I’ve read a few books in my time that I thought were influential to my thinking, or at least thought-provoking. I’ve also read a few that I enjoyed, but didn’t have any real lasting effect other than an enjoyable time and a good read. Here are the titles that I recommend you look up, check out from the library, or peruse when you are at Barnes & Noble next time.
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- Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson. Why has the West dominated for over five hundred years? And why might it fall?
- 1491 and 1493 by Charles C. Mann. Respectively, what was America like before Columbus and what did the discovery of the New World do to the Old?
- Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Clearly a narcissist, clearly an unpleasant human being, and clearly a poor father, Steve Jobs is also clearly one of the most fascinating men to have an influence on technology, entertainment, and society.
- Coming Apart by Charles Murray. For the first time in our history, upper, middle, and lower classes no long share a common culture, and it’s tearing us apart.
- The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. Wake up and go do it. Whatever it is, just do it. Teddy did, and does, and will…
- Prophets by S. Andrew Swann. Pure space opera. A fun adventure in the 26th century.
- Rubicon by Tom Holland. A great read and a great history about the last days of the Roman Republic.
- Statecraft as Soulcraft by George Will. In what has become a classic, Will examines the “genealogy” of modern conservatism. Looking at the direction that conservatism has taken, and the occasional distortion of classical conservatism, I wonder what he thinks about the movement today.
- Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. One of the rising stars of epic fantasy (read “really long fantasy”), Sanderson is a local author who was asked to finish out Robert Jordan‘s best selling Wheel of Time series after Jordan died short of finishing it. Way of Kings is a fun, if long, installment in Sanderson’s own ten volume epic fantasy.
- Witness by Whittaker Chambers. This is a biographical work about a witness against Alger Hiss in his trial as a communist. Chambers was a former communist, and I see this work, insofar as I have yet read it, as his explanation for why he joined the communist party and left it in the late 1930s. Various posts inspired by my reading can be found here and here.
- Spin by Robert Charles Wilson. No, it’s not about “spin-doctors.” It’s sci-fi, and it’s interesting. What if an event happens that cuts the earth off from the rest of the universe? And time is passing faster outside the barrier than inside–more than a hundred million years per year on Earth. At this rate, the death throes of the sun are only about forty years in our future.
- My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. Beautiful, simply beautiful…even if a bit tragic.
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and sequels by Douglas Adams. Often imitated, but never replaced, these are some of my favorite escapes and laughs.
- Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe. Seriously, does anyone match the chilling effect that Poe has in his stories. I’ve heard that he would edit his stories over and over…even after they were published, just to tweak until he felt like he got them right.
- On Writing by Stephen King. I’ve never been a King fan, but I’ve always been an aspiring novelist…just sans novel. I gave this four stars. Maybe five? Of all the stuff out there on writing, King’s book nails it best. Part bio and part off the cuff advice, it is accessible and enjoyable to read.
- Finding Darwin’s God: a Scientist’s Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution by Kenneth R. Miller. I read this at a time when I was trying to figure out where I stand on this. I recommend it for anyone who wants to reconcile the differences and the common grounds. It isn’t a solve all, but it does lead an interesting discussion.
- The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White. This book needs no introduction, and if it’s not on your shelf yet, get one soon.
- Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell knows how to tell a story and he uses his talent to explain some interesting phenomena.
- Making Your Case: the Art of Persuading Judges by Antonin Scalia, Bryan A. Garner. While I’m no appellate attorney, the lessons and advice that Scalia and Garner have here are relevant across the spectrum.
- The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. If it’s not fiction, it sure reads like it. This is the battle of Gettysburg, the turning point in the war, brought to you in a vividness that is unmatched. One of my favorite books.
- The Hunt for the Red October by Tom Clancy. While it’s not Clancy’s first book, it certainly put him on the map and became and instant classic.
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I read this through one hot summer when I was stuck in Provo taking a few extra classes to speed up my graduation from college. Rather than the dry Russian tome I expected, I found a vibrant, thick plot of betrayal, love, and redemption…but otherwise, still a thick Russian tome.
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. ”nuf said.
- We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch. How does half the population of a country suddenly turn around and decide to kill the other half?
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I’ve not read as much Dickens as I’d like, but I like what I have read.
- Peace like a River by Leif Enger. What happens when ordinary lives are shattered by extraordinary circumstances? It’s been many years since this was at the top of my favorites list, but I remember enjoying it no less for the time passed.
- The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Loved them as much when I reread them as an adult as I did as a child.
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I’m not sure how it has created such a following, but it does have some good “ah-ha!” moments that can be enjoyable and relevant to anyone.
- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I’ve not been attracted by another book by Kingsolver, but this one was a beautiful story that I could recommend again and again. I especially enjoyed the dramatic changes in POV through which the story is told.
- Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. And right now, I feel like I’m living through it…a very influential book on my thinking about the proper role of government in the economy and relative to business.
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Hands down, one of my favorite books of all time.
- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Like Anna Karenina, but over a winter and a spring, I plowed through the unabridged, and enjoyed every moment of it. (Well, almost every moment of it…)
- Animal Farm by George Orwell. I think this was almost more prescient than Orwell’s 1984.
- John Adams by David McCullough. It was after reading this that I decided to go to law school…so, yeah, it was kind of an influential book for me. (though I don’t know if I read the last couple chapters…)
- China Shakes the World: A Titan’s Rise and Troubled Future–and the Challenge for America by James Kynge. Like it or not, China is the OTHER major world power, and knowing our rivals will be relevant for generations to come. Fascinating look at the PRC.
- Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. If John Adams inspired me to become a lawyer, Team of Rivals informed what kind of lawyer, and person, I wanted to be.
- Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. There are those out there who argue that Hamilton was a blemish on America’s history. Those people would be misinformed…and probably acolytes of Jefferson’s. Hamilton was an extraordinary man, and we are fortunate that he immigrated to America when he did. Washington could not have had a better right hand man.
- The Fair Tax Book by Neal Boortz, John Linder. Almost simplistic in style, the idea is so good that it seems almost TOO good…but I think it could work. Could it pass, though?
- Buyout by Alexander C. Irvine. Speculative fiction in our near future, and chilling. Interesting look at the death penalty and the value we place on human life.
- Hyperion by Dan Simmons. I really enjoy Simmons. Especially his sci-fi. And this is probably his best.
- Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer. Sci-fi, again….but one that makes you think.
- I am Legend by Richard Matheson. Before there was Charlton Heston, Vincint Price, or Will Smith to play the roles on the silverscreen, Matheson created them.
- 1776 by David McCullough.
- The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. A trip from hell to heaven…
- Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude by Robert Baer. Reads like a novel, and by the end you’d think that Baer was on the front line of every major action in the Middle-east for the last quarter century. Interesting, and probably good fodder for dissenters and the conspiracy crowd (though the rest of us could use it, too).
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I hated reading this book, until the last chapter. It was hard, it was heavy, and it was full of messed up characters. A definite must read.
- Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom. Really worth the read.
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. What would this list be without at least one Bradbury novel?
- How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything In It by Arthur Herman. And you thought it was the Greeks!
- The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox. I’ll give you the answer now: the goal is to make money….but the how, is what makes this really interesting. A business book on processes and logistics and definitely an “ah-ha” a moment.
- 1984 by George Orwell. A good guess, but I think Aldus Huxley got it closer to the truth with Brave New World.
- Dune by Frank Herbert. Who loves sci-fi and hasn’t read Dune?
- The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: a History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer. This is THE book on Nazi Germany.
- The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. My wife found this novel in the adolescent section of the book store, and I read it months after she recommended it. It’s a refreshing look at Shakespeare, growing up, and the 1960s.
- China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know by Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom. Succinct, organized, and well researched, I enjoyed the overview on China at a beginners level (which is about where I am).
- Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert Harris. I found this one because it was plugged by Justice Posner. He called it trashy, but a good way to learn Roman constitutional law…so, naturally I picked it up (in the car, on CD) and naturally, I loved it.
Find the rest of my picks on Goodreads.com.
