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Nonfiction books everyone should read - a reqiest for help.
n/a | ixtl

Posted on 09/03/2011 2:16:51 PM PDT by ixtl

I am preparing a list for my children and grandchildren of the _____ (to be filled in) non-fiction books everyone should read. To date, I have only four, all of which I have read. In alphabetical order by author:

Charles Darwin, "On the Origin of Species by Natuarla Selectin."

Noccolo Machiavelli, "The Prince."

Sun-Tzu, "The Art of War."

H. G. Wells, "The Outline of History (1939 edition).

For the record, I am a 70+ year old retired attorney, who has always been a voarcious reader.

Criticism and suggestions are welcome.


TOPICS: Books/Literature; Chit/Chat; Education
KEYWORDS: bestbooks; nonfiction; nonfictionbooks; reading
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To: ixtl

Errrrr.... The Bible? By God?

After that, anything by Natan Shiranski.


101 posted on 09/03/2011 9:50:00 PM PDT by Grizzled Bear (No More RINOs!!! Laz for President!)
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To: ixtl

Blackstone on the law. Not certain on tittle.


102 posted on 09/03/2011 9:53:01 PM PDT by W. W. SMITH (Islam is an instrument of enslavement)
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To: ixtl

bump


103 posted on 09/04/2011 12:48:25 AM PDT by Keltik ("The goal should not be diversity -- the goal must be Quality.")
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To: W. W. SMITH

As I remember, it is “Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England.”

According to one of my law professors, it had an inordinate effect on 19th Century American jurisprudence because the set was only four volumes, and would easily fit into the itinerant attorney’s saddlebags.


104 posted on 09/04/2011 6:51:04 AM PDT by ixtl (You live and learn. Or you don't live long.)
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To: ixtl
H. G. Wells, "The Outline of History (1939 edition).

I read this when pretty young and it had a big impact on me.

Reread it recently and was amazed by the implied and explicit biss throughout towards socialism/fascism/eugenics, etc. which I had completely missed at the age of ten.

Still a good book, but should be read with the understanding the author is promoting a particular political ideology. Also should be counterbalanced with something more libertarian.

BTW, Wells was the originator of the phrase "liberal fascism" that made Jonah Goldberg such a big splash recently. Wells was in favor of it.

105 posted on 09/04/2011 8:37:53 AM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: dsrtsage

I read Skeletons, but also read Sufferings in Africa, which was Capt. Riley’s own account; I enjoyed it much more, especially because of the faith elements that are left out of Skeletons.


106 posted on 09/04/2011 9:21:45 AM PDT by americanophile ("this absurd theology of an immoral Bedouin, is a rotting corpse which poisons our lives" - Ataturk)
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To: Azeem

My favorite WWII book is “Up Front” with Bill Mauldin.
It is a classic book of war cartoons with excellent commentary.


107 posted on 09/04/2011 9:30:54 AM PDT by phil1750 (Love like you've never been hurt;Dance like nobody's watching;PRAY like it's your last prayer)
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To: ixtl
Excellent thread. I enjoyed looking through everyone's titles. There are certainly plenty of outstanding works on here. Among my two favorite modern non-fictions are:

1. The Fall of Constantinople by Steven Runciman
2. The Great Siege: Malta 1565 by Ernle Bradford

Two absolutely riveting histories made even more valuable by their brevity and readability. You won't believe these are non-fiction, and if you're looking for a book to convince someone that history is exciting, The Great Siege will certainly do the trick.

108 posted on 09/04/2011 10:41:11 AM PDT by americanophile ("this absurd theology of an immoral Bedouin, is a rotting corpse which poisons our lives" - Ataturk)
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To: Berlin_Freeper

109 posted on 09/04/2011 10:45:19 AM PDT by Lazamataz (If Hitler had been as lazy as Obama, the 1940's would have been a very nice decade!!)
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To: ixtl

“Serial Killers Guide (How To Avoid Capture)” by Albert Fish

“Eating Souls for Fun and Profit” by Pennywise the Clown


110 posted on 09/04/2011 11:08:50 AM PDT by Lazamataz (If Hitler had been as lazy as Obama, the 1940's would have been a very nice decade!!)
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To: wintertime
Bill Bryson is very readable and interesting.

I've read his A Walk in the Woods, about the Appalachian Trail, In a Sunburned Country, about Australia, A Short History of Nearly Everything, and part of At Home.

111 posted on 09/04/2011 3:39:57 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Verginius Rufus
I read, “A Walk in the Woods”. Very interesting. I recommend it.
112 posted on 09/04/2011 4:04:08 PM PDT by wintertime (I am a Constitutional Restorationist!!! Yes!)
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To: Lazamataz

“Serial Killers Guide (How To Avoid Capture)” by Albert Fish

- - - - -
Absolute classic, Laz!


113 posted on 09/04/2011 7:30:20 PM PDT by reaganaut (Ex-Mormon, now Christian - "I once was lost, but now am found; was blind but now I see")
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