How to read ./configure messages

I've installed R from the tgz file since about R-0.9.x following the
INSTALL instructions and have always succeeded using rpm-based OSes.
With each new OS, that involved installing various additional packages
before the configure script would complete.  Figuring out which
packages were required usually involved searching for rpms that
supplied missing .so or .h files, dev packages or something else I
could figure out.

I'm now trying to do the same with LinuxMint 17.2 but I got stuck when
this message came up:

   checking for main in -ltermlib... no
   checking for rl_callback_read_char in -lreadline... no
   checking for history_truncate_file... no
   configure: error: --with-readline=yes (default) and headers/libs are not
available

Near the bottom of the log file it shows this:

   configure:6747: gcc -E -I/usr/local/include conftest.c
   configure:6747: $? = 0
   configure:6761: gcc -E -I/usr/local/include conftest.c
   conftest.c:17:28: fatal error: ac_nonexistent.h: No such file or
directory
    #include <ac_nonexistent.h>
                               ^
   compilation terminated.
   configure:6761: $? = 1
   configure: failed program was:
   | /* confdefs.h */
   | #define PACKAGE_NAME "R"

So I'm assuming that's behind the failure.  Searching shows the same
problem shows up in all sorts of places for decades, notably cygwin
users.  But I didn't see anything that would help to work out what is
missing.

Ideas greatly appreciated.


best
Patrick