A Brief Book List

eMeSeMeS Member Posts: 1,875 ■■■■■■■■■□
Like many of you here, I read voraciously. My reading often includes both tech-related and non-tech-related subjects. I think reading in general, and specifically some of the things that I've read have contributed greatly to my success.

I often respond to posts here with books that I recommend. The intent of this post is to provide a list of 10 books that I felt had a significant impact on my life in some way, and that I find myself returning to frequently over the years.

The list is:
    Amazon.com: Influence: Science and Practice (5th Edition) (9780205609994): Robert B. Cialdini: Books - An excellent book from a well-known psychologist that studies influence for a living. This book takes basic research and shows how it is applied in many facets of everyday life.
      Amazon.com: The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion: A New Abridgement from the Second and Third Editions (Oxford Worlds Classics) (9780199538829): Sir James George Frazer, Robert Fraser: Books - This is an old book. It takes a comprehensive look at belief systems throughout time.
        Amazon.com: Million Dollar Consulting (9780071622103): Alan Weiss: Books - This book is an excellent one for anyone considering starting their own consulting business. The author comes off as a bit arrogant at times, but his advice is rock-solid.
          Amazon.com: Overworld: The Life and Times of A Reluctant Spy: Larry J. Kolb: Books - Excellent book that tells a good story and explains many things that happen around us that we don't necessarily notice.
            Amazon.com: Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom (9780060930141): William Glasser: Books - William Glasser is amazing. This book is an excellent read, and drives home the point that we all really are accountable for our actions, and the consequences of those actions.
              Amazon.com: The Wealthy Barber, Updated 3rd Edition: Everyone's Commonsense Guide to Becoming Financially Independent (0086874513112): David Chilton: Books - I was fortunate in that I learned about this book very early in life. The author explains savings, investing and planning for the future from a very practical and easy to implement perspective.
                Amazon.com: The Age of Intelligent Machines (9780262610797): Ray Kurzweil: Books - Great book from the early 90's about where things are headed.
                  Amazon.com: The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence (9780140282023): Ray Kurzweil: Books - Great book from the late 90's about where things are headed.
                    Amazon.com: The Singularity is Near eBook: Ray Kurzweil: Kindle Store - Great book from ~2005 about where things are headed. Kurzweil gets three spots on my list. I wouldn't say that he's 100% spot on in his assessments and predictions, but he's much smarter than I am. I truly believe that 100 years from now people (or whatever) will look back at these three books as seminal.
                      Amazon.com: The Zimmermann Telegram (9781842122792): Barbara Wertheim Tuchman: Books - It's too bad that some people can't live forever. This author has an amazing ability to tie together so many things that are happening at once into a cohesive narrative.


                      That's my list...just thought I would share. These books have certainly helped me, and I hope they help you.

                      MS

                      Comments

                      • RobertKaucherRobertKaucher Member Posts: 4,299 ■■■■■■■■■■
                        I just want to put my 2 cents in about the Golden Bough. It forces religions and mythology into a Classical frame where nearly every male deity associated with light is a sun god, etc. It's more useful as a history of European ideas about mythology and religion than as actual anthropology.

                        The nonsense it gave rise to like Murray and Graves (again from the perspective of anthropology, not art) still travel like Internet chain mail and urban legends.

                        I'd love to have time to read the books by Kurzweil, though....
                      • eMeSeMeS Member Posts: 1,875 ■■■■■■■■■□
                        I just want to put my 2 cents in about the Golden Bough. It forces religions and mythology into a Classical frame where nearly every male deity associated with light is a sun god, etc. It's more useful as a history of European ideas about mythology and religion than as actual anthropology.

                        The nonsense it gave rise to like Murray and Graves (again from the perspective of anthropology, not art) still travel like Internet chain mail and urban legends.

                        Completely agree. In fact I think Fraser was mostly an "armchair anthropologist". The premise that it once proposed is now mostly irrelevant. I find it often as useful to read material from another time that was once considered "right" and compare that to how far we've come. That and GB simply can be thought of a nice collection of interesting information.
                        I'd love to have time to read the books by Kurzweil, though....

                        The Kurzweil stuff is awesome. I'd say every book that I've listed is the type of book that I can't put down once I've started reading. Overworld being the most extreme example of such.

                        MS
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