Posted on 01/08/2002 2:39:30 PM PST by occam's chainsaw
Most of the reading I have done over the years has been of science fiction/fantasy books read simply for enjoyment. Now that I am a little older, I am becoming more interested in finding books which are educational as well as enjoyable. I have not read very much classical literature (the small Arkansas public school I attended had little to offer in Literature) and would consider reading some as long as it wasn't too tedious.
I was hoping that some of you more experienced & educated (self educated included of course) readers could offer some suggestions for me. Biographies, classics, historical novels, fiction/non fiction, are all open to consideration. I did read Rand's "The Fountainhead" years ago and enjoyed it very much. Please give me your suggested titles along with a brief description and/or reason you are suggesting each. I know I still have a lot to learn and I appreciate any help I can get.
A book that is mentioned there, "How to Read A book" by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren is one recommended for high school 'Classical' homeschoolers who lean heavily on the classics and Great Books for their literature. I plan to read it before my kids do since I'm going to be reading most of what THEY read so we can discuss it.
I grew up in MS, and my English teachers didn't stress the Classics very much at all. Oddly, in my American Lit. class I don't remember reading ANYTHING by Eudora Welty, Walker Percy or Flannery O'Connor, three of the South's finest writers! I've had to educate myself in that genre since I finished school!
15-20 years old, but deals with nuclear terrorism. Unimaginable then, now......?????
History
The Civil War, a Narrative by Shelby Foote (Excellent history done in narrative form which makes it an enjoyable read)
Fiction
On the Road by Jack Kerouac (seminal work by the creator of the Beat Generation, prose is very unconventional but flows once you get the hang of it. For my money, a book that glorifies what is great about America, the freedom to go from place to place)
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac (More conventional prose, a great story about freedom and adventure with Buddhism thrown in)
Little Big Man by Thomas Berger (Funny, historical, informative and tragic all at once. Great for it's unflinching look at native Amreicans)
1984 by George Orwell (The dire warning about encroaching government, a cry for freedom and individualism and an indictment of Stalinism and statism)
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Hemingway said American literature begins and ends with this book, and he was right. Simply a great story written by America's greatest storyteller)
God there's so many more, I'll add them as I think of them.
Tesla: Man out of time (Margaret Cheney)
The Richest Man of Babylon (George S. Clason)
Published by Arlington House in 1964
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 64-14211
SBN 87000-056-x
I just ordered this used book from Amazon (yes, they do that) and started to read it. It is a bit dated, but fun and easy. It pegs liberals based on their beliefs. Thought provoking and fun.
The inside front sleeve says: " This is the book that dissects modern liberalism as no book ever has. James Burnham shows us that strange amalgam of self-righteousness, guilt, good intention, fuzzy logic, arrogance, double standard, selective indignation and selective compassion that produces the mind and psychology of the liberal.
"Burnham's insights search out the agonies of liberalism:
- Why liberalism is the ideology of suicide
- The common ancestors of liberalism and Communism.
- Why liberals sneer at patriotism.
- Very precisely: how liberalism lies at the root of race riots, murderous taxes, national surrender and the crime explosion -- and why liberals are helpless to do anything about their own follies.
- Why liberalism clashes with Christianity.
- The inner drive that impels liberals to war on the Right -- while giving the Left an ever-so-gentle tap on the wrist, at worst.
- EXTRA! Burnham's fascinating '39 Articles of Liberalism,' an intriguing test you, or anyone, can take to determine your 'ideological quotient.' You'll be astonished at how accurate it pinpoints anyone's political slant."
The Conservative Mind -- Russell Kirk
Homage to Catalonia -- George Orwell
Modern Times -- Paul Johnson
The Civil War (3 volumes)-- Shelby Foote
As I Lay Dying -- William Faulkner
You can't go wrong spending a few months reading these books. Enjoy!
And don't stop the sci-fi if you haven't read C.S. Lewis's "Out of the Silent Planet" trilogy.
Then go to his educational stuff.
A previous poster recommended skimming a textbook for excerpts of Emerson and Thoreau. That would be a huge mistake. Read Thoreau's Walden in its entirety and try to find an edition that also includes his essay, "Civil Disobedience". You don't have to agree with his ideas, but every well-educated American should understand them.
For a good biography that also will give you an excellent history lesson on the technology of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, try Edison: Inventing the Century by Neil Baldwin.
For an interesting American perspective on the ground war in Africa and Europe in World War II, try A Soldier's Story by Omar Bradley.
Trust me. The best book on socialist tyranny written. And, it is great literature!
Lot's of food for thought.
I have actually smacked into a wall because I refused to put a book down and had to read it while I was walking through the house.
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