Five books for instruction or entertainment on a desert island

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Dell Villa tagged five books you might want to have in tow if you were shipwrecked and faced with the exciting reality of creating a new civilization, including:

Thunderstruck, by Erik Larson

This example of narrative nonfiction brings to life not only the early history of the radio, but also a cross-Atlantic chase of Hawley Crippen, an otherwise benign murderer who, with his paramour (and Scotland Yard hot on his trail), boarded a high-speed steamer bound for Canada. Not surprisingly, there’s plenty of material within for me to extrapolate for my own gain: how to operate a wireless radio (in case I need to assume control of on-board communications), and tips on how to blend into the cruising crowd (if I want to appear nonchalant as I make a desperate dash for the lifeboat with the Baywatch-y captain.)

Read about the other books on the list.

Also see: Ten of the best accounts of being marooned in literature.

--Marshal Zeringue