Ten Books Every Student Should Read in College

HUMAN EVENTS ^ | Week of June 2, 2003 | 28 distinguished scholars and university professors

[ml/nj]

Ayn Rand is to literature as WJC is to ethics.

And you, of course, are the supreme judge of everything.

I've read Atlas Shrugged probably six times by now. It's an incredibly great novel by a woman of remarkable perception. Just the idea of writing about an "Equalization of Opportunity Bill" and an "Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog Bill" in the 50's is amazing to me. The book is sufficiently complex that I notice something new each time I go back to it. Maybe it overwhelmed you?

ML/NJ

[justshutupandtakeit]

Federalists were generally those who had actually fought for
Independence. Their core was the officers who surrounded Washington and formed the Society of the Cincinnatti. It was precisely their experience with the miserable efforts of the states in providing for the Army which determined them to form a stronger government.

The only choice was to watch the Union dissolve or form a new government to perfect it. There was no real government for the nation when the constitution was being written and ratified. Chaotic political activity and economic collapse were the background it was written against.

Protection of private property and minority rights were the principle aims of the writers. Hardly radical "hippies." In fact, many historians consider the constitution part of the counter-Revolution. Federalists were certainly to the right of their opponents who regularly pushed the states to declare debts expunged and threatened property in a number of ways.

[Mad Dawgg]

"Then again, why go to college when you can buy these books on Amazon for $350? That's a savings of $55,650 off the MSRP..."

Eggsactly Batman!

My dear ole grandpappy was one smart cookie...

He had a saying: "If you want a degree, go to college... If you want an education, go to the library."

[Remedy]

If you don't know the difference between knowledge and bias, look em up. And if you think knowledge precludes bias, you need more help than a dictionary can give.

Anti-Federalist Papers

[justshutupandtakeit]

A.S. was fine as a polemic but a terrible novel about as well written as Danielle Steel. Rand's characterizations are flat and predictable, never once do you believe they are real people. I have no argument with the point of the book but it is not significant enough to even consider on a list like this.

Look at the skill difference between Orwell and Rand. No comparison imo. And G.O. says it all in 1/3 the length.

[freeeee]

Add Skinner's Walden II.

I haven't read that. Thanks for the tip.

[RightWhale]

Walden II is #3 with Brave New World #1 and and Nineteen Eighty-Four #2. Get the whole set.

[Mad Dawgg]

"(Yes, I'm an engineer!)"

Mmm Hmmm... we shall see!!!!

I have a project I want you to do!

1. I want it "Fast"

2. I want it "Cheap"

3. I want it "Right"

Your response please.

[freeeee]

Pick any two.

[ArGee]

For good reason.

Shalom.

[ArGee]

True, but it was still better than the book.

Shalom.

[Mad Dawgg]

"Pick any two."

We have a Winner here!

[eastsider]

For sheer entertainment, there is Galileo ...

You bet. Siderius Nuncius should have received Honorable Mention for presaging philosophy's subjective turn and the scientific enlightenment.

[M Kehoe]

...Your gun as an honorable mention?

No. The tag line serves to let people know that I'm a vet, and to show my respect for the 2nd amendment. I get asked that question all the time.

5.56mm

[Uri’el-2012]

bump for file and reading later

[Stefan Stackhouse]

These guys don't seem to be fans of any books written in the last two centuries, do they?

It really takes a minimum of a century or two in order to really be able to identify works that are going to be of lasting and significant importance. A better approach might have been to rank the top three-to-five works written prior to 1800 in each of a number of major disciplines.

[Mad Dawgg]

I would replace one of the Top Ten with "The Richest Man in Babylon."

Of course, Adam Smith's master work is a must read!

[RomanCatholicProlifer]

I agree with you, that it should be read, but only in conjunction with the letters and epistles of the Church Fathers, as an antidote to the errors of Luther.

[justshutupandtakeit]

I have read all her novels of which I am aware. The best is Fountainhead and even it is not worthy of consideration on such a list. A.S. is a ham-handed polemic with one-dimensional characterizations. Compared with truly great writers' literature: Dickens, Doestoevski, Flaukner, even Steinbeck, Melville, Austin and dozens of others it looks amatuerish. Now compared to Stephen King, Danielle Steel, Erica Jong, Harold Robbins, Leon Uris, Zane Grey, or Loius L'Amour it is adequate.

You are wasting your time re-reading such a book when there are hundreds of more significant ones out there. Maybe thousands.

[Hack]

"The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" - Edward Gibbon.