Required Reading

[Jurollo]

A People's History of the United States of America by Howard Zinn, even though it is required already in very few college courses to my knowledge

[Insp. Clue!So?]

Secrets by Daniel Ellsberg -- very instructive in how governments actually operate, plus a lot of under-expressed truth about the Vietnam War (with application to certain contemporary events).

A Random Walk Down WallStreet by Burton Malkiel -- Good advice on how to handle your money, and some good advice in other areas as well.

Alternate picks:

Feynman's autobiography

Origin of Species -- while someone said the ideas have a better home in more recent works (how could it be otherwise), I think the sense of discovery and wonder you get from Darwin's early work, the feeling you are with him on the cusp of realizing something tremendously important and awesome, are big bonuses you can't get from brillian later stuff by Dawkins etc. Perhaps it should be coupled with reading Voyage of the Beagle for full effect.

[AnthonyV]

Great thread idea.

I'm a poltical dork, so I guess I'll start there. At the moment, I think every American could benefit from reading Steve Coll's Pulitzer Prize winning book Ghost Wars concerning the history of America's involvement in Afghanistan and the roots of Islamic fundamentalism in the region that has predicated our involvement in the war on terror.

Also, if people read From Beirut to Jerusalem, we would have a more a serious national conversation about the Middle East.

To have a better understanding of shifting American demographies that have influenced the last two decades of domestic politics, The Right Nation by the two American editors of The Economist is a serious examination.

All the News That's Fit to Sell is a excellent primer for the way in which markets influence what appears in the media.

This clearly doesn't fall under, "required reading to save the world," but every baseball fan should read Moneyball to appreciate Billy Beane's genius and realize how statistical analysis can inform sports decisions.

[invisibleleadsoup]

i recently read Naked Economics
and am planning on getting all my friends to read it.
its a very basic introduction to economics,but i found it extremely good at explaining the subject,which i knew little about other than vague ideas i had picked up (and usually misunderstood) here and there

i'm sure people who are into economics will list several books that they would prefer to make everyone read,however this one is perfect for the lay-reader,i had already dipped into a few other similar books and gotten confused,wheras this one did an excellent job of explaining all the basics to a novice such as myself.

i also loaned it to my dad,someone who would never normally read anything to do with economics,and he loved it too.

[Tree Surgeon]

I think adding a philosophy category would be beneficial.

I'll start:

Philosophy

A Theory of Justice , John Rawls

[Borodog]

History/Econoimcs: How Capitalism Saved America, Thomas J. DiLorenzo.

Fiction: Time's Arrow, Martin Amis.

Science: The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins.

[amplify]

Calculus by Spivak
The Frontiersmen by Eckert

[The DaveR]

[ QUOTE ]
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton et al


[/ QUOTE ]

Federalist #10 is all they need.

[newb]

[ QUOTE ]
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.

[/ QUOTE ]

Could you suggest a title on basic macro economic principles?

[Jdanz]

disagree hard.

Sure most people's lives won't be enriched by reading any of them all that much, but there are multiple essays in there make you go Wow so that's why things are the way they are (or aren't).

Not to say that 10 doesn't trump, but there are others that if you're of the bent to say wow to 18th century political philosophy, well, you'll say wow.