What's the best nonfiction you've read this year? (bonus if it was published in 2011) [View all]

I mostly read fiction, so I don't have an entry that was actually published in 2011, but I read a 2007 book called Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, by James Swanson. I found out lots of neat stuff about John Wilkes Booth, and about Lincoln's assassination in general, that I never knew before. The book was written in the style of Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City--it's nonfiction, but written in the style of a novel. The only real problem I have with this is when the narrative becomes too speculative, e.g., ...Booth must have been thinking about freedom being only a river crossing away (that's not a quote, but there are several passages in the book along these lines). Other than that, everything in the book came from direct quotes attributed to the people involved. I recommend the book. 4 stars out of 5.