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The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

Isabel Wilkerson

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More like it

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  • To End All Wars

    Adam Hochschild2011

    This history of World War I focuses on the internal conflict in Britain between those supporting the war and the pacifists who opposed it.

    Same elegiac register, still history

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

    Michel Foucault

    A philosophical history examines the shift from public torture to modern prison surveillance. It analyzes how power controls the body.

    elegiac → clinical, still history

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Gulag Archipeligo 1918-1956: An Experiment In Literary Investigation I - Ii.

    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

    A history of the Soviet forced labor camp system based on survivor reports and the author's own imprisonment. It documents state-run repression.

    elegiac → bleak, still history

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Confessions

    Augustine of Hippo

    A 4th-century bishop writes a spiritual autobiography addressed to God. He recounts his sinful youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

elegiac → propulsive, still narrative nonfiction

3 more ↓

  • Apollo 13

    Jeffrey Kluger1995

    A chronological account of the 1970 lunar mission that suffered a mid-flight explosion. It details the technical solutions used to return home.

    elegiac → tense, still narrative nonfiction

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Redshirts

    John Scalzi2012

    Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • The Da Vinci Code

    Dan Brown2003

    A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon2012

    A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Poke the Box

    Seth Godin2011

    A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • The Frontier in American History

    Frederick Jackson Turner1920

    A series of essays arguing that the American character and democracy were shaped by the continuous expansion into the western wilderness.

    elegiac → clinical, still history

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

  • Confessions

    Augustine of Hippo

    A 4th-century bishop writes a spiritual autobiography addressed to God. He recounts his sinful youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • How to Read a Book

    Mortimer J. Adler1940

    This is a guide to active reading techniques for different genres. It outlines levels of reading from basic literacy to syntopical analysis.

    elegiac → mysterious

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West

    Dee Brown

    A chronological account of the displacement and slaughter of Native Americans by the U.S. government in the late 19th century.

    Same elegiac register, still history

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2

  • Auschwitz

    Laurence Rees2005

    A chronological history of the camp's evolution from a Polish barracks to a site of mass industrial murder, based on archival research.

    elegiac → clinical, still history

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+2

  • By Hands Now Known

    Margaret A. Burnham2022

    An investigation into racial violence and legal failures in the Jim Crow South using previously unexamined archives.

    Same elegiac register, still history

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2