Brazilian Adventure by Peter FlemingRead about another entry on the list.
The lesser-known brother of the novelist who created James Bond, Peter Fleming could write about almost any topic and make it brilliant. He was one of the finest prose stylists of the past 100 years, and his gifts are on particularly fine display in this autobiographical account of a madcap venture into the Amazon rain forest.
Neal Stephenson was of the 20 biggest science fiction movers-and-shakers of 2008.
--Marshal Zeringue