History books I’ve been planning on reading, so I can’t personally comment on their readability, but I’ve heard good things:
“A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn
“A Little History of the World” by Ernst Gombrich (actually written for children)
“Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong” by James Loewen
“The Wordy Shipmates” by Sarah Vowell

Assorted non-fiction:

Bill Bryson—my favorites are “A Walk In The Woods,” “A Short History of Nearly Everything” (mostly about the history of science, and quite long, but easy enough to read. I think there’s also an abridged/illustrated version), and “At Home: A Short History of Private Life.”

Elizabeth Gilbert—she wrote “Eat, Pray, Love,” but I liked “The Last American Man” better.

Malcolm Gladwell—three or four books about understanding success (but not in a self-help way—just interesting observations); my favorite is “What The Dog Saw.”

Mary Roach—interesting science-y things. My favorite: “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.”

You should have a chat with Brandon (Ward) next time you see him. He will tell you that you should read some Edward Abbey (“Desert Solitaire” is good) and Farley Mowat (I haven’t read these because I can’t find any over here!), and other good ideas. :)

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