[Siena Dreaming]

I found “The Civilization of the Middle Ages” by Norman Cantor a great intro to Western history of the last 2,000 years.

[wintertime]

The Autobiography of Helen Keller, ( I found Ann Sullivan's methods and philosophy very helpful in educating my homeschoolers.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

“Common Sense” by Thomas Paine

“Free to Choose” by Milton Friedman

“The Double Helix” by James Watson

Anything by Steven Ambrose.

[mrreaganaut]

I like The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis, because the first of the three essays teaches that textbooks are not reliable simply because they are textbooks. It is a fallacy to believe that if fiction is 'false,' then non-fiction must be true. Also, if the list is intended to guide new parents in creating a library, then McGuffey's Readers are an excellent choice, as they are very good primers, full of maxims such as those praised by Kipling in "The Gods of the Copybook Headings."

Of course, the Bible and the Federalist Papers are necessary, too. Tacitus and de Tocqueville are good, Guns, Germs, and Steel is not. Bad history is good lawyering and vice versa, but far too many modern historians fail to understand the distinction, the effect of the politicization of the academy. For an older student, Churchill on WWII is good, but long. His History of the English-speaking Peoples is an excellent general history. I highly recommend Harold J. Berman's Law and Revolution and its sequel, though these are college-level texts on the development of Mediaeval and Renaissance law (late pre-modern and early modern era to use the new politically correct terms). Philosophy, The Federalist, and the Constitution by Morton White is a good overview of natural-law theory.

Beyond that, I can't do much better than other posts recommending Sowell on economics and Hanson on ancient history. Oh, and I concur that the Discourses is better the Prince, but I understand that the Prince is nearly as necessary as Shakespeare to a well-rounded library.

[Grizzled Bear]

Errrrr.... The Bible? By God?

After that, anything by Natan Shiranski.

[W. W. SMITH]

Blackstone on the law. Not certain on tittle.

[Keltik]

bump

[Sherman Logan]

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.

[americanophile]

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.

[Lazamataz]

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

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