The books that changed my life. I was fortunate to have become a lover of books at an early age. My father instilled in me a love of reading, and he often brought home books for my two brothers and me to read. I was also a constant visitor to a branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia that fortunately was located within a few blocks of my house on Germantown Avenue. I spent many hours browsing bookshelves on Saturday and one or two evenings during the week.
I still have the first book that I ever purchased: “Crucibles: The Story of Chemistry.” If memory serves, I paid 35 cents for it, so you can see how long ago that was. My library, before I starting downsizing my life and giving my books away, once contained over 4,000 hardcovers and paperbacks.
Books are great companions, great treasures, and can be great teachers as well. And they serve us well on re-reading, especially as we mature and our understanding and wisdom reach a new level. One of my favorite quotes is from Francis Bacon, who had this to say about books: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.”
The Book List
Let me share with you the books that I have chewed on over the years and digested. These books have changed my life or have shifted my thinking significantly.
Mortimer Adler, “How to Read a Book”: I highly recommend Mr. Adler for his other books as well. He is an extraordinarily lucid writer and an excellent expositor of challenging ideas.
Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations”: “Meditations” is the one book I would take with me whenever I traveled. Marcus Aurelius wrote “Meditations” in 150 A.D when he was emperor of the Roman Empire. The edition, which I bought at the London Heathrow Airport, reads as if it were written yesterday.
Whittaker Chambers, “Witness”: Mr. Chambers was a former member of the Communist Party, and in his book, “Witness,” has written the most literate exposition of communism and other mass movements. His other writings are excellent as well.
George S. Clason, “The Richest Man in Babylon”: Mr. Clason uses stories to elucidate valuable principles of life, especially about working hard, saving money, and investing. This little gem is a classic.
Will Durant, “The Lessons of History”: An elegant and brief synopsis of history based on Durant’s “The Story of Civilization” in 11 volumes.
Viktor E. Frankl, “Man’s Search for Meaning”: Frankl’s slim volume is a life changer for most readers. Mr. Frankl was a Holocaust survivor and survived because he understood that he had absolute control over only his attitude and how he responded to his treatment by his guards. A classic that requires re-reading every five years or so.
Epictetus, “The Art of Living”: Epictetus is one of the most lucid teachers of Stoic philosophy. He was a former slave who became an extraordinary philosopher and proponent of Stoicism.
Napoleon Hill, “Think and Grow Rich”: Mr. Hill was a prolific writer in the field of personal development. “Think and Grow Rich” is the foundation for his other writings.
Eric Hoffer, “The True Believer”: Mr. Hoffer was a longshoreman, a migrant worker, and a self-taught philosopher. “The True Believer” and his other short books are masterpieces on understanding human nature, mass movements, and the realities of life.
M. Scott Peck, “The Road Less Traveled”: Mr. Peck was a renowned American psychiatrist whose “The Road Less Traveled” transformed the lives of many people by validating psychological therapy as a path for life change.
Michael Ray, “The Highest Goal”: Mr. Ray has written a simple guide for living life at the highest level. He introduces heuristics that are easy to understand and easy to use.
E.F. Schumacher. “Guide for the Perplexed”: Schumacher wrote the economics classic, “Small is Beautiful.” His “Guide for the Perplexed” is one of the most elegant expositions of human knowledge, understanding, and beliefs.
David Seabury, “The Art of Selfishness”: A small classic on what it takes to lead a life in accordance with personal beliefs and values and without ego satisfactions.
Richard M. Weaver, “Ideas Have Consequences”: The title of this book is most apt. A discerning look at our culture and how it has become debased and coarsened, and the causes of this erosion.
These books, several of which I have read two or three times, have provided an excellent foundation for me beyond my undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering and finance. I could easily add 20 or 30 more titles to this list, but this is an excellent beginning for any reader.
I have often used the concept of a “book tree” whose branches led me to other books to read. And, I have kept a book journal to record the book titles, start and completion dates, and my immediate reflections after completing the book.
I have reached the last quarter of my life, and I have begun to read the great philosophers and the great classics of literature. I am developing a reading plan for attacking the Great Books of the Western World, which was a set of books my father purchased for us in 1957. I skimmed those books as a young boy. It is now time to take them on as an adult who is, I hope, ready, willing, and able.
A Call to Action
It is never too late to become a reader. I encourage everyone to create a lifetime reading plan for yourself. “The Great Books of the Western World” is one option. In “How to Read a Book,” Mortimer Adler includes “A Recommended Reading List,” which is a second option.
Create a multi-year reading plan for yourself and get on with it. You can change your life. I guarantee it.
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