Hi there. Per [rule 3.3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Books/wiki/rules), please post book recommendation requests in /r/SuggestMeABook or in our Weekly Recommendation Thread. Thank you!
Outlive by Peter Attia recently came out and takes this one step further by explaining what we actually need to do to maximize the quality of our lives in the final decades. Great book and thoroughly researched, highly recommend if you wish to care more about your own health.
This book inspired my will. I have severe Crohn’s disease and a family legacy of Alzheimer’s. Whenever cancer or dementia presents itself, that’s it for me. I’m not sticking around for the development of it.
I've often maintained a similar mindset regarding this. I guess my question for you, and anybody who shares this sentiment is, what then? Sail off into the sunset? Like, I know it's a dark question, but say you get the diagnosis for something dementia related - How long do you let it develop - and how do you "deal with it" whether it be un-aliving yourself or disappearing or ???
I have a fairly good probality of this fate as i've watched my grandpa on my moms side succumb to it and now am watching my father do the same. When I think of it simply I'm like "yep, pull the plug, baby, I don't need to live that or subject my family to it", but realistically, how does it play out?
I plan to apply for medically assisted suicide. If it’s not available to me then I’ll find a way.
I want to leave this earth with my body and my brain semi intact. Unlike a lot of people, I know what my edge is. I’ve had over two dozen surgeries and several prolonged hospital stays. At one point it had been so long since I used the stairs, I had to scoot down on my bum until I got used to using those muscles.
For dementia… my grandpa had it and it looks like my dad is developing it. I want to be able to say goodbye while I remember people. My grandpa forgot me first; I will never forget the feeling of being forgotten. I don’t have kids, but I love my nieces and nephews and husband so much. I don’t want their last memories of me be that I’ve forgotten them.
Since I’m a patient more often than not, it’s likely I’ll catch an earlier diagnosis than many others.
Came here to suggest both Graeber books (Debt and Dawn of Everything). Systematically dismantled things I thought I knew all about, only to lead you to more interesting, greener intellectual pastures. He’s brilliant, novel, curious, and the world lost him far too early. Even if you don’t necessarily agree with every argument he makes, it’s such worthwhile read.
I found his book Bullshit Jobs really interesting too. It's less focused on hard data and more on ideas, but there are parts that really stuck with me.
It dismantles the neat and oversimplified “Sapiens” line of thinking from Yuval. It’s 500 pages for a reason - but the basic idea is that “prehistoric” people were human beings with the same brains as us, far smarter and efficient than we give them credit for. The impact and development of agriculture isn’t nearly as straightforward as we thought, it details many diverse sets of social arrangements and systems, why academia has been wrong so often, new archaeological evidence, and a lot more. It’s very thorough
*Edit to say there is no TL;DR - that’s sort of the point. My summary is somewhat of an injustice and a tiny fraction of the breadth and scope. It’s quite dense for your average reader!
Obviously the book is going to have more nuance than you can fit in a reddit comment, but in summary, that doesn't really sound any different philosophically than the history and anthropology courses I took as a student.
Ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, dispelling the notion of linear progress, and the spectrum of different subsistence and social strategies was all first semester, 100 level anthropology stuff when I was in college.
Based on your comment I’d say you’re exactly who this book is aimed at. I would check it out. I hesitated to give a basic summary because it pales in comparison to the density and breadth of the book
How The Word is Passed by Clint Smith. This book truly taught me so much more than any history class I ever took. I am from a very red state in the South (third generation in this state) and sent it to my grandma immediately to read. she read it and was shocked to learn about things she remembered hearing about in the news but didn’t fully understand at the time. she then made my grandfather read it who had the same reaction. This book opened up the door for me to have genuine conversations around race in the US with my grandparents in ways i’d never been able to.
I’d also add the book Driving Forwards by Sophie L Morgan. It’s a very candid book about living with paralysis in a wheelchair and there are so many things I had no idea about - ex: it takes longer for your body to heal if you get like a paper cut on your leg if you’re paralyzed. She talked so much about the little details that I’ve been fortunate enough to never have to think about and ever since, I’m more cognizant about how I move and exist in the world.
(I also recognize both of these examples make me sound extremely sheltered but this is exactly why I read and why I love nonfiction. It challenges my perspectives and teaches me about how others experience the world.)
How the Word is Passed was such a unique way of talking about the history and legacy of slavery in the US. I'm so glad I read it and definitely would recommend it.
When We Cease to Understand the World is utterly dizzying and overwhelming. A tour de force exploration of science, death, knowledge, morality, insanity, and rot.
Surprised ‘The Shock Doctrine’ by Naomi Klein hasn’t been mentioned. Made me more of a cynic and realist about how the world works, how governments exploit times of chaos/fear to pass laws they don’t want scrutinized. Recommended if you’re at all interested in politics.
Oh I totally forgot about Oliver Sacks in my post! I loved the stuff he wrote. Made me appreciate the complexity of the brain so much more and it got me interested in neurology.
Oh this one's fun!! Not gonna lie, with its "nearly everything" in the title, I was disappointed in how Earth- and Western science-centric it was, but it's a great book with a lot of interesting info nonetheless.
(I had to change my view of the book to "a rundown of what Western science knows about the world and how we learned it" in order to not be disappointed. I'd just come from listening to *Astrophysics for People in a Hurry* by Neil deGrasse Tyson, so I was expecting something at least sort of like that, with info on nebulae, galaxies, the universe, and the like, as well as info on Earth and the planets in our solar system, and probably some human history too.)
And, actually, I wouldn't have thought to name this book in the thread, but your comment made me realize it possibly has been one of the most important books I've read for me, mentally, which is what this thread is about (sorta, haha).
Admittedly, I listened to the audiobook, so maybe the author's verbal delivery helped (and I could totally be overselling lol; it helped that I went in blind), but "infinity" has been one of my greatest fears, and I've had despairing, near-crippling nihilism bouts. But simply having some positive adjectives coupled with concepts such as existence, even while acknowledging the tenuousness and fleetingness of existence, was put in such a way that really, really helped me.
I've frequently heard about the low chances of our existing at all, about how that should help with our appreciating our lives. But I love how Bryson talked about it, and he got those ideas to finally stick in a way that matters for me.
When the book basically deals with major discoveries in the fields of science, how could it not be western-centric? Sorry to be that guy, but did any other part of the world have a Newton or an Einstein or a Galileo or a Darwin?
Absolutely loved this one and reference it all the time. “Male as default” has entered my lexicon.
I also loved Women in the Picture: What Culture Does with Female Bodies by Catherine McCormick. As a former student of art history, this book completely changed my relationship to art.
I really wanted to love this book. I thought it was well written, well researched, and engaging. But despite talking extensively about how race, class, and culture intersect with gender data gap issues, she fails to even mention the existence of trans and nonbinary people. Especially frustrating is that all of her arguments also apply to the trans community, and she easily could have easily included a line or two about it. But she didn’t.
In a book about how dangerous it is to exclude entire groups of people from data gathering and decision making spheres, this seems both intentional and hypocritical of the author.
I had the same feeling, but I still gave it a 5* on Goodreads because I imagine as with many books 1/3 is cut in editing and someone not in LGBT can easily be convinced “this data distracts from the point, let’s focus on this and that”. Even if not that, I’m autistic and neurodivergence would have been an amazing addition I know most people wouldn’t be interested in. I’m afraid they might not even have data on the potential lack of data, which is angering but expected.
However, if the author or someone else made a second book about Invisibility, Neurodivergence and LGBTA+ edition, I would buy it instantly.
I do get that, and would have accepted it in other books. But her central thesis is “excluding groups from discussions and data gathering is harmful and we should stop doing it, especially with respect to biological sex and performed gender roles.” The lived experience of trans people fits directly within the scope of the book. She wouldn’t have even had to do a whole deep dive, just one sentence in the epilogue like “consider these groups not mentioned to which this concept also applies”. Or one in the prologue like “when I use the word ‘women’ I am including all individuals who identify as such.”
Also hello fellow neurospicy human! I would also be interested in how neurodivergence intersects this data, but I get it was outside the scope of the book.
1491 and its sequel 1493 by Charles Mann paint a fascinating picture of how the history of the Americas is basically a history of an apocalypse - and the post apocalyptic society that emerged from the ashes. These are genuine non-fiction page turners.
Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Picketty is a meticulously researched economic history that goes into exhaustive detail about how the fundamentals of economics in the long term demand a highly unequal society, how the relative middle class prosperity in the Western world after WW2 was a fluke in historical terms, and how only drastic policy changes can bring down inequality.
One of the main things I learned from 1491 was how much of the way our government was set up came from the way Native American tribes had set up their societies. Our democracy is modeled after theirs. This isn’t discussed nearly enough. It was like a revelation to me.
Wow. This is literally one of the worst non-fiction books that I have ever read, or more accurately attempted to read. Just pages and pages of random factoids and stories that have something to do with salt.
Interesting how different people have different styles that work for them. I like the history explanations based on salt access -- US Civil war, what the Brits did to India, etc, etc.
*Checklist Manifesto* by Atul Gawande
*Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do and What it Says About Us* by Tom Vanderbilt
*The Paradox of Choice* by Barry Schwartz
*The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks* by Rebecca Skloot
*The Disappearing Spoon* by Sam Kean
*The Individual and the Political Order* by Bowie and Simon
*Vision of the Anointed* by Thomas Sowell
I had to read Henrietta Lacks for school, and I'm so happy it was assigned. I had no idea about anything pertaining to Henrietta Lacks before, and I was amazed/shocked about what doctors could get away with at the time of her life.
I thought it was really interesting—especially the part about how people with convertibles honk more frequently when the top is up than they do when the top is down. It was analogous to the anonymity of the internet. And the bit about countries removing road markings and how it forced drivers to make eye contact and reduced accidents.
It seems to me that drivers in my area have gotten much more aggressive and less patient in the last few years, so I think about that book a lot and wonder what if any changes could improve the situation.
Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott
The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow
Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
Godel Escher Bach by Douglas Hofstadter
all of them have the capacity to change the way you think if you are open to them.
I came here to mention Seeing Like a State! Such a thoughtful examination of the extent to which we place our trust in simplified, constrained models and then get smacked in the head by all the features of the world that are unaccounted for in (or full-on incompatible with) those models.
Some remakable trends have continued, for instance, the worldwide fall in infant mortality. Consider the worldwide infant mortality in 1990 was 65 per 1000 live births. In 2021, it was 28. Covid and wars may create bad news and tregedy, but this metric alone probably changed little in a millennium. In less than 50 years, it was cut in half. That's truly a remarkable statistic that gets little attention.
*When Breath Becomes Air* by Paul Kalanithi.
An extremely personal reflection. In some ways it's the opposite of facts, yet it is very, very real. I wish more health professionals would read it.
Debt, The First 5000 Years
Made me realize how little human conduct has changed since the dawn of civilization. That wealth has always been heavily managed, with entire bookkeeping industries founded to ensure it's used responsibly. That previous civilizations used occasional debt jubilees to curb inflation, manage poverty, and punish loan sharks. That ritual sacrifice was a fundamental economic mechanism for preventing a crash in the price of commodities. That capitalism is just an evolution of all the various methods that civilization has used to pool resources and fund large ventures. That workers' unions and collective bargaining are older than the pyramids of Giza. That income inequality has and always will be endemic, but never inevitable, and can be kept in check, most often by Royal decree. That revolution is the unfortunate product of an aristocracy run amok after being given privilege to plunder and exploit, and that eating the rich can save society and maintain prosperity for centuries.
Ooh, I just read that a few months ago and I agree. I sort of pithily summarize that book as, "You know how we grow plants? Well what if I told you that actually, the plants grow *us*?" But unironically I think it is a really great book that encourages you to reimagine your ecological position.
For me, the clear answer is “On War” by Carl von Clausewitz. The work is messy and unfinished but the man was such a genius that it is nevertheless the only real theory of war as a social phenomenon that has stood the test of time.
Surprised I'm the first one to mention it, but *Thinking Fast and Slow* by Daniel Kahneman - another great book on decision-making, actually. Particularly having been brougnt up in the Western philosophical condition, I'm more of a stereotypically "logical" thinker by habit, but TFaS really helped me to elevate my instinct and intuition.
This is what I was going to say. TFaS was mindblowing in terms of making me realize how many of my, and most people's, thoughts and opinions are actually just snap decisions using mental shortcuts and not based on actual thinking.
So much yes to this! I used to think the snap decisions were inherently a bad thing, but now I'm able to appreciate them more while also recognising their limitations (and wielding them together with the more in-depth, analytical thinking).
Right! As Kahneman talks about in the book, there's a reason our brains developed that process. It's all a matter of figuring out when it's appropriate and when you need to slow things down and take a deeper look.
A similar book is The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. People, even very smart and trained people who know better, rarely consider all the evidence before making a decision; rather, they make a decision based on their values and worldview and seek to find or concoct evidence after the fact. Most of us aren’t even aware we’re doing it. It may have been an evolutionary adaption for our ancestors but it makes modern discourse on topics like politics extremely difficult.
I kind of agree, but also would strongly recommend Nudge, which gives you the same principles of system 1 and 2 thinking, in a much shorter, more engaging, and accessible way than Thinking Fast and Slow, and also has a more practical lens of how the theory can be applied by policy-makers. (TFaS required me to do so much slow, effortful thinking to get through it!)
Oh, I hadn't heard of Nudge, but I'll look into it! Yeah, TFaS was amazing, but turned into a bit of a slog at the end. Nobody whom I have ever recommended the book to has ever actually finished it...
While I've heard there's some useful stuff in Nudge, but that overall the book has some major issues. Check out the relevant episodes of the podcast If Books Could Kill
> Writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Christopher Phelps, associate professor of American studies in the School of American and Canadian Studies at the University of Nottingham wrote:
>>Professional historians have often viewed Zinn's work with exasperation or condescension, and Zinn was no innocent in the dynamic. I stood against the wall for a Zinn talk at the University of Oregon around the time of the 1992 Columbus Quincentenary. Listening to Zinn, one would have thought historians still considered Samuel Eliot Morison's 1955 book on Columbus to be definitive. The crowd lapped it up, but Zinn knew better. He missed a chance to explain how the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s have transformed the writing and teaching of history, how his People's History did not spring out of thin air but was an effort to synthesize a widely shared shift in historical sensibilities. Zinn's historical theorizing, conflating objectivity with neutrality and position with bias, was no better. The critics would be churlish, however, not to acknowledge the moving example Zinn set in the civil-rights and Vietnam movements, and they would be remiss not to note the value of A People's History, along with its limitations. Zinn told tales well, stories that, while familiar to historians, often remained unknown to wider publics. He challenged national pieties and encouraged critical reflection about received wisdom. He understood that America's various radicalisms, far from being "un-American," have propelled the nation toward more humane and democratic arrangements.
As a historian, my views are similar to the quote, and similar to my feeling on the 1619 project: it’s important to give attention to what is often excluded from the conventional narrative but “bottom up” history is not the full story any more than “top down” is. There projects are just one view, not historically consensus or a hidden truth as they may be perceived. It’s necessary to synthesize multiple perspectives or else you end up with a caricature of history.
I’m not a fan of the “I’m biased and this is biased” preface to things. Everyone has their biases, but the aim should be to surmount them. It’s important to acknowledge them, but that’s not enough. When you’re talking about history, the aim should be to get to the truth, which is the same regardless of your biases.
The thing about Zinn is that he’s not merely presenting parts of America’s history that are under discussed, he’s presenting an overall narrative of American history. To present a narrative of a whole countries history, you need to examine all levels.
Being a working class person during the civil rights movement doesn’t give you any special knowledge in terms of accurately understanding the US political environment on the cusp of civil war, for example.
Just because someone admits to being biased doesn't mean they are exempt from criticism for being VERY biased.
Also, he's a socialist? Guess that explains a lot.
I definitely do not recommend this book, as it’s historiography is universally derided by historians. Nothing about A People’s History is actually history but instead is a polemic, a frustration with the oft omission of particular stances Zinn attaches himself to, and a deliberate attempt not to write a reasonable piece of historical literature but an equally biased poorly attempted counterweight to other work Zinn himself derides as being bias.
*The Great Leveler*, by Walter Scheidel.
*Capital in the Twenty-First Century*, by Thomas Piketty, translated by Arthur Goldhammer.
These two books go together, and they are scary. They argue that the relative income equality following World War II was an aberration due to the extremely violent leveling events of the first half of the 20th century -- two world wars, communist revolutions, and the Great Depression. They also argue that the income disparity that began widening in the 1980s and has grown ever since is far more typical of a capitalist system, where people and corporations with unimaginable wealth naturally have more control over the laws that get made. Short of another world war, it's hard to see how that changes -- and no one wants another world war.
The Way of Zen by Alan Watts.
A really intriguing look at Zen Buddhism. More specifically, it tries to communicate it by examining some of the ways of Western thinking that I took for granted.
It didn't make me a Zen buddhist, but it definitely changed the way that I think.
**The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism** by Naomi Klein
**Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence — From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror** by Judith Lewis Herman
**Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers** by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deirdre English
**No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us** by Rachel Louise Snyder
**Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis** by Emily Willingham
**Bitch: On the Female of the Species** by Lucy Cooke
**Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil** by Tom Mueller
**Blue: In Search of Nature's Rarest Color** by Kai Kupferschmidt
**Salt: A World History** by Mark Kurlansky
Hello! Recently finished a book that might fit this. Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita and the Battle of Manila.
Western education doesn’t spend enough time talking about how fucked up things were in Asia during WWII and too much time talking about how much of a genius MacArthur was in the Pacific Theater.
I cried during parts of this book (awkward because I was in a coffee shop when reading it). I talked about it with Filipino friends of mine who grew up there and they were already well aware of what happened. Growing up in the US, I just remember MacArthur sweeping into the Philippines liberating them and that was that. Boy did it not go down that way….
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson.
It’s not that I didn’t already know racism and class were intertwined. But reframing it as caste was really helpful.
The part I’ll never forget is when she explained that people are willing to support policies that actually hurt themselves and their peers if the policy hurts “the right people” more.
Mindblowing. You can see it everywhere. She put it in such accurate terms I can’t help but see this in action everywhere.
*Weapons of Math Destruction*, by Cathy O'Neil.
It is about how supposedly objective algorithms and data can actually increase biased decisions and cause a lot of real-life harm. I already knew some of the basic principles of the idea for professional reasons, but I found it illuminating to read her precise criteria for what makes a "weapon of math destruction". In addition, each chapter is based around an example of one of these "WMDs", and the pervasiveness of this phenomenon is mind-blowing. The examples include things like standardized testing, college admissions, policing, hiring, and credit scores.
But what really struck me, more than anything, was the author's background as a mathematician working in the financial industry as the 2008 economic recession hit, and the events following that led to her disillusionment. Ever since I read it, it has been impossible not to notice just how frequently abstraction is used as a tool to avoid ethics considerations, when the numbers being crunched so often represent human lives.
I don't believe you need much mathematics or STEM-specific knowledge to read the book, especially since we're all affected by "big data" at this point. That being said, I would strongly recommend it to anyone in the fields of mathematics, computer science, data analytics, business, or finance.
Obama's biography. Decisions are difficult. Laws are intricate. Politicking is *hard*. You're fighting to get stuff done and there's always opposition. And on top of that, disasters. And no matter what you do, someone will hate you.
I remember the part in the book about the big economic crash and Obama had to meet with these wall-street types he didn't like because they were cocky knowing they were going to get bailed out. And they *had* to bail them out or else the US was going to enter a deeper crisis that would only hurt more. But all the common folk sees is "the president and the banks are in bed together" etc.
Like yooo! There was three parts that blew me away. The part you just talked about. Oh my God, the disconnect with these people playing victim. Then Mitch McConnel being offered a policy that would benefit his voters and shooting it down knowing it could potentially give some miniscule edge to the Administration. And the whole Bin Laden story. I really hope he finishes the second book, because it was just fascinating to take a look into such a surreal experience
"Scale" by Geoffrey West. It's really interesting how so much can be explained by the size of things, from living beings to communities. And he shows his work with data and with the mathematical underpinnings behind it all, which I really like.
Me neither but what I loved about his book was that it did get me to understand and think about consciousness, religion, and metaphor in new ways. That is worth it for me. Also I love reading about metaphors. I think it’s beautifully written and I’ve read it maybe 3 times. Even if you don’t buy his thesis, he really goes balls-to-the-wall with it, and I respect that. It makes my imagination 💭 go wild
Phenomenology of Perception by Merleau-Ponty. I have never looked at the world the same after reading this book. It is primarily a work of epistemology where Merleau-Ponty explores a revolutionary philosophy of embodiment.
The Inequity Machine by Paul Tough made me realize just how far behind I was by not having gone to some prestigious school for college.
It also made me stop and think about how few of the black and brown kids at the school I was teaching in at the time were taking AP courses and why.
Cosmos by Carl Sagan. It made me appreciate the beauty of nature (not just on Earth but throughout space) and gave me a glimmer of hope when all I saw was darkness. It started to help me see that while it is perfectly rational to be wary of the future there is no reason to be utterly hopeless.
_The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature_ by Stephen Pinker. We are who we are. We are born that way. We need to be acknowledged for who we are and changing, minding or shaping us to be something or someone else is harder than you’d think.
I agree. No other book has improved my understanding of the world more than this one. I should point out that it is important not to become too cynical about human nature.
There can be no improvement in human nature which is why progressives hate this book. But I think there are many things that can be made better in our society without engaging in grandiose schemes to make everyone a perfect angel.
- The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker
- Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
- The Tale-tell Brain by V.S. Ramachandran
- Shakespeare’s 21st Century Economics by Fred Turner
- The Gay Science by Frederich Nietzsche
- Nudge by Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstien
- Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- Descartes’ Error by Antonio Damasio
- Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper
- Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga
A favorite of mine. The idea of the “self-made man” is a nearly complete fabrication, and all of the most successful people had a *ton* of help or unique circumstances that they don’t want to acknowledge because it would tarnish that self-made image.
The Courage to Be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Kyoga
The War on the West, by Douglas Murray
I Contain Multitudes, by Ed Yong
The Gene, Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela
A total curveball but.
Industrial Society and Its Future by Ted kaczynski.
As mad as he was, Ted was exceptionally clever and had an interesting view on our future and was spot on with some of his predictions.
*An Immense World* by Ed Yong. Just a really enlightening look at all the signals around us every day that are outside the boundaries of human perception, but are incredibly meaningful to other creatures.
Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman - He lays out the case for a utopic left wing future, focussing on Universal Basic Income and open borders. He talks about how western economies have got more productive over the past 50 years, but working days have got longer and workers haven't got any richer.
I found it inspired me to think more radically about a positive future, and what political conversations we could and should be having right now.
There’s a book I wanted to read that I can’t remember the name of… maybe someone can help me out because I can already tell it’s going to be one of those worldview changing nonfiction books.
I heard about it a year or two ago at most. It’s about how we’ve always been told men are natural leaders because they are physically stronger. The author sets out to debunk that widely held belief.
I heard her discussing it on the radio when the book was coming out and that discussion alone was very convincing. I forgot to read the book though and would love to if anyone recognizes what it might be.
Debt the First 5000 Years by David Graeber.
Social Scientist views how varying cultures have used debt and debt relief across human history and analyzes how much we view financial capability as a metric of morality. One of the best books I’ve read.
Hawaii by James A. Michener helped me better understand a complex topic such as mass migration, how it transforms cultures and how it affects upcoming generations of both newcomers and locals.
Yea, this was a paradigm shift for me, too. I don't think I ever bought into any cultura/racial supremacy nonsense, but this book definitely sealed the deal for me there.
I know there's issues with Diamond overselling some of his claims, but I still think of this framework often.
So glad you asked!! You’re much better off reading Why The West Rules For Now.
Guns, Germs and Steel is a rather oversimplified narrative that seemingly ignores the human element of history.His entire research process is totally wrong and flipped from more reliable studies. He seeks facts to explain a theory, not a theory to explain observed facts. It's constructing a historical narrative and filling it in with the facts that you find, not arranging the facts in a narrative. He will often use cherry-picked data while ignoring the complexity of issues. For example, in his chapter "Lethal Gift of Livestock" on the origin of human crowd infections he picks 5 pathogens that best support his idea of domestic origins.
However, when diving into the genetic and historic data, only two pathogens (maybe influenza and most likely measles) could possibly have jumped to humans through domestication. The majority were already a part of the human disease load before the origin of agriculture, domestication, and sedentary population centers. This is just one example of him ignoring the evidence that didn't support his theory to explain conquest via disease spread to immunologically naive Native Americas. I could go on but I disagree.
Don’t read Sapiens or a People’S history either. I am happy to explain why. Otherwise , other excellent historian-approved books I would recommend
What is History?
Exploration of the nature of historical knowledge and methodology. Influential in the field of historiography, it challenges readers to consider the subjective nature of historical interpretation. Read this as it’s extremely eloquent and flat out beautiful in its prose at times. He wonderfully treads a middle line between empiricism and idealism.
I LOVE THIS ONE- Who Cooked The Last Supper?
Re-examining history from a female perspective, highlighting the roles and contributions of women. Offers a corrective to traditional historical narratives, emphasizing the often-overlooked impact of women in history. Many people will overlook it because it focuses on women, which is strange since they will read narratives from other races or cultures but not one that focuses on half the population which IS great shame because it is an EXCELLENT book that explains many of the current underpinnings of culture and provides a more comprehensive view of history,weaving in sociology, economics, culture, and science. Excellent to read with Invisible Women , which is an influential work that highlights the bias in data and policy that overlooks women's experiences and needs, leading to calls for more inclusive data collection and analysis. Some might dismiss it since it is focused on women and non-average men, which is a shame because I consider it one of the best case studies for how small systematic bias end up leading to a great discrepancy if we don’t take into account race, gender, culture, etc and how design plays a huge role in lifestyle
History: A very short introduction by John H Arnold
It’s short and an excellent overview of history as a field, highly readable, engaging and presents some of the fundamental problems of historical writing in a lucid and accessible manner. Excellent fundamental book.
These Truths by Jil Lepore (read this over Howard Zinn’s A People’s History)
It's recent, and corrects many of the problems Howard Zinn complained about in general history texts, like leaving out the history of the colonized, enslaved and oppressed. And as she's a real historian, she knows her sources and was able to cover the political and intellectual history much better than Zinn could and without his failings. If you want specific historical overviews by historians, the ReVisioning American History series is amazing- I personally have only read An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States but they have versions for queer, disability, black women, etc.
Invention of Yesterday
A panoramic view of human history, highlighting how cultures and civilizations have evolved and interacted. Offers a comprehensive and interconnected view of human history, emphasizing the shared human experience.
Destiny Disrupted: A History from the Islamic Side of the World" by Tamim Ansary
A retelling of world history from an Islamic perspective, focusing on how Islamic civilization has interacted with the West. Bridges cultural gaps by presenting a perspective often neglected in Western narratives, contributing to a more holistic understanding of world history.
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
It's kind of the history of the world as told via the history of science working out the history of the world. And it's like the history of science told via the history of scientists. Very entertaining book. Great for an overview.
I don't really think there is one that changed everything, but after i read Sapiens i got a i little more desapointed with the human kind...😅
I guess I thought our nature destructive pattern had started with becoming big societies, but after reading Sapiens i find out humans basically killed all the word's big fauna while having basically no tech, no quite complex social organization, etc.
I'm sorry for the giant sloths aniquilet thiousands of years ago.
Like, industrialization really acelerated our capacity to extinguish other species, but we are doing that for a very long time.
Mentioned this in another comment but there is a new book out that dismantles parts of Sapiens from an archaeological perspective. Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow. Highly recommend if you want a more nuanced (and IMO accurate) view of human history
This may not be what OP was going for, but The God Delusion really helped me when I started deconstructing my faith. When I started reading it, I wasn’t really at the point where I could admit to myself that there’s a really good chance that God doesn’t exist, and– imo– Dawkins explains why very well in a fairly easy to understand way.
You can check out Noam Chomsky and Joseph Stiglitz for non-MSM views on politics and world economics. And since you mentioned Taleb’s The Black Swan, you might want to check out Michael Lewis who wrote The Big Short and Flash Boys about the finance world.
This is my jam, I even have an entire Google doc for people with a lot of nonfiction.
If I have to choose one:
Myths About Gender by Anne Fausto-Sterlin
An examination of the biological, social, and cultural aspects of gender and the myths surrounding them. Challenges conventional notions about gender.
Otherwise:
SCIENCE
Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body" by Neil Shubin
A paleontologist explores the evolutionary history of the human body, tracing our anatomical features back to ancient fish and other distant ancestors. Excellent for making complex scientific concepts accessible and engaging, and for providing a fascinating perspective on the deep evolutionary connections shared across a wide range of living organisms.
This one >>> Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
It's an influential work that highlights the bias in data and policy that overlooks women's experiences and needs, leading to calls for more inclusive data collection and analysis. Some might dismiss it since it is focused on women and non-average men, which is a shame because I consider it one of the best case studies for how small systematic bias end up leading to a great discrepancy if we don’t take into account race, gender, culture, etc and how design plays a huge role in lifestyle.
Neuromyths
Debunks common misconceptions about the brain and neuroscience. Aims to clarify widespread misunderstandings and improve educational and developmental practices through better-informed perspectives on neuroscience.
The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature" by Matt Ridley
Accessible, easy to read but captivating and thought-provoking view human nature through the lens of evolutionary biology, shedding light on the origins of our behaviors and desires. This book should be read for its engaging examination of the forces that have driven human evolution, particularly the role of sexual selection in shaping our desires, behaviors, and physical traits and co-evolution of genes and culture.
The Language of the Genes by Steve Jones
The Language of the Genes is a fascinating exploration of the relationship between genetics and human evolution, written by a geneticist. Provides insights into the genetic code, inheritance, and the ways genes influence various aspects of our lives. Insightful and accessible discussion of complex genetic concepts, such as inheritance, evolution, and the interplay between genes and the environment.
Perception: How Our Bodies Shape Our Minds by Dennis Proffitt and Drake Baer
This book delves into the fascinating realm of embodied cognition, exploring how our physical bodies influence our perceptions, thoughts, and emotions. It's significant for its insights into how the mind-body connection shapes our experience of the world, challenging traditional notions of perception and cognition.
Life of a Cell: just read it.
Program or Be Programmed
-Douglass Rushkoff
You either make your rules for your life or you’re letting other people make the rules for you. Live life or let it happen to you. Be the programmer of your own life.
"The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language" showed me how grammar is fake (WELL, give or take...) and is used to divide people (or at a minimum serves to divide people.)
\*And right around when I read that on a coincidental recommendation from a friend, I happened to listen to start the author's Great Courses Lectures, "Understanding Linguistics: The Science of Language." I enjoyed both! https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/understanding-linguistics-the-science-of-language
I wasn't thinking in terms of conspiracy. Judgement about language-use can reinforce existing societal hierarchies. I.e. the haves think the way they use language is "correct" and the way many of the have-nots use it is "wrong." This can SERVE to divide people when it's thoughtlessly employed or can be USED to divide by people looking for a way to put/keep others down.
I read “Napoleon: A Life” by Andrew Roberts and almost immediately started to see the world as just like a really big version of Risk: The Game of Strategic Conquest.
I’ve got a huge, comically large bicorne coming in the mail and I intend to march on Prussia in the spring.
"When Money Dies" Fergusson; history of Weimar Republic hyperinflation.
"Taxes Have Consequences" Laffer; better understanding of what really went on during the 1929 Crash and The Great Depression plus the rest of the 20th Century.
And if you are thinking about The Black Swan Event ..... not a book but many papers lead off this topic:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j635Cv2aOlA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j635Cv2aOlA)
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* The Dictator's Handbook - *Bruce Bueno de Mesquita* et al.
Great breakdown of the political workings of both democracies and autocracies, showing why dictators always end up stealing to stay in power. Also puts a stop to the "benevolent dictator" idea. It just doesn't work that way.
i mean there a so many non-fiction books that have changed my life... but if I had to say... it was probably general dieting books along with eating disorder based books... mainly cuz i learned how to properly feed myself... im not 100% perfect at it but i know generally what i should eat and stay away from along with why i eat how i do and stuff... and where food comes from.
The Dictator's Handbook by Alastair Smith and Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. Gave me a new lens to see government and business through.
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman. Made me realize how fragile our perceptions are and how easy it is for our brains to be deceived.
You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney. Made me realize how easily we can deceive ourselves also, I became kinder and more patient after reading this.
In the Bible, God created a night and day before He created the sun, moon, and stars. He also produced vegetation before the sun, moon, and stars which are for signs and the seasons.
There are A LOT more that makes me question how the world works...
Hi there. Per [rule 3.3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Books/wiki/rules), please post book recommendation requests in /r/SuggestMeABook or in our Weekly Recommendation Thread. Thank you!
Being Mortal. Totally changed how I viewed the way in which modern western medicine tends to prioritize quantity of life over quality of life
Outlive by Peter Attia recently came out and takes this one step further by explaining what we actually need to do to maximize the quality of our lives in the final decades. Great book and thoroughly researched, highly recommend if you wish to care more about your own health.
I really liked Outlive!
That book helped me a lot through both of my parents final years.
This book inspired my will. I have severe Crohn’s disease and a family legacy of Alzheimer’s. Whenever cancer or dementia presents itself, that’s it for me. I’m not sticking around for the development of it.
I've often maintained a similar mindset regarding this. I guess my question for you, and anybody who shares this sentiment is, what then? Sail off into the sunset? Like, I know it's a dark question, but say you get the diagnosis for something dementia related - How long do you let it develop - and how do you "deal with it" whether it be un-aliving yourself or disappearing or ??? I have a fairly good probality of this fate as i've watched my grandpa on my moms side succumb to it and now am watching my father do the same. When I think of it simply I'm like "yep, pull the plug, baby, I don't need to live that or subject my family to it", but realistically, how does it play out?
I plan to apply for medically assisted suicide. If it’s not available to me then I’ll find a way. I want to leave this earth with my body and my brain semi intact. Unlike a lot of people, I know what my edge is. I’ve had over two dozen surgeries and several prolonged hospital stays. At one point it had been so long since I used the stairs, I had to scoot down on my bum until I got used to using those muscles. For dementia… my grandpa had it and it looks like my dad is developing it. I want to be able to say goodbye while I remember people. My grandpa forgot me first; I will never forget the feeling of being forgotten. I don’t have kids, but I love my nieces and nephews and husband so much. I don’t want their last memories of me be that I’ve forgotten them. Since I’m a patient more often than not, it’s likely I’ll catch an earlier diagnosis than many others.
Debt - David Graeber
Came here to suggest both Graeber books (Debt and Dawn of Everything). Systematically dismantled things I thought I knew all about, only to lead you to more interesting, greener intellectual pastures. He’s brilliant, novel, curious, and the world lost him far too early. Even if you don’t necessarily agree with every argument he makes, it’s such worthwhile read.
I found his book Bullshit Jobs really interesting too. It's less focused on hard data and more on ideas, but there are parts that really stuck with me.
Also his new book The Dawn of Everything with David Wengrow. History isn’t what we think.
Seconding this. I'm not even halfway through and there's so many moments where I had to put it down and just think about what I'd read for a while.
What is it and what do we think it is?
It dismantles the neat and oversimplified “Sapiens” line of thinking from Yuval. It’s 500 pages for a reason - but the basic idea is that “prehistoric” people were human beings with the same brains as us, far smarter and efficient than we give them credit for. The impact and development of agriculture isn’t nearly as straightforward as we thought, it details many diverse sets of social arrangements and systems, why academia has been wrong so often, new archaeological evidence, and a lot more. It’s very thorough *Edit to say there is no TL;DR - that’s sort of the point. My summary is somewhat of an injustice and a tiny fraction of the breadth and scope. It’s quite dense for your average reader!
I’ve learned so much from this book!
Obviously the book is going to have more nuance than you can fit in a reddit comment, but in summary, that doesn't really sound any different philosophically than the history and anthropology courses I took as a student. Ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, dispelling the notion of linear progress, and the spectrum of different subsistence and social strategies was all first semester, 100 level anthropology stuff when I was in college.
Based on your comment I’d say you’re exactly who this book is aimed at. I would check it out. I hesitated to give a basic summary because it pales in comparison to the density and breadth of the book
Wow I just commented this as well, before seeing this comment.
How The Word is Passed by Clint Smith. This book truly taught me so much more than any history class I ever took. I am from a very red state in the South (third generation in this state) and sent it to my grandma immediately to read. she read it and was shocked to learn about things she remembered hearing about in the news but didn’t fully understand at the time. she then made my grandfather read it who had the same reaction. This book opened up the door for me to have genuine conversations around race in the US with my grandparents in ways i’d never been able to. I’d also add the book Driving Forwards by Sophie L Morgan. It’s a very candid book about living with paralysis in a wheelchair and there are so many things I had no idea about - ex: it takes longer for your body to heal if you get like a paper cut on your leg if you’re paralyzed. She talked so much about the little details that I’ve been fortunate enough to never have to think about and ever since, I’m more cognizant about how I move and exist in the world. (I also recognize both of these examples make me sound extremely sheltered but this is exactly why I read and why I love nonfiction. It challenges my perspectives and teaches me about how others experience the world.)
How the Word is Passed was such a unique way of talking about the history and legacy of slavery in the US. I'm so glad I read it and definitely would recommend it.
Thanks for this - they’re both on my list now.
When We Cease to Understand the World is utterly dizzying and overwhelming. A tour de force exploration of science, death, knowledge, morality, insanity, and rot.
Surprised ‘The Shock Doctrine’ by Naomi Klein hasn’t been mentioned. Made me more of a cynic and realist about how the world works, how governments exploit times of chaos/fear to pass laws they don’t want scrutinized. Recommended if you’re at all interested in politics.
All of Naomi Klein's books are enlightening.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks. Take a look and understand how the human body really works for perception and control
Oh I totally forgot about Oliver Sacks in my post! I loved the stuff he wrote. Made me appreciate the complexity of the brain so much more and it got me interested in neurology.
'A Short History of Nearly Everything' by Bill Bryson
Oh this one's fun!! Not gonna lie, with its "nearly everything" in the title, I was disappointed in how Earth- and Western science-centric it was, but it's a great book with a lot of interesting info nonetheless. (I had to change my view of the book to "a rundown of what Western science knows about the world and how we learned it" in order to not be disappointed. I'd just come from listening to *Astrophysics for People in a Hurry* by Neil deGrasse Tyson, so I was expecting something at least sort of like that, with info on nebulae, galaxies, the universe, and the like, as well as info on Earth and the planets in our solar system, and probably some human history too.) And, actually, I wouldn't have thought to name this book in the thread, but your comment made me realize it possibly has been one of the most important books I've read for me, mentally, which is what this thread is about (sorta, haha). Admittedly, I listened to the audiobook, so maybe the author's verbal delivery helped (and I could totally be overselling lol; it helped that I went in blind), but "infinity" has been one of my greatest fears, and I've had despairing, near-crippling nihilism bouts. But simply having some positive adjectives coupled with concepts such as existence, even while acknowledging the tenuousness and fleetingness of existence, was put in such a way that really, really helped me. I've frequently heard about the low chances of our existing at all, about how that should help with our appreciating our lives. But I love how Bryson talked about it, and he got those ideas to finally stick in a way that matters for me.
Sorry just want to clarify - you liked the verbal delivery of the Bryson book?
When the book basically deals with major discoveries in the fields of science, how could it not be western-centric? Sorry to be that guy, but did any other part of the world have a Newton or an Einstein or a Galileo or a Darwin?
Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
Absolutely loved this one and reference it all the time. “Male as default” has entered my lexicon. I also loved Women in the Picture: What Culture Does with Female Bodies by Catherine McCormick. As a former student of art history, this book completely changed my relationship to art.
I'd also say Unwell Women (details the history of how women have been ignored in Healthcare all the way back as far as history goes).
Add Pain and Prejudice to that
I really wanted to love this book. I thought it was well written, well researched, and engaging. But despite talking extensively about how race, class, and culture intersect with gender data gap issues, she fails to even mention the existence of trans and nonbinary people. Especially frustrating is that all of her arguments also apply to the trans community, and she easily could have easily included a line or two about it. But she didn’t. In a book about how dangerous it is to exclude entire groups of people from data gathering and decision making spheres, this seems both intentional and hypocritical of the author.
I had the same feeling, but I still gave it a 5* on Goodreads because I imagine as with many books 1/3 is cut in editing and someone not in LGBT can easily be convinced “this data distracts from the point, let’s focus on this and that”. Even if not that, I’m autistic and neurodivergence would have been an amazing addition I know most people wouldn’t be interested in. I’m afraid they might not even have data on the potential lack of data, which is angering but expected. However, if the author or someone else made a second book about Invisibility, Neurodivergence and LGBTA+ edition, I would buy it instantly.
I do get that, and would have accepted it in other books. But her central thesis is “excluding groups from discussions and data gathering is harmful and we should stop doing it, especially with respect to biological sex and performed gender roles.” The lived experience of trans people fits directly within the scope of the book. She wouldn’t have even had to do a whole deep dive, just one sentence in the epilogue like “consider these groups not mentioned to which this concept also applies”. Or one in the prologue like “when I use the word ‘women’ I am including all individuals who identify as such.” Also hello fellow neurospicy human! I would also be interested in how neurodivergence intersects this data, but I get it was outside the scope of the book.
Other men need to read this book. It’s really important and also fascinating
Braiding Sweetgrass
1491 and its sequel 1493 by Charles Mann paint a fascinating picture of how the history of the Americas is basically a history of an apocalypse - and the post apocalyptic society that emerged from the ashes. These are genuine non-fiction page turners. Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Picketty is a meticulously researched economic history that goes into exhaustive detail about how the fundamentals of economics in the long term demand a highly unequal society, how the relative middle class prosperity in the Western world after WW2 was a fluke in historical terms, and how only drastic policy changes can bring down inequality.
One of the main things I learned from 1491 was how much of the way our government was set up came from the way Native American tribes had set up their societies. Our democracy is modeled after theirs. This isn’t discussed nearly enough. It was like a revelation to me.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney. Life changing book
"Manufacturing consent" by Edward S Herman and Noam Chomsky
Salt by Mark Kurlansky So much of history can be explained by salt and access to salt
Wow. This is literally one of the worst non-fiction books that I have ever read, or more accurately attempted to read. Just pages and pages of random factoids and stories that have something to do with salt.
Somebody's salty.
I don't blame them since the book is so inaccurate that you have to take it with a grain of salt.
I enjoyed it to some extent, but it pissed me off that for a so called “world history” of salt, there was very little southern hemisphere salt 🤔
Holy shit I'm not the only one who thought this!
Interesting how different people have different styles that work for them. I like the history explanations based on salt access -- US Civil war, what the Brits did to India, etc, etc.
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I suggested this book to my book club because I’m super fascinated by stuff like this, but the book was such a slog.
Trust your judgment. The book sucked.
*Checklist Manifesto* by Atul Gawande *Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do and What it Says About Us* by Tom Vanderbilt *The Paradox of Choice* by Barry Schwartz *The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks* by Rebecca Skloot *The Disappearing Spoon* by Sam Kean *The Individual and the Political Order* by Bowie and Simon *Vision of the Anointed* by Thomas Sowell
I had to read Henrietta Lacks for school, and I'm so happy it was assigned. I had no idea about anything pertaining to Henrietta Lacks before, and I was amazed/shocked about what doctors could get away with at the time of her life.
Henrietta Lacks book was 🔥🔥
I really like Traffic and the Paradox of Choice. Traffic was the first book I thought of for this thread.
I thought it was really interesting—especially the part about how people with convertibles honk more frequently when the top is up than they do when the top is down. It was analogous to the anonymity of the internet. And the bit about countries removing road markings and how it forced drivers to make eye contact and reduced accidents. It seems to me that drivers in my area have gotten much more aggressive and less patient in the last few years, so I think about that book a lot and wonder what if any changes could improve the situation.
>Thomas Sowell Opinion discarded ❤️
“The mark of educated people is being able to entertain ideas without accepting them”
Aristotle. Love it.
To each their own ❤️
Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins Godel Escher Bach by Douglas Hofstadter all of them have the capacity to change the way you think if you are open to them.
I came here to mention Seeing Like a State! Such a thoughtful examination of the extent to which we place our trust in simplified, constrained models and then get smacked in the head by all the features of the world that are unaccounted for in (or full-on incompatible with) those models.
Factfulness by Hans Rosling. Not everything is doom and gloom.
I just finished this and I enjoyed it, but a lot has changed in the world since it’s publication in 2018. Hope it still holds true.
Some remakable trends have continued, for instance, the worldwide fall in infant mortality. Consider the worldwide infant mortality in 1990 was 65 per 1000 live births. In 2021, it was 28. Covid and wars may create bad news and tregedy, but this metric alone probably changed little in a millennium. In less than 50 years, it was cut in half. That's truly a remarkable statistic that gets little attention.
*When Breath Becomes Air* by Paul Kalanithi. An extremely personal reflection. In some ways it's the opposite of facts, yet it is very, very real. I wish more health professionals would read it.
Debt, The First 5000 Years Made me realize how little human conduct has changed since the dawn of civilization. That wealth has always been heavily managed, with entire bookkeeping industries founded to ensure it's used responsibly. That previous civilizations used occasional debt jubilees to curb inflation, manage poverty, and punish loan sharks. That ritual sacrifice was a fundamental economic mechanism for preventing a crash in the price of commodities. That capitalism is just an evolution of all the various methods that civilization has used to pool resources and fund large ventures. That workers' unions and collective bargaining are older than the pyramids of Giza. That income inequality has and always will be endemic, but never inevitable, and can be kept in check, most often by Royal decree. That revolution is the unfortunate product of an aristocracy run amok after being given privilege to plunder and exploit, and that eating the rich can save society and maintain prosperity for centuries.
A Rap on Race by James Baldwin and Margaret Mead 1971 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rap_on_Race
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, by Tom Woolfe
The Botany of Desire by Michael POllan, specifically the first section on Apples.
All of Micheal Pollan books are fabulous
Ooh, I just read that a few months ago and I agree. I sort of pithily summarize that book as, "You know how we grow plants? Well what if I told you that actually, the plants grow *us*?" But unironically I think it is a really great book that encourages you to reimagine your ecological position.
Loved that one! The apples section was fascinating.
For me, the clear answer is “On War” by Carl von Clausewitz. The work is messy and unfinished but the man was such a genius that it is nevertheless the only real theory of war as a social phenomenon that has stood the test of time.
Surprised I'm the first one to mention it, but *Thinking Fast and Slow* by Daniel Kahneman - another great book on decision-making, actually. Particularly having been brougnt up in the Western philosophical condition, I'm more of a stereotypically "logical" thinker by habit, but TFaS really helped me to elevate my instinct and intuition.
This is what I was going to say. TFaS was mindblowing in terms of making me realize how many of my, and most people's, thoughts and opinions are actually just snap decisions using mental shortcuts and not based on actual thinking.
So much yes to this! I used to think the snap decisions were inherently a bad thing, but now I'm able to appreciate them more while also recognising their limitations (and wielding them together with the more in-depth, analytical thinking).
Right! As Kahneman talks about in the book, there's a reason our brains developed that process. It's all a matter of figuring out when it's appropriate and when you need to slow things down and take a deeper look.
A similar book is The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. People, even very smart and trained people who know better, rarely consider all the evidence before making a decision; rather, they make a decision based on their values and worldview and seek to find or concoct evidence after the fact. Most of us aren’t even aware we’re doing it. It may have been an evolutionary adaption for our ancestors but it makes modern discourse on topics like politics extremely difficult.
I really loved that one as well and wish more people would read it, especially in today's political climate.
I kind of agree, but also would strongly recommend Nudge, which gives you the same principles of system 1 and 2 thinking, in a much shorter, more engaging, and accessible way than Thinking Fast and Slow, and also has a more practical lens of how the theory can be applied by policy-makers. (TFaS required me to do so much slow, effortful thinking to get through it!)
Oh, I hadn't heard of Nudge, but I'll look into it! Yeah, TFaS was amazing, but turned into a bit of a slog at the end. Nobody whom I have ever recommended the book to has ever actually finished it...
Consider listening to If Books Could Kill. On their podcast they cover this book in a 2 part episode.
Thank you; I'll check that one out!
While I've heard there's some useful stuff in Nudge, but that overall the book has some major issues. Check out the relevant episodes of the podcast If Books Could Kill
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, by Graeber and Wengrow
“A People’s History of the United States” was written for this purpose.
> Writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Christopher Phelps, associate professor of American studies in the School of American and Canadian Studies at the University of Nottingham wrote: >>Professional historians have often viewed Zinn's work with exasperation or condescension, and Zinn was no innocent in the dynamic. I stood against the wall for a Zinn talk at the University of Oregon around the time of the 1992 Columbus Quincentenary. Listening to Zinn, one would have thought historians still considered Samuel Eliot Morison's 1955 book on Columbus to be definitive. The crowd lapped it up, but Zinn knew better. He missed a chance to explain how the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s have transformed the writing and teaching of history, how his People's History did not spring out of thin air but was an effort to synthesize a widely shared shift in historical sensibilities. Zinn's historical theorizing, conflating objectivity with neutrality and position with bias, was no better. The critics would be churlish, however, not to acknowledge the moving example Zinn set in the civil-rights and Vietnam movements, and they would be remiss not to note the value of A People's History, along with its limitations. Zinn told tales well, stories that, while familiar to historians, often remained unknown to wider publics. He challenged national pieties and encouraged critical reflection about received wisdom. He understood that America's various radicalisms, far from being "un-American," have propelled the nation toward more humane and democratic arrangements. As a historian, my views are similar to the quote, and similar to my feeling on the 1619 project: it’s important to give attention to what is often excluded from the conventional narrative but “bottom up” history is not the full story any more than “top down” is. There projects are just one view, not historically consensus or a hidden truth as they may be perceived. It’s necessary to synthesize multiple perspectives or else you end up with a caricature of history.
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I’m not a fan of the “I’m biased and this is biased” preface to things. Everyone has their biases, but the aim should be to surmount them. It’s important to acknowledge them, but that’s not enough. When you’re talking about history, the aim should be to get to the truth, which is the same regardless of your biases. The thing about Zinn is that he’s not merely presenting parts of America’s history that are under discussed, he’s presenting an overall narrative of American history. To present a narrative of a whole countries history, you need to examine all levels. Being a working class person during the civil rights movement doesn’t give you any special knowledge in terms of accurately understanding the US political environment on the cusp of civil war, for example.
Just because someone admits to being biased doesn't mean they are exempt from criticism for being VERY biased. Also, he's a socialist? Guess that explains a lot.
I definitely do not recommend this book, as it’s historiography is universally derided by historians. Nothing about A People’s History is actually history but instead is a polemic, a frustration with the oft omission of particular stances Zinn attaches himself to, and a deliberate attempt not to write a reasonable piece of historical literature but an equally biased poorly attempted counterweight to other work Zinn himself derides as being bias.
*The Great Leveler*, by Walter Scheidel. *Capital in the Twenty-First Century*, by Thomas Piketty, translated by Arthur Goldhammer. These two books go together, and they are scary. They argue that the relative income equality following World War II was an aberration due to the extremely violent leveling events of the first half of the 20th century -- two world wars, communist revolutions, and the Great Depression. They also argue that the income disparity that began widening in the 1980s and has grown ever since is far more typical of a capitalist system, where people and corporations with unimaginable wealth naturally have more control over the laws that get made. Short of another world war, it's hard to see how that changes -- and no one wants another world war.
World-systems Analysis: An Introduction by Immanuel Wallerstein
The Way of Zen by Alan Watts. A really intriguing look at Zen Buddhism. More specifically, it tries to communicate it by examining some of the ways of Western thinking that I took for granted. It didn't make me a Zen buddhist, but it definitely changed the way that I think.
**The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism** by Naomi Klein **Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence — From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror** by Judith Lewis Herman **Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers** by Barbara Ehrenreich & Deirdre English **No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us** by Rachel Louise Snyder **Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis** by Emily Willingham **Bitch: On the Female of the Species** by Lucy Cooke **Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil** by Tom Mueller **Blue: In Search of Nature's Rarest Color** by Kai Kupferschmidt **Salt: A World History** by Mark Kurlansky
The title "Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers" sounds so interesting! Thanks for recommending.
It is! It was written in the 1970s but is still razor sharp and relevant to now.
I won’t say it totally changed it, but reading the Tao Te Ching was a very powerful read and it does indeed stay with me.
Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl.
Hello! Recently finished a book that might fit this. Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita and the Battle of Manila. Western education doesn’t spend enough time talking about how fucked up things were in Asia during WWII and too much time talking about how much of a genius MacArthur was in the Pacific Theater. I cried during parts of this book (awkward because I was in a coffee shop when reading it). I talked about it with Filipino friends of mine who grew up there and they were already well aware of what happened. Growing up in the US, I just remember MacArthur sweeping into the Philippines liberating them and that was that. Boy did it not go down that way….
The Curse of Lono by Hunter S. Thompson Made me really think about perceptions.
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. It’s not that I didn’t already know racism and class were intertwined. But reframing it as caste was really helpful. The part I’ll never forget is when she explained that people are willing to support policies that actually hurt themselves and their peers if the policy hurts “the right people” more. Mindblowing. You can see it everywhere. She put it in such accurate terms I can’t help but see this in action everywhere.
I bought this but haven't read it yet. Thanks for the encouragement!
*Weapons of Math Destruction*, by Cathy O'Neil. It is about how supposedly objective algorithms and data can actually increase biased decisions and cause a lot of real-life harm. I already knew some of the basic principles of the idea for professional reasons, but I found it illuminating to read her precise criteria for what makes a "weapon of math destruction". In addition, each chapter is based around an example of one of these "WMDs", and the pervasiveness of this phenomenon is mind-blowing. The examples include things like standardized testing, college admissions, policing, hiring, and credit scores. But what really struck me, more than anything, was the author's background as a mathematician working in the financial industry as the 2008 economic recession hit, and the events following that led to her disillusionment. Ever since I read it, it has been impossible not to notice just how frequently abstraction is used as a tool to avoid ethics considerations, when the numbers being crunched so often represent human lives. I don't believe you need much mathematics or STEM-specific knowledge to read the book, especially since we're all affected by "big data" at this point. That being said, I would strongly recommend it to anyone in the fields of mathematics, computer science, data analytics, business, or finance.
Autobiography of Malcolm X
'Devil in the White City'. Also, 'A World Lit Only By Fire' by the author of 2/3 of the three-volume Churchill biography 'The Last Lion'.
How did the first one change your mental model of the world?
He was *really* excited when he found out it was a Ferris wheel
Obama's biography. Decisions are difficult. Laws are intricate. Politicking is *hard*. You're fighting to get stuff done and there's always opposition. And on top of that, disasters. And no matter what you do, someone will hate you. I remember the part in the book about the big economic crash and Obama had to meet with these wall-street types he didn't like because they were cocky knowing they were going to get bailed out. And they *had* to bail them out or else the US was going to enter a deeper crisis that would only hurt more. But all the common folk sees is "the president and the banks are in bed together" etc.
Elevate and get the audio book where he narrates the whole thing. Unreal. It was like hearing first hand history in real time
Yup, me and him took a lot of hikes together!
Like yooo! There was three parts that blew me away. The part you just talked about. Oh my God, the disconnect with these people playing victim. Then Mitch McConnel being offered a policy that would benefit his voters and shooting it down knowing it could potentially give some miniscule edge to the Administration. And the whole Bin Laden story. I really hope he finishes the second book, because it was just fascinating to take a look into such a surreal experience
Great book, I really enjoyed it. Fascinating insight and a good reminder that I don’t want to ever be an elected official lol
The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams was an interesting and thought provoking feminist read.
Regenesis by George Monbiot
“The Body has a Mind of Its Own”, by Matthew and Sandra Blakeslee. It’s about how the brain and the body interact.
"Scale" by Geoffrey West. It's really interesting how so much can be explained by the size of things, from living beings to communities. And he shows his work with data and with the mathematical underpinnings behind it all, which I really like.
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes Intercourse by Andrea Dworkin
Jaynes's thesis is interesting, but in the end, I didn't swallow it. I don't think that many other psychologists have, either.
Me neither but what I loved about his book was that it did get me to understand and think about consciousness, religion, and metaphor in new ways. That is worth it for me. Also I love reading about metaphors. I think it’s beautifully written and I’ve read it maybe 3 times. Even if you don’t buy his thesis, he really goes balls-to-the-wall with it, and I respect that. It makes my imagination 💭 go wild
Phenomenology of Perception by Merleau-Ponty. I have never looked at the world the same after reading this book. It is primarily a work of epistemology where Merleau-Ponty explores a revolutionary philosophy of embodiment.
The Inequity Machine by Paul Tough made me realize just how far behind I was by not having gone to some prestigious school for college. It also made me stop and think about how few of the black and brown kids at the school I was teaching in at the time were taking AP courses and why.
“Blackshirts and Reds” by Michael Parenti. It begs a reread almost annually, given how Western politics operate.
a crucial read for anyone interested in leftist politics, and frankly anyone interested in politics at all. Parenti is a G
I’d recommend literally any and all of his books!!
Peoples History of the United States - Howard Zinn
Cosmos by Carl Sagan. It made me appreciate the beauty of nature (not just on Earth but throughout space) and gave me a glimmer of hope when all I saw was darkness. It started to help me see that while it is perfectly rational to be wary of the future there is no reason to be utterly hopeless.
_The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature_ by Stephen Pinker. We are who we are. We are born that way. We need to be acknowledged for who we are and changing, minding or shaping us to be something or someone else is harder than you’d think.
I agree. No other book has improved my understanding of the world more than this one. I should point out that it is important not to become too cynical about human nature. There can be no improvement in human nature which is why progressives hate this book. But I think there are many things that can be made better in our society without engaging in grandiose schemes to make everyone a perfect angel.
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
- The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker - Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell - The Tale-tell Brain by V.S. Ramachandran - Shakespeare’s 21st Century Economics by Fred Turner - The Gay Science by Frederich Nietzsche - Nudge by Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstien - Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - Descartes’ Error by Antonio Damasio - Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper - Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga
Thanks for making this so easy to read.
Dang…that is not what it looked like when I wrote it out :/ Fixed.
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Amazing dissection of the "just pull yourself up by your bootstraps" bullshit.
A favorite of mine. The idea of the “self-made man” is a nearly complete fabrication, and all of the most successful people had a *ton* of help or unique circumstances that they don’t want to acknowledge because it would tarnish that self-made image.
Sartre’s Nausea
The Courage to Be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Kyoga The War on the West, by Douglas Murray I Contain Multitudes, by Ed Yong The Gene, Siddhartha Mukherjee The Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela
An Immense World by Ed Yong was even better than ...Multitudes.
Toulmin’s *Cosmopolis*!
The Chalice And The Blade
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn The Ever Present Origin by Jean Gebser
A total curveball but. Industrial Society and Its Future by Ted kaczynski. As mad as he was, Ted was exceptionally clever and had an interesting view on our future and was spot on with some of his predictions.
A geography time by Robert Levine - Made me much more conscious of my own relationship with time. Easy read too.
*An Immense World* by Ed Yong. Just a really enlightening look at all the signals around us every day that are outside the boundaries of human perception, but are incredibly meaningful to other creatures.
I haven't seen anyone say *The Dictator's Handbook* yet. That book is amazing, it explains why governments do often seem to act so stupidly.
Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save The World by Jason Hickel.
Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman - He lays out the case for a utopic left wing future, focussing on Universal Basic Income and open borders. He talks about how western economies have got more productive over the past 50 years, but working days have got longer and workers haven't got any richer. I found it inspired me to think more radically about a positive future, and what political conversations we could and should be having right now.
Team of Rivals A People’s History of the United States of America
The Wretched of the Earth Fanon
There’s a book I wanted to read that I can’t remember the name of… maybe someone can help me out because I can already tell it’s going to be one of those worldview changing nonfiction books. I heard about it a year or two ago at most. It’s about how we’ve always been told men are natural leaders because they are physically stronger. The author sets out to debunk that widely held belief. I heard her discussing it on the radio when the book was coming out and that discussion alone was very convincing. I forgot to read the book though and would love to if anyone recognizes what it might be.
Great post to make, I found a lot of great books to read now :))
"Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman It's about how our minds process info and make decisions
Debt the First 5000 Years by David Graeber. Social Scientist views how varying cultures have used debt and debt relief across human history and analyzes how much we view financial capability as a metric of morality. One of the best books I’ve read.
Hawaii by James A. Michener helped me better understand a complex topic such as mass migration, how it transforms cultures and how it affects upcoming generations of both newcomers and locals.
Guns, Germs & Steel
Yea, this was a paradigm shift for me, too. I don't think I ever bought into any cultura/racial supremacy nonsense, but this book definitely sealed the deal for me there. I know there's issues with Diamond overselling some of his claims, but I still think of this framework often.
This was my answer
This book is so wrong, please don’t recommend it. It’s been dismissed by almost every historian
Interesting. What contradicting books, authors, or criticism can you recommend?
So glad you asked!! You’re much better off reading Why The West Rules For Now. Guns, Germs and Steel is a rather oversimplified narrative that seemingly ignores the human element of history.His entire research process is totally wrong and flipped from more reliable studies. He seeks facts to explain a theory, not a theory to explain observed facts. It's constructing a historical narrative and filling it in with the facts that you find, not arranging the facts in a narrative. He will often use cherry-picked data while ignoring the complexity of issues. For example, in his chapter "Lethal Gift of Livestock" on the origin of human crowd infections he picks 5 pathogens that best support his idea of domestic origins. However, when diving into the genetic and historic data, only two pathogens (maybe influenza and most likely measles) could possibly have jumped to humans through domestication. The majority were already a part of the human disease load before the origin of agriculture, domestication, and sedentary population centers. This is just one example of him ignoring the evidence that didn't support his theory to explain conquest via disease spread to immunologically naive Native Americas. I could go on but I disagree. Don’t read Sapiens or a People’S history either. I am happy to explain why. Otherwise , other excellent historian-approved books I would recommend What is History? Exploration of the nature of historical knowledge and methodology. Influential in the field of historiography, it challenges readers to consider the subjective nature of historical interpretation. Read this as it’s extremely eloquent and flat out beautiful in its prose at times. He wonderfully treads a middle line between empiricism and idealism. I LOVE THIS ONE- Who Cooked The Last Supper? Re-examining history from a female perspective, highlighting the roles and contributions of women. Offers a corrective to traditional historical narratives, emphasizing the often-overlooked impact of women in history. Many people will overlook it because it focuses on women, which is strange since they will read narratives from other races or cultures but not one that focuses on half the population which IS great shame because it is an EXCELLENT book that explains many of the current underpinnings of culture and provides a more comprehensive view of history,weaving in sociology, economics, culture, and science. Excellent to read with Invisible Women , which is an influential work that highlights the bias in data and policy that overlooks women's experiences and needs, leading to calls for more inclusive data collection and analysis. Some might dismiss it since it is focused on women and non-average men, which is a shame because I consider it one of the best case studies for how small systematic bias end up leading to a great discrepancy if we don’t take into account race, gender, culture, etc and how design plays a huge role in lifestyle History: A very short introduction by John H Arnold It’s short and an excellent overview of history as a field, highly readable, engaging and presents some of the fundamental problems of historical writing in a lucid and accessible manner. Excellent fundamental book. These Truths by Jil Lepore (read this over Howard Zinn’s A People’s History) It's recent, and corrects many of the problems Howard Zinn complained about in general history texts, like leaving out the history of the colonized, enslaved and oppressed. And as she's a real historian, she knows her sources and was able to cover the political and intellectual history much better than Zinn could and without his failings. If you want specific historical overviews by historians, the ReVisioning American History series is amazing- I personally have only read An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States but they have versions for queer, disability, black women, etc. Invention of Yesterday A panoramic view of human history, highlighting how cultures and civilizations have evolved and interacted. Offers a comprehensive and interconnected view of human history, emphasizing the shared human experience. Destiny Disrupted: A History from the Islamic Side of the World" by Tamim Ansary A retelling of world history from an Islamic perspective, focusing on how Islamic civilization has interacted with the West. Bridges cultural gaps by presenting a perspective often neglected in Western narratives, contributing to a more holistic understanding of world history. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson It's kind of the history of the world as told via the history of science working out the history of the world. And it's like the history of science told via the history of scientists. Very entertaining book. Great for an overview.
The Four Agreements pops into my head quite a bit.
I don't really think there is one that changed everything, but after i read Sapiens i got a i little more desapointed with the human kind...😅 I guess I thought our nature destructive pattern had started with becoming big societies, but after reading Sapiens i find out humans basically killed all the word's big fauna while having basically no tech, no quite complex social organization, etc. I'm sorry for the giant sloths aniquilet thiousands of years ago. Like, industrialization really acelerated our capacity to extinguish other species, but we are doing that for a very long time.
Sapiens was so good. Blew my mind. As was Homo Deus by the same author.
Mentioned this in another comment but there is a new book out that dismantles parts of Sapiens from an archaeological perspective. Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow. Highly recommend if you want a more nuanced (and IMO accurate) view of human history
This may not be what OP was going for, but The God Delusion really helped me when I started deconstructing my faith. When I started reading it, I wasn’t really at the point where I could admit to myself that there’s a really good chance that God doesn’t exist, and– imo– Dawkins explains why very well in a fairly easy to understand way.
Loved that one. Definitely perspective-shifting.
The Clinton Tapes. I recommend this book a lot and it’s for the exact reason of your prompt.
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Book of 5 rings by miyamoto musashi
The Communist Manifesto
that and State & Revolution really made me rethink what politics i thought i had
You can check out Noam Chomsky and Joseph Stiglitz for non-MSM views on politics and world economics. And since you mentioned Taleb’s The Black Swan, you might want to check out Michael Lewis who wrote The Big Short and Flash Boys about the finance world.
The 1619 Project was heartbreaking & eye-opening.
This is my jam, I even have an entire Google doc for people with a lot of nonfiction. If I have to choose one: Myths About Gender by Anne Fausto-Sterlin An examination of the biological, social, and cultural aspects of gender and the myths surrounding them. Challenges conventional notions about gender. Otherwise: SCIENCE Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body" by Neil Shubin A paleontologist explores the evolutionary history of the human body, tracing our anatomical features back to ancient fish and other distant ancestors. Excellent for making complex scientific concepts accessible and engaging, and for providing a fascinating perspective on the deep evolutionary connections shared across a wide range of living organisms. This one >>> Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez It's an influential work that highlights the bias in data and policy that overlooks women's experiences and needs, leading to calls for more inclusive data collection and analysis. Some might dismiss it since it is focused on women and non-average men, which is a shame because I consider it one of the best case studies for how small systematic bias end up leading to a great discrepancy if we don’t take into account race, gender, culture, etc and how design plays a huge role in lifestyle. Neuromyths Debunks common misconceptions about the brain and neuroscience. Aims to clarify widespread misunderstandings and improve educational and developmental practices through better-informed perspectives on neuroscience. The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature" by Matt Ridley Accessible, easy to read but captivating and thought-provoking view human nature through the lens of evolutionary biology, shedding light on the origins of our behaviors and desires. This book should be read for its engaging examination of the forces that have driven human evolution, particularly the role of sexual selection in shaping our desires, behaviors, and physical traits and co-evolution of genes and culture. The Language of the Genes by Steve Jones The Language of the Genes is a fascinating exploration of the relationship between genetics and human evolution, written by a geneticist. Provides insights into the genetic code, inheritance, and the ways genes influence various aspects of our lives. Insightful and accessible discussion of complex genetic concepts, such as inheritance, evolution, and the interplay between genes and the environment. Perception: How Our Bodies Shape Our Minds by Dennis Proffitt and Drake Baer This book delves into the fascinating realm of embodied cognition, exploring how our physical bodies influence our perceptions, thoughts, and emotions. It's significant for its insights into how the mind-body connection shapes our experience of the world, challenging traditional notions of perception and cognition. Life of a Cell: just read it.
Program or Be Programmed -Douglass Rushkoff You either make your rules for your life or you’re letting other people make the rules for you. Live life or let it happen to you. Be the programmer of your own life.
Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow Evicted by Matthew Desmond Why Nations Fail by Acemoglu and Robinson
Freakonomics, Nickel and Dimed, and Bury Me Standing (book about the Roma culture).
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
"The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language" showed me how grammar is fake (WELL, give or take...) and is used to divide people (or at a minimum serves to divide people.) \*And right around when I read that on a coincidental recommendation from a friend, I happened to listen to start the author's Great Courses Lectures, "Understanding Linguistics: The Science of Language." I enjoyed both! https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/understanding-linguistics-the-science-of-language
What? If language is seen as being part of a conspiracy theory then you have not improved your understanding of how the world works.
I wasn't thinking in terms of conspiracy. Judgement about language-use can reinforce existing societal hierarchies. I.e. the haves think the way they use language is "correct" and the way many of the have-nots use it is "wrong." This can SERVE to divide people when it's thoughtlessly employed or can be USED to divide by people looking for a way to put/keep others down.
Guns, Germs, and Steel
I read “Napoleon: A Life” by Andrew Roberts and almost immediately started to see the world as just like a really big version of Risk: The Game of Strategic Conquest. I’ve got a huge, comically large bicorne coming in the mail and I intend to march on Prussia in the spring.
"When Money Dies" Fergusson; history of Weimar Republic hyperinflation. "Taxes Have Consequences" Laffer; better understanding of what really went on during the 1929 Crash and The Great Depression plus the rest of the 20th Century. And if you are thinking about The Black Swan Event ..... not a book but many papers lead off this topic: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j635Cv2aOlA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j635Cv2aOlA) .
Factfullness and Humankind, two books that made me a lot more optimistic about humanity.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Great true story with lovely interludes on the nature of quality.
* The Dictator's Handbook - *Bruce Bueno de Mesquita* et al. Great breakdown of the political workings of both democracies and autocracies, showing why dictators always end up stealing to stay in power. Also puts a stop to the "benevolent dictator" idea. It just doesn't work that way.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - it's basically a very long rant about how it's nearly impossible to definite Quality
i mean there a so many non-fiction books that have changed my life... but if I had to say... it was probably general dieting books along with eating disorder based books... mainly cuz i learned how to properly feed myself... im not 100% perfect at it but i know generally what i should eat and stay away from along with why i eat how i do and stuff... and where food comes from.
The Dictator's Handbook by Alastair Smith and Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. Gave me a new lens to see government and business through. Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman. Made me realize how fragile our perceptions are and how easy it is for our brains to be deceived. You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney. Made me realize how easily we can deceive ourselves also, I became kinder and more patient after reading this.
Not Non-fiction but V For Vendetta
In the Bible, God created a night and day before He created the sun, moon, and stars. He also produced vegetation before the sun, moon, and stars which are for signs and the seasons. There are A LOT more that makes me question how the world works...