Quick shout out for The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho
and I should add..The Autobiography of a Yogi
and I should add..The Autobiography of a Yogi
What are the five (5) most influential books you've read in your lifetime?
- Thread starter Peetz Pool Boy
- Start date
Not in any order...
1) Catcher in the Rye
2) Into Thin Air
3) to Kill a Nockingbird
4) The Match
5) Anything by Tom Friedman
1) Catcher in the Rye
2) Into Thin Air
3) to Kill a Nockingbird
4) The Match
5) Anything by Tom Friedman
https://www.google.com/search?ie=UT...droid-browser&q=civil+war+land+in+bad+decline
Here is a Google link to CivilWarLand. Scroll down to the 4th or 5th link. It's a pdf of the Kenyon Review.
Shocking and funny. Hey its only 15 pages.
Here is a Google link to CivilWarLand. Scroll down to the 4th or 5th link. It's a pdf of the Kenyon Review.
Shocking and funny. Hey its only 15 pages.
Also surprised at the lack of Dickens references - his works had plenty to say about both Integrity and hypocrisy of his time, which are one of the constants in history (i.e., these topics were no different, less or more relevant to his time than they are to "our time"). Great Expectations, Bleak House and A Christmas Carol are highly relevant works on the topics of integrity, hypocrisy, righteousness and "The Golden Rule" (i.e., if we feel our fellow homo-sapiens have obligations to us via trust, goodwill and the natural order of the universe, than we as individuals have an obligation to our fellow man in this regard..... IOW, the diametric opposite of the narcissistic hypocrite.).
Fountainhead
Atlas Shrugged
Lord of the Flies
On the Road
Catch 22
I read these books when I was a relatively young man and and they shaped my thinking and values for the rest of my life. In particular, the Ayn Rand books (Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged) posed the question of self-reliance vs. government interference and instilled the concept that I am ultimately responsible for who I become. The other three books are very interesting and thought-provoking and wonderful reads.
Atlas Shrugged
Lord of the Flies
On the Road
Catch 22
I read these books when I was a relatively young man and and they shaped my thinking and values for the rest of my life. In particular, the Ayn Rand books (Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged) posed the question of self-reliance vs. government interference and instilled the concept that I am ultimately responsible for who I become. The other three books are very interesting and thought-provoking and wonderful reads.
1. Journey of Souls - Dr. Michael Newton
2. Into the Wild - John Krakauer
3. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
4. Wizard and Glass (Part IV of Gunslinger series) - Stephen King
5. Awakening the Buddha Within - Lama Surya Das
Number 1 for me finally allowed me to be at peace with human existence and made sense (to me at least) of what religion never could. Truly life changing in every sense of the word. I highly recommend this to anyone, even if you are solid in your faith to whatever deity you believe in. It is an amazing read.
2. Into the Wild - John Krakauer
3. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
4. Wizard and Glass (Part IV of Gunslinger series) - Stephen King
5. Awakening the Buddha Within - Lama Surya Das
Number 1 for me finally allowed me to be at peace with human existence and made sense (to me at least) of what religion never could. Truly life changing in every sense of the word. I highly recommend this to anyone, even if you are solid in your faith to whatever deity you believe in. It is an amazing read.
Well, for me, the Bible is a big influence, as a person of faith (and to answer the question posed earlier, the NASB translation for serious study and the New Living for reading--and they are not as variant in meaning as the poster proposed). A second is Starship Troopers by Heinlein. It helped developed a lot of my thoughts on honor and duty and citizenship, though I never had the privilege of serving in the military. Mind you, I'm not sure I'd want to live in that world--but the questions posed by it are quite important. And though I haven't read it in a number of years, Citizen of the Galaxy instilled in me an utter hatred of slavery (as it was intended to do). Rise and Fall of the Third Reich reminds me of both the greatness and evil present in humankind. Hard to think of a fifth right now....
Made an effort years ago to read some of the classics. One of the first I picked up was "A Tale of Two Cities". Great book. Great story. Watch the Ronald Coleman version of the movie EVERY time it's on TV.
It has an undeserved, mildly negative rep as a hippie dope head book. He takes a bunch of format chances that mostly pay off, but the writing is excellent and the story is even better.
I like most of the books mentioned - would add Dereliction of Duty by H.R. McMaster. A truly worthwhile read as the events depicted shaped my outlook on life and fortified many of my suspicions and theories of the time.
I have to ask you about "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".
I probably need to give it another read, but when a former co-worker lent it to me in my "youth", I had trouble getting past the first two chapters. Is it anything other than a recollection of a drug-addicted weekend in Vegas?
I closed the cover when HST only made it to Barstow.
Once an Eagle I believe is required reading by West Point Cadets. Another good Myrer book is The Last Convertible
Well sure. It's a "Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream!"
Look, I think I was careful to say the books I listed were ones I liked. Not arguing for deep insight. I have always thought it was funny as hell.
Yes, it is. A friend of mine was an engineering instructor there. He is the one who recommended it to me. I'll definitely look into The Last Convertible, thanks.
Incidentally, I neglected to mention Paradise Lost. Had to reread the first few pages a few times at first to get used to the "old English" style of writing, but thoroughly enjoyed it when I did.
I'm excluding the Bible from this list, but it is the most influential book for me. Here you go not in any order:
1. The Brothers Karamozov - Dostoeyevski
2. The Count of Monte Cristo (unabridged translation by Robin Buss)- Dumas
3. John Adams - McCullough
4. Anna Karenina - Tolstoy
5. Hamlet - Shakespeare
On The Road and Catch-22 would be on my list and for the same reason. I read both of these when I was young and at a crossroads in my life and both were mind-expanding in the best possible way. Similarly, at a later juncture I read The Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn and Tragedy & Hope by Carroll Quigley, two towering works that have been compelling influences on my understanding of the world.
#5 would be Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein. I'm not sure why, it just resonates profoundly with me for some inexplicable reason no matter how many times I read it.
Honorable mentions to The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin and 1984, which didn't really strike a chord with me when I was first required to read it in high school (and again as an undergrad at PSU) but grows ever more prescient with each passing year.
Dunno if these are the most influential but here are some I liked.
1. "The Better Angels of our Nature" by Steven Pinker Anytime someone tries to tell you how violent the world is today as compared to in the past point them to this book.
2. "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley. Anytime someone tries to tell you how bad things are in the world today as compared to in the past point them to this book. Hey, I'm having deja vu.
3. "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot" by John Callahan. John Callahan was a cartoonist that died a few years ago. When he was about 20 he became a quadraplegic as a result of a car crash. The book is the story of his life. Very good. And he had some really funny albeit sometimes politically incorrect cartoons. It's too bad he's not alive now to poke fun at the political correctness run amok we see all around us.
4. "The Righteous Mind" by Jonathan Haidt. Haidt is a social psychologist that studies morality and why people take the moral positions they do. That's interesting enough but the book also delves into the political divide and explains why the left and right see things so differently, the reason being that they emphasize different aspects of morality.
5. "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. It's been a long time since I read this but as I recall I found his clever use of language very entertaining.
Someone mentioned "Autobiography of a Yogi." I read that because I read that it was Steve Jobs' favorite book. I have to say that in my own personal opinion that book was lousy. Every other page had yogis doing astral flying or some such craziness. Not for me.
ETA: Here are some Callahan cartoons if you want to peruse. I just looked up "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot" and to my chagrin they're making a movie out of it. I say "to my chagrin" because I feel certain they'll make it crappy and Hollywood-y. Just read the book instead. It's not too long and plus it's real, unlike the movie.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs...AAAANnE/iT92_Zq42sc/s400/004.jpg&action=click
1. "The Better Angels of our Nature" by Steven Pinker Anytime someone tries to tell you how violent the world is today as compared to in the past point them to this book.
2. "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley. Anytime someone tries to tell you how bad things are in the world today as compared to in the past point them to this book. Hey, I'm having deja vu.
3. "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot" by John Callahan. John Callahan was a cartoonist that died a few years ago. When he was about 20 he became a quadraplegic as a result of a car crash. The book is the story of his life. Very good. And he had some really funny albeit sometimes politically incorrect cartoons. It's too bad he's not alive now to poke fun at the political correctness run amok we see all around us.
4. "The Righteous Mind" by Jonathan Haidt. Haidt is a social psychologist that studies morality and why people take the moral positions they do. That's interesting enough but the book also delves into the political divide and explains why the left and right see things so differently, the reason being that they emphasize different aspects of morality.
5. "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. It's been a long time since I read this but as I recall I found his clever use of language very entertaining.
Someone mentioned "Autobiography of a Yogi." I read that because I read that it was Steve Jobs' favorite book. I have to say that in my own personal opinion that book was lousy. Every other page had yogis doing astral flying or some such craziness. Not for me.
ETA: Here are some Callahan cartoons if you want to peruse. I just looked up "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot" and to my chagrin they're making a movie out of it. I say "to my chagrin" because I feel certain they'll make it crappy and Hollywood-y. Just read the book instead. It's not too long and plus it's real, unlike the movie.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs...AAAANnE/iT92_Zq42sc/s400/004.jpg&action=click
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