A Reddit.com user posed the question to Neil deGrasse Tyson: “Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on the planet?”
Below, you will find the book list offered up by the astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and popularizer of science. Where possible, we have included links to free versions of the books, all taken from our Free Audio Books and Free eBooks collections. Or you can always download a professionally-narrated book for free from Audible.com. Details here.
If you’re looking for a more extensive list of essential works, don’t miss The Harvard Classics, a 51 volume series that you can now download online.
1.) The Bible (eBook) - “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”
2.) The System of the World by Isaac Newton (eBook) – “to learn that the universe is a knowable place.”
3.) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth.”
4.) Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (eBook – Audio Book) – “to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos.”
5.) The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine (eBook – Audio Book) – “to learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world.”
6.) The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself.”
7.) The Art of War by Sun Tsu (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.”
8.) The Prince by Machiavelli (eBook – Audio Book) - “to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it.”
Tyson concludes by saying: “If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.”
He has also added some more thoughts in the comments section below, saying:
Thanks for this ongoing interest in my book suggestions. From some of your reflections, it looks like the intent of the list was not as clear as I thought. The one-line comment after each book is not a review but a statement about how the book’s content influenced the behavior of people who shaped the western world. So, for example, it does no good to say what the Bible “really” meant, if its actual influence on human behavior is something else. Again, thanks for your collective interest. -NDTyson
H/T goes to Galley Cat
Related Content:
Stephen Colbert Talks Science with Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson
50 Famous Academics & Scientists Talk About God
Neil deGrasse Tyson Stars in New Symphony of Science
The Harvard Classics: A Free Digital Collection
That may be the worst one-sentence summary of Adam Smith that I have ever seen.
Hmmm… NDT says about the Bible, “… it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”
Says to me he read it, but didn’t understand it, or didn’t fully bother to comprehend vast sections of the New Testament. Though many USE the Bible to keep others from thinking, or use it to assist in repressing others’ thoughts, the Bible itself – if read in its entirety – is actually full of morality tales (whether you believe they happened or not) that should cause any sentient human to think more, not less. The biggest problem with it is that authoritarian types use it to effectively increase their own power and subjugate those who are pre-disposed to requiring an authoritarian figure in their lives – not that it, in and of itself, keeps others from thinking for themselves.
Case in point: I am quite certain that the Big Bang happened, that the universe is 13.7 billions years old, and that our solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago. I am also a Christian. Theistic evolution explains both for me, precisely because I thought about it myself – not because someone else told me so.
True enough, others do not see the universe this way – but not because the Bible says as much. It’s because (some) humans twist the Bible’s words and manipulate others to their way of thinking. But manipulation is not limited to (some) Christian leaders; manipulation happens across all societies, religions and political beliefs.
But don’t blame the Bible for that. Blame humans.
I concur with Andy.
I’ve always been a fan of Neil deGrasse Tyson, but I really think this list (and his summaries)are a very telling representation of his cynical view of the world. I read six out of the eight books listed here in high school, and I think they were definately worthy of the time spent. But they hardly constitute a balanced approach to understanding humanity and the universe in which we live in. Charles Darwin’s work didn’t even allow for feelings of ‘kinship’ between our fellow humans, much less to all other living things. He was a brilliant ,yet bigoted man, who was the scientific father and supporter of eugenics.
I don’t follow you at all. The Bible is also full of terrible acts against all life. On the one hand you are saying you like the good lessons you can gather, but then you completely ignore the rape, slavery, genocide, and ridiculousness. While you may have a great personal relationship with your god, that is exactly how it should stay. No one person has the same picture, and to the rest of us that have a completely different word view we laugh a little inside when you try to defend something we want nothing to do with. My morals didn’t come from god, nor did they need to be written down. I am sorry that you needed a book to get it right.
@David
I don’t imagine you meant God himself when you speak of “authoritarian types” using the bible “to effectively increase their own power and subjugate those who are pre-disposed to requiring an authoritarian figure in their lives”.
…assuming for a second that such a being existed.
Thanks for this ongoing interest in my book suggestions. From some of your reflections, it looks like the intent of the list was not as clear as I thought. The one-line comment after each book is not a review but a statement about how the book’s content influenced the behavior of people who shaped the western world. So, for example, it does no good to say what the Bible “really” meant, if its actual influence on human behavior is something else. Again, thanks for your collective interest. -NDTyson
It should be noted that the title of this article contains the word “Intelligent”, others are not required.
i love reading about science. but i cannot support telling people to read “on the origin of the species”. it is VERY BORING. of course, there are excellent ideas in there, but i could not read it. instead, i say read “the blind watchmaker”.
“… it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”
That applies to all of the aforementioned one-line summaries, right?
I read many of these books when I was too young to do anything but write a paper that addressed a professor’s proposed theme. Most are available free in e-book form, so I suppose I’ll have some reading to do in my time off of work. :)
Books you should be *familiar* with? Yes. Read? Jeez, I dunno. A lot of these are simply unreadable. I mean, even the Church will tell you that the Bible is not *meant* to be read, as a book. More like “referred to.”
Amusing to see the apologists starting early. You can interpret the bible in the best possible way as much as you like, it doesn’t change the fact that there is a very large amount of horrible nonsense throughout its pages. It also doesn’t change the fact, that to NDTs point, you’re ultimately demanded to think a certain way.
“He was a brilliant ,yet bigoted man, who was the scientific father and supporter of eugenics.”
You obviously not only did not understand On the Origin of Species, but you didn’t look into his other works. Charles Darwin was neither a bigot nor a eugenicist. His On the Descent of Man was a long argument showing the essential uselessness of race as category, of the unity of the human species. This was a progressive idea at odds with the general bigotry and racism of 19th century Europe.
Free-thinking intellects don’t bother with the bible. I was excited to see the list and what a disappointment to the see that the bible was first (or there at all).
I have an incredible amount of respect for Dr. Tyson, but based on his description of “The Wealth of Nations” I have to wonder if he’s ever read the book himself. If on the other hand he has, then he clearly doesn’t understand the difference between self-interest and “greed”.
1)why you should kill people who do not believe the same thing as you.
2)how to kill people who do not believe the same thing as you.
3)scientific justification for killing people who do not believe the same thing as you.
4) keep the liberals happy while you kill people who do not believe the same thing as you.
5)to explain to the dead people why they are free.
6) how to pay for killing people who do not believe the same thing as you.
7)1001 easy ways to kill people who do not believe the same thing as you.
8)how to get away with killing people who do not believe the same thing as you.
Read The Art of War to understand why you should read The Bible.
“I mean, even the Church will tell you that the Bible is not *meant* to be read, as a book.”
There may very well be a reason for that, a fair number of atheists have become atheists simply from reading the bible too thoroughly. This has included ex-priests and people who were studying for the priesthood. This also explains why some atheists know more about the bible than most theists.
And no I wouldn’t use the bible as a moral authority. while there are some good moral points in it, there are also some very bad moral points (such as slavery (Ex 21), mass murder (Deut 20), misogyny (all over both old and new test.), incest(Gen 19:30), child sacrifice (Gen 22), etc.).
“to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”
Sort of like this list tries to tell its readers what to think and believe, instead of leaving questions open.
Better if Mr. Tyson eschewed a list altogether and encouraged readers to pursue their own interests and think for themselves while being skeptical of any claims to authority.
Thanks Neil for chiming in and clarifying. Appreciate it! And thanks to others for keeping the conversation friendly yet substantive. I’m one lucky editor.
Cheers
Dan
Incredibly poor selection of books. Damaging even.
Not sure Gullibles Travels makes the mark (though the justification kind of excuses it), Would like to see “The Only Dance there is,” by Babba Ram Dass; Deamian by Herman Hesse,Cat’s Cradle and Sirens of Titan by Kurt (pre-crazy) Vonnegut; Dune first trilogy and Foundation trilogy on the list.
Strange article. Seems out of place on this site…
These books are the essential guide to forming a well-rounded 19th century mind.
Great list. Certainly some very influential pieces. Also, if you’re going to read The Prince, you should also take the time to read Anti-Machiavel by Frederick the Great.
As a physicist myself, I wish scientists would just stick to science, and not society or spirituality. Scientists make poor sociologists and theologians.
guys, guys… these books are FREE that’s why Origin of Species is on there instead of the much more readable “blind watchmaker.” for instance.
All good and well, except that ‘The Prince’ was meant as satire. Was a decent list up to that point.
I agree with the Bible, not for the reasons Tyson cites, but simply to know what’s in it, so you don’t start spouting ignorant nonsense about what’s in (and not in) it. Ditto the Koran.
Origin of Species, Wealth of Nations, etc. are historically important, but you’d be far better off reading more contemporary works on evolution or economics.
The ink was still damp last time I read The Prince, but I remember wondering what all the fuss was. Machiavelli didn’t advocate ruthlessness; indeed he thought just and moderate rule was more effective. What gave him the bad reputation seems to be that he frankly admitted that sometimes rulers had to be ruthless.
While I personally believe the Bible is entirely a creation of man, I still think it’s important to at least be familiar with it. It is the literary source of many archetypes in Western Civilization. Whether you agree with these archetypes or not, you should know where they come from.
There actually is some very good prose in there too, which I’m sure is part of the reason why it’s so seductive to some. But good prose is good prose — you can still appreciate it for what it is, even if you don’t agree with or believe in it.
mswool is right, which is also the presumable reason that “Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark” is not on the list.
IF the bible were written in such a way as to be 100% clear to all who ever read it, I would agree with the Christians who defend it. The bible is used to cherry-pick good passages, and is spoon-fed to many who claim its glory etc. from preachers on Sundays who need an excuse to have a community. Without the church/religion people would think more for themselves and many wars would cease to be caused or fought.
Amazing…. Darwin himself said “Such simple instincts as bees making a beehive could be sufficient to overthrow my whole theory.” People cling to Darwin’s teachings as scripture, but then in the same breath call the Christian,’religious fanatics’. So who is, so called ‘blinded’, by their faith?
Know how to tell when someone is a moron?
They consider themselves “intelligent”.
What the fuck kind of question is that…“Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on the planet?”
What? Are you in some kind of club where some books are for you and not others because they are not “intelligent”?
I bet most of the losers at OWS think they are intelligent. I bet the guy who crapped on the police car thought he was doing a very intelligent thing.
Get the fuck over yourselves.
“the wealth of nations” helped to deliver more prosperity to the world than any other book in history. if any book will teach us about human greed, it is “the origin of species”. capitalism is freedom, and this fool would have you enslaved believing otherwise.
ugh… I shouldn’t have read the comments. I think this is a well thought out list, for what he has stated it to be. “If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.” Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. That just about covers it, right? Some of these reading selections just elaborate on those negative aspects whereas Darwin, Newton and Paine’s focused on the positive. He’s saying their theories drove mankind to the point that we are at today, not endorsing them or even agreeing with them. He also didn’t state that the Bible is a ridiculous work of fictitious mythology mostly stolen from other cultures. He simply stated that by making it easier “to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself” this book greatly influenced our current civilization. And if you need examples go to your local high school. Almost every student is assigned a research paper from which they have to draw a conclusion. This used to mean they would research the facts, process the facts, and reach a conclusion based on the facts. Now it means they type the subject into google, change the wording from the wikipedia page slightly so that it resembles their own speech pattern, find a conclusion someone reached at some point, reword it, and turn it in as original work. This is the influence of making it easier to repeat the words of others instead of processing thoughts for ourselves. Now is when I would generally make some long sarcastic speech about the great level of offense I take at Gulliver’s Travels being on the list but as I need to be awake again in three hours, I think I’ll call it a night. And my “intelligent” advice would be: stop taking life so seriously guys. no one gets out alive. That’s an original quote, by me. ;-D
Evie should have read what Darwin said in The Descent of Man (1871)
“The aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly an incidental result of the instinct of sympathy, which was originally acquired as part of the social instincts, but subsequently rendered, in the manner previously indicated, more tender and more widely diffused. Nor could we check our sympathy, if so urged by hard reason, without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature.”
I’m sorry to see that some of you are choosing to be so obtuse that you didn’t get NDT’s point. It’s sorely disappointing to see such crap under his book list. I’ve read the Bible, am agnostic, and got the point.
iBooks doesn’t have ANY Newton :(
Tyson’s list is crap. Here’s mine:
“The Emergence of Consciousness” edited by Anthony Freeman
“The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology” by Raymond Kurzweil
“The Norton Anthology of World Literature”
”War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race” by Edwin Black
amazing how an ‘intelligent’ person thinks that that is why you should read the bible. how wonderfully ignorant.
For my part, I heartily second this list. There are hundreds of other books I’d also recommend, to contribute to a well-rounded mind; but I think this list is a great start and very strong evidence of a perceptive, deeply engaged person.
I don’t in general advocate looking at a person’s success as a measure of the quality of their life, but in his case I would make an exception. He is among the scientists accorded with the greatest degree of respect from a wide, general audience. He “teaches with authority,” to borrow a phrase.
I think that his perspective is worth considering, even if it rubs you the wrong way initially. It can’t hurt you to read the books with his comment in mind, and see if it gives you new insight; if it doesn’t, at least your objections will be better researched.
Wow! As usual the comments are all over the map. I liked the list in general for covering some major areas of what makes us human, how things work, etc. I have read most of them, excepting for Smith and Newton who I have read about. Darwin’s “The Voyage of the Beagle” is also wonderful if “Origin of Species” is too boring. “Gulliver’s Travels” is a masterpiece for sure. Some people will never get it. To Rudy, Kurt Vonnegut was always crazy and proud to admit it & I miss his voice terribly, but his work will not explain how things works. “The Art of War” is required reading for corporate types, and is a style of thinking that is against almost everything I stand for…but a fact of life none of us can escape. Good list. Part of me also wants to recommend a good Survival manual though I am not sure I would want to live if we had an apocalypse in my lifetime.
This one confused me the most:
“The Art of War by Sun Tsu – ‘to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.’”
That’s not what I took from that book at all. In fact, that book suggests that outhinking & outmaneuvering your opponent is the surest way to end a battle before it begins. If anything, THAT is raised to an art, not the act of killing people.
I disagree with deGrasse’s view that the Bible is worth reading because it teaches us about the nature of propaganda. The Bible is valuable because it records what ancient peoples thought about the human experience. In addition, it chronicles, I believe, the development of the concept of the individual. God is vengeful and jealous in the Old Testament, with few direct contacts with individuals. The New Testament tells the story of an individual relationship with, which in later times would lead to the birth of individualism. In this context, the Bible is worth reading.
Glad one other person knew that Prince was a satirical novel. :P Seems like most everyone got wayy too hung up over the bible and didnt feel like discussing everything else. Which just kinda proves the point of how influential a book it has been in our history I suppose XD
David, seriously. Do you have any idea how to contextually read sentences? To put it plainly, he’s saying that in order to have your own formulated opinion on the Bible, you need to read it. That singular sentence doesn’t blame any person or an inanimate object; he’s just saying read the damn thing instead of going on the word of your peers, the media, religious leaders, or your cat, who knows. Your whole rant is invalid and pointless in the context of this post. At what point in time will humanity not be plagued with dramatic, assuming people.
And Leo Jones, EVERYTHING is worth reading. Weren’t you ever taught that you can learn from even the most harrowing experience or the most hateful propaganda? I guess we should probably just bury everything about the Holocaust if we’re following your logic. Or wait, the end of your paragraph contradicts your first sentence, so now I feel confused as to what statement you’re trying to make. :/ From these comments, I can tell one thing…our Education system is in serious need of an overhaul. Ugh, get me out of here.
Mr. Tyson’s recommendations and related comments are very useful to demonstrate the important point that one can be quite talented in one area (e.g., astrophysics) and be clueless in others (e.g., theology, morality, literature, economics, politics).
Watch out guys, we’re dealing with a badass over here
@EvieKeen December 21, 2011 / 9:44 am should also read. I mean, just read. Also EvieKeen should read White and Gribbin, 1995, specifically page 232. They write than when imposed upon by the well-meaning and enthusiastic Ernst Haeckel, Darwin attempted to dissuade him of his attempts to fuse social theory with natural selection.
Darwin was less bigoted than most people of the time and did not support throwing the poor and less fortunate to the wolves or identifying that they somehow deserved their situation.
@Hector Avalos says . . . | December 22, 2011 / 6:05 am
Nice one, Hector.
@David says . . . | December 21, 2011 / 8:10 pm
…and yet another misquote. Where do people get these things from? Rather than read the original, they seem to pluck things out of mid-air, or from some reference to them in a book written by someone else who misquotes.
Seriously people, the one thing you should learn from an education is to check the facts.
To quote Darwin from ‘The Origin of Species’, page 207:
“The subject of instinct might have been worked into the previous chapters; but I have thought that it would be more convenient to treat the subject separately, especially as so wonderful an instinct as that of the hive-bee making its cells will probably have occurred to many readers, as a difficulty sufficient to overthrow my whole theory. I must premise, that I have nothing to do with the origin of the primary mental powers, any more than I have with that of life itself. We are concerned only with the diversities of instinct and of the other mental qualities of animals within the same class.”
“…it would be more convenient to treat the subject separately, especially as so wonderful an instinct as that of the hive-bee making its cells will probably have occurred to many readers, as a difficulty sufficient to overthrow my whole theory.”
He believes that many readers would think that honey bees’ instincts would be a difficultly sufficient to overthrow his theory. So, he decides to develop issue separately.
He doesn’t write “I” think this is too difficult. He says some readers may think this.
Now, before people think they must go out and buy the book to read it…it’s free to download and read so go ahead.
@Leo Jones says . . . | December 22, 2011 / 8:08 am
“The Bible is valuable because it records what ancient peoples thought about the human experience.”
Only some people and then only what some people wrote about others who preceded them…with no notes, no research evidence and purely their person views.
“In addition, it chronicles, I believe, the development of the concept of the individual.”
Given a great number of the characters in the Old Testament are written as engaging in discussions with an imaginary super friend, I cannot see how the New Testament creates any sense of ‘individualism’.
Furthermore, sociological and anthropological research (which is voluminous) would posit the construct of the individual as being a more recent development and, in that, being developed through a struggle with hegemonic, authoritarian religious thinking such as that surrounding Christian churches.
The history of many theologies is to oppress and restrict thinking and individualism which does not conform to the senior religious leaders views.
Christianity is just one of those theologies which has had to adapt to the facts as they arise (evolution, astronomy, physics, chemistry) and then change to fit in.
In fact, religion as a means of understanding has been on a long march of retreat. It has yet to provide any evidence to cause major scientific thinking to change but has itself had to adopt to the advances of scientific thinking.
The bible is interesting to read as a collection of stories…and to give non-Christians an idea of the myths and stories important to some Christians.
@ david – you still think god is “real”. find evidence, or you cannot be in the same realm as science. a.k.a the study of reality. things that aren’t disprovable aren’t useful. science has proved that. common sense will ultimately prevail.
_the wealth of nations_ has been seriously mis-characterized here. _the art of war_ has been so badly slandered, that it’s difficult to imagine that mr. Tyson has actually read it.
I agree with some of the comments about Wealth of Nations. I was very disappointed to hear someone as intelligent as Tyson make such a plain ignorant statement about such a profound book. There are almost a limitless amount of wannabe-rebel pseudo-intellectuals who will make up all sorts of ignorant slander about this book, and Adam Smith. Some will call him a supporter of “free markets” or a “conservative.”
To those who have read his book, Adam Smith is none of those things. I will take this time to point out that he was in fact quite a moderate man, who was afraid of the inevitability of income inequality and the negative social effects that might have. To this end, he was one of the first to openly speak about “progressive taxation” brackets– where you pay a higher tax rate the more money you earn.
So no, Neil. Normally I am the biggest fan of yours, but you obviously either failed economics class or just didn’t read Wealth of Nations.
Also, to those saying “well i guess this means scientists just arent good at economics,” I respond; economics is very much a science. No, I don’t mean “it’s a social science” like sociology or anthropology. Economics relies on statistics to a much greater degree than the natural sciences, and it relies on mathematics just as much if not more than- say- physics. Don’t believe me? Try researching Dynamic/Stochastic General Equilibrium solutions. Makes “rocket science” look like arithmetic.
CB, complicated equations do not a science make. models containing *predictive power* are what is required, and predictive power is conspicuously lacking in economics.
mathematical sophistry is how the macro-economist tries to paint himself a more serious person than the other types of theologian.
Watch out. We got a bad ass over here.
thanks for the links!
just wanna say that a lot of you sound like a bunch of smarty-pants newbs. i’m not naming any names, so if my comment offends you perhaps you would do well to ask yourself if you might be one, and furthermore why are you getting defensive? :D
knowledge is cool and all, and acquiring it is no doubt the best we can do, but it is transitory and often subjective. the elite thinkers probably talked all their shit about the world being flat with the same swagger you fools exhibit. also, as has been pointed out above, all those great thinkers are dead now, just like all the dumbasses of ancient times.
p.s. God is real, but He’s no punk that will submit to your microscope. It goes the /other/ way, peacocks!
Some of you are out of control. Just read them. If you have, great. Now go and live YOUR life and try to not ruin it for anyone else.
How about,”Way It Posed To Be”
Dale Cruse says . . . | December 22, 2011 / 7:45 am
This one confused me the most:
That’s not what I took from that book at all. In fact, that book suggests that outhinking & outmaneuvering your opponent is the surest way to end a battle before it begins. If anything, THAT is raised to an art, not the act of killing people.
THE NAME IS WAR FOR GODS SAKE. What its to be confused about? >_>
Ceteco,
In traditional Chinese philosophy, the most “artful” thing in war is to avoid it. If that cannot be achieved, then there are certain principles to follow. Dale Cruse’s point was very well-taken. Have you read the book?
Dr. Tyson,
Thank you so much for your tenacious work at educating the masses. Words cannot express my appreciation for your efforts and achievements in this endeavor, therefore I will not even try, other than saying thank you.
7.) The Art of War by Sun Tsu (eBook – Audio Book) – “to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.”
Hmmm, the Art of War promotes the idea of “winning without fighting” and killing people as a last resort, only when all other options are exhausted. Victory in that manner is considered a victory without honor. It is based off of Taoism. He may be an astrophysicist, but his reading comprehension sure leaves something to be desired.
Folks. He was asked for his opinion. He gave it. Either take his advice or don’t. I’ve read every book on the list and I am glad for it. One does not have to agree to pull lessons from the texts above. To better understand why society is the way it is we need to branch out and learn to get over ourselves. I personally am an Atheist but I read the Bible to know what I don’t believe and why some do.Same for the On the Origin of Species. I did not take his comments as insults but as why he believes society can benefit from reading his picks. Calm down.
I personally would rather like to see a list of recent science books such as published by New Scientist (newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2011/12/win-the-10-best-science-books-of-2011.html), Best 2011 Biology Books (popsciencebooks.com/best-biology-books) and Brain Pickings (brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/12/12/best-science-books-2011). Old books can indeed provide a good perspective on the evolution and status of current affairs, but there have been new more interesting insights since then.
I was going to leave a message similar to the others until I scrolled down and read them…my sentiments are more or less realized in them. So, taking another tack: ignoring his commentary, is this a good list? What books would you recommend to people to read? The way it struck me, I feel, for the first time, like making a similar list, and also reading some of these that I have not.
“4.) Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (eBook – Audio Book) – ‘to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos.’”
You can learn the same thing by reading many of the above comments.
Why the bible on this list but not Qur’an.. I just wondering, what kind of intelligence is used while getting written this list.. Based on what?? I am not saying the bible should not be on this list, what i am saying is if the Bible on this list the Qur’an definitely should be in this list too. Every people in this world should read the Qur’an at least once in their life even if he/she is not a Muslim..
So Mr. Tyson doesn’t mind Darwin telling him what to think. He just doesn’t want God telling him what to think.
Ahmet,I am curious. If you believe that everyone in the world, even non-Muslims, should read the Qur’an, do you think that you and all other non-Christians should read the Bible? Are you willing to do what you would ask of others? Just wondering. To answer your question, the Bible is the only religious text on the list b/c the Christian Bible is commonly accepted throughout the world to be the one true holy text (even tho Mr. Tyson himself doesn’t believe in it, oddly enough).
How about a book written by a woman?
I concur with David… umm, up top!
As NdGT implies in a comment of his own, this is a list of books that shaped the Western world. Even if reductive, the list includes some of the most important works for that end, and that is because the WW was pretty much “formed” during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Thus, it is not surprising not to find books by women or the Koran (not because lacking merits). On the contrary, the inclusion of the Bible is dead on. After a cold and dispassionate analysis we have to accept that without the Bible our contemporary world would be very different (whatever that may be). Just to consider (not wanting to defend the Bible): What if Johann Sebastian Bach had not read the Bible? The development of the book’s apparatuses in the Late Middle Ages (footnotes, table of contents, indexes, etc.) is related with the study of the Bible and theological treatises. The book itself, as a reading technology, revolves around the Bible (think St. Jerome). With the exception of Sun Tsu, all of the authors on Tyson’s list have something to do with the Bible.
I don’t know how someone can call themselves a christian if they haven’t read the bible cover to cover.
I don’t know how someone that has read the bible cover to cover can still be a christian.
I’m truly amazed by how many people missed the point of this list and especially the point of the one-liner comments for each. Especially after the trouble was went to to clarify it.
The books are listed not as simply some”best of” list, but the top FREE books that influenced our present society (at least the Western part of it).
The comments are NOT about the meaning of or a judgement of what the value or accuracy of the book is, but what lesson past society took away from it. Hence what effective impact it has had in creating our present world. Regardless of if that agrees with the intended or actual meaning of the text!
For example, it doesn’t matter that The Prince was satirical, because the message that society took away from it was serious and basically precisely what was said in the comment.
the world beyond pluto by stephen marlow
http://www.manybooks.net/titles/marlowes3282032820.html
The only one I’ve managed to read was The Prince, but I read it in Italian so I hope I get extra credit.
I’ve tried to read the Bible. I bogged down somewhere in the Old Testament. My take-away observations were that (1) it’s no wonder the New Testament is so popular – the old Testament is a story badly in need of a main character and (2) It is a really hard read and most of the people who talk about what the Bible says cannot possibly have read it. Perhaps that’s what he means by realizing it’s easier to believe what you’re told than decide for yourself.
I’ve tried to read Origin of Species, I know I should read it, but I agree with whoever said it was boring. I’ll keep trying though.
I do think there is something missing – there should be at least one book from which the reader could learn of the potential for goodness and joy in human creativity. We are not all bad. We have Harry Potter.
“Or you can always download a professionally-narrated book for free from Audible.com”
No, you can’t “always” do that. Audible.com only works if you’re running Windows or Mac and you don’t mind DRM.
It’s really bizarre for an “open culture” site to be promoting a platform-locked DRM-only service.
I concur with the remarks of Tyson. If you want to understand humanity, warts and all, you have to be a cynic.
The beauty of being a cynic is that one has more “eureka” moments. There are also those wonderful moments when intrinsic human goodness shine through an individual act, and which make you doubt your cynicism.
the lord of the rings
to learn one does not simply walk into mordor
I think it’s safe to say that this list is presented with tongue planted firmly in cheek, at least I hope it is. I did a big “waaaah!?” when I read the sentence about the Bible but I think he’s saying that this is what people/political leaders/monarchs/etc have used the Bible for throughout history. I was raised to think for myself where religion is concerned and to always be questioning. I would hope a sane, rational man, which I assume he is, wouldn’t take this stance where the Bible is concerned but, as we all known, stranger things have happened and normally rational humans have irrational thoughts where religion is concerned.
You can’t have any realistic understanding of the Western tradition without reading Plato.
I’m not an “LOL” using kind of guy, but I literally laughed aloud, alone in my apartment when I read the quote, “To answer your question, the Bible is the only religious text on the list b/c the Christian Bible is commonly accepted throughout the world to be the one true holy text.”
Hilarious. Thank you, whoever you are, you ridiculous person.
Despite great intentions, people feel the need to challenge points aside from the overall message of the post and attempt to tear it apart. Read or read about the books. Perhaps they will help you shed this unhealthy desire to defend what isn’t attacked and destroy all that you feel opposes your view. I appreciate the recommendations; all very good reads for insight into our human nature and the world we inhabit.
Bible and Intelligent Person are mutually exclusive. Skip.
The Bible “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.” Neil deGrasse Tyson. Hmmm, wouldn’t that also apply to the Koran, the Vedas, and the Talmud, or does Dr. Tyson find the Bible uniquely flawed?
First: Machiavelli’s “The Prince” was meant as satire, or so it seems, at least, after reading anything else by him.
Second: Various commentators have said things along the lines of “Intelligence and the Bible are mutually exclusive” I wish to call anyone who believes that an idiot. I know too many intelligent Christians, some being my friends, to let that go unchallenged. The bible shaped western culture. There is absolutely no way to dispute that. it is quite possible that the internet would not exist without its influence on the sciences and information technology. (What demand for a printing press would there have been without it? What else needed to be mass produced enough that it would have been cost effective?)
Third: The art of war is a fascinating book, and as has been stated before me I’m sure, is not about how to kill people. It is about how to avoid killing people, or, at worst, to kill as few people as possible. Defeating the enemy without ever fighting him is the point, not slaughtering his soldiers.
Fourth:Back to the bible; if you want to talk about it then read the damn thing. Know what you are talking about before opening your mouth, I beg you. Same goes for the Koran or any other religious or controversial text.
Finally, and completely unrelated: Remember that in an infinite universe anything that can happen, will happen. So(assuming an infinite universe)there is a 100% chance that somewhere out there on some alien planet that for some reason looks exactly like our own, intelligent discourse reigns on the internet.
uh, this was supposed to be a free book list. Why are so many people recommending books that cost money as alternatives? And what’s with the swearing? It really makes you sound ingnorant (not cool or hip or whatever). And professing your religion beliefs doesn’t add to the conversation, it simply exposes a bias (assuming you know what a bias is…).
Not a bad list but the one-line summaries remind me of the same pre-digested crap I was served back when I was in school.
“to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.”
Seriously? I can’t honestly believe you read the book (at least not past the title). It had little/nothing to do with actual killing. The Art of War represents the strengths of leveraging strategy, logistics, and the inherent weaknesses of the human psyche to break your opponent for the best possible result.
“The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities…It is best to win without fighting.”
I haven’t read the book in almost 10 years (and at the time I only read it as a personal curiosity) and I at least gathered that much.
I see your ‘bullshit’ and raise you ‘BullShitMan’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lRIQGU2RRk.
Like others, I disagree with his assertion of The Art of War. It seems like he didn’t read it or failed to grasp its thesis. Some of the principles in The Art of War are that war should be avoided until it is only resort left, that war should be fought so that it ends quickly, and that battles are best fought by causing the enemy to retreat and avoiding massive, head-on confrontations with enormous casualties. It has very little to do with raising the act of systematic murder to a form of art. If anything, much of the history of the western world was driven by a lack of understanding The Art of War.
Wow, that list is terrible.
I find it shocking how many so-called ‘intelligent’ people refuse to even crack open a Bible to see what it is all about for themselves.
You’d think they thought they’d maybe catch something.
I think this list is actually good. I’ve read most of it, and I thought the ideas expressed therein were interesting. I’m not sure the commentators still understand Neil’s justification for the list, but it just goes to show that even among ‘intelligent’ people, there will always be blindness.
And most people are definitely yahoos.
I think this list should be renamed: “8 Free Books that Every Intelligent Person will claim to have read but didn’t”
I love the Hayden Planetarium, but this guy needs to get out of there for a while. I could pick any other century out of a hat and give you eight books and a supercilious Cliff Notes synopsis without having to be an astrophysicist. Crap sakes.
Wow! Reading the comments is almost as enlightening as the suggested books. Personally, I get what the article is about as do some who have left comments. The rest should re-read the article carefully and ‘THINK’ rather than react explosively to a single phrase or comment. Thanks for a great list.
please i want u to sand me books or story book.please send it ghana box number 292 koforidua earsten region ghana
please i need story books to read
ghana koforidu 292 my box number .please call me on 0247644673.thanku
Let’s see, . . . how many myths are there out there about the Bible? If you live in Western culture, you must read the Bible and understand that it has spiritual power to change people and culture for the better. It is the foundation of America’s view of government, the inherent worth of each person, our monetary system, our education, our philanthropy, scientific study, history, art and music—and you haven’t even read it? It contains the most beautiful prose and intriguing stories and stunning poetry imaginable. It is the basis of our moral code, or ethical code and our legal code. Even though it covers over 3,000 years of history and was written by numerous writers during that period, there is no serious contradiction in fact or in attitude or belief in the entire book. Think that was a coincidence? Think again! This book is written by a higher power; handle with care and read with a serious mind what it contains. Until you do, you cannot claim to be intelligent.