The best books where authors infiltrate a wild community

Diana E. Marsh Author Of Extinct Monsters to Deep Time: Conflict, Compromise, and the Making of Smithsonian's Fossil Halls
By Diana E. Marsh

Who am I?

I’m a nerd about all things museums and archives, which I teach and write about. I was trained as an anthropologist, and got really interested in using anthropology’s methods (namely ethnography) to do long-term, embedded, deep-dive fieldwork in bureaucratic settings, like big museums. I love reading books by journalists, economists, historians, and others who do ethnography and really embed themselves in different communities, places, and cultures.

I wrote...

Extinct Monsters to Deep Time: Conflict, Compromise, and the Making of Smithsonian's Fossil Halls

By Diana E. Marsh,

Book cover of Extinct Monsters to Deep Time: Conflict, Compromise, and the Making of Smithsonian's Fossil Halls

What is my book about?

Extinct Monsters to Deep Time is an ethnography—a long-term, embedded study—of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and the team planning the museum’s new fossil hall. Marsh joined a team of paleontologists, writers, project managers, designers, architects, and educators to get a grounded perspective on the inner workings of the world’s largest natural history museum and how science is communicated to the public. She shows that exhibits highlight the increasing conflict between the museums’ research and outreach functions in the 21st century.

Shepherd is reader supported.
We may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through links on our website. This is how we fund the project for readers and authors. Please join our membership program to support our endeavor.

The books I picked & why

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

By Bianca Bosker,

Book cover of Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

Why this book?

I’m reading, well listening, to this book right now! Bosker goes on a journey to become a Master Sommelier and writes a laugh-out-loud funny exposé of the wine world—from sommeliers to collectors, restauranteurs, producers, and even chemists—who dictate what we drink, why, how much we pay, and how we come to acquire certain tastes. I’d read it for the verbatim dialogue alone.

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

By Bianca Bosker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cork Dork as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND A NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS' PICK

"Thrilling . . . [told] with gonzo elan . . . When the sommelier and blogger Madeline Puckette writes that this book is the Kitchen Confidential of the wine world, she's not wrong, though Bill Buford's Heat is probably a shade closer." -Jennifer Senior, The New York Times

Professional journalist and amateur drinker Bianca Bosker didn't know much about wine-until she discovered an alternate universe where taste reigns supreme, a world of elite sommeliers who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of flavor. Astounded by their fervor and…

Explore
Topics
Genres

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War

By Tony Horwitz,

Book cover of Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War

Why this book?

I read this book right around the time I was writing mine—it’s a great example of how evocative writing can paint a real picture of a community, and a real sense of ‘being there.’ Here, Horowitz shadows Confederate reenactors, and describes their quirky rituals, attitudes, and worldviews—as well as the sheer lengths they’ll go to to achieve historic ‘accuracy.’ Along the way he illustrates the tensions we still experience in the US around race and whose stories are valid.  

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War

By Tony Horwitz,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Confederates in the Attic as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent takes us on an explosive adventure into the soul of the unvanquished South, where Civil War reenactors, battlefield visitors, and fans of history resurrect the ghosts of the Lost Cause through ritual and remembrance.  

"The freshest book about divisiveness in America that I have read in some time. This splendid commemoration of the war and its legacy ... is an eyes–open, humorously no–nonsense survey of complicated Americans." —The New York Times Book Review

For all who remain intrigued by the legacy of the Civil War—reenactors, battlefield visitors, Confederate descendants and other Southerners,…

Explore
Topics
Genres

The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins

By Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing,

Book cover of The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins

Why this book?

This is an academic book, but it's beautifully written, and not too, too jargony. Tsing does a kind of commodity ethnography, embedding herself in multiple parts of the lifecycle of the Matsutake Mushroom trade, while depicting the worlds of pickers, restauranteurs, mushroom traders and auctioneers, nature guides, and more. She also weaves in a critique of capitalist markets in which these kinds of natural entities now are embedded, which I dig! 

The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins

By Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Mushroom at the End of the World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What a rare mushroom can teach us about sustaining life on a fragile planet

Matsutake is the most valuable mushroom in the world-and a weed that grows in human-disturbed forests across the Northern Hemisphere. Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing's account of these sought-after fungi offers insights into areas far beyond just mushrooms and addresses a crucial question: What manages to live in the ruins we have made? The Mushroom at the End of the World explores the unexpected corners of matsutake commerce, where we encounter Japanese gourmets, capitalist traders, Hmong jungle fighters, Finnish nature guides, and more. These companions lead us into…

Explore
Topics
Genres

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade

By Pietra Rivoli,

Book cover of The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade

Why this book?

This was the first book I read that was kind of an embedded object biography back when I was an undergraduate student in my second-ever anthropology class. I was totally hooked on the genre. This book follows t-shirts, from where cotton is picked, to where t-shirts are manufactured, printed, sold and distributed, to their disposal—including second lives on the used clothing market. “Who made your t-shirt?” as a great first starting question.

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade

By Pietra Rivoli,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The keys to global business success, as taught by a T-shirt's journey

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy is a critically-acclaimed narrative that illuminates the globalization debates and reveals the key factors to success in global business. Tracing a T-shirt's life story from a Texas cotton field to a Chinese factory and back to a U.S. storefront before arriving at the used clothing market in Africa, the book uncovers the political and economic forces at work in the global economy. Along the way, this fascinating exploration addresses a wealth of compelling questions about politics, trade, economics, ethics,…

Explore
Topics
Genres
  • Coming soon!

Fool's Gold: The Inside Story of J.P. Morgan and How Wall St. Greed Corrupted Its Bold Dream and Created a Financial Catastrophe

By Gillian Tett,

Book cover of Fool's Gold: The Inside Story of J.P. Morgan and How Wall St. Greed Corrupted Its Bold Dream and Created a Financial Catastrophe

Why this book?

Tett got pretty impressive access to JP Morgan and the team of Wall Streeters who revolutionized, and later collapsed, the banking industry. I loved reading this book because it was so approachable and fast-paced, and showed how an ethnographic approach reveals unique (and in this case out-of-control) institutional cultures can have global impacts.

*A little like Karen Ho’s ethnography of Wall Street, but less academic!

Fool's Gold: The Inside Story of J.P. Morgan and How Wall St. Greed Corrupted Its Bold Dream and Created a Financial Catastrophe

By Gillian Tett,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Fool's Gold as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From award-winning Financial Times journalist Gillian Tett, who enraged Wall Street leaders with her news-breaking warnings of a crisis more than a year ahead of the curve, Fool’s Gold tells the astonishing unknown story at the heart of the 2008 meltdown.

Drawing on exclusive access to J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and a tightly bonded team of bankers known on Wall Street as the “Morgan Mafia,” as well as in-depth interviews with dozens of other key players, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Tett brings to life in gripping detail how the Morgan team’s bold ideas for a whole new kind…

Explore
Topics
Genres
  • Coming soon!

5 book lists we think you will like!

The best books on the common people of the Civil War
The best books on the ongoing legacy of the American Civil War
The best books that blend science with fiction yet are not entirely either
The best financial history books
The best new fiction books about climate change and what we're up against

Interested in environmental degradation, wine, and the South?

8,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about environmental degradation, wine, and the South.

Environmental Degradation Explore 21 books about environmental degradation
Wine Explore 46 books about wine
The South Explore 143 books about the South

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

We think you will like A Prayer for the Dying, This Republic of Suffering, and Race and Reunion if you like this list.

Book cover of A Prayer for the Dying Book cover of This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War Book cover of Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory