The Three Best Non-Fiction Titles for 2008

The personal, dour, my life is worse than yours essay aside 2008 was a great year for Non-Fiction. Environmentalism, the oxy-moronic self help books, and political biographies lead the way in letters for 2008. To narrow the list down to three of the best for 2008 was a challenge, but these three books represent the cream that rose to the top of the literary heap. These three books will make excellent stocking stuffers for the bibliophile on your Christmas list, or afford you some quiet time around the holidays while your family places the 'fun' back into dysfunctional.

The Nuclear Jihadist by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins

(Hachette Book Group USA; pp. 448. Hardback, $25.00)

The Christian Science Monitor's 2008 book of the year. Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Ghost Wars, says, "This is an exceptionally important book about the most dangerous criminal enterprise of our time. The Nuclear Jihadist is full of startling new details about A.Q. Khan's network and the investigations by the I.A.E.A. and the C.I.A. that finally stopped him - it is a masterwork of investigative and historical reporting."

The story follows the threat of post-cold war nuclear annihilation through rogue states and the man that armed them, A.Q. Khan. Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins masterfully outline the story of Khan's proliferation to of nuclear secrets and a virtual how-to-build- a nuclear bomb through the eyes of European and American nuclear weapons policy makers. The book is fast paced and points damning fingers at a number of US officials that would rather turn a blind eye to Khan's activities than risk their careers-even with the threat of nuclear terrorism hanging over our heads

Oakland, Jack London, and Me by Eric Miles Williamson

(Texas A&M Press; pp. 228. Paperback, $24.95)

The Atlantic Monthly called University of Texas - Pan American's Eric Miles Williamson first full length literary criticism Oakland, Jack London, and Me one of the most 'politically incorrect books ever written.' Irreverent, bold, brash, and decidedly blue-collared Williamson attacks literary criticism and the Ivory Towers from which he now finds himself firmly entrenched as an outsider on the inside. His prose is all at once abrasive yet shockingly beautiful and truthful. What else could you expect from an author that his father dropped him off in the Oakland inner-city to prove the point "This is where you'll end up if you fuck up in school?"

Oakland, Jack London, and Me is an essential read for any literary critic, Jack London scholar, or simple bibliophile. Part Theory, part rant, part autobiographical, and all insightful Williamson hits a note that will resonate with students and shapers of the modern literary canon.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

(Little, Brown and Company; pp. 309. Hardcover, $27.99)

Gladwell (The Tipping Point and Blink) does it again with Outliers. Outliers explores the phenomena that creates exceptionally talented and successful people. His characteristic voice and ability to convey complex scientific details in the simplest, most everyday terms makes this an exciting and enthralling read. He explores how and why the calendar creates some of the best hockey players and why software magnates and billionaires become what they are. The reading accessible, fun, and light for such an in-depth and dense topic. Outliers is the perfect gift for the overachiever on your Christmas list this year.