I’m particular about the nonfiction books I read. While serving as a high school librarian years ago, I read Thomas Foster’s Twenty-five Books That Shaped America. I enjoyed that one, so I bought this one to see what he had to say about nonfiction.

After an introduction on “Why Critical Reading Matters,” he begins by describing the parts of nonfiction books and the types of nonfiction, then provides a more in-depth look at the kinds of nonfiction book available and evaluate them. Knowing how to appraise them is important because, as Foster points out, no one has time to read a bad book. Nonfiction offers many wonderful things we should explore. But we also need to understand, as he says, “It’s just that…
we can’t always trust what nonfiction offers.”

He ends the book by discussing the internet, social media, and the false information peddled since writing was invented. He provides solid advice for ferreting the inaccuracies, whether due to laziness, mischief-making, or deliberate misrepresentation. Use your critical thinking skills, he urges readers, and actively engage with what you are reading. While his advice isn’t new, it’s solid and has stood the test of time. We all need reminding to be vigilant now and again, especially during our current information overload.

Foster was a long-time English professor, and he developed a way of communicating designed to hold the attention of college students, some of whom were forced to take his classes. His communication-style works; at least, it did for me. He’s funny and picks his examples carefully to hold the interest of today’s readers. For instance, he uses books about Donald Trump to illustrate political writing that is good, mediocre, and poor.

If I could, I’d make this required reading for everyone over sixteen in America. I believe it would aid our public discourse. And heaven knows, we could use that right now. I’ve even seen scholars on YouTube who could improve their rhetoric by reading this book. We all need occasional reminders that our words matter. ( )

I have been a fan of Thomas C. Foster's "Professor" books since “How to Read Literature Like a Professor,” but he may have reached the limits of his expertise with “How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor” (2020).

Partly it's a matter of nonfiction being such a broad topic, including everything from biography, history, politics and science to newspapers, magazines and blogs. It's not easy being an authority on everything. Another problem is that Foster's book, being itself nonfiction, doesn't always conform to the author's guidance on what constitutes good nonfiction.

For example, Foster writes, "I have long counseled students of fiction to start doubting the narrator's veracity if they see the word 'I' on the first page. ... The same is true of nonfiction." I am probably not the only reader to check back at the beginning of his own book. His introduction begins with the word "I." His first chapter begins with the word "I'm." (Note that this review also begins with the word "I.")

More serious is the professor's lecturing on objectivity or, more accurately, the lack of objectivity. He offers a lot of good instruction on how to detect an author's particular slant and judge the accuracy of statements. But then Foster himself sometimes often fails the objectivity and accuracy tests. For example, he slams Fox News repeatedly, including by saying the network "does virtually no actual news gathering, relying much more on opinion shows ..." A more objective and accurate writer might also point out that other news networks, including CNN, MSNBC and Newsmax, also depend mostly on opinion shows. And the "virtually no actual news gathering" comment is just blatantly wrong.

Foster criticizes the "fake news" label popularized by President Trump, yet he is all aboard with the misinformation and disinformation terms employed more by those on the left. Many readers may find it hard to tell the difference, other than by the political views of those telling the untruths. The author favors cracking down on misinformation and disinformation, especially in the cyber world. The problem is that most fact-checkers, being themselves biased, also need fact-checkers. And what starts out as fact-checking can easily transform into censorship.

Foster shines in many of the chapters in this book, even if he stumbles in others. ( )

I did not read this book in detail but it appears to be eminently sensible and would make a valuable reference source for the uninitiated before submitting their work for publication or for a grade. ( )

This is a book that one needs to read more than once, a book to own. Since, a few years back, I started reading more nonfiction, I have had questions. How do we know that what we read is factual. How can biographies for the same person, have a different interpretation of the materials to be found. Why do some books have such lengthy introductions? With do many biased news mediums how do we know which ones are actually doing due diligence on their facts.

These are just some of the questions that were well answered in this book. The Washington Post gets a high rating for their reporting, and Fox news is likened to the National Enquirer. Do I need to say more?

He covers online sources, social media, nonfiction, autobiographys and biographies, memoirs, new journalism, creative non fiction, and political and presidential treatsies. Explains how biases are hard to overcome, seems people want to believe what they want to believe. Go figure! Facts that don't fit their views are disregarded. The Advent if fake news, or alternate facts.

As I said much is covered, easily explained, even some wry humor, but in the end it is up to the reader. Check sources and be open minded, not stuck in a bias. This is the onlyGareth Russell has chosen a handful of passengers on the doomed liner and by training a spotlight on every detail of their lives, he has given us a meticulous, sensitive, and at times harsh picture of the early 20th century in Britain and America. A marvelous piece of work.” —Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey

A riveting account of the Titanic disaster and the unraveling of the gilded Edwardian society that had created it. way to be truly, but more accurately, informed. ( )