What one book would it be?

[Insp. Clue!So?]

You can purchase exactly one book for your bright 21-year-old niece/nephew, fresh out of college. What would it be (can be any book at all, a cookbook or Newton's Principia, Stanislaw Lem or Carl Sagan or John McCain or Martha Stewart).

I'll open the bidding with:

A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel

[arahant]

America Deceived, E.A. Blayre III

Edit: Oh wait, no...Goodnight Moon...silly me

[luckyme]

Godel,Escher and Bach. Covers so many important topics with very helpful analogical approachs it carries over into 'how to think about' subjects that aren't even touched on in the book.

luckyme

[jah7_fsu1]

The Alphabet of Manliness by Maddox

http://maddox.xmission.com/

Because the ability to laugh seems to decrease right once you get out of college.

[evank15]

http://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Carl-Sagan/...TF8&s=books (http://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Carl-Sagan/dp/0345331354/sr=8-2/qid=1166227413/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-9080692-9556712?ie=UTF8&s=books)

Cosmos - Carl Sagan

Every single person on earth should read this book. If there was one book given to an alien civilization to represent all of humanity, it would be this book. The greatest work of the greatest human being to have walked this earth.

[Siegmund]

A second vote for GEB:EGB, assuming he hasn't already read it - I discovered that book well before I was 21.

[Daisydog]

Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

[jah7_fsu1]

Daisy: I've been to numerous high school graduations in my life, and I'd say over 50% of the time a student has read that.