Re:Ask HN: Which non-fiction books changed your life?
by steerpike on Sunday November 29, 2015 @11:17PM
(#10647662)
Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius - some of the greatest words penned on living a simple, elegant life. I'm more of an Epicurus fan now, but this book made me a Stoic for quite a long time.
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, by Richard Feynman - for someone who never got science, this book was a beautiful revelation of just how extra-ordinary our natural world is.
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, by Barbara Tuchman. Probably the best history book I've ever read. There's a reason the woman won two Pulitzer's - such a fantastic writer.
Re:Ask HN: Which non-fiction books changed your life?
by villmann on Monday November 30, 2015 @05:02AM
(#10648643)
The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins (Evolution)
The Red Queen - Matt Ridley (Sex and evolution)
Sperm Wars - Robin Baker (Sex as the driving force in society)
The books, if red in that order, provide a total picture of evolution in our society and the driving forces.
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, by Richard Feynman - for someone who never got science, this book was a beautiful revelation of just how extra-ordinary our natural world is.
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, by Barbara Tuchman. Probably the best history book I've ever read. There's a reason the woman won two Pulitzer's - such a fantastic writer.
The books, if red in that order, provide a total picture of evolution in our society and the driving forces.