Help me choose a book to read!

[Mojo]

So I need to choose a book to read for an upcoming book report. I'm not an avid reader, so I'm looking for some advice. The guidelines for the report are below.

BOOK REPORT
Students should choose a book of interest to them or relating to their major to report on according to the following
criteria:
1. 2000 word book report on an approved biography will count 30% of total class grade;
2. 250+ page book published within the last 10 years (older volumes must be cleared by professor);
3. major subject areas of texts must be represented in report;
4. organized presentation of material using academic voice only (no personal pronouns);
5. relating of facts only (no personal opinion) through paraphrasing only (no direct quotes);
6. grammar, spelling, punctuation, style, logic, and writing skills acceptable in 3000 level courses.

It's a gender studies course. Full syllabus here.

My major is mechanical engineering but I'm not worried about that so much. It just has to be a biography on someone, they don't need a strong tie to my major. Thanks for any advice.

[Abandon]

COLIN POWELL

[Tyche]

Would "On Writing" by Stephen King count? It's more memoir than biography but it's probably one of the 3 best books he's written.

[Abandon]

that's not saying much

[Tyche]

Bitch plz.

[Ashmada]

My Early Life: A Roving Commission. You'll have to clear it with the professor, obviously. Silly rule, limiting to the last 10 years.

[quannum]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ilightbook.jpg

edit: last bio i read
http://www.georgecarlin.com/update_1...nLastWords.jpg

[Lucki]

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2011-02/59636071.jpg

[drwaffles]

I don't know if this will fit your criteria, but The Master by the Irish writer Colm Tóibín is a brilliant "fictional" biography of the great 19th-century American author Henry James. It's fictional in the sense that Tóibín inhabits the character of Henry James and relates events in his life from a first-person perspective, but it's all based on very thorough research and the material is treated intelligently and sensitively. It's not only informative but also extremely well-written and wonderfully poignant.

It could also potentially fit in very well with your gender studies course since there is strong evidence to suggest that Henry James was a closeted homosexual, and this issue is dealt with very deftly in The Master - it is not explicitly stated at any point, and the ambiguity of the homosexual subtext adds even more depth to the book. I'd recommend it to anyone, and I hope that you'll be able to use it despite it not being a biography in the traditional sense.

Oh, and it was published in 2004, which falls within the range prescribed for you.

[ikariiiii]

i don't have suggestions for a book but as for a topic, in my gender in asia class i did a presentation on Takashi Murakami (creator of NSFW link: http://larrydigital.com/blog/hiropon.jpg) and japanese office ladies. i showed that pic and I still got an A! (i was the only guy in the class)

[Sup3rB4d]

Would "On Writing" by Stephen King count? It's more memoir than biography but it's probably one of the 3 best books he's written.

"This isn't an autobiography" - proceeds to write autobiography

[Tyche]

"This isn't an autobiography" - proceeds to write autobiography

Hence the qualifier, but if you read the book, you'd understand. While it may not be called an "autobiography", I'd have a difficult time not calling it at least a partial autobiography.

[Sup3rB4d]

I was making a joke about how he said it wasn't an autobiography on like the first page when it is pretty much his life story. Just clearing that up.

[Tyche]

My bad, I misunderstood your post.

[The Stig]

Try:
it's free too!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_Win

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...eWin_cover.jpg

A book about (fictional) MMOs, gold sellers, economy, etc

It's a weirdass book. I somewhat enjoyed it though.

[Mojo]

I found a book I was interested in, http://nothingtoenvy.com/, which I thought was an excellent candidate. Was turned down because it's not about American's. Apparently that's a requirement too :< Thanks for all of the suggestions so far though.

[Xantavia]

Great read.

[Obiron]

I haven't read it myself yet, but my brother is highly recommending it so I intend to soon. "Scar Tissue", about Anthony Kiedis from Red Hot Chili Peppers. It talks all about his drug use and everything, and how he overcame being a druggie and his successes with the band.

[Trichocyst]

Rosalind Franklin's biography. She was a scientist in the 40's and 50's who was considered a frigid bitch so it was okay for James Watson to steal her work to decipher the shape of DNA. There's a great deal about how gender relations made her work difficult.

[Sepukku]

http://bloglikeitshot.files.wordpres...11/12/7252.jpg

OR

http://sexy-gypsy.com/wp-content/upl...9/ifididit.jpg