Book Recommendations (NOT investment-related)

[rocketdog]

I've seen a couple of book recommendation threads, but they were restricted to investing-related books, or ancient books, etc.  I thought we could use a thread to recommend non-investing books that you think everyone should read, and a short 1-sentence reason why. 

This isn't a place to list books just because you liked them, but rather books that changed your perspective on something, or that had an unexpected impact on you. 

I'll start with a few of my faves off the top of my head:

---

"Catcher in the Rye"
Love it or hate it, you need to read it if only so you have a point of reference when it's mentioned in popular culture.

"The Art of War"
The classic ancient treatise on strategy, whether on the battlefield, the football field, or in the boardroom.

"Of Mice and Men"
A wrenching tale of two men's tragically intertwined lives during the Depression; devastatingly powerful in its stark simplicity.

"Freakonomics"
Demonstrates how seemingly bland statistics can mask all manner of hidden patterns and reveal unexpected truths.

"The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark"
Gives you the intellectual tools you need to carry yourself through life without falling prey to pseudoscience or superstition. 

"The Prince"
One word:  diabolical.

"The Jungle"
Shocking (and nauseating) expose of the food packing industry that lead to public outcry and sweeping reforms.

"Atlas Shrugged"
Yes, some of the dialogue is clunky and a bit too "on the nose", but it grabs you by the throat and makes its point in no uncertain terms.

"The DaVinci Code"
OK, so maybe it plays fast and loose with historical facts, but it's also incredibly clever and well-crafted so once you start I dare you to put it down! 

[Benko]

I Authors who really understand human nature.  Reading them will help you better understand people and how they behave:

--Tolstoy (War and Peace and Anna Karrenina are wonderful)
--W. Somerset Maugham: has several volumes of short stories.  They take place in another time and place, but amazingly astute insights still applicable today.
--Steinbeck

II Books that can give you insight into how things have shifted and are continuing to shift in the US over the last 60 years America Lite
Obama is not mentioned kindly, but the vast majority is not about him, but about how america shifted such that he was able to become president.

[Libertarian666]

"Voyage from Yesteryear", by James P. Hogan: a vision of what a truly free society might look like.

[dualstow]

This isn't a place to list books just because you liked them, but rather books that changed your perspective on something, or that had an unexpected impact on you. 

"The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark"
Gives you the intellectual tools you need to carry yourself through life without falling prey to pseudoscience or superstition. 

Is that Carl Sagan? For me it was Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
I was always into science, but this title got me into science, post-school, like never before.

Next of Kin by Roger Fouts changed the way I think about animals now and forever. It's a fascinating nonfiction book about chimps, specifically a young female named Washoe & others, who learn sign language. Amazing story. We are not alone in the universe.

The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil.
Perhaps much of this stuff will never come to pass but it's really something, something to think about.


Introduction to Zen Buddhism by D.T. Suzuki
It's hard to explain why, but this book gets me grounded whenever I need it.
I whip it out every once in a while.
And then a policeman warns me about indecent exposure and suggests I get back to my reading.

[AdamA]

3 good ones that I have read over this past year are:

Earth Abides by George Stuart

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

The first two were recommend elsewhere on this site.  The third one I just came accross and really liked.

[Kriegsspiel]

A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One Martin, George R.R.
- Actually, just ALL of the books in this series, it's just goddamn entertaining.

The Good Life: The Art of Stoic Joy
- Totally improved my outlook on life.

[notsheigetz]

All books change my perspective on something or else I quit reading within 15 minutes.

My reading list by rating..

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7 ... ort=rating

[MachineGhost]

Two books were instrumental in kickstarting me wide awake:

Genesis Revisited: Is Modern Science Catching Up With Ancient Knowledge? by Zecharia Sitchin.  This is an alternative historical revision of human evolution that claims aliens created homo sapiens by genetic engineering of their DNA and our ancestor's ape DNA in Africa to create slaves for mining gold.  It is really provocative but it takes great liberty with the Sumerian tablet interpretations and obviously it is not supported by mainstream archeology.  It also ties together disparate threads in many world religions that are suggestive of alien influence.

PT: a Coherent for a Stress-free, Healthy and Properous Life Without Government intereference, Taxes or Coercion by W.G. Hill.  This is the classic promoting the five flags theory of being a Perpetual Traveler, Prior Taxpayer, Permanent Tourist, Parked Temporarily and other eupherisms to avoid taxes and government.  Everything today known as "offshore structuring", "asset protection", "portable occupation" or even "sex tourism" was influenced by Hill as well as Harry Schultz's earlier three flags theory.  Hill was an interesting character that had escaped the US due to tax protestor, tax evasion charges, settled in Britain and wrote his books as revenge.

[dualstow]

Oh, I forgot The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell (of Principia Mathematica fame).

Edit: and of course, MG's chosen book about us being the gold-slaves of aliens. But everyone already knows that.

[Gosso]

I've seen a couple of book recommendation threads, but they were restricted to investing-related books, or ancient books, etc.  I thought we could use a thread to recommend non-investing books that you think everyone should read, and a short 1-sentence reason why. 

This isn't a place to list books just because you liked them, but rather books that changed your perspective on something, or that had an unexpected impact on you. 

The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell (with Bill Moyers).  This book opened me to the possibility of something beyond our five senses, and how various cultures have dealt with this mystery.

Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung.  Made me appreciate the power of my mind and imagination, and how best to go about bringing this into my life.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  Lewis' brand of Christianity appeals to my rational mind (although I still have a tough time with some of it) and seems a good introduction to Christianity.  Here is an excerpt given by Lewis in 1944:  "Beyond Personality - Mere Men" (14 minutes).

[blackomen]

I like Tim Ferris's 4 Hour Work Week.. although I don't agree with everything he says and some of his goals may be unrealistic, it still provided an excellent strategy to improve my time management.

[Ad Orientem]

A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One Martin, George R.R.
- Actually, just ALL of the books in this series, it's just goddamn entertaining.

+1
Think Tolkien without the sappy "and they all lived happily ever after" standard fairytale line. Or more bluntly, it's medieval fantasy meets The Borgias.

[Ad Orientem]

For history lovers I will add Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie as also his biographical works Nicholas & Alexandra and Peter the Great. I also like The Guns of August and A Distant Mirror by the late Barbara Tuchman. And finally I will throw out Viscount John J. Norwich's three volume history of the Byzantine Empire.

[Coffee]

Influence, by Robert Ciuldini.

[Kriegsspiel]

On the military front, Rogue Warrior is Richard Marcinko's autobiography.  He is the creator of SEAL Team 6, and an all around badass.  And Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield should be familiar to everyone, since it's the shizznitlesnap.  I've read both of them many times.

[Bean]

Books are probably my most prized physical possession, so this thread makes me happy that folks still care to read.

Off the top of my head

The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats
This man changes my life every time I read his work

Fingerprints of the Gods
Got me started on really questioning traditional history and kicked off a huge history kick that is going on years and 50+ books on ancient history

Dune series
Second major book series of my childhood, some great characters

Mitch Rapp Series
American Spy series that is supposed to be very close to true by accident

SAS survival handbook
Read it, practice the skills

Dark Tower series
Stephen King's magnum opus

The Bible & The Quran
Start with these two, I though they were both moving

Iliad, Odyssey, Gilgamesh, etc.
Epic ancient stories

[MachineGhost]

Books to the left of me, books to the right of me, but not enough time to read!

[colorado4]

Seneca's 'On the shortness of Life'



http://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Pe ... 0143036327

[rocketdog]

Bean's list reminded me of my favorite Stephen King book, one that most people have never even heard of:

Eyes of the Dragon
King allegedly wrote it for his children, yet it's anything but child-like.  Everyone I've recommended it to has loved it.  Even if you're not a King fan, if you're open to fairy tales with kings, princes, and evil wizards, I'd say give this one a try. 

Other off-beat King faves:

The Running Man
No, it's nothing like the crap-fest movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger.  King wrote this under the pseudonym "Richard Bachman" and  claims he wrote it over a single weekend.  It's a real page-turner.  Reminded me of a cross between "The Most Dangerous Game" and futuristic fair like "Bladerunner" and "A Clockwork Orange".

The Body
This is the story the movie "Stand By Me" was based on.  Great coming-of-age story.  Find it in the "Different Seasons" collection of novellas.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
This is the story the movie "Shawshank Redemption" was based on.  Great prison story with a satisfying twist.  Find it in the "Different Seasons" collection of novellas.

[Kriegsspiel]

Mitch Rapp Series
American Spy series that is supposed to be very close to true by accident

I'm on Consent to Kill right now, they are definitely good books.

[Kriegsspiel]

I finished all of the Rapp series. I was semi-devastated to find out that Vince Flynn died last year.

Also, here is my uber recommendation for this forum: Daemon, by Daniel Suarez. I think many of you will touch your unmentionables when you get into it.

The sequel is Freedom.

You're welcome.

[dualstow]

...
Also, here is my uber recommendation for this forum: Daemon, by Daniel Suarez. I think many of you will touch your unmentionables when you get into it.

The sequel is Freedom.

You're welcome.

I read that just because I found it in my parents' house among a stack of books they were going to donate or throw out. Read it in 4 days, though I normally read very slowly. Not great writing, but extremely interesting story. I still think of it once in a while.

[Libertarian666]

Let me add a very new book: The Mindful Attraction Plan, by Athol Kay.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mindful-Attra ... 149045151X

A practical book that is certainly not in any way in conflict with HB's philosophy, as far as I remember the latter from reading "How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World" many years ago.

[WildAboutHarry]

Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of my favorites.  Hard to start (the dialogue is a bit awkward at first), but very compelling and worth the read.  TANSTAAFL was popularized in the book.  Some quotes:

“As it says in the Bible, God fights on the side with the heaviest artillery.”?

“In terms of morals there is no such thing as ‘state.’ Just men. Individuals. Each responsible for his own acts.”?

“Seems to be a deep instinct in human beings for making everything compulsory that isn't forbidden.”?

“Must be yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please.”?


Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.  I somehow missed this as a kid, and only first read it a few years ago.  The "Recorded Books" audio version is also quite good.  This is where much of the modern notion of pirates came from.  Some quotes:

“Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”?

“If you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel!”?

“Doctors is all swabs.”?

“You're either my ship's cook-and then you were treated handsome-or Cap'n Silver, a common mutineer and pirate, and then you can go hang!”?

"I wished a round score of men—in case of natives, buccaneers, or the odious French"

"There!" he cried. "That's what I think of ye. Before an hour's out, I'll stove in your old block house like a rum puncheon. Laugh, by thunder, laugh! Before an hour's out, ye'll laugh upon the other side. Them that die'll be the lucky ones."

[Kriegsspiel]

I read that just because I found it in my parents' house among a stack of books they were going to donate or throw out. Read it in 4 days, though I normally read very slowly. Not great writing, but extremely interesting story. I still think of it once in a while.

Which one, Daemon?