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last reply by Fernanda Lucila G.
4 months ago
Chris F.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS,
United States
6821 posts
OG since: 06/21/2009
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A Reddit.com user posed the question to Neil deGrasse Tyson: “Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on the planet?”
Below, you will find the book list offered up by the astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and popularizer of science. Where possible, we have included links to free versions of the books, all taken from our Free Audio Books and Free eBooks collections. Or you can always download a professionally-narrated book for free from Audible.com. Details here.
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1.) The Bible (eBook) - “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”
2.) The System of the World by Isaac Newton (eBook) – “to learn that the universe is a knowable place.”
3.) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth.”
4.) Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (eBook – Audio Book) – “to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos.”
5.) The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine (eBook – Audio Book) – “to learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world.”
6.) The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself.”
7.) The Art of War by Sun Tsu (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.”
8.) The Prince by Machiavelli (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it.”
Tyson concludes by saying: “If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.”
[source: http://www.openculture.com/2011/12/neil_degrasse_tyson_8_books_every_intelligent_person_should_read.html]
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Elise :.
SYDNEY,
Australia
932 posts
Member since: 03/20/2011
Oh dear. The only one of those I've read is the Bible. He gives such eloquent reasons for reading though, I'm a little inspired. I totally agree that everyone should read the Bible, though. It's a real eye-opener, and not in the 'I-read-the-bible-and-became-religious' way. In fact, I was a Christian until I actually read the thing, when I realised how antiquated and prejudiced the roots of modern religion are.
posted Jan 3, 2012
Julia A.
THE SUMMER OF LOVE,
United States
251 posts
Member since: 08/29/2011
These are all great books. I've read the Old Testament, The Prince, The Wealth of Nations, and On the Origin of Species... and parts of Sun Tsu and Thomas Paine. But I'm a little disturbed by the lack of literature on here. Yes, these are all excellent books and essential to human civilization, but humanity has learned just as much, or if not more, from Shakespeare than from Machiavelli. I'm touched by his analysis of Darwin, that in reading Darwin humans feel kinship to other life on earth. But where on this list can one know one's relationship to one's fellow human being, and the commonalities of the human condition? That's where literature comes in. Why Gulliver's Travels is the only book of fiction on here is completely beyond me... why not Don Quixote, to learn that one's striving for idealism would only be seen as madness by others? Why not Hamlet, to learn the complexities of the human psyche? And, even if we were to stick to philosophical texts, how are St. Augustine. Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche not on this list? Outside the Bible and Darwin (and maaaaybe Newton), his text choices seem nearly random.
posted Jan 3, 2012
Elise :.
SYDNEY,
Australia
932 posts
Member since: 03/20/2011
Some sad people unfortunately think literature is a waste of time, and the same with philosophy :(
posted Jan 3, 2012
Lindsay C.
CHICAGO,
United States
6 posts
Member since: 01/07/2012
Literature is a waist of time? Try riding a train and twiddling your thumbs, that's a waist of time. I've read parts of The Prince for class, and I've always wanted to read The Art of War... guess it's time I go educate myself.
posted Jan 21, 2012
Chris F.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS,
United States
6821 posts
OG since: 06/21/2009
Just remember that it's meant to be a short list. :P Also remember that they were free books. Restrictions for convenience's sake, not for sake of a lack of vision for literature.
posted Jan 22, 2012
Julia A.
THE SUMMER OF LOVE,
United States
251 posts
Member since: 08/29/2011
But... aren't all books free, at the library? It isn't about cost, or availability: most classic texts are available free on the internet since their authors are long deceased. It isn't about cost. But there's a definite lack of literature on that list. It does happen to be a great list, but it's hardly the books "every intelligent person should read." In fact, most classic works of literature (Shakespeare, Homer, Cervantes especially, for example) are way easier to find than Machiavelli's "The Prince"!
posted Jan 22, 2012
Chris F.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS,
United States
6821 posts
OG since: 06/21/2009
Firstly, it goes to mention that not all people have equal access to well-stocked libraries, especially since (at least here, in the US) the government has been allocating much less funding for the maintenance of free, public libraries.
But secondly, like I said, short list! Just a teeny tiny list. :P It's easy to create and read a short list of 8 books that someone thinks all intellectual people should read.
If you want to make the list named "100 books that every intelligent person should read," with knowledgeable justification of each work and links to each book you mention, for free, somewhere on the internet that is also downloadable to a personal computer without copyright restriction, then go for it! This is the Literature forum after all. :]
posted Jan 22, 2012
Fernanda Lucila G.
MTY,
Mexico
1110 posts
OG since: 04/09/2010
We don't have a public library in this city... and if we do, I have never heard of it. And sadly, our university library is horribly stocked.
It's all textbooks and non-fiction books that will allow you to complete your works wonderfully, but there is no actual literature, just-for-leisure books in there. It's quite sad. My high school library was better stocked.
posted Jan 25, 2012
Fernanda Lucila G.
MTY,
Mexico
1110 posts
OG since: 04/09/2010
I think this is a very interesting list, although I do agree that some key pieces of literature are missing (Crime and Punishment, Don Quijote...).
Of these options, I have read The Origin of Species, parts of the Old Testament and the complete New Testament, and The Prince.
posted Jan 25, 2012