# Please recommend a book I can learn from. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2002, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018 "2002-06-26T12:01:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/21 "2002-06-26T17:09:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Go alien \* > \*\*If you thought about Origin of Species but would rather read a more modern book, I highly recommend “Almost like a whale” by Steve Jones. It’s a modern book on evolution that follows “Origin’s” structure. Very readable. Also, “Parasite Rex” by Carl Zimmer. An excellent read, full of interesting and occasionally stomach-churning facts like - there are more species of tapeworm than there are of mammals. \*\* For stateside Dopers reading this thread, I’ll mention that Jones’ _Almost Like a Whale_ was titled _Darwin’s Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated_ in the U.S. edition. And I heartily second the recommendation. Also, while I haven’t read Zimmer’s _Parasite Rex_, his \*At the Water’s Edge: Fish With Fingers, Whales With Legs, and How Life Came Ashore but Then Went Back to Sea \* is very good, and makes an excellent companion to another of my favorite books on evolution, _The Beak of the Finch_, by Jonathan Weiner (though _Beak_ seems to be out of print in the UK). For short, highly readable introductions to a wide range of topics in the sciences, it’s hard to do much better than the titles in the [Science Masters](http://williamcalvin.com/bookshelf/ScienceMasters.htm) series put together by John Brockman. The roster of authors includes Richard Dawkins, William Calvin, Steven J. Gould, Daniel Dennett, Richard Leakey, Paul Davies, Jared Diamond, and Daniel J. Hillis (plus about that many more). When you run out of stuff there, you won’t find a much better resource for developing your reading list than neuroscientist William Calvin’s [Bookshelf](http://williamcalvin.com/bookshelf/) page; Calvin’s interests are wide-ranging, and nearly every important book in any of those areas is included in his list. Elsewhere on his site, you’ll find the full texts of most of his books (which are themselves uniformly excellent, though some of the more technical titles are rather heavy going for a layman like myself). And for thoroughly engrossing fiction from which you’ll learn a lot about early nineteenth-century history, culture, and science while being completely taken in with the characters and laughing out loud often, there’s always Patrick O’Brian’s [Aubrey-Maturin](http://www.wwnorton.com/POB/pobtitles.htm#aubrey) novels. Again, William Calvin anticipates me with his [Patrick O’Brian appreciation page](http://williamcalvin.com/bookshelf/POB.htm), which gives more of the flavor of O’Brian’s novels than I could hope to do. ---
**Author:** ![Lao\_Tsu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lao\_Tsu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lao_Tsu)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/22 "2002-06-26T17:28:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ResIpsaLoquitor \* > \*\*_Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_. The author’s name escapes me, but I trust a more…ahem…enlightened Doper will remember it for me. Robert Pirsig wrote \*Zen[/i} and also _Lila; An Inquiry Into Values_. Does this make me enlightened? My parents will be so proud. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/23 "2002-06-26T20:15:28Z")
I found _In Search of Schroedinger’s Cat_, by John Gribbin, to be an excellent introduction to the weirdness of quantum mechanics. Anything by or about Richard Feynman is great. He is generally acknowledged as one of the premier teachers of physics ever, and was a hell of an interesting guy as well. His _Six Easy Peices_ is a great book on physics, if a bit more technical than the Gribbin book. Also _The Character of Physical Law_. And his autobiographies, _Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!_ and _What Do You Care What Other People Think?_ are fascinating and highly entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/24 "2002-06-26T21:29:07Z")
You like history and science? Do I have a book for you: [The Making of the Atomic Bomb](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684813785/qid=1025126515/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-7090687-8492761) by Richard Rhodes. It is a history lesson, science tutorial, set of biographies, and introduction to cold war politics all-in-one. You will _not_ be disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/25 "2002-06-26T22:03:34Z")
I definately wouldn’t read Darwin - reading the original is really overrated imo. Go with a modern dude like Dawkin’s “The Selfish Gene” or Daniel Dennet’s “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea.” If you want a hidden mind-blowing-expanding gem on what the universe is and/or why we are here then I’d go with Arthur Young’s “The Reflexive Universe” - this guy is plain scary- definately the most creative, thought provoking, unique book I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/26 "2002-06-26T22:22:49Z")
Tor Norretranders [The User Illusion](http://www.thymos.com/mind/norretra.html) is pretty good, it starts out pretty dry but the ideas blew me away. Eric Drexler’s [Engines of Creation](http://www.foresight.org/EOC/) is a good start on nanotech, and you’ll get more of the jokes in Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age when you return to fiction. Edmund Morris’ The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is supposed to be great, it won a Pulitzer. I haven’t read it yet and I didn’t much care for Part II Theodore Rex though. Happy reading! ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/27 "2002-06-26T23:03:03Z")
“Flim-Flam” by James Randi. His greatest work. A complete evisceration of psychic, paranormal and pseudo-scientific claims, written with flair, passion and fun. One of the most un-put-down-able books ever. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/28 "2002-06-27T21:56:10Z")
The Ropes to Know and the Ropes to Skip–The authors’ names escape me. An inside guide to how and why stuff happens in corporations. The Peter Principle-- Laurence Peter. Why the world doesn’t work. If you aren’t as cynical as you’d like to be, I recommend books by Richard Condon. The Prizzi series, especially. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/29 "2002-06-27T22:43:34Z")
Along somewhat similar lines to **Karl** ’s suggestion, I recommend _The Curve of Binding Energy_ by John McPhee. It’s a biography of nuclear physicist Theodore Taylor, who designed both the most powerful and the smallest nuclear weapons of his day and went on to campaign for disarmament and better security for weapons-grade nuclear materials. He’s also the only man on record who ever lit a cigarette with an atomic bomb. ---
**Author:** ![ForgottenLore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@ForgottenLore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForgottenLore)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/30 "2002-06-28T03:19:50Z")
I gotta get my two cents in and recommend _Godel, Escher, Bach_ by Douglas Hofstadter. It’s one of the most entertaining and informative books I’ve read in a long time. Another good one is _Phantoms in the Brain_ by V.S. Ramachandran, in case you’re interested in a layman’s tour of neurology. Oh yeah, and _Consciousness Explained_ by Dan Dennett. Okay, I’m done. ---
**Author:** ![Forbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/31 "2002-06-28T04:29:52Z")
**A Distant Mirror** by Barbara Tuchman is a great book of history. I believe it’s subtitled, “The Calamitous History of the Fourteenth Century”. I read it. I enjoyed every bit of it too. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/32 "2002-06-28T13:41:43Z")
I’d recommend [An Incomplete Education](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345391373/qid=1025271194/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-8350385-8723837), by Judy Jones and William Wilson. All those little things you were supposed to learn in school, and either did and promptly forgot, or just didn’t get to for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Jorel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f19dbf/32.png) [@Jorel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorel)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/33 "2002-06-28T14:54:54Z")
I would second Canyon Surfer’s suggestion of Bury My Heart and Wounded Knee I would also add Where White Men Fear to Tread (Russell Means) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/34 "2002-06-28T18:30:33Z")
“The Art and Science of Grand Prix Racing” by Niki Lauda. ---
**Author:** ![HairyPotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@HairyPotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HairyPotter)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2002, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/35 "2002-06-29T00:32:43Z")
“There Eyes Were Watching God” by Zola Neale Hurston is a phenomenal book concerning personal growth, spirituality, independence, and healthy relationships. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2002, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/36 "2002-06-29T00:53:54Z")
I second “Godel, Escher, Bach”. Very thought provoking as well as fun. Lots of the others I was going to say have already been said, most notably “Guns, Germs, and Steel”. I suppose I could say, “The Art of Computer Programming” by Knuth, but I haven’t read that myself, yet. The three volumes sit quitely waiting on my shelf. It comes very highly recommended though. ---
**Author:** ![NightRabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@NightRabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NightRabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/37 "2002-07-01T05:01:38Z")
I recommend “Einstein’s Dreams” by Alan Lightman. It’s a quick and very easy read, but quite thought-provoking on the nature of time. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/38 "2002-07-01T05:28:44Z")
I respectfully offer an opinion counter to NightRabbit’s. I read about half of “Einstein’s Dreams” before I became bored. It was like a one-joke sitcom, to me. A series of parables, perhaps, with the same premise. I can’t get excited about it. ---
**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/39 "2002-07-01T07:30:55Z")
“Lies My Teacher Told Me” is an incredibly interesting book. It talks about history textbooks and their lack of accuracy. It’s quite surprising. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018/40 "2002-07-01T07:55:20Z")
“The Chosen”, by Chaim Potok. Although some people might find it really boring (I found it intriguing). And everybody needs to read “A Brief History Of Time” and “The Universe In A Nutshell”, both by Stephen Hawking. They’re very whimsical, clear and easy to read, and very informative. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-a-book-i-can-learn-from/116018.md?page=3)