10 Books To Understanding the Modern Universe
May 17th, 2006
10. The Worldly Philosophers. Great book about the most influential economic minds and their ideas. Wonderful introduction into the world of economics.
9. Catch-22. Gotta have a war book on here. I personally like Slaughterhouse-Five better, but had I read that and not this I would only partially understand the universe.
8. Guns, Germs, and Steel. The history of humans. Always interesting to know. My main beef with the book is that he used that second comma after germs. Not really incorrect, but tacky and unnecessary.
7. What Liberal Media? There have now been a large number of books written about right wing think tanks, media and their impact on the public discourse. This one, by The Nation’s Eric Alterman, is in my estimation the best of the bunch. Thorough, entertaining and more objective than many of the others.
6. Fast Food Nation. Great expose on the fast food industry that also details how much it has shaped the culture and corporate climate of the country.
5. Siddhartha. You probably should read Steppenwolf, too, but I haven’t so I can’t speak to its merits.
4. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. How globalization and worldwide corporations have dropped a deuce on the earth’s eco-systems and indigenous peoples. Which we all know, but he has an insider’s perspective, and writes without being whiny.
3. Brothers Karamazov. Religion, Law, Morality, the inner demons of man, all wrapped up in a compelling drama. Not sure the guy thinks too highly of the ladies, however.
2. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. From streetsmart gangster to a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, this guy did it all. A How-To guide, if you will. One of the more intimate biographies of one of the more fascinating people.
1. Catcher in the Rye. Wonderful and depressing coming of age story about a crazy kid in a crazy world. Told first person, so it lacks some of the beautiful character descriptions of Salinger’s other great works (which you should also read), but it’s a fine novel. A book for and about outsiders (like a Wes Anderson movie). Mark Chapman and the guy who tried to assassinate Reagan were both obsessed with this book. Just throwin that out there. Crucial to understanding the universe, however.
Honorable mention: No God but God and Everybody Poops.
(Blogger’s note: This list assumes you already know your Bible, Quran and Shakespeare. And a more appropriate title would be 10 books you really ought to read if "Prison Break" isn’t on.)
(Blogger’s note addendum: For the most part, philosophers have been excluded from this post because that is a separate list.)
Entry Filed under: Fitter Happier
3 Comments Add your own
1. Mark Stamas | June 17th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
Jesus fucking christ man. Can you say liberal? A sheep in sheeps clothing. (Oops, missed the apostrophe. That must be tacky and necessary.) By the way, the Worldly Philosophers is a great book in that it debunks the economics as law and describes it for what it is, agreed upon mass delusion.
2. thebizofknowledge | August 23rd, 2006 at 4:54 pm
I stumbled across your blog while I was in the process of doing some online research. Catcher in the Rye would be on my list of favorites, as would some of the others, but Fast Food Nation? Okay, I guess it offers some valid insights, but is it really among the best?
3. Devin Castles | August 24th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
Very true, I would not call it one of the best books ever. I jokingly picked a grandiose title for this post. Unless you were researching tacky blogs, I highly doubt this site could have been much help to you. My sincerest apologies.
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