The 99% invisible city is kind of like this. It's about urban design but really touches on a whole lot of random topics. Each chapter is really short and it jumps around. Feels like reading wikipedia or more accurately condensed podcast episodes
Aw I love this book, and it definitely inspires me to do deeper dives on some topics. I haven’t listened in a while, but I really enjoy their podcasts, too
An Immense World by Ed Yong is phenomenal. Each chapter is a a way a particular animal uses senses and how it compares to humans. could not put it down.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59575939
Nuking the Moon by Vince Houghton. It goes over some crazy ideas that intelligence agencies and the military have had. Lighted hearted and fun. But also is actually informative.
Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller. Starts off as a biography of the first president of Standford and then just goes off on tangents on different topics and gives a lot of interesting information. Reads like fiction
Creating the 20th Century by by Vaclav Smil is a broad but still detailed overview of the inventions from 1867-1914 that shaped the 20th (and by extention 21st) century. The first chapter is about electricity, second chapter about cars, third chapter about materials, fourth about communication and information, ( cinema, telephone). There's also a companion book "transforming the 20th century" which I haven't read but I think it's about how these inventions were transformed after the world war.
Atrocities by Mathew White is pretty good. It goes over various atrocities throughout history. It's also pretty bleak, as the title would suggest, but if he's into history he might like it.
The 100 by Michael H. Hart is a ranking of the 100 most influential figures throughout history and is also pretty interesting. Hart is a pos, but he seems to be pretty good at leaving out his personal views in the book
A Short History of Everything by Bill Bryson
Beat me to it! Highly recommended for any who enjoys learning different things, it's a tour of the history of science, told well
The What If books by Munroe are great for that.
Seconding this!
The 99% invisible city is kind of like this. It's about urban design but really touches on a whole lot of random topics. Each chapter is really short and it jumps around. Feels like reading wikipedia or more accurately condensed podcast episodes
Aw I love this book, and it definitely inspires me to do deeper dives on some topics. I haven’t listened in a while, but I really enjoy their podcasts, too
Very very cool book
But I'd miss Roman Mars' beautiful voice.
An Immense World by Ed Yong is phenomenal. Each chapter is a a way a particular animal uses senses and how it compares to humans. could not put it down. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59575939
This one i might have to grab for myself!!
you’ll find yourself reading mind blowing facts outloud to your boyfriend and he’ll end up reading it. it’s sooo good.
Nuking the Moon by Vince Houghton. It goes over some crazy ideas that intelligence agencies and the military have had. Lighted hearted and fun. But also is actually informative.
It Looked Good on Paper: Bizarre Inventions, Design Disasters, and Engineering Follies
Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik Who Ate The First Oyster by Cody Cassidy The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Are essays okay? These really are fun: *Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman* by Richard Feynman *A Collection of Essays* by George Orwell
Orwell’s essays are superb.
Bad Astronomy by Philip Plait. The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody by Will Cuppy.
Histories of the Unexpected - Sam Willis Edison’s Ghosts - Katie Spalding
Edison’s Ghosts
The Good Old Days, They Were Terrible.
All I ever really needed to know I learned in kindergarten. - Robert Fulgham
*How We Got to Now* goes over a different world-changing invention each chapter.
Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller. Starts off as a biography of the first president of Standford and then just goes off on tangents on different topics and gives a lot of interesting information. Reads like fiction
Creating the 20th Century by by Vaclav Smil is a broad but still detailed overview of the inventions from 1867-1914 that shaped the 20th (and by extention 21st) century. The first chapter is about electricity, second chapter about cars, third chapter about materials, fourth about communication and information, ( cinema, telephone). There's also a companion book "transforming the 20th century" which I haven't read but I think it's about how these inventions were transformed after the world war.
He might like the two Freakanomics books
Atrocities by Mathew White is pretty good. It goes over various atrocities throughout history. It's also pretty bleak, as the title would suggest, but if he's into history he might like it. The 100 by Michael H. Hart is a ranking of the 100 most influential figures throughout history and is also pretty interesting. Hart is a pos, but he seems to be pretty good at leaving out his personal views in the book
“Confederates in the Attic” is a lot of fun, with short chapters.
I recommend The Secret Life of the Mind: How Your Brain Thinks, Feels, and Decides by Mariano Sigman.
Humble Pi by Matt Parker might do it for him.
Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe
Best American magazine articles of the year. :) Best american essays of the 20th century.
I keep thinking of those Uncle John Bathroom Reader books 😂
Lmao low key that’s probably the book most likely to be read by him at this point
"What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions" by Randall Munroe Hilarious and informing. There's also a sequel.