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Neil deGrasse Tyson Lists 8 (Free) Books Every Intelligent Person Should Read
OpenSource.com ^ | December 22, 2011 | unknown

Posted on 12/21/2011 9:53:55 PM PST by Daffynition

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.

If you’re looking for a more extensive list of essential works, don’t miss The Harvard Classics, a 51 volume series that you can now download online.

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 (eBookAudio Book) - “to learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth.”

4.) Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (eBookAudio Book) – “to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos.”

5.) The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine (eBookAudio 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 (eBookAudio Book) - “to learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself.”

7.) The Art of War by Sun Tsu (eBookAudio Book) - “to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.”

8.) The Prince by Machiavelli (eBookAudio 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.”


TOPICS: Books/Literature; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: bible; books; classics; freebooks; liberalknowitall
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To: Daffynition

My neighbors 21 year-old son posted this on Facebook, and said all he wanted for Christmas was books. I thought that was pretty cool. I plan to go through some of our old books and pick out some classics for him (like atlas shrugged) and I bought him “David Copperfield” at the half priced book store for $2.50.


21 posted on 12/21/2011 10:45:33 PM PST by djwright (2012 The White House Gets Another Coat Of Shellac)
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To: bobby.223

Yes, a damn good book. Thanks for reminding me of it. Will dig it out of storage while back in CONUS.


22 posted on 12/21/2011 10:46:30 PM PST by MadJack ("Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." (Afghan proverb))
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To: dragonblustar
DeGrasse gets high on himself. I can’t stand watching those shows about the universe when he’s on it.

I think he does very well on those shows. I'm glad he is is very visible because black kids need all the good role-models they can get. Isn't it a horrible shame that the first black president is such a putz :-( Why couldnt it have been someone like Thomas Sowell instead!

23 posted on 12/21/2011 10:51:39 PM PST by Bobalu (even Jesus knew the poor would always be with us)
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To: Daffynition

None of Shakespeare’s plays made the list?


24 posted on 12/21/2011 11:15:11 PM PST by Altariel (`)
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To: Bobalu

Isn’t it a horrible shame that the first black president is such a putz


I made that observation to a grand ole black lady of 86 and she laughed so hard that her teeth fell out of her mouth.


25 posted on 12/21/2011 11:18:11 PM PST by crazyhorse691 (Obama is just the symptom of what is destroying the U.S.)
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To: Revolting cat!
Hey, if you are referring to Boring, Oregon you should know that there is still lots to do there even though the mink farm closed years ago.
26 posted on 12/21/2011 11:22:03 PM PST by crazyhorse691 (Obama is just the symptom of what is destroying the U.S.)
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To: Daffynition

For laffs, you must read:

“And To My Nephew Albert, I Leave The Island That I Won Off Of Fatty Hagen In a Poker Game ...” *

* The title is supposed to be from a will ...

The premise is that an English movie theater projectionist [Albert] inherits a small rocky island off of the English coast outside of the territorial limits. It has absolutely no value, as it is covered with rocks.

Albert takes a girl there [in order to get laid] and is about to succeed - when a Russian spy trawler runs aground on the island.

The Russians quickly realize that this is the perfect spot for a spy listening post and lease one-half of the island from Albert. Not to be out-done, the United States leases the other half of the island. Then, the barbed wire boundary goes up - instant Berlin Wall ...

Albert, as landlord has free run of both sides of the island.

Hilarious book !!!


27 posted on 12/21/2011 11:49:38 PM PST by Lmo56 (If ya wanna run with the big dawgs - ya gotta learn to piss in the tall grass ...)
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To: Daffynition

I’d say any Louis L’Amour books...


28 posted on 12/21/2011 11:50:19 PM PST by goat granny
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To: Daffynition

“Free to Choose” by Milton & Rose Friedman

For true conservatives,
of the classical liberal definition


29 posted on 12/22/2011 12:06:01 AM PST by truth_seeker (l)
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To: Daffynition
.) 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.”

Anyone who can sum up the Bible in a single sentence, and then dismiss it as being contrary to reason, isn't worth the time listening to, let alone be considered one who is a teacher.

30 posted on 12/22/2011 12:08:53 AM PST by csense
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To: Daffynition

Darwin? Hmmm, may pass on that one.


31 posted on 12/22/2011 3:10:46 AM PST by nikos1121
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To: Daffynition

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.”

I think that about sums up this garbage list don’t you think folks...?


32 posted on 12/22/2011 3:12:09 AM PST by nikos1121
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To: djwright

Candy by Terry Southern is good too.


33 posted on 12/22/2011 3:14:18 AM PST by nikos1121
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To: Daffynition

I would add “Witness” and “The Gulag Archipelago”. Those are two books that are so full of memorable quotes that I had to buy the ebook versions just to catalogue them all.

And they both say much about human nature.


34 posted on 12/22/2011 3:53:23 AM PST by rlmorel ("A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." Winston Churchill)
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To: Lmo56

Hah! Now THAT sounds funny! I’ll check it out...


35 posted on 12/22/2011 3:55:01 AM PST by rlmorel ("A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." Winston Churchill)
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To: Daffynition

I think that most of these are available free online and thus meet the definition.

25 Books Every Christian Should Read:
1. On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius
2. Confessions by St. Augustine
3. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers
4. The Rule of St. Benedict by St. Benedict
5. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
6. The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous
7. Revelations of Divine Love (Showings) by Julian of Norwich
8. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
9. The Philokalia
10. Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin
11. The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila
12. Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross
13. Pensées by Blaise Pascal
14. The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
15. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
16. A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law
17. The Way of a Pilgrim by Unknown Author
18. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
19. Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton
20. The Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins
21. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
22. A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly
23. The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
24. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
25. The Return of the Prodigal Son


36 posted on 12/22/2011 4:07:04 AM PST by iowamark
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To: Daffynition

Aw, isn’t he special? He’s written an angry little book list.


37 posted on 12/22/2011 4:07:50 AM PST by Yardstick
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To: Daffynition

btt


38 posted on 12/22/2011 4:50:19 AM PST by SES1066 (Government is NOT the reason for my existance!)
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To: dragonblustar

Curious his statement about the Bible. I think many of us had approached it as “being told what to think” only to find that after thinking on our own (for decades perhaps) we finally conclude that having done so we discover that in the end it is true. The Heavens declare His Glory. His law is written on our hearts. Undeniable.


39 posted on 12/22/2011 5:27:32 AM PST by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
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To: Daffynition

(Off Topic) ... but I though you folks might know. Is there a source for John D MacDonald’s books that could get into a Kindle somewhere? (Shhh, thanks!)


40 posted on 12/22/2011 5:27:40 AM PST by ThePatriotsFlag
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