Recommendations based on The Call of the Weird: Travels in American Subculturesby Louis Theroux

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Men Who Stare at Goats

    by Jon Ronson
    An exploration of strange military experiments, exposing the hidden world of military intelligence.

    From the bestselling author of The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry and So You've Been Publicly Shamed . In 1979 a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry

    by Jon Ronson
    Exploration of the psychiatric industry, examining the definition and diagnosis of psychopathy.

    In this madcap journey, a bestselling journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and everyone else who studies them. The Psychopath Test is a fascinating journey ... (Goodreads)

  3. Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries

    by Jon Ronson
    A journalist's adventures as he investigates some of the world's most bizarre stories.

    Ronson has spent his life investigating crazy events, following fascinating people and unearthing unusual stories. Collected here from various sources (including the Guardian and GQ America) are the ... (Goodreads)

  4. Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race

    by Reni Eddo-Lodge
    A critical exploration of the UK's relationship with race and racism.

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, "This is a book that was begging to be written. This is the kind of book that demands a future where we’ll no longer need such a book. Essential." —Marlon James “The most ... (Barnes & Noble)

  5. The Good Immigrant

    by Nikesh Shukla
    Exploring the experiences of immigrants in Britain, and the complex identity issues faced.

    How does it feel to be constantly regarded as a potential threat, strip-searched at every airport? Or be told that, as an actress, the part you’re most fitted to play is ‘wife of a terrorist’? How ... (Goodreads)

  6. This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor

    by Adam Kay
    An honest, funny, and heartbreaking account of life on the NHS frontline.

    Welcome to the life of a junior doctor: 97-hour weeks, life and death decisions, a constant tsunami of bodily fluids, and the hospital parking meter earns more than you. Scribbled in secret after ... (Goodreads)

  7. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

    by Barbara Demick
    Exploration of the lives of North Koreans during the famine and repression of the 1990s.

    Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the unchallenged rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and the ... (Goodreads)

  8. Damaged: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Forgotten Child

    by Cathy Glass
    An inspirational true story of a foster carer's fight to save a neglected child.

    Although Jodie is only eight years old, she is violent, aggressive, and has already been through numerous foster families. Her last hope is Cathy Glass.From the Sunday Times and New York Times ... (Barnes & Noble)

  9. Eating the Dinosaur

    by Chuck Klosterman
    Collection of essays exploring pop culture, sports, and society through a philosophical lens.

    Chuck Klosterman has chronicled rock music, film, and sports for almost fifteen years. He's covered extreme metal, extreme nostalgia, disposable art, disposable heroes, life on the road, life through ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Wolf of Wall Street

    by Jordan Belfort
    The remarkable story of a stockbroker's rise and fall, navigating the shark-infested waters of Wall Street.

    By day he made thousands of dollars a minute. By night he spent it as fast as he could, on drugs, sex, and international globe-trotting. From the binge that sank a 170-foot motor yacht and ran up a ... (Goodreads)

  11. Coming of Age in Mississippi: The Classic Autobiography of a Young Black Girl in the Rural South

    by Anne Moody
    A brave memoir of a young woman's strength and resilience growing up in the Jim Crow South.

    Born to a poor couple who were tenant farmers on a plantation in Mississippi, Anne Moody lived through some of the most dangerous days of the pre-civil rights era in the South. The week before she ... (Goodreads)

  12. A Short History of Nearly Everything

    by Bill Bryson
    A captivating overview of the natural sciences, spanning the history of the universe.

    In Bryson's biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory ... (Goodreads)

  13. Jarhead : A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles

    by Anthony Swofford
    A Marine's personal account of his experiences during the Gulf War and the psychological toll of war on soldiers.

    Jarhead recounts Swofford's enlistment and service in the United States Marine Corps during the Persian Gulf War , in which he served as a Scout Sniper Trainee with the Surveillance and Target ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Five Chimneys: A Woman Survivor's True Story of Auschwitz

    by Olga Lengyel
    A harrowing first-hand account of life and death in Auschwitz, detailing the horrors of the concentration camp and the resilience of the human spirit.

    Olga Lengyel tells, frankly and without compromise, one of the most horrifying stories of all time. This true, documented chronicle is the intimate, day-to-day record of a beautiful woman who ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Basketball Diaries

    by Jim Carroll
    A teenage boy's struggles with addiction and his journey of self-discovery.

    The urban classic coming-of-age story about sex, drugs, and basketball. Jim Carroll grew up to become a renowned poet and punk rocker. But in this memoir of the mid-1960's, set during his ... (Goodreads)

  16. Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs

    by Elissa Wall
    A memoir of a woman's experience growing up in a polygamous sect, being forced into marriage at 14, and ultimately escaping the cult.

    Stolen Innocence is the gripping New York Times bestselling memoir of Elissa Wall, the courageous former member of Utah’s infamous FLDS polygamist sect whose powerful courtroom testimony helped ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance

    by Laurie Garrett
    A comprehensive study of the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and the global response to them.

    A, New York Times, bestseller The definitive account of the infectious diseases threatening humanity by Pulitzer Prize –winning investigative journalist Laurie Garrett "Prodigiously researched . . . ... (Barnes & Noble)

  18. Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson

    by Jeff Guinn
    Exploration of the life of notorious cult leader Charles Manson, examining his criminal behavior and cultural impact.

    The New York Times bestselling, authoritative account of the life of Charles Manson, filled with surprising new information and previously unpublished photographs: “A riveting, almost Dickensian ... (Barnes & Noble)

  19. So, Anyway...

    by John Cleese
    Autobiography of John Cleese, from his childhood to the formation of Monty Python. Full of humor and wit.

    Candid and brilliantly funny , this is the story of how a tall, shy youth from Weston-super-Mare went on to become a self-confessed legend. En route, John Cleese describes his nerve-racking first ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Book of General Ignorance

    by John Lloyd
    A humorous and informative book that challenges common misconceptions and reveals surprising facts about the world we live in.

    Misconceptions, misunderstandings, and flawed facts finally get the heave-ho in this humorous, downright humiliating book of reeducation based on the phenomenal British bestseller. Challenging what ... (Goodreads)

  21. Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World

    by Anand Giridharadas
    A critique of the philanthropic efforts of the wealthy elite, arguing that their actions often perpetuate the very problems they claim to solve.

    An insider's groundbreaking investigation of how the global elite's efforts to "change the world" preserve the status quo and obscure their role in causing the problems they later seek to solve. ... (Goodreads)

  22. Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World

    by J. Mark G. Williams
    A practical guide to finding inner peace and balance through mindfulness.

    From one of the leading thinkers on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, a pioneering set of simple practices to dissolve anxiety, stress, exhaustion, and unhappiness.In "Mindfulness," Oxford ... (Goodreads)

  23. Possible Side Effects

    by Augusten Burroughs
    A humorous, darkly satirical look at the pharmaceutical industry and its effects on individuals.

    National Bestseller From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Running with Scissors comes Augusten Burroughs's most provocative collection of true stories yet. From nicotine gum addiction to ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Feminine Mystique

    by Betty Friedan
    A groundbreaking exploration of the dissatisfaction felt by women in the 1950s and beyond.

    Landmark, groundbreaking, classic—these adjectives barely do justice to the pioneering vision and lasting impact of The Feminine Mystique . Published in 1963, it gave a pitch-perfect description of ... (Goodreads)

  25. A Long Way Home

    by Saroo Brierley
    Autobiography of a man's journey to find his family after becoming lost in India as a child.

    When Saroo Brierley used Google Earth to find his long-lost home town half a world away, he made global headlines. Saroo had become lost on a train in India at the age of five. Not knowing the name ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice

    by Christopher Hitchens
    A critical examination of the life and works of Mother Teresa, exploring her motivations and impact.

    Among his many books, perhaps none have sparked more outrage than The Missionary Position , Christopher Hitchens's meticulous study of the life and deeds of Mother Teresa. A Nobel Peace Prize ... (Goodreads)

  27. Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too

    by Adele Faber
    Practical strategies for raising children in a way that encourages healthy relationships between siblings.

    Already best-selling authors with How to Talk So Kids Will Listen Listen So Kids Will Talk , Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish turned their minds to the battle of the siblings. Parents themselves, they ... (Goodreads)

  28. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble

    by Dan Lyons
    A humorous account of an older man's experience in the chaotic world of Silicon Valley start-ups.

    For twenty-five years Dan Lyons was a magazine writer at the top of his profession–until one Friday morning when he received a phone call: Poof. His job no longer existed. "I think they just want to ... (Goodreads)

  29. Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan

    by Greg Mortenson
    True story of a man's determination to promote peace and education in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    From the author of the #1 bestseller Three Cups of Tea , the continuing story of this determined humanitarian's efforts to promote peace through education. In this dramatic first-person narrative, ... (Goodreads)