Last week I published a list of my favorite fiction picks for summer 2011. Now I want to give equal time to nonfiction--and there's ample reason to do so this summer. From what may be the oddest yet most useful self-help guide you’ve ever read (The Chairs Are Where the People Go) to a "stunt memoir" about a 20th-century icon (My Year with Eleanor) and a dishy history of Winston Churchill’s family tree (The Churchills), there's plenty of factual fodder for your summer reading stack.
As with the fiction list, this one is organized alphabetically by last name. This is not a ranking; it's simply the 10 best nonfiction books I've read out of all that I've received so far this season. I hope you'll find something intriguing here.
Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way by Molly Birnbaum: A would-be chef attempts to regain her nose.
Paris to the Past: Traveling Through French History by Train by Ina Caro: Makes history fun, and can be used as a travel guide, too.
A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard: A brave woman's testament.
The Chairs Are Where the People Go: How to Live, Work, and Play in the City by Misha Glouberman and Sheila Heti: Nearly undescribable, but incredibly delightful.
My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir by Noelle Hancock: A young woman eschews modern advice and follows in the steps of a remarkable First Lady.
Sugar in My Bowl: Real Women Write About Real Sex by Erica Jong: Some of these essays are even about not having sex....
The Churchills: In Love and War by Mary Lovell: Chatty, gossipy history of England's noblest public servant.
Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading by Nina Sankovitch: A sister's death ignites a remarkable sort of mourning.
Beijing Welcomes You: Unveiling the Capital City of the Future by Tom Scocca: One journalist's in-country view of the 2008 Chinese Olympics.
Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden: Two early 20th-century Smith College graduates conquer their futures.