Non-Fiction that reads like fiction

I don't often read non-fiction and I'm not quite sure why. Probably because most of the non-fiction titles I see are usually biographies or autobiographies and for the most part, that just doesn't interest me. Which I find kind of interesting since history in general fascinates me. Despite my less than enthusiastic response to the genre, I have found several non-fiction books that I have enjoyed. So for those of you who aren't into fiction, these books should interest you.

The first two are by James Bradley and are both true accounts of the pacific theater in WWII:

Flags of our Fathers tells the story of the historic flag raising on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. It not only tells us the history of the flag raising itself, but also delves into the back stories of the men who raised it. One of the men who was immortalized in the famous picture, was the author's father, John Bradley. It was only after his father's death that the author discovered the role he'd
played.

Flyboys is about the rise of the US Air Force, and the pivotal role they played in the battles of the pacific theater, specifically the battle of Chichi Jima. Many men were shot down that day; one was rescued by a submarine and went on to become President. Eight others were captured by Japanese troops and until this book came out, the story of what happened to them was never revealed.

Three Cups of Tea tells the story of one man whose failure led to his success. In 1993, Mortenson was trying to climb K2 when he became too ill to continue on. He spent seven weeks recuperating in the tiny Pakistani town of Korphe. In return for their generosity, he pledged to build the first school in the impoverished town. The story tells the tale of the author's struggles to fulfill on that promise and the eventual development of the Central Asia Institute whose mission is to fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and increase access to education, especially for girls.

Night by Elie Weisel is, as one reviewer put it, "the longest short book I've read." Weisel tells his own story of the concentration camps and the survivor's guilt that followed him. It's not a long book but the sparsity of it makes that much more of an impact. I just don't have the words to adequately describe this book so please, read and discover it for yourself.