# The 12 Gift Cards of an Early Winter - Game 4: Do They Know It's Christmas Time?



## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

*The 12 Gift Cards of an Early Winter - Game 4: Do They Know It's Christmas Time?*





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WesKXdaWBq0

This song came out in November 1984 to remind us of a terrible famine in East Africa. The Holidays are traditionally a time of some very serious topics and some very good causes. Mixed amongst all the food and the playing, there are always some real issues asking for our attention. What are some of the non-fiction books that have really stood out for you over the years and that really made an impression on you?


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Anne Frank


Most of my non-fiction is of 2 categories, cooking/crafting, or criminal psychopathy...


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

BTackitt said:


> Most of my non-fiction is of 2 categories, cooking/crafting, or criminal psychopathy...


Are those two related?


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## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

And The Band Played On, by Randy Shilts:



A very well written, well researched book on the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in America. Highly recommended.


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## Perennial Reader (Nov 30, 2009)

A Child's Christmas in Wales - Dylan Thomas. Maybe some fiction, based on nonfiction. Shows that Christmas comes in many ways to many people. Makes great reading year after year.

"One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six."


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I thought about this one long and hard. Most of my short list had to do with the Civil Rights Era so I decided on The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley. He died a year and a week before I was born and, when I was a kid, he wasn't really discussed in school when Civil Rights were mentioned. It was all about Dr. King. I read his autobiography when I was around 16 or so and it showed me a different side to the struggle our African American brethren went through. It was very eye-opening to a little Mid-Western country boy.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I have a non-fiction title queued up:  Comes well recommended, though I don't read a LOT of non-fiction.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I guess the majority of my nonfiction reading has been split between military history and science (especially physics). So I'll pick one from each category that I found to be compelling reads.

_The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?_, by Leon Lederman, is a fascinating view into high energy experimental physics (i.e. slamming minute particles into each other at tremendous speeds and seeing what happens). The book intertwines the history of science that led up to current theories, with the author's life as one of the prime practitioners of this type of experimentation.



_Always Faithful: A Memoir of the Marine Dogs of WWII_, by William Putney, follows the author's time during World War II while he was the veterinary officer for a Marine Corps canine unit that eventually saw action late in the war in the Pacific. It's both a fascinating and moving story, and the last part concerning how they were able to "demilitarize" many of the (surviving) dogs and return them to civilian life may have been my favorite part.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

OHHH I remember a very good book.

I read it 5 years ago, and while it may not have CHANGED my life, it did make me think about choices I make.


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## ElaineOK (Jun 5, 2009)

I thought I had already posted to this thread.  For non-fiction that has really shaped me, I would have to say, All the President's Men.  First, it is the story of two relatively normal people who not only brought down a sitting President, but in many ways changed the face of politics and began to question traditional concepts of faith and trust.  

In a smaller, but perhaps more important sense, this book taught me that when you are trying to understand or unravel something -- follow the money.  

Elaine 
Norman, OK


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

I rarely read nonfiction unles it's a technical manual of some sort.  However, I remember a youth biography section in our little public library and one summer I went through a LOT of biographies.  Specifically I remember reading about Amelia Earhart, Juliette Gordon Low, Babe Didrikson, Sam Houston, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Marie Curie, Helen Keller - just to name a few.  I think the stories encouraged me to express myself and attempt to learn new things.  Amelia and Babe especially were breaking the status quo for their times and that made me think that I could do anything that I wanted.


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## Maxx (Feb 24, 2009)

There are a couple that I have read in the last few years that I really enjoyed:

Orange is the New Black

I picked this one up because of the tv show. There were quite a few differences from the show, but both are quite enjoyable.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

I am not in any kind of science or medicine, so I had not heard of these cells, but the whole thing is fascinating.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin was one of the non-fiction books in my parent's set of Great Books of the Western World that I read when in school and then again when I got my first Kindle. I still find it fascinating.

A completely different non-fiction book that has had a direct impact on my life is Chinese Paper Folding(Dover Origami Papercraft) by Maying Soong. This book got me started in my life long love of origami. It also interested me in other cultures and learning how to make and design functional and beautiful items from common materials. It eventually led to meeting people from many countries, volunteering for various charity events, teaching origami to children and adults, and designing and creating items of my own.


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## CozyMama (Dec 12, 2008)

I thoroughly enjoyed Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach. The book is sometimes gross and always fascinating. Not only did I learn a lot, I was entertained the whole time.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

The winner of this game is *NogDog*!! Congratulations! As the winner, you will receive a $25 Amazon gift certificate compliments of Harvey, the Moderator team and all of kBoards.

The next rounds, games 5 and 6 will be posted soon with new winners posted next Friday.

Again, Congratulations,
Geoffrey


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Sweet! (Hmm...what will I buy?...)


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