In praise of the weighty nonfiction tome

I really like weighty nonfiction tomes: the ones that are half novel and half history book and half explication of some complex political or social or scientific concept. You know the kind I'm talking about: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; Guns, Germs, and Steel; The Making of the Atomic Bomb; The Power Broker; The Life of Lyndon Johnson, etc.

Ther…