her books ? and worth r

Question:

Whos the best non-fiction writer ? that i should buy his/her books ? and worth reading them?

i know dale is the best so far(i think) but i mean someone esle who actually still alive. someone who i can really learn something from reading books not only knowledge but aslo the way of writing books

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I don't believe that there is such a thing as a "best" nonfiction writer. I consider expertise to be the most important thing when choosing a nonfiction book, and someone knowledgeable in one field is not necessarily going to be competent in another field. That said, I can give you a few ideas for authors who might fit your requirements.

I mostly read history, books on atheism and skepticism, and science (more or less in that order) with a little philosophy and politics thrown in.

History - Jared Diamond's "Collapse" and "Gun, Germs, and Steel" are both good. James McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom" is a good history of the American Civil War. "Rubicon" by Tom Holland is a history of the transition of ancient Rome from republic to empire. John Keegan has written a number of good books on general military history.

Atheism and skepticism - I am an atheist and a strong skeptic, so this flavors my choices. Ignore them if you have issues with either. Michael Shermer has written a number of books on a variety of topics. "Why People Believe Weird Things" might be a good place to start. Tim Callahan has written a couple of books, "Bible Prophecy: Failure or Fulfillment" and "Secret Origins of the Bible," that examine the Bible from a skeptical perspective.

Science - Richard Dawkins has received a great deal of attention for "The God Delusion," but he is a noted biologist and has written a number of good books on the subject. I would recommend "The Ancestor's Tale" to start with, or "The Blind Watchmaker." Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" is a good book on physics. Roger Penrose and Victor Stenger are also good writers on physics, although their most recent works may not be the best places to start. Penrose's "The Road to Reality" is very math-heavy for the casual reader, and Stenger's "God: The Failed Hypothesis," while well-written, is both argumentative and with little relation to physics.

I know that you want living writers, but you might also take a look at Barbara Tuchman (for history) and Isaac Asimov (his science essays were his best, but he wrote about nearly everything).

I should also note that, with the exception of the person who recommended Mary Karr, the recommendations prior to mine were for fiction authors, and that Mary Karr's nonfiction appears to be mostly autobiographical (I have never read her).