Last three books in the world

Mr. Pessimistic · Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 10:02 am Post subject: Last three books in the world

This is a variation on the 'if you were stuck on a deserted island" theme.

If you had to suggest 3 books (or other compendium of writings) to someone that would help facilitate their understanding of the progress of civilization, from the 'beginning' to now, what would they be?

Mr. P.

The one thing of which I am positive is that there is much of which to be negative - Mr. P.

I came to get down, I came to get down. So get out ya seat and jump around - House of Pain

HEY! Is that a ball in your court? - Mr. P

I came to kick ass and chew Bubble Gum...and I am all out of Bubble Gum - They Live, Roddy Piper

jjacobs43 · Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:37 pm Post subject: Re: Last three books in the world

I'd have to really think hard before coming up with 3 but I think Guns, Germs, & Steel would definitely be in the list. After reading that book, I really started to view the world in a different light and really started to wonder more about how things in our cultures came to be the way they are. Very interesting.

Mr. Pessimistic · Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:47 pm Post subject: Re: Last three books in the world

I have to read that one...

Mr. P.

The one thing of which I am positive is that there is much of which to be negative - Mr. P.

I came to get down, I came to get down. So get out ya seat and jump around - House of Pain

HEY! Is that a ball in your court? - Mr. P

I came to kick ass and chew Bubble Gum...and I am all out of Bubble Gum - They Live, Roddy Piper

MadArchitect · Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 1:14 am Post subject: Re: Last three books in the world

Off the top of my head, and subject to change...

"The Dynamics of Faith", by Paul Tillich, for reasons that are both obvious and less so.

"An Essay on Man", Ernst Cassirer.

And "A Thousand and One Nights", by Scheherazade, of which I've only read a few (legend has it that no man has ever read them all), but I feel some compendium of literature should be on the list, and this is certainly one of the most comprehensive.

Loricat · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 9:41 am Post subject: Re: shake this up

I'm posting here not because I have an answer to the question (yet), but because I like the idea and I want people to see it again!

Hmm...Maybe "The Chalice and the Blade" by Riane Eisler for one of the books (although it's been years since I read that one).

Lori

"All beings are the owners of their deeds, the heirs to their deeds."

pctacitus · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:04 pm Post subject: Re: Last three books in the world

Hmm... on the progress of civilization, three that come to mind are and survived the culling were:

Man and Crisis by Jose Ortega Y Gasset
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...53-8068644

Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power by Victor Davis Hanson
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...53-8068644

The Responsibility of Power: Historical Essays in Honor of Hajo Holborn by Leonard Krieger, Fritz Stern
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...53-8068644

…[T]o ignore the classics is ultimately to weaken the very foundations of our society. - James Atlas, Book Wars: What it Takes to be Educated in America

marti1900

Ok, let's face it guys, the average Joe or Jane left on the planet who haven't a clue and need to know how we got this way are not going to read all those great previous suggestions. They are going to pick them up, thumb through the first couple of pages and toss the books down on the table and say, 'I can't read this sh*&.'

So, I suggest something easier for them.

First, to learn how we all started out, I propose

The Iliad and The Odyssey, by Homer, in some condensed, easy-to-read large print high school exam prep version, natch. This will show how we started out as bloodthirsty, revengeful and somewhat stupid ignoramouses,

then move on to

Miss Manners' Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. This book will show that we haven't actually advanced much farther than chopping off people's heads, but have learned to cover it up with a lot of social blaher.

And finally, to show how it will finally end, I suggest

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, A Trilogy in Five Parts, by Douglas Adams. Which is a whole lot like the Iliad and the Odyssey, now that I think about it. How 'bout that.

Marti in Mexico

MonsterDick

Well.....a tough one! I'd go for the scientific or para-scientific writings like:
- Supernature (can't recall the author right now?)
- Future Shock
- The Middle Mind
Logically, this list is highly influenced by my personal interests!

Rob


	FORUMS	ABOUT	BOOKS	VIDEOS	TRANSCRIPTS	LINKS	BLOGS	DONATE	CONTACT