(If you're just tuning in, please check out our 1book140 primer here.)
Summer may be winding down, but 1book140 is just winding up. In September we agreed to tackle our first work of non-fiction, and that's not the only change to our usual routine. In the interest of creating the most democratic book club possible, we've both expanded our shortlist to eight titles, and asked a volunteer to choose the books this time. We're happy with both innovations here at 1book140 HQ. Liz Iversen, a journalism professor and 1book140 member from San Francisco, culled through the nominations to come up with the following list. As usual, I'm going to be happy reading (or re-reading) any one of them.
Voting goes until Friday at noon, and we'll begin discussing the winner right after Labor Day.
1.) The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Written by a physician and award-winning science writer, this book traces the history of cancer from its first appearances centuries ago to its current state. Far from a dry medical text, the book reads more like a thriller than the meticulously researched book it is.
2.) Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand
This book focuses on Louis Zamperini, a young, brash Army Air Force lieutenant in World War II who survived a plane crash in the middle of the Pacific and then made the thousands-of-miles journey home. This is Hillenbrand's second book, after Seabiscuit: An American Legend.