I've read Nothing To Envy and will second that it's worth anyone and everyone's time to read. And it's a fairly easy read, not academic or dry, I promise.

@1, I absolutely agree. A great read for anyone, but especially folks who enjoy history &/or social issue reading. Great book club read.

I read it as well and it was impossible to put down. I talked about it so much at home that now my eight year old says this: "well X might be bad, but it's not as bad as North Korea, right mommy?"

"Nothing to Envy" is a great book about the horribly sad situation for North Korea's citizens. Two other books about different experiences there are Laura Ling's "Somewhere Inside", and "Escape from Camp 14" by Blaine Harden.