This is a very short eclectic list of books that I consider to be important. There are many more that could and might be added. Suggestions are welcome. Inclusion on the list says that I consider the book has something important to say. These are books I reflect back on frequently.
Exclusion from the list does not imply anything about any book.
“I, Robot,” written the 1950″s is a series of short stories which traces future of robotics from the simple vacuum cleaner robot, which finally appeared in the last decade to the final chapter where the Robots have taken over. But the final world is a paradise for mankind as the robots are following the three laws of robotics and working for the good of mankind. People could argue for days over where in the scheme from this book we stand today. The book is entertaining and scary and reassuring all at the same time. The movie by this title, by the creator’s own admission, is actually from a different novel.
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
“A Canticle for Leibowitz” by Walter Miller was written in 1957, and was such a hit it was reprinted in 1958. I understand the original rough paged edition is worth into the four figures. The book is in three sections, one each viewing stages of man after the Great Burning in which the masses revolted against the ruling minorities and wiped out almost all knowledge. Only a remote monastery of the Catholic Church survived and kept alive knowledge. We see the remote desert monastery isolated and struggling. Then we see a situation similar to our current world. Finally we see a highly developed culture which destroys itself with the atomic bomb. A entire year long college course on both philosophy and religion could be taught with this as the major text book. The ending is the saddest endiing I have every read to any book.
“Art of War” by Sun Tzu (411BC)
Sun Tzu was a general in ancient China who wrote this very dense text on the “art” of war. Every author on strategy since has quoted or copied from Sun Tzu. Be sure to read it slowly as every sentence drips with wisdom and knowledge of every aspect of war from kinds of spies (disposable vs non disposable) to battles to how to treat prisoners.
“On Killing” by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
US Military Lt Col.Dave Grossman (retired) wrote this very pro-military book to discuss issues from why only two of 8 men in a patrol will actually aim and fire on the enemy, to the errors made by the USA Military in managing their personnel in the Vietnam War. It ranges from discussing the use of round targets in WWII to the use of pop up man model targets in the Vietnam War. Much is the philosophy of battle and war discussed openly and honestly. This is a really good read for someone interested in Military history.
On Combat, The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace
by Dave Grossman and Loren Christenson this book is a followup to “On Killing” expanding the discussion to many more topics. Another great book which reads easily and has important things to say about combat.
The Savage Wars Of Peace: Small Wars And The Rise Of American Power by Max Boot
Amazing history of the US Marines from their first overseas encounter on the Shores of Tripoli to 1940. They actually invaded foreign soil 180 times in those 137 years. Lots of little known history like that the US had a warship on the Yangtze River for 97 years, pulling it in 1947 or 48, to the presence of our Marines on both the North and the East Coasts of the Soviet Union 1917-1918, to a long detailed account of their actions in Central America and the Caribbean in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Both highly readable and entertaining, this is a good read.
Manias, Panics and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises, Sixth Edition
by Charles Kindleberger and Robert Alizer
This book states that the banking community is constantly finding new ways to accumulate money. The governments are chasing after them keeping them honest, fair, and protecting the public from their schemes. This book describes the race through the many bubbles from the Tulip Fiasco in the early 1700’s to about 2000. Each is described in some detail. For a proper perspective on financial crises of our times, this is essential reading.
Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking by Tom Brown
In what I consider the best of Tom Brown’s Field Guides Tom teaches us not to name the snail for the learner, but to ask questions about the snail. Questions such: as how does it eat? How does it move? will teach the learner, adult or child, much more than just teaching the name “snail.” There are 20 wonderful experiments in nature, from a fast walk out and a slow walk back, to diving into the lakes, ponds and puddles, to touring sky clad through the wilderness. For anyone wanting to learn to experience nature, there is no better guide. A near equal is “What Does the Robin Know?”
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
“Flow” discusses how people achieve satisfaction and joy in life, something usually hidden in their life or yard. Every person, to be happy, has to develop something they are proud of, something they create, something they care about. Here is a discussion of the process and lots of examples.
“The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets” by Barbara G. Walker
This encyclopedia is a compendium of myths, signs, lore that makes up the wisdom known by the little old lady who lives on the edge of town, shunned for her “dark” ways but sought out for answers in troubled times, She knows the Old Way. This a dictionary / encyclopedia of the Old Ways. Fingers alone has over 9 pages of discussion. Not an herbology, but an amazing collection of knowledge and facts.
“The Great Migrations: From the Earliest Humans to the Age of Globalization” by John Haywood
Many are the disruptions in the lives of man over the centuries. Many are time times tribes and groups of people, for many reasons have moved. This is a collection of these stories from the arrival of the Hungarians in Europe to the disruptions over many mountains of the Zulu’s push north from the Dutch taking over their land.
“Iron John” by Robert Bly
Every Man has had an older Man, an Iron John, who has taught him to steal the “keys” to life from under his protective mother‘s pillow. This is an early Men’s Movement book of great strength and wisdom.
“The War at the End of the World” by Mario Vargas Llosa
Based on actual history, In approximately 1890 a minor religious cult founded a colony or commune in the wild desert mountains of Northeast Brazil. The authorities felt it their duty and business to wipe out this remote community. This is the story of that war, as told by one of the world’s most famous living authors, a recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Nobel Academy said they awarded Llosa the Nobel Prize “for his cartography of the structures of power and his trenchant images of individuals’ resistance, revolt and defeat.” This is one of his lessor known books, but truly demonstrates his powerful writing about Power and Resistance, Revolt and Defeat. This story is told through multiple first person accounts, separated by one line with one dot in it. Many times the first person is a new character. The story of one battle is told through at least 5 first person accounts, including that of a poor peasant woman caught in the middle of the battle and of a horse. Throughout the book is an exciting read.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
This novel is the story of a group of preteen children selected for their intelligence, trained in a special school with many military overtones. Ender is the best of the bunch. The book is an excellent discussion of handling, training and lives the upper end of intelligence in our schools, of the competitions they are subjected to, and the final use the powers that be make of these children, especially Ender. Card made this the first of a series of novels, extolling his philosophies and beliefs. I did not like any of the rest of the series.
The Bible, King James Version
In our culture this book is the most often quoted book, the source of many references and idioms, a beautiful use of the English Language to express the high ideals of Mankind as told in Christianity. It was written in the 1600’s in a high and formal style for even then. The vocabulary is approximately 15,000 words, nearly twice that of most adults alive today. But the beauty and sweep of the language has never been exceeded in any translations of the Bible since then. Both a source of inspiration and a font of wisdom, the King James Version is truly a great piece of literary art in itself.
Small Unit Leadership: A Common Sense Approach by Dandrage Malone Ret US Army Col.
Retired Col. Dandridge Malone has given us a classic book (1983) on leadership. He starts by defining leadership as working through other people to get a task (mission) done while building the morale and spirit of the group. This is followed by a discussion of what is Army leadership and how it works. Then we get very practical classification of the soldier into 4 categories – willing and able, willing and unable, unwilling but able, and unwilling and unable with a very down to earth discussion of how to handle each category. This is followed by a parallel discussion for groups. Then follows a practical discussion of how to develop soldiers and groups, excellent suggestions, pitfalls, warnings and difficulties. Malone closes with a detailed and practical pointed discussion of 25 different leadership skills from listening to asking the right questions.
The book is well written, an easy read, very practical in its applicability, giving good lists to carry in billfolds and packs, well explained, for a leader to know. There are a few exciting tales from military history (Howard’s Hill in Vietnam, etc) that add to the value of the book demonstrating the how of achieving as a soldier – leader.
The book is 100% military (Army) oriented. But all paramilitary type organizations from fire or police stations to Boy Scouts can benefit from this book. There are items that business and professional organizations can use, but I found those limited. Malone did not intend to address areas other than the small units of the military.
I feel this is the best and most practical of the many books on leadership that I have read. I did not find “fluff” or extraneous material. I found good solid explanations and examples of leadership and the skills necessary to develop leadership.
A True Classic. I am putting in my personal list of seminal books.
Nathan has written of his contacts and co workers in the viral field, from Africa to Malaysia, to San Fransisco. He is respectful and honors their work. These people are unsung heroes, many risking their lives collecting and working with highly risky viruses daily. Their history needs to be told.
Global Viral Forecasting (GVF) and its mission of developing a means of early warning on pandemics is important. We were behind the curve with SARS. We are lucky with small pox being only found in humans, and cow pox so closely related as to be able to provide immunity to small pox. This book may serve to set the tone for more grants and funding finding its way to GVF.
Scary is the information on big data in Chapters 9 and 10. With only cell phone megadata the epicenter of an earth quake in 2009 was found easily. With cell phone mega data and key word search the development of an influenza season was tracked. Wolfe’s claims for the future of mega data, and his ease in discussing it and the accumulation of it by private companies like Google are a little foreboding.
The Viral Storm is well written and reads well. The science is clearly presented. The current state of the knowledge is well laid out with some warnings for future problems. I found it an excellent book, and am ordering a hardcopy for my library.
Parasite Rex
Litany of parasites then science
This review is from: Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature’s Most Dangerous Creatures (Paperback)
At first I was disappointed. The first three chapters were simply a listing of a multitude of parasites and their life cycles. It was a cross between JP Lovecraft and Stephen King for horror. Then slowly the science began to filter in and was amazing.
This is the first book I have seen that speculated on the close relationship between a parasite and its host and how that relationship came to be. Many parasites are totally dependent on their host, and visa versa, e.g. the yucca moth and yucca, neither of which could survive without the other.
This is first book I have seen that speculated on the vast number of parasites and how they probably outnumber the rest of us, including humans and our parasites.
This is the first book I have seen that speculated on the absolute dependency of our ecology on parasites. And made it clear with a multitude of examples.
If you are not squeamish reading about the intimate details of the parasite life style, life cycle and their close, intimate relationship to their hosts, this is an excellent book.
Savage Continent Keith Low
In “Savage Continent” Keith Lowe has written a powerful, well researched and well referenced, mostly balanced account of the horror of the post WWII years, from 1943, when Germany started to retreat, to about 1950, when most of the horrors were over. He depicts WWII as a very complicated intwining of the battles of Fascism, Communism, Democratic idealism, strong interethnic fighting, genocide, ethnic cleansing, local fights, personal grudges, local civil wars that did not end in May 1945.
Europe had destroyed her infrastructure, her cities, her morals, her mores. Europe had abandoned in the face of hunger and hate, her religious principles, her empathy, her concern for the individual. Europe had lowered itself to the lowest of human emotions, especially Vengence and Retribution on all levels from continent wide, to small interpersonal fights. After WWI, the boundaries were moved. After WWII, the masses of people were moved, many times without food, hygiene, protection from the elements or protection from robbers and marauders. All this is described by Keith Lowe in gory detail with examples and frank, open, unsettling accuracy. The horrors of absent hygiene, of being stripped, hands tied behind, and force marched to the edge of mass graves where one was shot or bayonetted along with thousands, and pushed into the mass graves, dead or alive, are well described in detail. If the reader is not willing to wade through the necessary details, it would be best not to read this book. The power of the book comes from the details of the horrors that did not end with the first closing of the concentration camps in 1944 and 1945. (Many were reopened in the interethnic, fratricidal conflicts 1945 – 1950.)
Many of the fractions that made up Europe in that era are well described along with the horrors they both suffered and inflicted. Local civil wars, vengeance and revenge, mutual, reciprocal ethnic cleansing, personal grudges, old raw edges were all wounds that WWII reopened.
There is a brief overview of how the Communists gained power in the Eastern Block Countries. There are vivid descriptions of the resistance to the Communist movements by the locals, especially Lithuanians. If even mentioned, this is a history most often told from one or another viewpoint, twisted and changed, statistics exaggerated or minimized to suit. Keith Lowe gives us the entire picture from both sides and makes honest attempts to point out the changes from both sides. I applaud his efforts and his success. This is a necessary history to know to understand Europe today, the Cold War, McCarthyism, and all of current events, even to the Ukraine Problem in 2014. But this history is not for the squeamish or the naïve.