Some non-fiction

I haven't written anything about non-fiction books lately, and didn't include any in my list of favorites!

Here's a variety of non-fiction I've liked lately.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Bartoletti
How did so many young people come to be members of Hilter youth? Many of them were drawn into what seemed to be a scouting type organization. But the organization emphasized loyalty to the Third Reich at any cost. Interviews with surviving members and photographs help us understand what it meant to belong to Hitler Youth, and how members could be influenced even to turn in their own parents.

Men of Salt by Michael Benanav
The author heard that the last remaining camel caravans were threatened by the introduction of trucks, and decided to join one as it headed to salt mines deep in the Sahara desert. He and his guide joined a caravan that travelled for almost 1000 miles through terrain with no landmarks that the author could see and no maps. The book includes pictures taken by Benanav of places and people the author met.

The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin
January 12, 1888 was unseasonably warm on the Great Plains. People went outdoors, and children went to school without winter clothers. Suddenly, a blizzard blew in: during one three minute the temperature dropped 18 degrees. Visibility went down to zero and the snow was so fine is was like a sandstorm, clogging eyes and noses. The European immigrants who were settling the plains were unprepared for the vagaries of the Great Plains weather. Meteorology was a young science, and communications were limited. Approximately 500 people died in the storm, including 100 schoolchildren.

Journey from the Land of No: a Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran by Roya Hakakian
An Iranian American poet and documentary maker recounts her life as a daughter of Jewish parents growing up in Tehran, during the Islamic revolution. This is the story of how her family's life changed, both because they were non-Muslim, and because of the increasinly restrictive political and social atmosphere as the Ayatollah and the extremists tightened control.

When I was a Soldier by Valerie Zenatti
In Israel, everyone is expected to do national service after high school. This is one girl's story of her two years in the Israeli army, following strict routines, going through basic training and never getting enough sleep. She grows away from her old friends and a former boyfriend, and into a position in military intelligence.

Up Before Daybreak: Cotton and People in America by Deborah Hopkinson
This book describes the history of cotton in the United States. Cotton was grown in this country from colonial times, but with the industrial revolution, demand increased, and the southern colonies used slaves to increase production. Young people, young girls especially, began to move to mill towns to work in textile factories. Bartoletti describes how the cotton industry and social structures were related, including slavery, child labor, and social structures and population migrations.