Well, I guess we all agree on Atlas Shrugged.
I would include “the origin of the species” and definitely more science-books.
Any suggestions?
After a bit of consideration it seems that this list would be harder to compile as opposed to its counterpart.
One way is to take each field/subject and think about a book that changed things in that subject. Funnily enough, in my own field – software development – I cannot think of a radical book. If pressed, I’d point to Donald Knuth’s books, but those are only applicable to a very narrow field, so they won’t make a general list.
In business and investment, I’d say: Security Analysis by Dodd and Graham, not so much for the particulars of its content as much as for being a seminal effort to organize knowledge on the subject. Again, probably won’t make it to a general list.
On economics, since we’re limited to the 19th and 20th centuries, I cannot name Adam Smith. Most of the more modern ones are useless.
In politics, Thomas Paine and people who influenced the U.S. founders were 18th century. So… yes, I’m stumped too.
Two books come to mind:
Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. A very clear and lucid presentation of just why a free market is necessary to a free democratic society.
The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. This book is a great study on the importance of heroic mythology in cultures around the world since the Dawn of Man. Campbell’s ideas have had an indirect effect on American pop culture in the 20th century. Filmmakers, screenwriters, novelists, and comic book artists have been inspired by his ideas to create great contemporary hero myths.
:smartass:
1984
Gulag Archipelago
Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
48 Laws of Power
Human Action
…The Lord of the Rings 
Dune series :lol:
Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Black Book of Communism is an important “sequel” to that book.
The Road To Serfdom by Friedrich von Hayek is a book that David Horowitz has called “the Karl Marx of the libertarian/conservative worldview.”
The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori
Two books come to mind:
Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. A very clear and lucid presentation of just why a free market is necessary to a free democratic society.
I shall have to add it to my list. Which unfortunately is growing faster than I’m likely to ever get through it. 
How did it compare with Economics in One Lesson? Which book probably would have been my choice in this area. I realize Hazlitt wrote it as a primer, but its the book I keep coming back to whenever I have a basic question in the area of economics.
I shall have to add it to my list. :lol: Which unfortunately is growing faster than I’m likely to ever get through it.
How did it compare with Economics in One Lesson? Which book probably would have been my choice in this area. I realize Hazlitt wrote it as a primer, but its the book I keep coming back to whenever I have a basic question in the area of economics.
Capitalism and Freedom is more philosophical while Economics in one lesson deals more with economics as far as I see it. I like both of them. But I still think that Economics … is more beneficial because you can refer to it for later questions. But this doesn’t stop Capitalism and Freedom from being a must on a reading list. Sorry.
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Funnily enough, in my own field – software development – I cannot think of a radical book. If pressed, I’d point to Donald Knuth’s books, but those are only applicable to a very narrow field, so they won’t make a general list.
By Knuth I assume you are referring to The Art of Computer Programming. If so, I agree. I’ve never found another source for comp sci that goes into such detail on everything related to the subject.
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
oops…I didn’t notice you said 19th/20th century. I guess that would exclude Decline and Fall, sorry. 
… “Economics in One Lesson” …
What is the “one lesson”? How would you summarize it? Is it a lesson about a specific topic in Economics or about the approach to Economics (e.g. the epistemology of economics)?
I have my own answer, but I’d be interested in hearing yours first
What is the “one lesson”?
I do not own the book. I once read it in our university library. But as far as I remember the ‘one lesson’ was that all influence of force upon a free market results in short-term benefits for some at the cost of the rest and bad long-term effects for everyone.
Now I want to know your version.
The lesson is here: http://jim.com/econ/chap02p1.html
The full book is here: http://jim.com/econ/contents.html
One way is to take each field/subject and think about a book that changed things in that subject. Funnily enough, in my own field – software development – I cannot think of a radical book.
I have a number in my Amazon list - the three star rated ones: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guide…8564770-2562365
As far as great books go, two that come to mind are a collection of essays “Science and Human Values” by James Bronowski and the essay “Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth” by Ludwig von Mises.
Of those, I’ve only read “Mythical Man Month” and would agree. “Code Complete” has been on my wish-list for a while, but I’ve not bought it because I know it will simply lie on my shelf. Another book that is on my list is “Peopleware - by Tom deMarco”
“Code Complete” has been on my wish-list for a while, but I’ve not bought it because I know it will simply lie on my shelf.
That’s what I thought, but the advice in that book has totally transformed the way I think about programming – you can’t afford to code without reading it.
… as far as I remember the ‘one lesson’ was that all influence of force upon a free market results in short-term benefits for some at the cost of the rest and bad long-term effects for everyone. Now I want to know your version. :pirate:
Yes, that is one example. They do not have to be long-term and short-term. More accurate to say “seen” and “unseen”, in Hazlitt-like language. Or, in language more appropriate to Objectivists, we might say “the focussed upon” and the “not focussed upon”.
That’s what I thought, but the advice in that book has totally transformed the way I think about programming – you can’t afford to code without reading it.
Sold! It will be in my next Amazon order. If only I’d made that decision 6 hours earlier, I’d have combined it with something else for free shipping!
Hard to say; a lot of the most important work has been in the form of academic papers rather than books (Turing and Einstein would be 2 examples). Ayn Rand’s novels would obviously be up there though, along with Darwin’s Origins, Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations, Chomsky’s review of Skinner which destroyed behaviorism academically, pretty much everything written by Nietzsche, Knuth’s computer programming series (just because its _read_ by a small group doesnt mean that others dont benefit from it indirectly), Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior, and Orwell’s 1984 which has made people a bit more distrustful of government.
There’s also a lot of specialised scientific ‘books’ which I havent read, but assume are highly important: Maxwell’s treatise on electrodynamics, Mises on economics, etc.
Well, I guess we all agree on Atlas Shrugged.
I would include “the origin of the species” and definitely more science-books.
Any suggestions?
For the 19-th century I would say -A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism- by James Clerk Maxwell is probably the most important book published that century. From it flows the entire field of electrodynamics and it was the ground work for Einstein later researches which culminated with Einstein’s famous -On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies-, aka The Special Theory of relativity.
Maxwell’s alteration of the equations for the electric and magnetic fields that included the term for the “displacement current” produced the theory of electromagnetic waves (in short light and radio) was probably the most important single event of the 19-th century. Compared to this scientific breakthrough, all the political and economic roiling and broiling of the 19th C. is of little consequence.
Bob Kolker