Fiction and non-fiction - when worlds collide

"The Road to the Purple Onion" is, of course, fiction-based. Fiction-based? Yes, that's what I call it. I've wanted to tell the story of the actual 1928 1st International Transcontinental Footrace (also dubbed the Bunion Derby) for many years, but couldn't figure out how to approach it. One day, the dust blew off my 20-watt brain and it told me to incorporate the fictional town of Logansport, which I had created in 2007 in my debut novel "Cornerstone." The more research I did into the Bunion Derby, I realized that the race could have very well passed near where I had located Logansport, and the story seemed to write itself after that.

There is a plethora of books out there that fall into the category of historical fiction. What are some of your favorites, and why?