Thomas Paine's ' Common Sense.'
Thomas Paine's ' Common Sense.'
You have a noble goal, and you are among many like-minded people. Had letsrun been around when I was your age, I would probably have posted the same question.
While reading 10 powerful books is a great way to dip your toe in the water, I would recommend thinking a little bit about what it is you are really trying to do.
If you simply want to get exposed to great literature, pick 10 works covering a variety of time periods and literary styles (don't leave out plays and poetry). There are too many to choose from, which is why there are lists of 500 or more out there. The way people read 500 great books is to have a "living list of 10" that you never seem to get to the bottom of...
If you want to start pondering deep profound ideas, filter your selections into more ominous books such as "1984", "Farenheit 451", etc.
If you are trying to lay the foundations for a great intellect (my recommended approach), thoroughly learn the subject of logic, read the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, read "The Outlines of the Catholic Faith" (whatever your religious leanings it is important to understand the foundation from which most of the last 2000 years of literature, philosophy, art, and even science has sprung). From this foundation you can begin to read other philosophy, political writings, etc and have the might to analyze what is written versus simply accepting it at face value. The Catholic element is important because the Catholic church shaped Western civilization and even in today's seemingly hedonistic and atheistic times, 99% of what we do and why we do it came from the Catholic church.
I will go against the grain and recommend against reading the Bible. It is an extremely long book and best to be read after you've learned a great deal of history, philosophy, and logic. I read it when I was 15 or 16 and did not really learn anything from it other than familiarizing myself with some of the bible stories. If you lean towards not believing in God, you will be bored to death and forcing your way through, and if you lean the other way, you will not have time to read it deeply enough to make it worth your while. Maximize your time by leaving this book off your short list and instead expose yourself to Catholic philosophy in outline form. When you get further down the road to enlightenment, the Bible will always be in print somewhere...
I will even go so far as to say that most people should not read the Bible, ever. To understand it fully takes enormous commitment that most will not make. Why read a book that will eat so much of your time and not enlighten you? If you were fully religious and you had 1 year to live, would you try and tackle the Bible, or just read other religious scholars' philosophical writings? The Bible probably works better in the church environment, where over years and years they cover a few passages and discuss the meaning of them.
Bear in mind that knowledge is a giant step below comprehension. Our school system and media of today are pimping knowledege and not much more. Choose books that enable you to comprehend.
I ramble but I hope I gave you some starting points.
Bear in mind that knowledge is a giant step below comprehension. Our school system and media of today are pimping knowledege and not much more. Choose books that enable you to comprehend.
I ramble but I hope I gave you some starting points.[/quote]
I think if you are going to start with the foundations, you really have to start before Catholic texts and go into the Greek philosophers. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle really laid the foundation for Christian religion and modern science. It is amazing to read their works and then understand the influence they had for modern thought.
Great topic, but, in my opinion, 10 books simply aren't sufficient. Say, for example, you sit down and read the Bible - which bits are significant?
You read Exodus 22:2, find out that it is OK with God if you kill a burglar, what does that have to do with Western legal philosophy, both in settled law and current debate? You'll have to read Aquinas to understand how he develops the biblical passage into a defence of self-defence through the doctrine of double effect, but then you'll have to read Phillipa Foot (or one of many others) to understand how double effect affects e.g. the arguments for and against euthanasia. Double effect is massively influential in our society it is the legal bedrock that ensures you won't be prosecuted for harming another when you defend yourself against attack - but you won't get that from reading Exodus.
That is just one example, but I think you can see my point - if you only want to read 10 books, perhaps you might be better to ignore the source books and look for good books explaining WHY the others are influential?
Of course, all you'll have then is the author of the expository book's opinion, but at least you can think about whether you agree with him/her or not.
My two-penn'orth on good books that "explain" Western civilization:
Ludwig Wittgenstein: Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations;
Theodor Adorno & Max Horkheimer: Dialectic of Enlightenment;
Michel Foucault: Disciple & Punish and The History of Sexuality;
Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morality and Thus Spake Zarathustra;
Sigmund Freud: Totem and Taboo.
There are lots of others, obviously, but I think these would at least give you an idea WHY certain texts are influential.
You have a good point re: the Bible, the much of it is a slog. On the other hand, a basic understanding of many of the stories, especially those found in Genesis, Exodus, and the Gospels is essential to fully understanding western literature, most of which directly references or at least alludes to these stories in some way.
You make another good point when you ask what the goal is of reading these books. I disagree, though, when you suggest dystopic novels like 1984 to be the route to "profound ideas". Don't get me wrong, I love them too (my favorites include Oryx and Crake, The Road, and Brave New World), but I would steer the OP to books like Siddartha (Hesse), Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Nietzsche), Journey to Ixtlan (Castenada), and, yes, The Sand County Almanac (Leopold). Novels like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Pirsig), For Whom the Bell Tolls (or any Hemingway) and Catch-22 are also great, but I wouldn't start there.
I would also say to the OP, do not be afraid to re-read or re-try books you've already read or started and couldn't get through. Many times I've started a book and not been able to get through it, or finished and wondered what all the fuss was about. Reading/trying them again years later was a revelation (For Whom the Bell Tolls is a perfect example), I just wasn't ready for it yet.
its the truth wrote:
The Aeneid - Virgil
I was hoping someone would mention The Aeneid. Virgil was held in *incredibly* high regard for centuries as the premier Latin poet. People would use The Aeneid for purposes of divination.
I wanted to say many thanks to all the people who took the time to respond to my questions. I guess if I were to write it again, I would have rephrased it a bit to something along the lines of, 'What do you think are 10 very influential books that a high school student should read?', or something like that.
There obviously is not a clear road to the enlightment that I am searching for, but many of you have given me great ideas.
I have already read some of the dystopian books mentioned, like 1984, and I did read The Stranger by Camus and Siddhartha by Hesse.
I am not a very fast reader, and, as I mentioned, I know I don't really have the background to understand a lot of these great books.
I am working on reading the Iliad right now and recently finished reading Gilgamesh. I think I should read the Odyssey also, and maybe the Aeneid. My dad suggested reading some of Plato's dialogues and The Republic, as those had a big impact on him in high school.
I know I can't read the whole Bible - I am just too slow a reader. But I think I should try and read at least a few of the key books. I was not raised in a religious family, so I feel really lost and ignorant about this.
I have read a couple of Shakespeare's plays but need to read more. They are a bit hard for me to understand, but there are lots of study aids out there for Shakespeare. I would really like to read Dante but I think I'll need help with that one.
I am not familiar at all with the Sand County Almanac that several people have mentioned. What is it and what is its significance?
Thanks again to all. And, by the way, I also love to run and hope to run in college. But I guess my hope is to be a well rounded athlete with interests both on and off the track.
educable hs runner wrote:
I am not familiar at all with the Sand County Almanac that several people have mentioned. What is it and what is its significance?
I would love to answer this question. The Sand County Almanac was written by Aldo Leopold, a conservationist and ecologist who died in 1948, and the book was published a year later in 1949. Most of the book is Leopold talking about the workings of nature around his farm in Wisconsin, his efforts to restore his land, and other random nature-focused essay. The book is arranged by the 12 months of the years, and is mostly a bunch of different essays.
Leopold is important because he is considered the founder of modern ecology. Ecology is all about understanding interactions between living organisms that work together to function as ecosystems. In Sand County Almanac advocated for looking at nature as a functioning system and understanding the role of each organism in the ecosystem rather than focusing on the management of single animals. He calls for reassessing the human relationship with the land, called the land ethic. He developed this view after being a wildlife hunter in his earlier years.
I think what makes Sand County Almanac so good is that Leopold develops his arguments about the relationship between humans and ecosystems in beautiful, convincing prose. The book has produced many memorable quotes that infect the minds of ecologist everywhere. Examples: "We shall never achieve harmony with land, any more than we shall achieve absolute justice or liberty for people. In these higher aspirations, the important thing is not to achieve but to strive." and "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." Those quotes are brief, but so profound and excellent guiding principles for conservation-minded people everywhere. Leopold creates a wonderful framework for addressing conservation in modern society. The arguments in the book seem timeless. Other environmental texts seemed to get outdated with new information. But the philosophical guiding principles in Sand County Almanac still are relevant today.
No one reads this crap.
Books are pretty much done.
Snookie on MTV is more well known than any of those silly books.
And being "well-known," even if you're a public disgrace, is really what's most important, isn't it?
About 75% occupation is the common accepted amount. The lands conquered were barbarian and aboriginal and did not have any culture/civilization. Rome and Greece had a miniscule influence on the 95% barbarian population of Europe. U.S. revisionists have romanticized Old Europe in ways that baffle those of us from Europe. In fact 95% of 11C Europe was barbarian/aboriginal as was the Americas, Africa, Oceania. Only East and Central Asia had any semblace of culture during that preiod. The Mongols defeated the semi-civilized Teutonic Knights, Rus, Knights Tempar and created the racial stock of Europe that we have today. Fully 2/3rds of Europe is Mongol blooded. When I look at myself in the mirror I cannot see any connection to China/Mongolia, yet in my 40's I still have the Mongol patch on the small of my back which links me through Mongol soldiers back to the North Asian Steppes. The external appearances of Europeans was totally transformed by the Hordes. Geneticists report that 1/3rd of the average European's genes are Asian and African. We appreciate this part of our history as gruesome as it is to you Americans. Enjoy...
No wonder Ryan Hall has those slanty eyes and high cheekbones. Go Ryan Hall !
First I would like to see ANY reputable historic source that the Mongols having 75% of Europe. Their control has been WELL established as being in the areas I already pointed out. The Extent of the Golden Horde and of Timur the Lame are both well known.
And you are calling the High Middle Ages "barbians" in "mud huts"? You've confused the Early Middle Ages and the Fall of Rome with the High Middle Ages. There were 200,000 thousand people living in Paris at that time. Their was what is known as the "Renaissance of the 12th century" due to Latin speaking areas being reintroduced to early greek and latin literature from the Islamics (THROUGH THE IBERIAN, not the Golden Horde, who spent half the time they were in eastern europe in civil war) Many of the Italian Seaports became huge regional trading powers. Most of the knowledge that was regained came from the Islamics in Spain and Scicily or from Byzantium in the Ottoman Empire. This continued until the devistation of the Black Death. (which by the way also devistated the Golden Horde, in fact many historians think that the outbreak developed around the Crimea). The Black Death devistated Europe and it didnt really recover until the Renaissance.
And as for your "blood" evidence, I would like to see that too. Because everything I've read has Mongol blood only existing in the Russian and Slavic people in any sort of measureable amount
Atlas Shrugged
I would also add Max Weber's "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" on the list, along with perhaps his "Sociology of Religion" and/or "The Theory of Social/Economic Organization".
Russia is 2/3rds of Europe all by itself. With Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Turkey always bragging about their Great Khan, that's most of the continent. Plus check out the Eurasian chicks in Czech Repub, yummy !
Adolph Hitler hated the HUNS who crossed over from China and raped Germany for 500 years messing up the pure White gene theory in his Aryan Race myth. Hitler hated Mongols too. Although Hitler was a Christian he hated Semite Arabs and Semite Jews for being half Black African. Jesus was a black man (The Bible says Jesus had "hair of lambs wool"). The more you study white racists like Hitler, John C, Calhoun, Theodor Herzl, etc. the more you discover that the concept of "White People" is a myth, a fantasy. There is no biological whiteness. Forget about it dude.
@educable hs runner--
looks like you've made a good start--keep at it. theres no way you can read all the books which are "influential" to western culture by HS or even end of college---theres just too many. But the key thing is you want to try a bit
heres some points to remember:
1. running and reading go VERY well together. they re-inforce each other--you can and should become a bit obsessed with both--distance running is probably the most intellectual sport, as it attracts cerebral high-minded people...
2. sometimes instead of going from book to book, it can be better to just get "obsessed" with one author and then read every work he's published. I did that w/ herman hesse in HS--by the time i graduated HS i had read all his books(i don't really recommmend this author though)
3. The Republic, The Iliad, some parts(certainly not all) of the Bible, and as much of Shakespeare as you can is a really good start for a HS student--If i were to say "read everything he ever wrote" for one writer it would be more applicable to Shakespeare than anybody else--
It might take you a few years to do this, even well into your college years, but its definitely not that hard. Well worth the effort...
now, go for a run
Hero With A Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell.
Any list without this is a sham.
