Required Reading
 

If you had the power to make two books required reading for every adult american which books would you choose and why?

It's a pretty open ended question and the crux of it is which two books do you think would most benefit socity if they were widely read. Everyone will read it so it's important to pick a book that's accessible to most people (imbeciles can be excluded)

I don't know if this is my final answer but my first thought is

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking


Some other ideas to get you started:

Political Books
Animal Farm or 1984 by George Orwell
Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest For Dominance by Noam Chomsky
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton et al

Grammar books
Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White

Science books
The Feynman Lectures on Physics
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
The Origin of Speces by Charles Darwin
On Human Nature by Edward O. Wilson
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

Mathematics Books
Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter
Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott

Books on Religion
The Koran
The Bible
The End of Faith by Sam Harris

I'm weak on books on history and art so I'm sure there are worthy ones that I'm just not listing. Same goes for works of literature. I'm more familiar with those but can't usually distinguish between the good and the great.

Re: Required Reading
 

I would make everyone read a book on basic macro economic principles so they at least understand the impact of all their voting decisions. Or maybe a book that just explains their personal economic situations in a straight-forward way, like the wealthy barber. But I feel this is the most important subject that high school does not address.

Re: Required Reading
 

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I would make everyone read a book on basic macro economic principles so they at least understand the impact of all their voting decisions. Or maybe a book that just explains their personal economic situations in a straight-forward way, like the wealthy barber. But I feel this is the most important subject that high school does not address.

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IMHO evey high school student should be forced to take at least once course on personal finance (how to balance a check book, how mortgages work, the importance of credit, what types of monthly bills to expect etc....)

I read the Wealthy Barber 15 years ago, and it would be an excellent resource for anyone.

OP,

Under the science section I would recommend "The Age of Spiritual Machines". I don't have a science background, nor an interest in science, but I really liked this book.

Re: Required Reading
 

GR,

I used to work at a bank and totally agree with you. People, adults even, cannot do banking for the life of them. As if its some hard science.

Goof,

I think Hamlet is another winner.

Re: Required Reading
 

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The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White

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This should be the focus of high school english courses.

Re: Required Reading
 

i love hamlet

i think you should add "the elegant universe" by greene under science

everyone should read the plague by camus

Re: Required Reading
 

Origin of Species is an epic book, however I believe there are many modern biology related books that give a more informed, researched and pithy argument for evolution.

I also think this list should contain a text on human sexuality. It probably isn't the best suggestion, but possibly Abnormal by Michel Foucault (series of transcribed lectures. There is probably a much more definitive text than this.

Re: Required Reading
 

Daryn,

I thoguht about it but the list is just suggestions. The idea is for everyone to pick their two books. Also string theory has some potential flaws.

Re: Required Reading
 

huck finn and when genius failed.

Re: Required Reading
 

Science section needs some Carl Sagan imo.