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Ask HN: Which books changed your life?

11 pointsby aadilrazviover 11 years ago
What books inspired you? Changed your worldview?

8 comments

user_235711over 11 years ago
<i>Universe</i> by Freedman and Kaufmann <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Universe-Roger-Freedman/dp/142923153X" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Universe-Roger-Freedman&#x2F;dp&#x2F;142923153X</a><p><i>Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre</i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Existentialism-Dostoevsky-Sartre-Revised-Expanded/dp/0452009308/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Existentialism-Dostoevsky-Sartre-Revis...</a><p><i>A Kierkegaard Anthology</i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kierkegaard-Anthology-Soren/dp/0691019789/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Kierkegaard-Anthology-Soren&#x2F;dp&#x2F;0691019...</a><p><i>Party of One: The Loner&#x27;s Manifesto</i> by Anneli Rufus <a href="http://www.annelirufus.com/partyofone/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.annelirufus.com&#x2F;partyofone&#x2F;</a><p><i>The Mindbody Prescription</i> by John E. Sarno <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Mindbody-Prescription-Healing-Body/dp/0446675156/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;The-Mindbody-Prescription-Healing-Body...</a>
timonvover 11 years ago
In no particular order:<p>Politics and philosophy:<p>Ishmael - Daniel Quinn (even though in the end, it&#x27;s just a cute, in essence a softies introduction to anarchist communism)<p>On property - Proudhon (Meta, ye oldist anarchy) Das Kapital (If you read Marx, also read <i>on</i> Marx, can&#x27;t stress this enough)<p>Beyond good and evil (but in his thought in general) - Nietzsche (Mainly for showing there are no absolutes, moral is what we make of it, and in that moral we can excel)<p>And so, so many others, philosophy really adds up, just keep on reading, there&#x27;s fundamental books for sure, but every publication adds up in some respect.<p>Sports and nutrition:<p>Starting Strength (for making me bad ass strong in the last couple years)<p>&#x27;Paleo&#x27; diet (for showing an extreme solution for a more simple problem, that actually worked and made me not fat anymore)<p>Some random books that made a huge impression the last years:<p>The Alchemist, for showing how humble you can experience the wonders of life<p>Siddhartha, same really.<p>A short summer of anarchy (biography of Durrutti, rise of anarchism in 30s Spain, out of print)<p>Crime and Punishment and Karamazov (There&#x27;s beauty in the darkest corners of the human spirit, and so much more)<p>The Prince<p>Butler (For using Nietzsche&#x27;s deconstruction to argue against &#x27;genetic&#x27; discrimination, controversial, but very good)<p>Metamorphosis - Kafka (I don&#x27;t have a one liner to summarize this. Just read it, it&#x27;s &lt; 100 pages)<p>Funny enough, as far as Tech and Business goes, I skim books to get some details, but at the end of the day most value comes from hacking around. For both.
johnatworkover 11 years ago
&quot;Who moved my Cheese&quot; (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Who-Moved-My-Cheese-Amazing/dp/0399144463" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Who-Moved-My-Cheese-Amazing&#x2F;dp&#x2F;0399144...</a>)<p>And in conjunction to that, this article &quot;Someone is Coming to Eat You&quot; (<a href="http://randsinrepose.com/archives/someone-is-coming-to-eat-you/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;randsinrepose.com&#x2F;archives&#x2F;someone-is-coming-to-eat-y...</a>)
sobbybutterover 11 years ago
<i>Antifragile</i> by Nassim Taleb<p><i>Invisible Cities</i> by Italo Calvino<p><i>Il deserto dei tartari (The Tartar Steppe)</i> by Dino Buzzati<p><i>How to Win Friends and Influence People</i> by Dale Carnegie
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DonGateleyover 11 years ago
Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test - Tom Wolfe<p>Be Here Now - Ram Das<p>Whole Earth Catalog - Stewart Brand<p>Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace<p>Savage Continent - Keith Lowe<p>Forged - Bart D. Ehrman<p>Young Stalin - Simon Sebag Montefiore<p>Court of the Red Czar - Simon Sebag Montefiore
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dmakover 11 years ago
Steve Job&#x27;s book was very inspiring and motivational for me. The way he saw the world was very enlightening. Here&#x27;s a video of what I thought was really profound for me: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYfNvmF0Bqw" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=kYfNvmF0Bqw</a>
benswover 11 years ago
Moral Mazes by Robert Jackall For Harmony And Strength by Thomas Rohlen
meeritaover 11 years ago
In no particular order:<p>What Would Machiavelli Do? The Ends Justify the Meanness<p>1984<p>Farenheit 541<p>Foundation (all saga)<p>The Hobbit<p>The Lord of the Rings (all saga)<p>The Prince<p>De Bello Gallico and Other Commentaries<p>The Design of Everyday Things<p>The Riverworld (an entire saga of 5 books)<p>On the Good Life<p>Treatises on Friendship and Old Age<p>Asimov On Numbers<p>Asimov on Chemistry<p>The Roman Republic<p>And hundreds more I cannot list.