Books that every Atlas member should read

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

...or, "Books that best epitomize the Atlas."

As the name of the thread suggests, post some titles that you have either read or heard of that you think every member of the forum should read at least once, or titles that you think best represent the type of discourse we see here routinely.

To start:














And to counterbalance all of that:



(For the record, I know this thread probably fits better in the Book Reviews and Discussion board, but most threads there hardly ever get replied to.)

[Potatoe]

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Twilight

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

How could I forget?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

1. Not all of us have the freedom of schedule that some other people have.
2. Seriously?
3. C'mon...
4. Shouldn't the forum's namesake, "Atlas Shrugged", be on there?

[NewYorkExpress]

I've got quite a few... (Some of which I haven't read either)

[Mopsus]

[angus]

Hmmm.  Now that I think about it, Atlas Forum is a bit oxymoronic, or at least a paradox.  Atlas was a titan who held up the world on his shoulders.  Forum is an open public space.  So Atlas holds up an empty space, a vacuum basically.  Therefore, Atlas holds nothing.  Let him shrug. 

Anyway, I haven't read any of those Scott mentioned, but I have read bits of the Howard Zinn book.  I'd agree that it's a good one.  Some of the others look like the sorts of political stuff one finds in the Dollar Tree a couple of years after their publication.  "Ten Things You Can't Say in America" and anything by Anne Coulter are like that as well.  Good in segments, on the toilet while one endeavors to complete a gut-wrenching, bowl-staining bowel movement, but not the sort of great literature that inspires deeper discussion.  I could be wrong. 

I have read "Das Kapital" by Karl Marx, as well as "Wealth of Nations" by John Locke.  Both are dry, but interesting.  I'd suggest those two for those interested in the political economy.  I've read the two that NYE posted, as well as Atlas Shrugged.  Those are all good ones.  I think Uncle Tom's Cabin is good reading for posters as well.  My wife got the Carnegie book MOP recommended for my son.  I may read that one when he's finished.

I'd also suggest "American Empire" by Andrew Bacevich for those interested in international policy.

I think I commented on Anna Karenina elsewhere, and a few works by Sartre.  And of course there's the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  Don't panic, there's plenty of time to read that one, but all people should read it at some point. 

[afleitch]

The entire collection of Tintin albums will give you a finer insight into the human existence that most books will.

[Cassius]

The novels of Jane Austen, Alexandre Dumas, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis.

[traininthedistance]

Hey, it's shorter than his writings on LBJ.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Hey, it's shorter than his writings on LBJ.

I tried reading that book. Got half way though it, but was rather bored at how Moses came to power-he just hid vague sentences in bills and built his coalition. I read the first volume of the LBJ book and look forward to reading the entire series.

[Sopranos Republican]

[rejectamenta]

hitler my kamf

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Not exactly a must-read, but I picked it up as a high school freshman and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Sadly, the book only covers the first two years after the Republicans got elected and some time after the '96 election, so it doesn't say anything about the Clinton impeachment or the years following it.

[Miles]

Obviously Louisiana-centric, but is considered to be one of the best books written on politics of the last century. 'Very quick and fun read.

Also:

[traininthedistance]

Hey, it's shorter than his writings on LBJ.

I tried reading that book. Got half way though it, but was rather bored at how Moses came to power-he just hid vague sentences in bills and built his coalition. I read the first volume of the LBJ book and look forward to reading the entire series.

I honestly think the second half is better.  The first half is a good picture of his ascent upwards and idealism corrupted, but I found the picture of his actions and attitudes at the peak of his power, as well as his fall, to be arguably more illuminating and definitely more viscerally satisfying.

[bullmoose88]

On the lighter side:

Good Omens by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman
Lamb by Christopher Moore

For those who like DaVinci Code style thrillers but might be less enthused about Dan Brown's style:
Sandstorm or anything by James Rollins
Anything by Steve Berry

I mostly read thrillers anyhow, if anyone's really interested in some of my finds in this genre, let me know.

Oh, for casual followers of the SCOTUS
The Nine and The Oath by Jeffrey Toobin

[Lief 🗽]

http://www.amazon.com/Lose-Your-Virginity-Stories-First/dp/1439269998

[Paul Kemp]

Something completely unrelated to politics/history.

[Хahar 🤔]

[TJ in Oregon]

[badgate]

I recently started this. I almost returned it when the author used the N word like five times in the first chapter. He hasn't used it for a while so I'm enjoying it, but this book made a very bad first impression.



Also,

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Even tho I suspect mentioning it will confirm the impression that some here have of me as being a religious nut, The Bible.  Doesn't matter whether you are a Christian believer or not, but there are enough people who base their politics on what is in it (or at least what they think is in it) that some familiarity with the book is essential to understand American politics.  There's also the fact that a number of our popular idioms come from the Bible, so to be well-grounded in the English language you really need to have read it and the collected works of William Shakespeare.

[Bacon King]

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I found this book to be largely uninspiring; there were a handful of unique insights scattered throughout the hundreds of pages but it was mostly full of hackishness. I was disappointed because I expected a better read from Kissinger