1. Recommended - The History of the Peloponnesian
War, by Thucydides. Of all the books I've ever read,
this is the one that I think that I got the most from
in all facets.
2. Disrecommended - Anything
by Thomas Hardy. I'm usually rooting for the main
character to die horribly by the middle of the
book.
3. Guilty pleasures - Everything I Needed to Know I
Learned in Kindergarten and Ralph Peters' The War in
2020. Most of Peters' book is a Clancy knockoff, but
the world he sets it in is plausible enough to get
really freaky.
If you're looking for excellent
computer-based nonfiction, read Fire in the Valley (about the
making of the PC), Where Wizards Stay Up Late (about the
origins of the internet), and Nerds 2.0.1 (about the
development of the internet). Then read Information Warfare
by Winn Schwartau and undergo a panic attack since
you bought all the above books by credit
card.
Three exceptionally good autobiographies are Plain
Speaking (Harry Truman's words through Merle Miller), The
Rocket Boys (aka October Sky, about high school life in
a West Virginia coal town) and Gracie: A Love Story
(George Burns recounts his marriage to and romance with
his wife). All three are alternately touching and
hilarious.