Like I've said before, I devour books. Over the last 2-3 years, Tucker's Reading List served as a guide for my journey through literature. I thought I'd put together a list of my own--although this is a bit of crossover between the two. So here are the books that have greatly influenced me. I'd recommend starting with these and then following my chain-method, which is to read as your next book, one that is cited by the book your currently reading.

Books to Base Your Life On

The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
I would call this the greatest book ever written. I've read it countless times and have a large passage that I printed out and posted above my desk to look at before I start each day. It is the definitive text on self-discipline, personal ethics, humility, self-actualization and strength. If you read it and aren't profoundly changed by it, it's probably because as Aurelius says "what doesn't transmit light creates its own darkness." You HAVE to read the Hay's translation. If you end up loving Marcus, go get The Inner Citadel by Pierre Hadot that studies the man behind the work.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
This is from the guy who wrote Gates of Fire and it's probably the closest thing I've seen to a modern version of The Mediations. He breaks down what he calls "The Resistance" or the force within us that we allow to hold us back from success. It's split up like The Meditations or any other philosophical dialog, but intended specifically to help artists make the transition from amateur to professional. Works well in conjunction The Dip.

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Frankl is one of the most profound modern thinkers on meaning and purpose. His contribution was to change the question from man asking "What is the meaning of life?" to man being asked and forced to answer with his actions. He looks at how we find purpose by dedicating ourselves to a cause, learning to love and finding a meaning to our suffering. Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning is also extremely powerful. For more on the existential vacuum, try The Broken American Male by Rabbi Schmuley

48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
It is impossible to describe this book and do it justice. But if you plan on living life on your terms, climbing as high as you'd like to go, and avoid being controlled by others, then you need to read this book.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
I'm amazed how many young people haven't read this book. Truly life-changing. This is the classic of my generation; it is the book that defines our age and ultimately, how to find meaning in it.

The Bugliosi Canon
You need to read at least of couple of his books. Either to understand strategy or eloquence or passion or what it is to be a Pro.
My favorites:
Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
And The Sea Will Tell
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder
'Till Death Do Us Part

War/Strategy Books

History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
Tucker has this on his list, but he recommends reading it in a classroom setting. Wikipedia makes it possible to do it on your own, just read in front of the computer. Consider it the first history book ever written (Herodotus doesn't count because it's part fantasy) perhaps the greatest war book as well. Every tactic, every strategy, every war the world has ever fought is essentially a microcosm of the nearly 30 year war between Athens and Sparta. Seriously, read it, and then reread the 48 Laws of Power and you'll understand it on an entirely new level. I would buttress this with The Greco-Persian Wars by Peter Green.

Rules for Radicals and Reveille for Radicals Saul D. Alinsky
This is the 48 Laws of Power written in more of an idealist, activist tone. Alinksy was the liaison for many civil rights, union and student causes in the late 50's and 60's. He teaches how to take implement your radical agenda without using radical tactics, how to disarm with words and media as opposed to arms and Utopian rhetoric.

Boyd: The Fight Pilot who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram
Boyd was probably the greatest post-WWII military strategist; he developed the F-15 and F-16, revolutionized ground tactics in war and covertly designed the US battle plans for the Gulf War. He shunned wealth, fame, and power all to accomplish what he felt needed to be accomplished. Coram captures his essence in a way that no other author has touched.

Of course you also need to read 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene. The Strategy Paradox by Raynor. Machiavelli's The Prince, The Discourses and The Florentine Histories (the last one is difficult, but enables you to see what Machiavelli actually believed) Von Clausewitz' On War is also a must-read text.

Evolutionary Psychology

The Moral Animal by Robert Wright
This is probably the definitive beginner text on evolutionary psychology and one of the easiest to get into. It's a little depressing at first, realizing how ruthless many of our so called "good" feelings are. But then you realize that truth is better than ignorance, and you emerge seeing the world as it truly is for the first time. Also, a similar read is Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters, which is more of a Q&A approach to the subject and has contemporary edge.

Sex on the Brain by Deborah Blum
One of the better books on evolutionary biology that focuses almost entirely on the biological and psychological differences between men and women. It's written by a journalist (who cites scientists) so it's easy to read if you're not studied in the field. If you want to get into evolutionary psychology--which you totally should--this is a good starting point because it covers all the basics. Essentially, it discusses how men and women have benefited evolutionarily through different behaviors and strengths so it would only make sense that they would have developed into two very different entities.

Sperm Wars by Robin Baker
This book shatters any illusions you may have had about the sanctity of sex in our lives. The premise is that sexual intercourse is based on sperm competition--the majority of our sperm is designed to kill another man's sperm, the penis is designed to remove semen from the seminal pool, women's menstrual cycles are hidden to gain control. It also analyzes the causes of homosexuality, adultery and illegitimate children.

A Farewell to Alms by Gregory Clark
Utterly destroys the perception that human evolution stopped a few thousand years ago. Clark asserts that the modern traits we associate with success were bred into the population between 1200-1800 as the upperclasses reproduced significantly more than the poor, violent or lazy. It changes how you look at the world, how you understand economic problems and how you relate to history. What if pre-industrial man is difficult to understand because he was almost a different kind of person?

The Origins of Consciousness and the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes is similarly shocking.

I would also recommend: Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student which is a fascinating study of college health and how the things our culture glamorizes are incredibly self-destructive. The Origins of Virtue asserts that we had morality before religion, trade before capitalism and cooperation before government.

The Internet
The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
There is not much that needs to be said about this book other than it defines current net economics. There's the head of the tail which is the stuff you find in Borders, and the tail, which is the infinite inventory on Amazon. You need to be familiar with this theory.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell is a genius and his writing is superb. You need to know why and how things 'tip' Blink is also an amazing book.

Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath
This book comes right after The Tipping Point as far as important internet texts go. Gladwell tells you what tipping is and MTS teaches you how to do it. I just reread this for something I was doing with Robert Greene - absolutely peerless book.

Other Important Internet Texts:
Purple Cow--Seth Godin
Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations - Clay Shirky
Brave New War: The Next Stage of Terrorism and the End of Globalization - John Robb
Wisdom of Crowds--James Surowicki
The Pirates Dilemma--Matt Mason
The New New Thing--Michael Lewis
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything--Don Tapscott
The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source - Eric S Raymond

Biographies
I've always been a big biography/memoir fan, so I thought I'd throw together a few that influenced me.

- My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass and The Autobiography of Malcolm X, two of the most inspiring men of the last 150 years.
- The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. Dr. Drew recommended this book to me, it is spectacular. He's my favorite president.
- Caesar by Christian Meier. I'm not sure why, but I really related to Caesar.
- Wouldn't it Be Nice by Brian Wilson. I used this book to write a big research paper a few years back. He defined how I understood the 1950's and 1960's in America.
-Hollywood Animal: A Memoir by Joe Eszterhas. The first big book I read on Hollywood. Estzerhas controlled his own destiny and ruled where he should have been a minion.

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