Non Fiction Bibliography for 11 AP English
Mr. Sharkovitz

Among Schoolchildren, Tracy Kidder (1989)
An elementary school teacher tells about the children and events during one school year.

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Neil Postman (1985)
The author believes that TV, which turns important issues into mass media entertainment, is degrading the act and art of public discourse.

Anasazi: Ancient People of the Rock, David Muench and Donald G. Pike.
Archeological evidence and the written records of Spanish explorers reveal the history of an ancient people.

Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape, Barry Lopez.
Real life and dreams of the Arctic, its animals, and its people are celebrated.

Art as Image and Idea, Edmund Burke Feldman (1967).
The functions, styles & structure of art, as well as the interaction of medium & meaning are examined.

Ascent of Man, Jacob Bronowski (1973).
This is a scientist’s history of the human mind & human condition.

Backlash: The Undeclared War against American Women, Susan Faludi; 1991.
Faludi offers an unflinching analysis of the current status of American women.

Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, Bryan Burrough & John Helyar.
Wall Street’s largest takeover reveals greed, deceit, and clever maneuvers.

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, James McPherson (1988).
From the Mexican War to Appomattox, the political, military, and economic aspects of the Civil War are examined.

Bones of Contention: Controversies in the Search for Human origin, Roger Lewin.
The description of a series of episodes in paleoanthropology brings to light the ongoing debate about the origin of humans.

Break-Up: The Core of Modern Art, Katherine Kuh (1965).
Analyzes modern art in terms of the attempt to present life in its structural elements rather than in its wholeness.


Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, Stephen Hawking.
Cosmology becomes understandable as the author discusses the origin, evolution and fate of our universe.

Bully for Brontosaurus: Reflections in Natural History, Stephen Jay Gould.
Essays offer thoughts on evolution and other scientific principles.

Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick (1987).
Chronicles the development of chaos, the complex new science.

Civilization: A Personal View, Kenneth Clark (1970).
Explores history throughout he works, impulses, & beliefs of the great creative individuals of Western Civilization.

Closing of the American Mind, Allan Bloom.
Western Civilization is in crisis because its intellectual tradition has been abandoned.

Cognitive Computer: On Language, Learning, and Artificial Intelligence, Roger Schank.
AI experts put computers into perspective and indicate future uses, especially in education.

Control of Nature, John McPhee
This describes Alaska as the last American frontier.

Cosmos, Carl Sagan.
Universal history of the galaxy presents choices for the future.

Cultural Literacy: What every American Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch Jr. (1987)
An educated “cultural literate” member of contemporary American society must understand certain key terms & concepts from history.

Cycles of Fire: Stars, Galaxies & the Wonder of Deep Space, Wm. Hartman.
Explores the formation of stars, characteristics of the Milk Way, & the possibility of other worlds in deep space.

Dark side of the Marketplace: The Plight of American Consumer, Magnuson
A consumer advocate works within Congress to counter abuses.

Darwin’s Century: Evolution & the Men who Discovered It, Loren Eisely.
Evolutionary theories from the Renaissance to the 20th Century.

Day One: Before Hiroshima and After, Peter Wyden.
The race to develop the atomic bomb and the aftermath of its first use.

Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville.
This classic examines American society from the viewpoint of a leading French magistrate who visited the US in 1831.

Desert Smells like Rain: A Naturalist in Papgo Indian Country, Gary Nabhan.
Nature plays a vital role in Papago Indian culture.

Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, Barbara Wertheim Tuchman.
A single feudal lord is traced through the history of the 14th century.

Domestic Revolutions: A Social History of Domestic Family Life, Steven Mintz.
American family changing its structure and purpose.

Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, James Watson.
This recreation of the momentous discovery reveals to the nonscientist how the scientific method works.

Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi, Iyer Raghaven.
Gandhi discusses the philosophical underpinnings that guided his nonviolent life.

Existentialism from Dostoyevsky to Sartre, edited by Walter Kaufman.
Primary readings excerpted from many of the great existentialist thinkers.

Fate of the Earth, Jonathan Schell. (1882)
Fear of human extinction by a nuclear holocaust is discussed

First Freedom: The Tumultuous History of Free Speech in America, Nat Hentoff.
Historical study of the 1st Amendment includes important court cases.

Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Best of the Bard, Norri Epstein (1993).
Perspective of Shakespeare’s works through these sidelights, interpretations, anecdotes, and historical insights.

Gateway to History, Allan Nevins.
Scope and variety of the field of history & outlines his views on history’s objectives, science and art.

Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932-1972, Wm. Manchester.
Major calamities to minor trivia, exploration of modern America.

Goddesses in Everywoman: A New Psychology of Women, Jean Shinoda Bolen.
Women have many roles in contemporary every day life

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, Dougas Hofstadter.
Math, computers, art, music & puzzles combine in a fugue on minds & machines.

Gods, Graves, and Scholars: The Story of Archaeology, C.W. Ceram.
Archaeological discoveries of the last 2 centuries in Pompeii, Troy, Crete, Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Sumeria, and the Yucatan.

Gorillas in the Mist, Diane Fossey.
Observing & defending the endangered mountain gorilla in Africa.

Stiffed: the Betrayal of the American Man, Susan Faludi.
Explores cultural structures harmful to men and women.

Taking on the Press: Constitutional Rights in Conflict, Melvyn Zerman.
Freedom of the press is examined through a discussion of landmark cases that cause controversy over whose rights should prevail.

Terrorism: A Special Kind of Violence, Margaret Hyde.
Origin of terrorism that discusses the political, religious, and psychological implication of this type of violence.

Theory of Literature, Rene Wellek.
This theory of criticism examines the nature, functions, form and contents of literature, rather than the environment that influences its creations.

Thirty Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary, Wilfred Funk.
English vocabulary of educated people can be mastered with these useful techniques.

Today’s Isms: Communism, Fascism, Capitalism, Socialism, Wm. Ebenstein.
Approach to various social systems and analyzation of the psychological appeal of each

Walden and Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau.
Celebration of nature and independence.

War Clouds in the West: Indians and Cavalrymen, 1860-1890, Albert Marrin.
Native Americans fight to survive in the late 19th century when increasing numbers
of pioneers settle on their land.

What is Sociology: An Introduction to the Discipline & Profession, Alex Inkeles.
Issues facing sociology & many methods, interpretations, & conceptions of man and social processes.

What to listen for in Music, Aaron Copland.
Composer provides a basic intro to the mysteries of musical composition & music appreciation based on a series of lectures.

Who’s to Know? Information, the Media and Public Awareness, Ann Weiss.
Who decides what is reported on TV and in the papers?

World History, Wm. McNeil.
History of the world.

Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers, R. Heilbroner.
Lives and doctrines of David Ricardo, The Utopians, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen and John Maynard Keynes are explored.