Best non-fiction book ever.
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.
Although more historical novels/fiction than true non-fiction, I’d suggest adding (to the pretty impressive list thus far) “The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara and the bracketing “Gods and Generals” and “Last Full Measure” by his son Jeff.
“Gone for Soldiers”, by Jeff as well, about the Mexican War, serves as a prequel to the other books.
These books are excellent entry points to the study of the Civil War; engrossing, and will definitely spark an interest that’s good for then jumping off to the Shelby Foote books and the more specialized titles (I’m just finishing up “Sickles at Gettysburg” - which is great).
Bookmark to come back to once all the suggestions are in.
Gibbons’ Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. In at least 3 volumes if abridged. The 3 volumes edited by D M Lowe are excellent.
Best non-fiction book ever.
You ought to be able to find a set of the Harvard Classics since nobody reads the classics any more. Google Harvard Clasics.
The Harvard Classics, originally known as Dr. Eliot’s Five Foot Shelf, is a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature, compiled and edited by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot and first published in 1909.[1]
Most are online for download since they are past the copyright laws.
On the other hand, most of them are rather dry and boring with antiquated English or translations for modern tastes.
A good option would be to find a set of the texts used in the 50s or 60s for Columbia University Contemporary Civilization course. They synthesized the best parts of the Great Books into a few anthology volumes so you got the gist of the writer’s ideas. Of course, in those Pre-PC days you learned primarily about Western civilization
A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman and A World Lit Only By Fire by William Manchester. Histories of the late middle ages and the early Renaissance. It’s a good view of where we came from
I have gutenberg.org on favorites and just start with authors under “a” go to “z” and start browsing all over again. Old books, but a wealth of info you just can’t find anymore. Brewing, farming, math, medicines, war, old weapons, besides the fiction...if they have a love of reading they’ll have a lifetime of research there.
Here’s 10 off the top of my head.
1. Recollections of the Revolution in France - Edmund Burke
2. Decline of the West - Oswald Spengler
3. Democracy in America - de Tocqueville
4. Thucydides - the Peloponnesian War
5. Plutarch - Lives of the Noble Greeks
6. Cicero - “On Friendship”
7. St. Thomas Aquinas - ‘On being and essence’
8. St. Augustine - ‘Confessions’
9. Francis Bacon - “The New Atlantis”
10. John Locke - Essay concerning human understanding”
11 would be Condorcets’ “Spirit of the Laws”. :)
That’s a pretty good grounding, I think.
My schooling had me read all of these at one point in time.
In a list of overall books, yes. In with non-fiction? I’d have to think about that. I love, love the book, but I’m not sure this is what he’s looking for.
Confession has St. Augustine’s personal testimony, and Aquinas has quite a bit of natural law, which people need to know and understand.
Great list
Great list! Thanks for posting that.
That’s a great list from the NR guys.
I would add that anyone who likes Whittaker Chambers’ Witness should read Radical Son by David Horowitz. Even better is Politics of Bad Faith, which is the condensed version of Radical Son. It’s a quicker read but all the powerful parts are still there, especially Horowitz’s correspondance with his leftist ex-friends around the time he was switching sides. The depth of understanding of the leftist mind he displays in those letters is incredible. I can’t think of a better book to read if you want to really “get” the left.
Modern Times by Paul Johnson.
Campaign in Russia: by Leon Degrelle
Actually the plumbing book is a good idea. Also need books on Basic electricity, carpentry, auto repair, gardening and canning.
I learned a lot of those skills in high school. I just heard recently our local public schools had replaced auto shop with cosmetology and wood shop with a class on social media and technology.
I'd recommend Herodotus but I'm not sure if he's fiction or non-fiction.
H. W. Brands, Lone Star Nation: The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence, is a great read.
Herodotus is good. Thucydides is better.
I understand your point. The description “non-fiction” is a bit too broad and I may have pushed the envelope, although I did try to throw in a couple qualifiers. I don’t possess the nerve to hand a copy of MC to any of my Jewish friends. But in speaking about non-fiction books which I have personally read and re-read several times MC is the first one that came to mind.
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