Hi all,
What are your favourite non-fiction books ?The books you consider must-read or the books that taught you the most ? Do share!

 

Das Kapital - Karl Marx
The Emperor - Machiavelli
Attila the Hun - don't remember the author
Animal Farm - George Orwell
1984 - George Orwell

A few books by Joseph Carr

All the books written by Sven Hazel

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray

The list goes on and on and on....

 

Electronics:
"The Art of Electronics" by Horowitz and Hill

Physics:
"The Feynman Lectures on Physics" (Vol. I - III)
"The Road to Reality" by Penrose

 

Anything by Loren Eiseley, especially The Night Country is worth reading. For a good overview of his works, The Star Thrower is a must read. I think his insights are as relevent now as they were back in the 50's and 60's. If you are not familiar with him, he was a famous US naturalist and paleontologist.

 

[offtopic]I have read relatively recently the "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" and I must say it caused me much more confusion compared to if I had read it when I was much younger.

I also read "The cup of gold" by John Steinbeck at the same time and I must say I enjoyed it. It portrayed very well the struggle for life that becomes a daily routine in the end, leaving no joy; just growing out of your dreams. Sad but true.

I have read quite some literature, but I can't recall it, unless I read the titles again. Too bad.[/offtopic]

 

Didn't the OP say nonfiction?

Microelectronic Circuits by Sedra and Smith. I used it for three classes and still refer to it often. It's in the worst shape of any book I own.

I have read relatively recently the "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" and I must say it caused me much more confusion compared to if I had read it when I was much younger.

Never figured out what that book was all about.

 

You 're right, he said non fiction, I slipped.

Digital Logic Design by Morris and Mano is the one I have used the most and I also like Modern Control Systems by Bishop and Dorf.
Sedra/Smith is a good read too.

 

"Sacred Economics" by Charles Eisenstein

http://sacred-economics.com/

 

But isn't it a bit superficial to say that only non-fiction books teach worthy things? That discredits many literature masterpieces.

If that seems as an off-topic branch-off to the OP, I 'll delete my comment.

 

But isn't it a bit superficial to say that only non-fiction books teach worthy things? That discredits many literature masterpieces.

I don't think he said, or even implied, that. Perhaps he just wants some ideas on what he should read and prefers to look at non-fiction right now.

The thing I find difficult about this thread is that non-fiction itself is so broad.

I'll mention Walden, by Thoreau and The Principles of Quantum Mechanics by Dirac.

 

My favorite nonfiction books are those which help me to persue my vocation or hobbies with greater knowledge. I almost forgot: Comos by Carl Sagan

 

"The Soul of a New Machine" by Kidder once had a big influence on me, but I hesitate to recommend it today.

When I read the German translation of it in the mid 80s, the computers that are described in the book were already outdated, but not as completely and hopelessly outdated as today. I'm afraid people might just chuckle about them. And then it is hard to get this feeling that building such computers is a really cool adventure that I had when reading the book. I don't know if there is a comparable book about some modern devices by Intel or Apple or whatever.

 

Anything by Forrest M Mims III, and "The Left Hand of the Electron", "The Universe" and "The Relativity of Wrong" by Asimov. I keep meaning to get more Asimov non-fiction, it's very well written.

 

The art of war by Sun Tzu

 

The art of war by Sun Tzu

I read that about a year ago, but I 'm afraid it was a summary/translation of about 100 pages. Is the original longer?

In general I didn't find it very useful. Rather trivial facts given in it which have very general application.

Much like "Dialectics of Nature" by Engels. I could finish it, because of the un-scientific way it was written, by today's standards. It served me more as a history book, rather than a source of new knowledge.

 

But isn't it a bit superficial to say that only non-fiction books teach worthy things? That discredits many literature masterpieces.

I didnt mean that.As steveb said I was looking for suggestions on non-fiction by which I mean popular science,biographies,history etc

 

well 1984 is not fiction anymore.... I've recently read "Watership Down" quite good as well. "Island of the Color Blind" is a good book about lytico-bodig (similar to ALS). Anything by Kurt Vonneghut (non-fiction really as based on his experience). My favorite is Julio Cortazar. A lot of fiction books, when well written give us a great view into life of the period. "Last Day of a Condemned Man" by Victor Hugo... I can keep going...

The thing is, I have read a lot of fiction and non-fiction. Books that have taught me the most are fiction based on real-life experiences of their author or family history. The only one that is recent is "Three day road" that comes close to what was written in 1950s and prior. It teaches about people. Non-fiction books are just reference.

"Only in dreams, in poetry, in play do we sometimes arrive at what we were before we were this thing that, who knows, we are."

 

My National Semiconductor 4000 series data book. LOL

 

The Forgotten Soldier (Guy Sajer) Not sure how it's classified, as it is an autobiography, and referenced as both. Great read on the plight of the ordinary german soldier in WWII. Kind of an eye opener.

 

Being and Nothingness - Sartre

The Day the Universe Changed - James Burke (The BBC companion series is also great)

Endurance - Alfred Lansing