What do you think is the book that influenced history more than any other book, and why?
I’m going to guess the Bible. Huge impact on the cultures of many nations.
In second place would be the Qu’ran.
The Bible
Runner up: The Koran
Honoarable Mention: Uncle Toms Cabin.
1.) The Bible
2.) Rich Hall’s “Sniglets”
I agree with the bible as #1 and the Qu’ran as #2. For #3 I submit the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels
Let’s say we forget the first five posts in this thread, and remember the name of this message board.
Y’know-the “SD” part of “SDMB”. 
Euclid’s book of algebra, verbatim translations of it continued to be used to teach algebra into the twentieth century.
Other than religious texts, I’d go with Locke’s Second Treatise on Civil Government, considering how many of today’s government’s are based on it. The Origin of Species deserves mention as well.
“The Prince” by Machiavelli
“On the Origin of Species” by Darwin
Honorable Mention:
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations Adam Smith
At the moment I’d nominate in no particular order:
- Plato’s Dialogues, in particular “Timaeus” and “Phaedrus” because they talk about the nature of being and of discourse
- Aristotle’s works, in particular “Poetics” and “Nicomachean Ethics” because if I remember correctly they talk about the structure of poetry and drama and general principles of logic
- Don Quijote by Miguel de Cervantes because it set the standard for the genre of the novel.
Oh, and what about The Art of War by Sun Tzu because it provides strategies for war?
Okay, it’s time for me to leave this thread. 
What’s wrong with saying the Bible? After all, Judaism and Christianity, like it OR NOT, DID have a HUGE impact on history as we know it. You don’t have to like it to acknowledge it. (Hell, our DATING system is based on the life of Christ, is it not?)
However, I would most definetly add the works of Plato, Aristotle, Marx, Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine of Hippo, etc.
Yes, the Bible, Koran… all honorable mentions. The best book: here it goes, drumroll pls: “Green Eggs and Ham” by the (no pun intended) illustrious Dr. Suess. Hehe, sorry Palve, got bored.
D-OOOHH!!! Geometry!! I meant Geometry! I was that tired last night?
Descartes’s Meditations, not for “I think, therefore I am”, but for the second appendix, establishing the core of Cartesian geometry, establishing that any object can be described in mathematical terms.
How about documents as well as books?
U.S. Constitution.
Or possibly even more so, the Code of Hammurabi.
Good one.
Another document: Magna Carta
Another honorable mention book: The first dictionary. Webster? OED? Can’t remember which was first (if it was one of those two). Still, definitely had an effect on language, whatever it was.
“Epic of Gilgamesh” Sort of the precursor to everyone else’s Holy scriptures. IIRC, it’s the first written religious text. Feel free to flay the skin from my back, if I am wrong.