books that have from 200 pages upwards of solid research on a well researched, focussed area, well written and easy to read, informative and entertaining, and at a standard price.

As the title says, I am tired of World War II and history, though if it's a fresh topic it would also qualify. For example 'Sport in Nazi Germany'

But for example I would be very grateful for a good book about ice hockey, or the olympiad, preferrably taking place in the 60s, 70s or 80s, as I have thing for anything retro.

From here on I have books which I am about to get, so if you have read any of those I would like to hear your opinion.




Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

http://www.amazon.com/Into-Thin-Air-...mm_pap_title_0

Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans by A.J. Baime

Go Like Hell tells the remarkable story of how Henry Ford II, with the help of a young visionary named Lee Iacocca and a former racing champion turned engineer, Carroll Shelby, concocted a scheme to reinvent the Ford company. They would enter the high-stakes world of European car racing, where an adventurous few threw safety and sanity to the wind. They would design, build, and race a car that could beat Ferrari at his own game at the most prestigious and brutal race in the world, something no American car had ever done.

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Like-Hell-F...4242701&sr=1-1

The Glory Game: The New Edition of the British Football Classic by Hunter Davies

Hailed as probably the best book about soccer ever written, The Glory Game gives a unique insight into the inner workings of a major-league soccer club. Author Hunter Davies was allowed unparalleled access to the inner sanctum of a top professional soccer team, the Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs), and his pen spared nothing and no one. This 30th-anniversary edition will appeal to new and enthusiastic audiences.

http://www.amazon.com/Glory-Game-Bri...4242648&sr=8-2

Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 by Bryan Burrough

Burrough, an award-winning financial journalist and Vanity Fair special correspondent, best known for Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, switches gears to produce the definitive account of the 1930s crime wave that brought notorious criminals like John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde to America's front pages.

http://www.amazon.com/Public-Enemies...4243572&sr=1-1

A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin

A decade in the making, this book is based on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with each of the twenty-four moon voyagers, as well as those who contributed their brain power, training and teamwork on Earth.

http://www.amazon.com/Man-Moon-Voyag...4243709&sr=1-1

Working on the Edge: Surviving In the World's Most Dangerous Profession: King Crab Fishing on Alaska's HighSeas by Spike Walker

Walker shares his experiences of crab fishing off the coast of Alaska in an interesting and informative anecdotal style.

http://www.amazon.com/Working-Edge-S...4243806&sr=1-1

October 1964 by David Halberstam

This follow-up to the best-selling Summer of '49 assesses the Yankee-Cardinal World Series of 1964.

http://www.amazon.com/October-1964-D...4243868&sr=1-1

The Fight by Norman Mailer

The "fight" is the 1975 world heavyweight championship bout in Zaire between then reigning king of the ring Muhammad Ali and up-and-coming George Foreman. Mailer relays the events of the actual fight and includes the observations of George Plimpton, Hunter S. Thompson, and others.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fight-Pengui...4243987&sr=8-3

This is of course only my buying list. If someone is interested in my recommendations of books I read in the past, let me know. This also goes for my definite list "books which you should not read".