Non-Fiction Book Of The Day

[Harpo]

A place for sharing some of our favourite works of non-fiction.

To start off, here’s one that I might choose if I’m ever on Desert Island Discs - it’s “Rock Family Trees” by Pete Frame. I often browse within

 

[Rodders]

That looks like an interesting book, actually.

 

[Harpo]

That looks like an interesting book, actually.

It really is, and it’s crammed with details. He interviewed just about everyone, and just about everyone is included.

Last year I was talking with a friend who said his dad’s best mate used to be in a band with someone who was later in Jethro Tull.
I looked him up, and he was in the book.

 

[hitmouse]

I remember seeing this in bookshops in the early 80s. There was wuite a good bbc tv series based on it : available either on iplayer or Youtube.

 

[Elckerlyc]

In 1873 Henry Havard sailed along the coast of the then still inland see Zuyderzee, to visit several towns that had been flourishing during the Hanseatic and Golden Era. What was left of that grandeur 200 years later? How did the citizens fare in what basically had become 'dead cities'. What was to be expected now that the plans to close off the inland sea and reclaim the land became ever more solid?
This book is about his journey, complete with drawings by the painter van Heemskerk who travelled with Havard. It got translated in several languages, including English.
Interestingly, in 2023 a journalist, Ronald Nijboer, made exactly the same journey to see how things had developed since and wrote a book about his own trip. It is this book I am currently reading.