Most of us read fiction to connect with other’s experiences.
In general, non-fiction works have not been appealing to the wider public. When talking about non-fiction, we think of thick history books, boring commentaries on subjects or issues we just cannot seem to be interested in.
After tens of half-read non-fiction books left collecting dust on my shelves, I have found some that can give you fresh new takes and perspectives regardless of your background.
Here are some non-fiction works that will ignite your passion for an apparently “boring” genre.
- The Pianist — Władysław Szpilman
“Humanity seems doomed to do more evil than good. The greatest ideal on earth is human love.”
A brilliant and promising pianist in Warsaw, Poland on 23 September 1939 was delivering his last broadcasted performance on Polish Radio of a Chopin recital. The building of Polish Radio was bombed by the Nazis and the foundation of the infamous “Jewish quarter” took place one month afterward.
First published in 1946, the book was shortly banned by the new communist establishment.
It was only in 1998 when Andrzej Szpilman, Władysław’s oldest son, managed to convince a German publication, Ullstein Verlag, to publish a translation of the memoir under the title: Das wunderbare Überleben (The Miraculous Survival).
This incredible story of survival, betrayal, hatred and it’s effects on people got international recognition after Roman Polanski’s Oscar-Winning picture “The Pianist” starring Adrien Brody came out in 2002.
Another reason to read this breathtaking memoir is the story of Wilm Hosenfeld, a German high-ranking officer who opposed the Nazi’s abuse and decided to help hide Szpilman and kept him alive.
Wilm Hosenfeld was commemorated for his acts of kindness as a Righteous Among Nations, a non-Jew who helped Jews escape the Holocaust. A tree was planted in Jerusalem by Szpilman and his son in memory of Hosenfeld.
Szpilman’s writing style is easily accessible for everyone and his optimism when faced with, literally, death is a reminder for all of us that we need to reconsider our situations and start living for the present and enjoy the freedom we still have.
2. Storm of Steel — Ernest Jünger
“Man is born violent but is kept in check by the people around him. If he nevertheless manages to throw off his fetters, he can count on applause, for everyone recognizes himself in him. Deeply ingrained, nay, buried dreams come true. The unlimited radiates its magic even upon crime, which, not coincidentally, is the main source of entertainment in Eumeswil. I, as an anarch, not uninterested but disinterested, can understand that. Freedom has a wide range and more facets than a diamond.”
On the other side of the fence, we have Ernest Jünger, a German soldier who fought, both in World War I and World War II.
By the time the Third Reich came to power, Jünger was a war hero. As a fierce critic of the National Socialist regime, he rejected the proposals of the NSDAP and refused to speak on Goebbels’s radio.
His memoir “Storm of Steel” is a detailed tale of his encounters on the Western Front during the First World War, published in 1920 and translated in English in 1929.
You might be surprised by the numerous descriptions of soldiers’ meals, conversations in between machinegun bursts and chain-smoking cigarettes in the trenches, but “Storm of Steel” does not disappoint when it comes to dreadful episodes on the front or entire cities getting burned to the ground and the ruins left behind after the bombings.
If you ever wondered what were the thoughts of the people forced to fight for wicked causes, I highly recommend reading Ernest Jünger’s memoir and other works.
3. A Tale of Love and Darkness — Amos Oz
“If you steal from one book you are condemned as a plagiarist, but if you steal from ten books you are considered a scholar, and if you steal from thirty or forty books, a distinguished scholar.”
This is my favorite one!
Amos Oz was the son of two East European immigrants to Mandatory Palestine. Both of his parents came from intellectual families and were forced to give up the green, beautiful landscapes and forests of Europe for an arid, scorching desert in the Middle East.
“A Tale of Love and Darkness” is his most well-known novel, adapted for the movie screen by Natalie Portman in 2015.
It follows the story of a young Amos Oz living in a newly established Jerusalem, in permanent fear that the persecution of the Jews can take place under a different form, that of raging religious antisemitism carried out by the Arabs.
His most traumatic experience, however, came about when was only 14 years old, when his mother committed suicide without leaving a note behind. He felt like a “monster” and rebelled against his father for allowing such a tragedy to happen.
After her death, Oz joined a kibbutz, a Jewish community based somewhat on socialist principles of communal living, and remained there until 1986 when he and his wife left to treat their son’s asthma.
By his own admission, he wrote the book in an effort to reclaim his mother, to put himself in her shoes and relive her last hours.
All of us deal with the loss of someone close to us, so finding some closure in other’s experiences is therapeutic and will greatly enhance your compassion.
4. Memories, Dreams, Reflections — Carl Jung
“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
After a monumental career in psychoanalysis, at the age of 81, Carl Jung sat and wrote down with an incredible prose style, his dreams, some of which he had when he was 4 years old!
A collection of descriptive encounters that shaped his perspective and led him to become a leader and renowned name in his field, filled with childhood experiences that most of us forget by the time we get to our teens, letters from other important names in psychology and neurology, such as Sigmund Freud, and how his family life was affected by his work.
Jung’s thoughts on religion, from Christianity to Hinduism and Buddhism, the human psyche and our journey inside the subconscious are meticulously articulated in this autobiographical work which was met with immense success upon its publication.
If you would like a simple introduction, not only into Jung’s life but also into psychoanalysis and one of its founding fathers, you should consider grabbing a copy of “Memories, Dreams, Reflections”.
5. My Confession — Leo Tolstoy
“Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking…”
By the time he was 50 years old, Tolstoy was battling with a consuming and ravaging depression.
At the height of his literary career, when he was admired in his Russian homeland when his fame spread all over Europe and even the mighty French literary scene took notice of his talent, when his contemporaries, such as Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Gorky, and Chekhov held him amongst the greatest novelists of all time, Tolstoy couldn’t stand himself and the thought of suicide would creep into his conscience on a daily basis.
Devoured by an unfulfilled life, Tolstoy decided to dedicate his time to studying philosophers, religions and started to attend the Russian Orthodox Church.
Tolstoy underwent a radical spiritual transformation, stopped writing fiction, became a vegetarian, and a peace activist inspiring some of the greatest personalities such as Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr.
“My Confession” is not a story of conversion or a story of intricate religious arguments that try to prove God’s existence or presence. It is a victory against the absurdity of life, the pointless and countless days deprived of meaning. It is the story of a man who, at last, found home.
Thanks for reading!
Make sure to let me know what non-fiction books you think are worth reading!
