There are bunch of titles and in the "Most Inspiring Authors" thread. I was wondering what people liked in non-fiction.
To get things started, I like:
Musui's Story - a real anti-hero a great insight into what real samurai and fuedal japan were truly like.
I also like the time life series "The Seafarer's" they are a great reference.
I have a fair number of travel essays - great sources for the kinds of obstacles that make time on the road and time in town interesting:
Iron and Silk - a young American goes to china to teach english and trains with real Wushu master
There's No Toilet Paper on the Road Less Travelled - REALLY humorous short stories
Among Warriors - a woman martial artists trip to discover the Kampa warriors of Tibet
Bad Trips
The Hungry Ocean
Into Thin Air
The Invisibles
Well thats a start - I hope others are inspired to share.
Whose Panties Are These
TimeFrame series by TimeLife--lots of cool maps, artwork, and historical societies analyzed
Atlas of Legendary Places
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
Military History Magazine (rocks--last year they had an indepth article on the "real" King Arthur that was really good and could be used to start a whole campaign)
Just about anything in the history department works, as long as its pre-industrial revolution. I've read too much to list, some of it rather dry and academic, but some of my favorites are:
Emperor of China, and The Death of Woman Wang, by Jonathan Spence (life in 17th century China, views from the top and bottom).
The Great Cat Massacre, by Robert Darnton (great insight into the real Mother Goose before it got nurserified, and also an interesting exploration of urban culture in 18th century France that will help your "Free City" come alive.
Jacques Gernet, "Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion"--not quite as good of a read as the above, but a great source on what a very large and civilized medieval city would be like.
John Wills, "Mountain of Fame"--brief biographical sketches of a number of interesting figures in Chinese history--emperors, teachers, scholars, generals, etc.
Sima Qian "Records of the Historian", Burton Watson's translation. One of China's earliest historians--a great spinner of historical tales. Perhaps not good to read straight through but there are all kinds of great stories about palace intrigue, generals' exploits, explorations in strange lands, etc. that make for great inspiration. The story of Ching K'o (Jing Ke) in his "Biographies of the Assassin-Retainers" is an absolute must--the basis for the recent Chinese movies "The Emperor and the Assassin" and "Hero".
The book version of "Braveheart", which gives a more in depth vision of medieval Scotland and its greatest hero.
Susan Whitfield "Life Along the Silk Road"--lots of good info about a very interesting part of the world.
Morris Rossabi's biography of Khubilai Khan. (Of course, it might also be interesting to read Marco Polo).
If we want to get into historical fiction, three great Asian classics are:
Romance of the Three Kingdoms. About the fall of the Han dynasty--full of intrigue, maneuver, combat, and betrayal. And great heroes, especially Guan Yu (who later became the red-faced, black-bearded, glave-wielding Chinese god of war) and Zhang Fei, and the brilliant sage-general Zhuge Liang. (English translation by Moss Roberts is, unfortunately, not especially lively)
The Tale of Heike. The first and greatest samurai tale--an absolute must if you're interested in Japanese warrior culture. (Helen McCullough is the translator I know of--there may be others.)
All Men Are Brothers. Translated by Pearl S. Buck. Other translations of the title are "Outlaws of the Marsh" and "Watermargin". Anyway, another great, rollicking Chinese classic--the original martial arts story.
The above novels are, of course, not quite as easy or compelling as contemporary short novels, but they're great to pick up and read a chapter of now and then, just to get the juices flowing.
Uh oh . . . my students would warn you not to get me started talking about good books. They always walk out of my office with too much to actually look up for their term papers.
For Gaming:
> Thinking Strategically <
> Probability Demystified <
> Dice Games Properly Explained <
Adventure Strategy Design:
> Instruments of Darkness: The History of Electronic Warfare, 1939-1945 <
> Tactical Genius in Battle <
Adventure Story Design:
> How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method <
(No history books, because i've learned all my history from watching tv.)