Semicolon’s Twelve Best Adult Nonfiction Books Read in 2011

This post is the first in my annual, end of the year series of “Twelve Best” posts. If you want to use this list or any other links on this blog to shop at Amazon for your Christmas gifts, I will appreciate the support. And I think you will appreciate and enjoy the following books that I read this year.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Semicolon review here.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. Semicolon review here.

Unplanned: The dramatic true story of a former Planned Parenthood leader’s eye-opening journey across the life line by Abby Johnson with Cindy Lambert. Semicolon review here.

For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb and the Murder that Shocked Chicago by Simon Baatz. Semicolon review here.

To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild. Semicolon review here.

The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe by Peter Godwin. Semicolon review here.

Jesus, My Father, the CIA and Me: A Memoir . . . of Sorts by Ian Cron. Semicolon review here.

Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff. Semicolon review here.

Praying for Strangers by River Jordan. Semicolon thoughts here.

Little Princes by Conor Grennan. Semicolon review here.

Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef. Semicolon review here.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy by Eric Metaxis. Semicolon thoughts on Bonhoeffer and the Cost of Discipleship here.

I read a lot of nonfiction this past year: history, biography, and memoir. If you are interested in any of the subjects covered by the above books, or if someone on your gift list is interested, I recommend all of these.

Semicolon’s Eight Best Nonfiction Books Read in 2010.

7 thoughts on “Semicolon’s Twelve Best Adult Nonfiction Books Read in 2011

  1. I also read and enjoyed Unbroken and Lost in Shangri-la – especially the former. Others on your list are on my to-read list. 🙂

  2. I have read four of these books! Unplanned and the Bonhoeffer book were the best. I also read Lost in Shangri-La and Unbroken. I need to do my end of year reading recap. 🙂

  3. Unbroken is one of the first books I read this year… maybe the very first. It was never surpassed by anything else I read. It casts a long shadow!

    I’m getting it for my dad for Christmas.

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