The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Humphrey Carpenter. His letters show the professor to be a brilliant, opinionated, funny man, with a razor-sharp wit (his rebuke to a German publishing house in the 1930s that wanted to know whether he was “Aryan” is a classic). He replied to many fan letters soon after The Lord of the Rings was published, eager to explain and expand upon his work, and answered all of the questions I would’ve asked, if I’d had the chance. This book is the next best thing to a conversation with the Professor himself.
Not cheesy at all, Doug. I’ve read it more than a few times, and would also recommend it.
As my own contribution, I’d recommend The Art of Plain Talk by Rudolf Flesch. If you want to communicate with anyone via speech or writing, this book is a must-read. In fact, I’d say that if you put the lessons from Carnegie and Flesch together, you’ll be an extremely effective communicator; and will find their lessons handy in business, in personal life, in volunteer work, and in many other ways.
Stumbling on Happiness by Harvard professor Daniel Gilbert. It is really all about human perception, how wrong it is and how we persist in leading our lives in the belief that we “know” what is going on. Every chapter is laced with fascinating test results that reinforce the points he is making. He is an amusing writer for a psychologist and I am really enjoying the book.
The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin. The subject of Searching for Bobby Fischer writes an autobiography about his career as a chessmaster and world champion martial artist and tries to explain how the basis of his success was not natural ability but his ability to learn. I haven’t read much yet but it is most engaging.
My favorite celebrity autobiography is Carol Burnett’s “One More Time.” A delightful tale of how a person born into a poor, dysfunctional alcoholic family became a family name.
I agree. This is an extremely funny, well-written book, which also gives some good (and funny) memorization tips. Harris wrote a second book called Who Hates Whom, a light-hearted guide to the various conflicts of the world which is equally as entertaining (which is surprising, given the subject matter).
For anyone interested in video games, I recommend Joystick Nation by J.C. Herz, a very interesting book commenting on why video games appeal to so many to us. Quite possibly the best book ever written on the subject.
The Ancestor’s Tale by Richard Dawkins. It seems a little too technical to people I’ve suggested it to but otherwise liked his other books like The Blind Wachmaker, but I think this one is his best one.
I also liked Over The Edge of The World and From Venice to Xanadu both by Laurence Bergreen. The former deals with Magellan’s Voyage around the world and the second with Marco Polo’s travels in Asia.
I would like to recommend The Drama of the Gifted Child, by Alice Miller, a Swiss psychiatrist. For anyone who has parent issues (and who among us doesn’t?), and for anyone who is a parent, this book could change your life and the lives of your children. She has written a number of excellent books, but among the ones I have read, this was the most profoundly moving for me.
Then there’s The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, for anyone who wants to improve their written style and grammar.
Roddy
Slight hijack - I read Taleb’s “The Black Swan” that dealt with the consequences of totally unforeseeable events, and while I loved the subject matter, Taleb came across as so unbearably arrogant that I found it almost impossible to finish. Does this book have all of the auto-biographical BS that made The Black Swan such a hard read?
And my own suggestions ( Into Thin Air and The Demon Haunted World have been covered emphatically enough, as they should)
Roll, Jordan Roll: The World The Slaves Made - Eugene Genovese
Stiff - Mary Roach (Spook was also wonderful, but I’m having trouble getting excited <heh> about Bonk.)
Big Bang: the Origin of the Universe - Simon Singh
Nickel and Dimed: on Not Getting By In America - Barbra Ehrenreich
The Motion Paradox - Joseph Mazur (Deals with the formation and understanding of Zeno’s Paradoxes
Chances Are: Adventures In Probability - Michael and Ellen Kaplan
[nitpickier]It’s actually On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life[/nitpickier]. It just gets shortened to “The Origin of Species”. I prefer to call it “OTOOSBMONSOTPOFRITSFL”, myself.
For those who prefer a less 1850s prose-oriented book, I’d recommend The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time, by Jonathan Weiner.
I shouldn’t jump in again but I feel the need to recommend the non-fiction writings of two of my favorite authors:
Lauren Slater wrote a book about working in psychiatry after being a patient herself. The book is “Welcome to my Country” and it is wonderful. She has written many other books and articles and she’s always worth reading.
Mark Salzman wrote “Iron and Silk” about living in China, studying martial arts. It’s as good as his memoir of growing up in the suburbs or his tale of teaching writing to prisoners. He is another wonderful writer.
(oh and Dung Beetle - I met Dr. Maples when I worked at his dept at UF long ago. He was jokingly called Dr. Death. A nice, interesting guy)