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After

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

Timothy Egan

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same elegiac register, still history

1 more ↓

  • The Romanov Sisters

    Helen Rappaport2014

    A biography of the four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II using their personal diaries and letters. It follows their lives until the 1918 execution.

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Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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+2·bleak0

  • 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+2·bleak-2

To recover

elegiac → playful

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    elegiac → wry

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Comfort Book

    Matt Haig2021

    A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.

    elegiac → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Odessa Sea

    Clive Cussler2016

    Dirk Pitt investigates a ghost ship in the Black Sea and discovers a conspiracy involving a lost Romanov secret. It is a high-speed adventure.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2

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-1·bleak-2

  • 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-1·bleak-2

  • 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-1·bleak-2

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·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+2·bleak-2

  • 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+2·bleak-1

Heavier

Same elegiac register, still history

3 more ↓

  • 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·prose0·bleak+1

  • By Hands Now Known

    Margaret A. Burnham2022

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

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Great Hunger: Ireland 1845 - 1849

    Cecil Woodham-Smith

    A detailed record of the Irish Potato Famine, focusing on the failure of British government policy and the resulting mass starvation.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1