Good Reads - Nonfiction
You Saw the Movie, Now Read the Book
975.8724/BER
Berendt, John - Midnight
in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story - 1994, 388p.
Movie: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, 1997. A
true murder mystery, with a remarkable cast of characters,
set in Savannah, Georgia, in which an eccentric antique
dealer is accused of having killed his male companion.
Is it murder or self-defense? This book holds the record
for the longest run on the New York Times bestseller list.
346.038/HAR
Harr, Jonathan - A
Civil Action - 1995,
500p.
Movie: A Civil Action, 1999. A true-life legal thriller,
this book depicts the courtroom clash of good and evil
between the residents of a small town and a large corporation
accused of dumping cancer-causing chemicals into the water
supply.
BIOGRAPHY/Hickam, H.
Hickam, Homer - Rocket
Boys: A Memoir - 1998,
368p.
Movie: October Sky, 1999. A humorous and sentimental coming
of age story from NASA engineer Homer Hickam, growing up
during the early days of the space race. This memoir depicts
young men's dreams of launching rockets into outer
space and the struggle in a small coal-mining town to make
those dreams come true.
371.1/JOH
Johnson, LouAnne - My
Posse Don't Do Homework - 1992, 226p.
Movie: Dangerous Minds, 1995. A humorous and inspiring
account of an inner city teacher's first years at
a high school in California. The author, a former Marine,
found herself among unruly and unmotivated students. She
turned to unorthodox teaching methods to get her students
to learn, learning a few things herself along the way.
974.45/JUN
Junger, Sebastian - The
Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea - 1997, 227p.
Movie: The Perfect Storm, 2000. A mesmerizing account of
a fishing boat out of Gloucester, Mass. caught in "the
storm of the century" in October 1991. This tale
of the doomed Andrea Gail, caught in 100-foot waves and
winds topping 120 miles per hour, is a gripping adventure
story.
616.89/KAY
Kaysen, Susanna - Girl,
Interrupted - 1993,
168p.
Movie: Girl, Interrupted, 2000. A poignant and often humorous
account of the nearly two years the author spent in a mental
institution. The author paints vivid portraits of the other
patients and staff who worked there, challenging the reader
to think about what is normal and what is not.
629.454/LOV
Lovell, Jim - Lost
Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 - 1994, 378p.
Movie: Apollo 13, 1995. Lost Moon is the thrilling account
of one of the worst disasters in the history of space exploration.
It tells the story of the incredible heroism of the astronauts
who brought their crippled spacecraft back to earth.
305.4/MAH
Mahmoody, Betty - Not
Without My Daughter - 1987, 420p.
Movie: Not Without My Daughter, 1991. The true story of
Betty Mahmoody's dangerous escape from Tehran with
her daughter after her Iranian husband imprisoned them
there. The escape took months of desperate, secretive planning,
not knowing whom she could trust. This book also provides
a fascinating look into the culture and living conditions
of Iranian women.
BIOGRAPHY/McCourt, F.
McCourt, Frank - Angela's Ashes: A Memoir - 1996, 364p.
Movie: Angela's Ashes, 1999. A triumphant and moving
account of a boy growing up in Ireland amidst poverty and
despair. The author, a natural storyteller, tells the story
of his early days when there was not enough food on the
table, and boots were a luxury. A lyrical memoir full of
wit and graceful prose.
904.7 REA
Read, Piers Paul - Alive:
The Story of the Andes Survivors - 1974, 352p.
Movie: Alive, 1993. The true story of a South American
rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes Mountains.
Stranded in the freezing Andes, without food, weak and
desperate, the survivors struggled against all odds to
remain alive, and made a difficult decision in order to
avoid starvation and death.
Prepared by Lisa Bobis, January 2001 |
