[Vision2020] Book list

[Rosemary Huskey]

I admire Neil deGrasse Tyson enormously so I was interested in his reading
list.  I don't agree with all of his choices, and although I find his
one-liners funny I don't necessarily agree with some of them either.  I am
curious what V2020 members would recommend as the five books every
intelligent person should read.


Rose Huskey


Neil deGrasse Tyson Lists 8 (Free) Books Every Intelligent Person Should
Read
<http://www.openculture.com/2011/12/neil_degrasse_tyson_8_books_every_intell
igent_person_should_read.html> 


in Audio Books <http://www.openculture.com/category/audio_books> , Books
<http://www.openculture.com/category/books> , e-books
<http://www.openculture.com/category/e-books> , Physics
<http://www.openculture.com/category/physics>  | December 21st, 2011 390
Comments
<http://www.openculture.com/2011/12/neil_degrasse_tyson_8_books_every_intell
igent_person_should_read.html#comments> 

 
<http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ngd5e/i_am_neil_degrasse_tyson_ama/c3
8vowu?context=2>
http://cdn.openculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ndgt.jpg

A Reddit.com user posed the question to
<http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ngd5e/i_am_neil_degrasse_tyson_ama/c3
8vowu?context=2>  Neil deGrasse Tyson: "Which books should be read by every
single intelligent person on the planet?"

Below, you will find the book list offered up by the astrophysicist,
director of the Hayden Planetarium, and popularizer of science. Where
possible, we have included links to free versions of the books, all taken
from our Free Audio Books <http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks>  and
Free eBooks <http://www.openculture.com/free_ebooks>  collections. Or you
can always download a professionally-narrated book for free from
Audible.com. Details here <http://www.openculture.com/audible> .

If you're looking for a more extensive list of essential works, don't miss
The Harvard Classics
<http://www.openculture.com/2011/07/the_harvard_classics_a_free_digital_coll
ection.html> , a 51 volume series that you can now download online.

1.) The Bible (eBook <http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10> ) - "to learn that
it's easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to
think for yourself."

2.) The System of the World by Isaac Newton (eBook
<http://www.archive.org/stream/newtonspmathema00newtrich/newtonspmathema00ne
wtrich_djvu.txt> ) - "to learn that the universe is a knowable place."

3.) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (eBook
<http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2009>  - Audio Book
<http://librivox.org/the-origin-of-species-by-charles-darwin/> ) - "to learn
of our kinship with all other life on Earth."

4.) Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (eBook
<http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/829>  - Audio Book
<http://www.archive.org/details/gulliver_ld_librivox> ) - "to learn, among
other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos."

5.) The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine (eBook
<http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3743>  - Audio Book
<http://www.archive.org/details/age_reason_0910_librivox> ) - "to learn how
the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the
world."

6.) The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (eBook
<http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3300>  - Audio Book
<http://www.archive.org/details/wealth_nations01_se> ) - "to learn that
capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself."

7.) The Art of War by Sun Tsu (eBook <http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/132>
- Audio Book <http://www.archive.org/details/art_of_war_librivox> ) - "to
learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art."

8.) The Prince by Machiavelli (eBook <http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1232>
- Audio Book <http://www.archive.org/details/prince_pa_librivox> ) - "to
learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and
people in power will do all they can to keep it."

Tyson concludes by saying: "If you read all of the above works you will
glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the
western world."

He has also added  some more thoughts in the comments section below, saying:

Thanks for this ongoing interest in my book suggestions. From some of your
reflections, it looks like the intent of the list was not as clear as I
thought. The one-line comment after each book is not a review but a
statement about how the book's content influenced the behavior of people who
shaped the western world. So, for example, it does no good to say what the
Bible "really" meant, if its actual influence on human behavior is something
else. Again, thanks for your collective interest. -NDTyson

http://www.openculture.com/2011/12/neil_degrasse_tyson_8_books_every_intelli
gent_person_should_read.html

 

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