Books by Mark O'Connell
Mark O’Connell is a writer based in Dublin. His book, To Be a Machine: Encounters With a Post-Human Future won the Wellcome Book Prize in 2018
“O’Connell is charting the unfolding of the murders and their origins, trying to trace where they came from, what the motive was, and what shaped this man. But the reader also turns the pages to find out about the relationship between the writer and the murderer. The drama arises partly from the crime story but also from the encounter between these two men. How will it end? What forms of betrayal, regret or intimacy will emerge from it?” Read more...
The Best Historical Nonfiction Books
Kate Summerscale, Journalist
“To Be a Machine is a great piece of journalism by the Irish journalist, Mark O’Connell. He’s gone to America and met all these wacky characters.” Read more...
Interviews with Mark O'Connell
The best books on Transhumanism, recommended by Mark O'Connell
The journalist and author Mark O’Connell explored the nature of transhumanism—the belief that technology will help us evolve beyond our current physical and mental limitations—in his award-winning book To Be A Machine. Here he selects five key books that speak directly to the movement.
Interviews where books by Mark O'Connell were recommended
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1
The Islamic Enlightenment: The Struggle Between Faith and Reason, 1798 to Modern Times
by Christopher de Bellaigue -
2
How to Survive a Plague: The Story of How Activists and Scientists Tamed Aids
by David France -
3
Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe
by Kapka Kassabova -
4
An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic
by Daniel Mendelsohn -
5
To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death
by Mark O'Connell -
6
Belonging: The Story of the Jews 1492–1900
by Simon Schama
Best Nonfiction Books of 2017, recommended by Peter Bazalgette
Best Nonfiction Books of 2017, recommended by Peter Bazalgette
It’s hard to choose the very best nonfiction books of 2017, but the Baillie Gifford Prize aims to do just that. The chair of this year’s judging panel, Peter Bazalgette, talks us through the six fabulous books that made the shortlist.
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1
In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote -
2
A Thread of Violence: A Story of Truth, Invention, and Murder
by Mark O'Connell -
3
This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial
by Helen Garner -
4
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
by David Grann -
5
Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone
The Best Historical Nonfiction Books, recommended by Kate Summerscale
The Best Historical Nonfiction Books, recommended by Kate Summerscale
British author Kate Summerscale has mastered the art of writing historical nonfiction books that are real page-turners. Here, she shares some of her own favorites, from the murder of a family in 1959 Kansas to the tragedy of Japan after the 2011 tsunami.
