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243 Of The Most Popular Non-Fiction Books Of All Time – With Free Legal Download Links

243 Of The Most Popular Non-Fiction Books Of All Time – With Free Legal Download Links

This compilation, although not originally compiled by us, is by far one of the most ambitious and time consuming project, as we have to find a free legal downloadable links for every single title listed below. This time around, we’ve omitted titles which are not available for free legally, and only keep ebooks which can be downloaded (they’ll be represented with a red underlined format). Additionally, we’ve also added a short description of each title so you’ll have a basic idea on what it’s about. Regardless, if you by any chance have a hardcover, physical copy or any sort, a purchased electronic copy of any of the title, this list is a good guidance of where the title ranks. If we haven’t state the obvious, all of these titles are arranged by their level of popularity, calculated using an algorithm created by the original curator at thegreatestbooks.org. Their list only links to the commercial versions at Amazon, but we’ll make it special for you by linking it to the free ones.

Our previous post 243 Of The Most Popular Fiction Books Of All Time covers the Fiction side of it.

How the algorithm works is fairly simple. 121 “best books to read” lists from all over the place are compiled and then sorted based on how many times a title appear in a particular list. The more it ranks in 1 list, the higher the value it carries and positions this title in the master list which can be found below. Treat this as the list of the list to see where your favorite book stands. Pretty good resource for you to check out if you’re searching for a new book to read, or just to see how many of the books that you can cross off the list. Do take note that this list includes very old and ancient titles, so calling it a timeless collection of reading materials is not exactly an exaggeration.

We hope you’ll find this list resourceful and fun to go through as much as we’ve burned all of our midnight oils checking and compiling all the links for you. But there could still be errors or broken links among them, so feel free to get in touch with us to let us know. Happy browsing, reading or sharing, however you want to utilize this list, we shall leave it up to you. Cheers!

243 Of The Most Popular Non-Fiction Books Of All Time – With Free Legal Download Links

  1. Essays by Michel de Montaigne (1580) – The works of the French essayist reflect his views of morality, society, and customs in the late sixteenth century.
  2. Confessions by Augustine (398) – This book invites readers to join Augustine in his quest that led him to be one of the most influential Christian thinkers in the history of the church.
  3. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (1532) – The classic handbook of statecraft written four centuries ago by an Italian nobleman recommends guile and craftiness to attain and maintain political power.
  4. Walden by Henry David Thoreau (1854) – The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, and manual for self reliance.
  5. On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (1859) – Charles Darwin’s On The Origin of Species, in which he writes of his theories of evolution by natural selection, is one of the most important works of scientific study ever published.
  6. The Complete Works of Plato by Plato (347BC) – Gathers translations of Plato’s works and includes guidance on approaching their reading and study
  7. The Republic by Plato (380BC) – Republic is the central work of the Western world’s most famous philosopher. Essentially an inquiry into morality, Republic also contains crucial arguments and insights into many other areas of philosophy.
  8. The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr and E. B. White (1918) – This classic book is intended for use in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature, it gives in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style and concentrates attention on the rules of usage…
  9. Pensées by Blaise Pascal (1670) – The Pensées is a collection of fragments on theology and philosophy written by 17th-century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal.
  10. Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville (1840) – These notes formed the basis of Democracy in America. This landmark work initiated a dialogue about the nature of democracy and the United States and its people that continues to this day.
  11. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (1938) – A firsthand account of the brutal conditions of the Spanish Civil War, George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia includes an introduction by Julian Symons.
  12. The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1782) – In addition to making his mark as a prominent philosopher, educational theorist, and musician, renaissance man Jean-Jacques Rousseau was also a pioneer in the genre of autobiographical writing.
  13. Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (1848) – In this 1848 publication, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels expound the program and purpose of the Communist League who commissioned the work.
  14. Relativity by Albert Einstein (1917) – In this short book Einstein explains, using the minimum of mathematical terms, the basic ideas and principles of the theory which has shaped the world we live in today.
  15. Das Kapital by Karl Marx (1867) – Living in exile in England, where this work was largely written, Marx drew on a wide-ranging knowledge of its society to support his analysis and generate fresh insights.
  16. Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for Everyone and Nobody by Friedrich Nietzsche (1883) – Presents the author’s ideas about the problem of living a fulfilling life in a meaningless world.
  17. The Histories of Herodotus by Herodotus (420BC) – Here is the historian, investigating and judging what he has seen, heard, and read, and seeking out the true causes and consequences of the great deeds of the past.
  18. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (167) – With an Introduction that outlines Marcus’s life and career, the essentials of Stoic doctrine, the style and construction of the Meditations, and the work’s ongoing influence.
  19. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes (1651) – The state, a union of people, where the will of a single one (the state) is compulsory for everybody, has a task to regulate the relations between all the people. The book was banned several times in England and Russia.
  20. Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1882) – A soul-satisfying collection of 12 essays by the noted philosopher and poet who embraced independence, rejected conformity, and loved nature.
  21. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (1929) – In this classic essay, she takes on the establishment, using her gift of language to dissect the world around her and give voice to those who are without.
  22. The Principles of Psychology by William James (1890) – This book marked a turning point in the development of psychology as a science in America.
  23. The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis (1943) – C. S. Lewis sets out to persuade his audience of the importance and relevance of universal values such as courage and honor in contemporary society.
  24. The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (450BC) – Thucydides traces the conflict’s roots and provides detailed, knowledgeable analyses of battles and the political atmosphere.
  25. Collected Essays of George Orwell by George Orwell (1961) – In this selection of essays, he ranges from reflections on his boyhood schooling and the profession of writing to his views on the Spanish Civil War and British imperialism.
  26. The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell (1823) – As Johnson’s constant and admiring companion, Boswell was able to record not only the outward events of his life, but also the humour, wit, and sturdy common sense of his conversation.
  27. The Art of War by Sun Tzu (200BC) – As Sun Tzu said the art of war is of vital importants to the State. The treatise by Sun Tzu influenced crucially on a whole military art of the East.
  28. The Annals of Imperial Rome by Cornelius Tacitus (120) – Tacitus’ Annals of Imperial Rome recount the major historical events from the years shortly before the death of Augustus up to the death of Nero in AD 68.
  29. Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein (1953) – The Philosophical Investigations of Ludwig Wittgenstein present his own distillation of two decades of intense work on the philosophies of mind, language and meaning.
  30. Parallel Lives by Plutarch (120) – Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans or Parallel Lives is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably written at the beginning of the second century AD.
  31. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (1942) – The book brings together C. S. Lewis’s legendary radio broadcasts during the war years, in which he set out simply to explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times.
  32. Pragmatism by William James (1907) – This rare book contains an introduction to William James’s ideas of philosophical pragmatism.
  33. Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton (1908) – In the book’s preface Chesterton states the purpose is to attempt an explanation, not of whether the Christian faith can be believed, but of how he personally has come to believe it.
  34. Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche (1886) – Always provocative, the Friedrich Nietzsche of Beyond Good and Evil is at once sceptical psychologist and philosopher-seer, passionately unmasking European society with his piercing insights and uncanny prescience.
  35. Discourse on Method by Rene Descartes (1637) – He deduced that human beings consist of minds and bodies; that these are totally distinct ‘substances’; that God exists and that He ensures we can trust the evidence of our senses.
  36. Tao Te Ching by Laozi (300BC) – Written during the golden age of Chinese philosophy, and composed partly in prose and partly in verse, the “Tao Te Ching” is surely the most terse and economical of the world’s great religious texts.
  37. The Golden Bough by James George Frazer (1890) – The primary aim of this book is to explain the remarkable rule which regulated the succession to the priesthood of Diana at Aricia.
  38. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1776) – This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
  39. The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay (1788) – Scholars have long regarded this work as a milestone in political science and a classic of American political theory.
  40. Analects by Confucius (350BC) – This book detaches the Analects from the Scholastic interpretation and lets these famous sayings speak for themselves.
  41. On Liberty by John Stuart Mill (1859) – In his much quoted, seminal work, On Liberty, John Stuart Mill attempts to establish standards for the relationship between authority and liberty.
  42. The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James (1902) – Soon after its publication, the book entered the canon of psychology and philosophy and has remained in print for over a century.
  43. Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza (1676) – Spinoza’s magnum opus, the Ethics, was published posthumously in the year of his death. The work opposed Descartes’ philosophy of mind–body dualism, and earned Spinoza recognition as one of Western philosophy’s most important thinkers.
  44. Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau (1849) – Naturalist and philosopher Thoreau’s timeless essays on the role of humanity — in the world of nature, and in society and government.
  45. Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington (1901) – Throughout the book, Washington describes his educational philosophy and his hopes and dreams for African Americans.
  46. Memoirs of Cardinal De Retz by Cardinal de Retz (1717) – Rich in titles on English life and social history, this collection spans the world as it was known to eighteenth-century historians and explorers.
  47. A Mathematician’s Apology by G. H. Hardy (1940) – This is a unique account of the fascination of mathematics and of one of its most compelling exponents in modern times.
  48. The Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy by Issac Newton (1687) – The illuminating Guide to Newton’s Principia by I. Bernard Cohen makes this preeminent work truly accessible for today’s scientists, scholars, and students.
  49. The Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner (1920) – This hugely influential work marked a turning point in US history and culture, arguing that the nation’s expansion into the Great West was directly linked to its unique spirit.
  50. The Memoirs of the Duke of Saint-Simon on the Reign of Louis XIV. and the Regency by Louis de Rouvroy Saint-Simon (duc de) (1755) – This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
  1. Economy and Society by Max Weber (1922) – This book provides an indispensable introduction to Weber’s Economy and Society, and should be mandatory reading for social scientists who are interested in Weber.
  2. Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (1536) – Finally we have a superb English translation of this edition by a premier Calvin scholar. Elsie McKee knows Calvin and knows French. The result is a wonderful contribution to Calvin studies in the English-speaking world.
  3. The Praise of Folly by Erasmus (1509) – Erasmus reached England after a stay in Italy early in the summer of 1510.
  4. History of My Life by Giacomo Casanova (1822) – He spent his last years in Bohemia as a librarian in Count Waldstein’s household, where he also wrote the story of his life.
  5. Centesimus Annus by Pope John Paul II (1889) – A condensation of Centesimus Annus, accompanied by the pope’s own public comments on it, starts off this stimulating collection.
  6. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence (1926) – Written between 1919 and 1926, this text tells of the campaign aganist the Turks in the Middle East, encompassing gross acts of cruelty and revenge, ending in a welter of stink and corpses in a Damascus hospital.
  7. Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain (1883) – Mark Twain relates the boyhood experiences on the Mississippi that led to his ambition to be a river-boat pilot.
  8. On the Genealogy of Morality by Friedrich Nietzsche (1887) – Major work on ethics, by one of the most influential thinkers of the last 2 centuries, deals with master/slave morality and modern man’s moral practices; the evolution of man’s feelings of guilt; and ascetic ideals.
  9. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus (1543) – His remarkable work, On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres, stands as one of the greatest intellectual revolutions of all time, and profoundly influenced, among others, Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton.
  10. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume (1748) – This book has proven highly influential, both in the years that would immediately follow and today. Immanuel Kant points to it as the book which woke him from his self-described “dogmatic slumber”.
  11. Histories by Cornelius Tacitus (110) – In the surviving books of his Histories the barrister-historian Tacitus, writing some thirty years after the events he describes, gives us a detailed account based on excellent authorities.
  12. The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton (1925) – Chesterton detailed his own spiritual journey in Orthodoxy, but in this book he tries to illustrate the spiritual journey of humanity, or at least of Western civilisation.
  13. Euclid’s Elements by Euclid (280BC) – The definitive edition of one of the very greatest classics of all time–the full Euclid, encompassing almost 2500 years of mathematical and historical study.
  14. Enneads by Plotinus (250) – Plotinus was convinced of the existence of a state of supreme perfection and argued powerfully that it was necessary to guide the human soul towards this state.
  15. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein (1933) – The book starts with Alice’s days in San Francisco, before she moved to France, then describes her moving to Paris, meeting Gertrude, and starting their life together.
  16. Apology by Plato (399BC) – Apology is Plato’s version of the speech given by Socrates as he defended himself in 399 BC against the charges of corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel.
  17. Thoughts for the Times on War and Death by Sigmund Freud (1915) – a set of twin essays written by Sigmund Freud in 1915, six months after the outbreak of World War I. The essays express discontent and disillusionment with human nature and human society in the aftermath of the hostilities; and generated much interest among lay readers of Freud.
  18. The Acquisitive Society by R. H. Tawney (1926) – This 1926 survey, written by a distinguished social and economic historian, examines the role of religion in the rise of capitalism.
  19. Common Sense by Thomas Paine (1775) – Collects passages about freedom from the government, religions, and monopolies, taken from Thomas Paine’s books, letters, and pamphlets.
  20. The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen (1899) – Classic of economic and social theory offers satiric examination of the hollowness and falsity suggested by the term “conspicuous consumption,” exposing the emptiness of many standards of taste, education, dress, and culture.
  21. Rameau’s Nephew by Denis Diderot (1805) – Unpublished during his lifetime, both of these powerfully controversial works show Diderot to be one of the most advanced thinkers of his age, and serve as fascinating testament to the philosopher’s wayward genius.
  22. Science and Hypothesis by Henri Poincaré (1905) – It was designed with non-specialist readers in mind, and contains information on mathematics, space, physics and biology. The main theme of this work is that the absolute truth of science is non-existent.
  23. What Is Metaphysics? by Martin Heidegger (1935) – This book contains a series of lectures delivered by Heidegger in 1935 at the University of Freiburg. In this work Herdegger presents the broadest and the most inteligible account of the problem of being, as he sees this problem.
  24. A General Introduction to Psycho-Analysis by Sigmund Freud (1952) – Presents twenty-eight lectures in which Sigmund Freud sets forth with a frankness almost startling the difficulties and limitations of psychoanalysis.
  25. Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego by Sigmund Freud (1922) – In Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, Freud explores theories on group dynamics and how psycho-sociological forces shape personality.
  26. An Introduction to Mathematics by Alfred North Whitehead (1910) – Concise volume for general students by prominent philosopher and mathematician explains what math is and does, and how mathematicians do it.
  27. The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (1912) – Clear and accessible, this little book is an intelligible and stimulating guide to those problems of philosophy which often mistakenly make the subject seem too lofty and abstruse for the lay mind.
  28. Selected Papers on Hysteria by Sigmund Freud (1912) – This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
  29. Poetics by Aristotle (335BC) – What is poetry, how many kinds of it are there, and what are their specific effects?’ Aristotle’s Poetics is the most influential book on poetry ever written.
  30. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin (1771) – Originally written as a guide for his son, Benjamin Franklin discusses his life, accomplishments, and ideas.
  31. Two Treatises of Government by John Locke (1689) – This analysis of all of Locke’s publications quickly became established as the standard edition of the Treatises as well as a work of political theory in its own right.
  32. Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey (1918) – Eminent Victorians marked an epoch in the art of biography; it also helped to crack the old myths of high Victorianism and to usher in a new spirit.
  33. Facundo by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (1845) – The book brings nineteenth-century Latin American history to life even as it raises questions still being debated today. Questions regarding the “civilized” city versus the “barbaric” countryside.
  34. Maximes by François duc de La Rochefoucauld (1680) – La Rochefoucauld himself added to the text many times during his life, and the version published here contains 641 of his maxims. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in French literature and moral philosophy.
  35. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein (1921) – In his proposal of the solution to most philosophic problems by means of a critical method of linguistic analysis, Wittgenstein sets the stage for the development of logical positivism.
  36. Letters on England by Voltaire (1778) – This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
  37. The Works of Max Beerbohm by Max Beerbohm (1896) – This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
  38. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft (1798) – In an era of revolutions demanding greater liberties for mankind, Mary Wollstonecraft was an ardent feminist who spoke eloquently for countless women of her time.
  39. The American Language by H. L. Mencken (1919) – Perhaps the first truly important book about the divergence of American English from its British roots, this survey of the language as it was spoken-and as it was changing-at the beginning of the 20th century.
  40. The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois (1903) – This landmark in the literature of black protest eloquently affirms that it is beneath the dignity of a human being to beg for those rights that belong inherently to all mankind.
  41. Balzac by Stefan Zweig (1946) – This late work reads like a picaresque novel, with Balzac’s quest for “a woman with a fortune” and recurrent episodes of the author chasing an elusive pot of gold driving the story.
  42. Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres by Henry Adams (1918) – Two novels dealing with the impact of social change on women are accompanied by autobiographical writings and an analysis of the medieval spirit in literature and architecture
  43. The Lives of the Twelve Caesars by Suetonius (121) – This text by Suetonius, a Latin biographer, is a major source for the period from Julius Caesar to Domitian.
  44. The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin (1839) – From 1831-1836 Charles Darwin embarked on a journey aboard the H.M.S. Beagle that eventually led to him to the famous conclusions he drew in Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
  45. An Autobiography of Anthony Trollope by Anthony Trollope (1883) – Dive into the back story behind renowned British novelist Anthony Trollope’s rise to literary fame and glory.
  46. Prejudices (First to Third Series) by H. L. Mencken (1919) – The iconoclastic essay collections that ushered in a new cosmopolitanism and skepticism.
  47. The Meaning of Truth by William James (1909) – The influential philosopher’s preoccupation with ultimate reality and his turn toward a metaphysical system are the focus of these 12 essays. Systematic and compact, they form an indispensable key to understanding James’ other works.
  48. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke (1690) – This volume is original in that it focuses on the last two of these topics and provides a clear and insightful survey of these overlooked aspects of Locke’s best known work.
  49. A Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson (1755) – Published in 1755, this work marked a milestone in a language in desperate need of standards. It contains a selection from the original, offering passages on subjects ranging from books and critics to dreams and ethics.
  50. The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill (1869) – This book contains chapters discussing the subjection of women. The notions of social equality, freedom of women, marriage, and the social relations between the sexes.
  1. 孟子 by Mencius (400BC) – Mencius, who lived in the 4th century B.C., is second only to Confucius in importance in the Confucian tradition. The Mencius consists of sayings of Mencius and conversations he had with his contemporaries.
  2. Roughing It by Mark Twain (1872) – Roughing It is dedicated to Twain’s mining companion Calvin H. Higbie, later a civil engineer who died in 1914.The book follows the travels of young Mark Twain through the Wild West during the years 1861-1867.
  3. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant (1781) – This entirely new translation of Critique of Pure Reason is the most accurate and informative English translation ever produced of this epochal philosophical text.
  4. Principia Ethica by George Moore (1903) – This volume revolutionized philosophy and forever altered the direction of ethical studies. It clarifies some of moral philosophy’s most common confusions, redefines the science’s terms, and offers compelling arguments.
  5. On Growth and Form by D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson (1917) – D’Arcy Thompson’s classic On Growth and Form looks at the way things grow and the shapes they take.
  6. Letters from an American Farmer by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur (1782) – The discussions of American identity, participation in war (or not), and the perception of immigrants and their ethnicity make this book as relevant to our understanding of ourselves today as it was in 1782.
  7. Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius (121) – The Lives of the Caesars quite often resembles a modern sensationalized tabloid, stuffed with insinuations, scandal, and royal shenanigans, but it is really much more.
  8. Essays of Schopenhauer by Arthur Schopenhauer (1860) – These essays are a valuable criticism of life by a man who had a wide experience of life, a man of the world, who possessed an almost inspired faculty of observation. Schopenhauer, of all men, unmistakably observed life at first hand.
  9. The Twilight of the Idols and The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche (1889) – These 2 polemics blaze with provocative, inflammatory rhetoric. Nietzsche’s “grand declaration of war,” Twilight of the Idols examines what we worship and why. The Antichrist denounces organized religion as a whole.
  10. Selections from the Writings of Kierkegaard by Soren Kierkegaard (1843) – Soren Kierkegaard was an influential Danish philosopher. Selections from the Writings of Kierkegaard include the following: Diapsalmata In Vino Veritas Fear and Trembling Preparation for a Christian Life The Present Moment.
  11. The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain (1959) – Refers to a lengthy set of reminiscences, dictated, for the most part, in the last few years of American author Mark Twain’s life.
  12. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass (1845) – In factual detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States.
  13. The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell (1857) – The Life of Charlotte Brontë presents an intimate portrait of the celebrated author through the eyes of Elizabeth Gaskell.
  14. On War by Carl Von Clausewitz (1832) – Since the work’s first appearance in 1832, it has been read throughout the world, and has stimulated generations of soldiers, statesmen, and intellectuals.
  15. A Preface to Politics by Walter Lippmann (1913) – A Preface to Politics (1913) was the first book of political commentary published by Walter Lippmann, one of the most widely read and influential journalists of the 20th century.
  16. The Promise of American Life by Herbert Croly (1909) – Giant corporations and big business threaten democracy itself. Such was the state of the United States after the Civil War, and if it sounds familiar, then it only underlines the continuing relevance of Herbert Croly’s The Promise of American Life.
  17. The Son of a Servant by August Strindberg (1886) – In the third story of a large house near the Clara Church in Stockholm, the son of the shipping agent and the servant-maid awoke to self-consciousness.
  18. The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle (400BC) – Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, based on lectures that he gave in Athens in the fourth century BCE, is one of the most significant works in moral philosophy, and has profoundly influenced the whole course of subsequent philosophical endeavour.
  19. Germania by Cornelius Tacitus (98) – This edition reflects recent research in Roman-British and Roman-German history and includes newly discovered evidence on Tacitus’ early career.
  20. Human, All Too Human by Friedrich Nietzsche (1878) – More than 1,400 incisive and poetic aphorisms examine morality, religion, government, and society with the philosopher’s characteristic depth of perception, unflinching honesty, and iconoclastic wit.
  21. Parerga and Paralipomena by Arthur Schopenhauer (1851) – These works won widespread attention on their publication in 1851, and helped secure lasting international fame for Schopenhauer. Their intellectual vigour, literary power and rich diversity are still striking today.
  22. The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by Karl Marx (1852) – Marx’s study of the events leading to the coup d’etat of “Napolean the Little” on December 2, 1851, written within a few weeks of the coup, is one of the first works by Marx in which he states his theory of history.
  23. The World as Will and Idea by Arthur Schopenhauer (1819) – Published in 1819, is not only a masterly exposition of philosophy, but a comprehensive record of Schopenhauer’s own views on mankind.
  24. Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari (1908) – Beginning with Cimabue and Giotto in the 13th century, Vasari traces the development of Italian art across three centuries to the golden epoch of Leonardo and Michelangelo.
  25. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle by J. A. Giles and J. Ingram (875) – The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Compiled on the orders of King Alfred the Great The History of the Anglo-Saxons.
  26. A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (1949) – Approaches the prevalent issues in ecology from an aesthitic viewpoint, stressing the beauty and balance of nature.
  27. Areopagitica by John Milton (1644) – This prose-work is one of the classics that encapsulates Milton’s speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the parliament of England. Milton has squabbled against the Licensing order of 1643.
  28. An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings by William Harvey (1628) – The book was first published in 1628 and established the circulation of the blood. Harvey combined observations, experiments, measurements, and hypotheses in extraordinary fashion to arrive at his doctrine. His work is a model of its kind.
  29. Phaedo by Plato (399BC) – The book is written for anyone seriously interested in Plato’s thought and in the history of literary theory or of rhetoric.
  30. Euthyphro by Plato (399BC) – Euthyphro, by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue whose events occur in the weeks before the trial of Socrates (399 BC), for which Socrates and Euthyphro attempt to establish a definitive meaning for the word piety (virtue).
  31. Crito by Plato (399BC) – Crito is a dialogue by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It depicts a conversation between Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito regarding justice, injustice, and the appropriate response to injustice.
  32. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (1963) – When Betty Friedan produced The Feminine Mystiquein 1963, she could not have realized how the discovery and debate of her contemporaries’ general malaise would shake up society.
  33. Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1817) – The British poet states his belief in that philosophy is the basis of criticism
  34. Catiline Orations by Marcus Tullius Cicero (63BC) – From the famous speeches against Catiline to those in defiance of Marc Anthony that would seal the orator’s doom, this collection presents remarkable examples of rhetoric from the ancient Roman politician’s illustrious career.
  35. The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius (524) – Landmark of medieval Western thought written by a 6th-century Roman statesman and philosopher awaiting execution. How to achieve and maintain spiritual peace amid life’s inevitable pain.
  36. An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Robert Malthus (1798) – Malthus’s Essay looks at the perennial tendency of humans to outstrip their resources: reproduction always exceeds food production. Today Malthus remains a byword for concern about man’s demographic and ecological prospects.
  37. A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume (1739) – Hume, a Scottish philosopher, claimed that he was attempting to discuss moral issues with a methodical reasoning, and proceeded to do so in this foundational text.
  38. Essays of Henry David Thoreau by Henry David Thoreau (1862) – A collection of Thoreau’s popular essays.
  39. The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine (1794) – Arguing for the philosophical position of deism. It follows in the tradition of 18th-century British deism, and challenges institutionalized religion and the legitimacy of the Bible.
  40. Kama Sutra by Vatsyayana (200) – This book combines the Hindu sage Vatsyayana’s celebrated treatise with illustrations from various schools of painting on the theme of sexual pleasure. The intention of these works was to provide instruction as well as enjoyment.
  41. A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works by Jonathan Swift (1729) – Treasury of five shorter works includes title piece plus The Battle of the Books, A Meditation Upon a Broom-Stick, A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit and The Abolishing of Christianity in England.
  42. Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa by Mungo Park (1795) – In a time when the world has grown tame and we have to manufacture our adventures, Mungo Park’s Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa is both an education and a delight.
  43. The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron (1937) – The Road to Oxiana offers not only a wonderful record of his adventures, but also a rare account of the architectural treasures of a region now inaccessible to most Western travelers.
  44. Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed (1919) – A book by the American journalist and socialist John Reed about the October Revolution in Russia in 1917, which Reed experienced firsthand. Reed followed many of the prominent Bolshevik leaders closely during his time in Russia. John Reed died in 1920, shortly after the book was finished.
  45. I and Thou by Martin Buber (1923) – It lays out a view of the world in which human beings can enter into relationships using their innermost and whole beings to form true partnerships.
  46. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (1936) – This classic book will turn your relationships around and improve your interactions with everyone in your life.
  47. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs (1861) – One of the first books to address the struggle for freedom by female slaves; explore their struggles with sexual harassment and abuse; and their effort to protect their roles as women and mothers.
  48. Allegorical Expositions of the Holy Laws by Philo of Alexandria (50) – Philo used philisophical representations to fuse and harmonize Jewish traditions and Greek philosophy. It interprets both Jewish and historic Greek philosophies.
  49. Hegel’s Philosophy of Mind by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1807) – Hegel’s aim in this work is to interpret the varied phenomena of Nature from the standpoint of a dialectical logic.
  50. A Daughter of the Middle Border by Hamlin Garland (1922) – Pulitzer Prize-winning sequel to A Son of the Middle Border continues the author’s autobiographical theme and deals sensitively with Garland’s marriage and later career, as well as the challenges of pioneer life in 19th-century mid-America.
  1. The Victory at Sea by William Sowden Sims (1921) – In 1921 Rear Admiral William Sowden Sims won the Pulitzer prize in history for Victory at Sea.
  2. A History of the United States by Edward Channing (1926) – Davis D. Joyce has written an extensive introduction which places Channing and his work in perspective in American historiography.
  3. The War with Mexico by Justin H. Smith (1920) – The relations between the U.S. and Mexico, attitudes on the eve of war, the preliminaries of the conflict, the California question, the war in American politics & the foreign relations of the war.
  4. On the Fabric of the Human Body by Andreas Vesalius (1543) – It was a major advance in the history of anatomy over the long-dominant work of Galen, and presented itself as such. The collection of books is based on his Paduan lectures, during which he deviated from common practice by dissecting a corpse to illustrate what he was discussing.
  5. On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church by Martin Luther (1520) – In this work Luther examines the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church in the light of his interpretation of the Bible.
  6. The Histories by Polybius (264BC) – Polybius’ account of Rome’s rise to world power and her method of rule is a major source for the history of the years 220-146 BC.
  7. The Works of Archimedes by Archimedes (212BC) – Complete works of ancient geometer feature such topics as the famous problems of the ratio of the areas of a cylinder and an inscribed sphere; the properties of conoids, spheroids, and spirals; more.
  8. An Inquiry Into The Causes And Effects Of The Variolae Vaccinae by Edward Jenner (1798) – Contains 23 case studies related to Jenner’s groundbreaking work on cowpox, together with illustrations.
  9. The Coming of the War, 1914 by Bernadotte E. Schmitt (1931) – On 4 August, 1914, the German Government laid before the Reichstag a White Book entitled “How Russia betrayed Germany and caused the European war.”
  10. History of the American Frontier by Frederic L. Paxson (1924) – This 600 page work, based on primary historical sources and published in 1924, brings true frontier life alive.
  11. The Americanization of Edward Bok by Edward Bok (1921) – This Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography charmingly chronicles the life of Edward Bok, the longtime editor of The Ladies Home Journal and a noted philanthropist.
  12. The Founding of New England by James Truslow Adams (1921) – The following account of the founding of New England is intended to serve as an introduction to the later history of that section, and to the study of its relations with other portions of the Empire and with the mother-country, as well as of the section’s influence upon the nation formed from such of the colonies as subsequently revolted.
  13. The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page by Burton J. Hendrick (1923) – Tedious and aged narrative at times. Includes coverage of his role as Ambassador to England during WWII.
  14. The Life of John Marshall by Albert J. Beveridge (1919) – John Marshall (1755-1835) became the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court despite having had almost no formal schooling and after having studied law for a mere six weeks.
  15. Anabasis by Xenophon (370BC) – This book places the Anabasis in its historical and literary context and opens up for the reader different ways of interpreting its major themes.
  16. The New Science by Giambattista Vico (1725) – A pioneering treatise that aroused great controversy when it was first published in 1725, Vico’s New Science is acknowledged today to be one of the few works of authentic genius in the history of social theory.
  17. Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial by Sir Thomas Browne (1658) – A classic 17th-century essay first looks at the idea of burial throughout human history, then explores man’s struggles with mortality and the uncertainty of his fate and fame in the living world. Original.
  18. The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne by Gilbert White (1813) – Different animals and plants; and observations of natural history organized more or less systematically by species and group.
  19. Culture and Anarchy by Matthew Arnold (1869) – Victorian poet and critic Matthew Arnold wrote the essays that constitute Culture and Anarchy between 1867 and 1869, a time of rapid social change and uncertainty.
  20. First Principles by Herbert Spencer (1862) – According to Spencer in First Principles, three principles regulate the universe, namely the Law of the Persistence of Force, the Law of the Instability of the Homogeneous and the Law of the Multiplicity of Effects.
  21. Julia Ward Howe by Laura E. Richards and Maud Howe Elliott (1916) – Published just several years after her death, this biography tells of Julia Ward Howe’s works and accomplishments as a prominent abolitionist, social activist and poet.
  22. Devotions upon Emergent Occasions by John Donne (1624) – Donne divided the book into twenty-three sections, each corresponding to a stage of his illness and each consisting of a meditation, an expostulation, and a prayer.
  23. The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton (1621) – One of the richest, most inexhaustible books in the English language,The Anatomy of Melancholy is an elaborately systematized medical treatise dealing with various morbid mental states.
  24. The Diary of Samuel Pepys by Samuel Pepys (1660) – The editors went back to Pepys’ original 300-year-old manuscript to reconstruct a complete edition of his “Diary” which deals with some of the most dramatic events in English history: the London Fire, the Great Plague, the Restoration of Charles II, and the Dutch Wars.
  25. The Diary and Letters of Madame D’Arblay by Fanny Burney (1778) – Frances Burney, also known as Fanny Burney and after her marriage as Madame d’Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright.
  26. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano (1798) – Once settled in London, he fought tirelessly to end slavery. This edition of Equiano’s Narrative places the text in the center of abolitionist activity in the late eighteenth century.
  27. Tales from Shakespeare by Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb (1807) – An adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic plays based on the original stories of Charles and Mary Lamb offers prose editions of the Bard’s great comedies, tragedies, and history plays.
  28. Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas de Quincey (1821) – This edition includes the 1821 text of Confessions, its important sequel Suspiria de Profundis (1845), and its sequel, The English Mail-Coach (1849), as well as extensive appendices.
  29. Domestic Manners of the Americans by Fanny Trollope (1832) – Published in 1832, the book presents a lively portrait of early 19th-century America as observed by a woman of rare intelligence and keen perception.
  30. London Labour and the London Poor by Henry Mayhew (1851) – A seminal study of London street life in the middle of the 19th century with details of Victorian lower-class life, such as what kinds of foods were sold on the streets, how financial transactions with street-sellers were conducted, etc.
  31. Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget (1852) – Roget’s Thesaurus is a widely used English-language thesaurus, created in 1805 by Peter Mark Roget, British physician, natural theologian and lexicographer.
  32. Household Education by Harriet Martineau (1848) – Martineau wrote Household Education in 1848, lamenting the state of women’s education. She believed women had a natural inclination to motherhood and believed domestic work went hand in hand with academia for a proper, well-rounded education.
  33. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands by Mary Seacole (1857) – In the work Seacole deals with the first 39 years of her life in one short chapter. She then expends six chapters on her few years in Panama, before using the following 12 chapters to detail her exploits in Crimea.
  34. The City of God by Saint Augustine (426) – City of God is an enduringly significant work in the history of Christian thought, by one of its central figures Written as an eloquent defence of the faith at a time when the Roman Empire was on the brink of collapse.
  35. Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson (1879) – An account of the author’s 120 mile walking tour of France with his donkey, Modestine.
  36. Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant (1885) – Intelligent, deeply moving firsthand account of Civil War campaigns, considered by many the finest military memoirs ever written. Includes Grant’s letters to his wife, photographs by Mathew Brady, maps, more.
  37. Brief Lives by John Aubrey (1898) – Full edition in modern spelling of Aubrey’s racy portraits of great figures of 16-17c England, from Sir Walter Raleigh to John Milton.
  38. The Course in Positive Philosophy by Auguste Comte (1842) – Within the work he unveiled the epistemological perspective of positivism. The first three volumes of the Course dealt chiefly with the physical sciences already in existence (mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology), whereas the latter two emphasised the inevitable coming of social science.
  39. De Profundis by Oscar Wilde (1905) – Published posthumously in 1905 by Oscar Wilde’s friend Robert Ross, De Profundis (1905) is a long letter written while the author was in prison on trial on charges of having illicit relations with his friend Alfred Douglas.
  40. The Guide for the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides (1904) – Moses Maimonides was a medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher. His famous work The Guide for the Perplexed combines Aristotelian philosophy with Hebrew Bible theology.
  41. The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes (1919) – Keynes’s brilliant mind and lucid writing are evident on every page. Both of these works are still well worth reading for his many stimulating ideas and profound knowledge of economics.
  42. Natural History by Pliny (the Elder) (79) – Pliny’s Natural History is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology.
  43. My Early Life by Winston Churchill (1930) – The basis for the film Young Winston, this is Churchill’s own account of his school days, his first combat experiences in India, the Sudan, and South Africa, and his early career as an unorthodox Member of Parliament.
  44. The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell (1937) – One of George Orwell’s non-fiction works, The Road to Wigan Pier is an investigation of the harsh living conditions found among the poorer classes in pre-World War II northern England.
  45. Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism by James Clerk Maxwell (1873) – Maxwell made numerous contributions to science, but his greatest work was devoted to electricity. Here, he describes experiments proving that the electric charge can be measured.
  46. Works of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1716) – Features Leibniz’s writings including letters, published papers, and fragments on a variety of philosophical, religious, mathematical, and scientific questions.
  47. Catiline’s War, The Jugurthine War, Histories by Sallust (35BC) – Also included in this volume are the major surviving extracts from Sallust’s now fragmentary Histories, depicting Rome after the death of the dictator Sulla.
  48. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge by George Berkeley (1710) – Assailing Locke’s theory of abstract ideas, Berkeley relates his position to 18th-century scientific thought and traditional religious doctrine.
  49. Surrealist Manifesto by André Breton (1924) – Two Surrealist Manifestos were issued by the Surrealist movement, in 1924 and 1929. They were both written by André Breton. André Breton was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was, above all, a revolutionary movement.
  50. The Confessions of Nat Turner by Nat Turner, Thomas R. Gray (1831) – Published at the height of the civil rights movement, the novel draws upon the historical Nat Turner’s confession to his attorney, made as he awaited execution in a Virginia jail.
  1. Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt (1932) – Black Elk Speaks, the story of the Oglala Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) and his people during momentous twilight years of the nineteenth century, offers readers much more than a precious glimpse of a vanished time.
  2. Symposium by Plato (370BC) – The dramatic nature of Plato’s dialogues is delightfully evident in The Symposium.
  3. The Journals of Lewis and Clark by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (1814) – The diaries and personal accounts of William Clark, Meriwether Lewis, and other members of their expedition chronicle their epic journey across North America in search of a river passage to the Pacific Ocean and describe their encounters with the Native American peoples of the West, exotic flora and fauna, and amazing natural wonders.
  4. The Exploration of the Colorado River by John Wesley Powell (1875) – Full text of Powell’s 1,000-mile expedition down the fabled Colorado in 1869. Superb account of terrain, geology, vegetation, Indians, famine, mutiny, treacherous rapids, mighty canyons.
  5. Travels by Marco Polo (1298) – On his return to the West he was made a prisoner of war and met Rustichello of Pisa, with whom he collaborated on this book.
  6. Farthest North by Fridtjof Nansen (1897) – In 1893 Nansen set sail in the Fram, a ship specially designed and built to be frozen into the polar ice cap, withstand its crushing pressures, and travel with the sea’s drift closer to the North Pole than anyone had ever gone before.
  7. Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana (1840) – In 1834, a Harvard student enlisted as a common seaman, resulting in this adventure classic. Crackling with realism, it offers memorable views of a dangerous voyage, plus fascinating historical details.
  8. South by Ernest Shackleton (1919) – Sir Ernest Shackleton’s astonishing memoir of his 1914 Antarctic expedition explores human courage, tenacity and an unflagging hope in the face of adversity. Southremains one of the greatest adventures of the twentieth century.
  9. Travels in West Africa by Mary Kingsley (1897) – When she fell into a trap lined with sharp sticks, she was saved by her voluminous crinolines – for she always dressed like a lady. Travels in West Africa is a book as vivid and unforgettable as the extraordinary woman herself.
  10. Journals (Cook) by James Cook (1779) – The Journals tells the story of these voyages as Cook wanted it to be told, radiating the ambition, courage and skill which enabled him to carry out an unrivalled series of expeditions in dangerous waters.
  11. Home of the Blizzard by Douglas Mawson (1912) – This is Douglas Mawson’s first-hand account of his years spent in sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds. At the heart of the story is Mawson’s epic sledge journey in 1912-13 during which his companions Ninnis and Mertz both perished.
  12. Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum (1899) – Through this, he was revered by sailors and adventurers around the world. The story of this journey is a classic tale of achievement in the face of overwhelming odds.
  13. First Footsteps in East Africa by Richard Burton (1856) – One of the great adventure classics. Victorian scholar-adventurer’s firsthand epic account of daring 1854 expedition to forbidden East African capital city. A wealth of geographic, ethnographic and linguistic data.
  14. The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman (1847) – The Oregon Trail is the gripping account of Francis Parkman’s journey west across North America in 1846.
  15. A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella L. Bird (1879) – Eloquent descriptions by a middle-aged Englishwoman traveling alone in the Colorado Rockies during 1873 – of flora and fauna, isolated settlers, vigilance committees, lynchings, and other fascinating subjects.
  16. Scrambles Amongst the Alps by Edward Whymper (1871) – First conqueror of Matterhorn describes early mountain climbing, excitement and danger of climbing the high peaks, violent storms, falling rocks, frigid temperatures, glorious alpine scenery, and the thrill of conquest.
  17. Scott’s Last Expedition: The Journals by Robert Falcon Scott (1913) – Scott’s expedition to the South Pole pitted him and his team not only against the elements but also against the Norwegian team, led by Amundsen. In the end, Scott was beaten by both.
  18. My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir (1911) – My First Summer in the Sierra is an account of naturalist John Muir’s travels out west.
  19. Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada by Clarence King (1872) – Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada begins with a summary of the geological history of the Sierras and then recounts King’s experiences in the range, both as a member of the Whitney expedition and as a mountain climber.
  20. The Discovery of the Source of the Nile by John Hanning Speke (1863) – This classic book is Speke’s firsthand account of his second expedition, an exciting blend of adventure, exploration, and geographic and ethnographic data. The book begins with the expedition’s preparations, departure from London, and arrival at Zanzibar in 1859.
  21. The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English by Richard Hakluyt (1582) – Describes, in the words of the explorers themselves, an astonishing era in which the English grew rapidly aware of the sheer size and strangeness of their world.
  22. A Narrative Of The Mutiny, On Board His Majesty’s Ship Bounty; And The Subsequent Voyage Of Part Of The Crew, In The Ship’s Boat by William Bligh (1790) – A British crew mutinies against the cruel commander of the Bounty in 1787.
  23. The Adventures of Captain Bonneville by Washington Irving (1837) – He hunts, shoots, and roves at will through this vast region of rock, precipice, and forest. But this work talks of more than mountains.
  24. Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Theodore Roosevelt (1914) – Theodore Roosevelt’s epic hunting adventures and journeys of exploration throughout North America are the stuff of legend, but what some readers may not know is that Roosevelt’s insatiable love of adventure also took him to other parts of the world. This thoroughly entertaining account of Roosevelt’s travels in Brazil is infused with the author’s bold personality.
  25. Journal of the Voyage to the Pacific by Alexander Mackenzie (1801) – Superb firsthand account of 1793 trek across western Canada to the Pacific. Places, Indian tribes, plants, animals, more.
  26. Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of the North American Indians by George Catlin (1841) – Records the impressions of a nineteenth-century artist who traveled among the Plains Indians
  27. Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River by John Kirk Townsend (1839) – Townsend’s account of his two years at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River and of his return home by way of the Hawaiian Islands and Chile.
  28. How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis (1890) – A must-read for Americans whose family has been in the U.S. for only a few generations, this book tells what it was really like in the slums.
  29. Creatures that Once Were Men by Maksim Gorky (1905) – Russian writer Maxim Gorky is known for his gritty depictions of life in his home country.
  30. The Masters and the Slaves by Gilberto Freyre (1933) – This book looks at the relationship of literary criticism to the social construction of race in Brazil.
  31. Conditioned Reflexes by Ivan Pavlov (1927) – A guide for anybody with a keen interest in the workings of the human brain. The story of Pavlov’s dog being conditioned to drool is well known and has entered the common lexicon, this book is where that study was first published.
  32. The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1945) – The Crack-Up is a collection of writings that chronicle the author’s state of mind and personal perspective on events, fellow writers and public figures of the 1920s and 1930s. In addition to articles and essays such as the celebrated title piece, this volume includes a selection of Fitzgerald’s notebooks.
  33. A Critique of the Theory of Evolution by Thomas Hunt Morgan (1916) – Walter Friedman exposes internal contradictions that nullify the theory of evolution. He also reveals the ways Charles Darwin falsified observation data to promote his pseudoscientific discovery.
  34. The School and the Child by John Dewey (1906) – In this short volume, Dewey discusses the way in which education is fundamentally tied to a thriving democracy.
  35. Theory of Games and Economic Behavior by John Von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern (1944) – A reconstruction of the creation of game theory in the twentieth century by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern.
  36. Encyclicals of Pope John XXIII by Pope John XXIII (1965) – Pope John XXIII issued eight papal encyclicals during his five-year reign as pope of the Catholic Church. An encyclical is a letter issued by the pope that is usually addressed to Catholic bishops or laity in a particular area or of the whole world.
  37. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler (1925) – Hitler began dictating the book to Hess while imprisoned for what he considered to be ‘political crimes’ following his failed Putsch in Munich in November 1923.
  38. The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori (1912) – She is best known for her philosophy of education, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. This book is Montessori’s own exposition of the theory behind her contemporary educational techniques.
  39. Satyagraha in South Africa by Mahatma Gandhi (1928) – The Satyagraha struggle of the Indians in South Africa lasted eight years. The term Satyagraha was invented and employed in connection therewith.
  40. Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead (1928) – Rarely do science and literature come together in the same book.
  41. Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict (1934) – A remarkable introduction to cultural studies, Patterns of Culture is an eloquent declaration of the role of culture in shaping human life.
  42. For the Union Dead by Robert Lowell (1964) – Robert Lowell, with Elizabeth Bishop, stands apart as the greatest American poet of the latter half of the twentieth century—and Life Studies and For the Union Dead stand as among his most important volumes.
  43. Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl Jung (1963) – Memories, Dreams, Reflections details Jung’s childhood, his personal life, and his exploration of the psyche.