top 10 books to help change the world

Books change people, people change the world.

here are mine, in no particular order.... 10 books everyone should read.

- The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann
- Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch
- The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
- For Tibet, With Love by Isabel Losada
- The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer
- Memo for a Saner World by Bob Brown
- anything by Mahatma Gandhi
- anything by Anita Roddick
- anything by Michael Leunig
- Language Older Than Words by Derrick Jensen

what are yours?

 

I don't really have any books that have specifically changed my life. Of course there are some that I have liked more than others, but I think I view literature differently than most people.

There are two books that come to mind when discussing the books that have changed the world.
#1 is the Bible. Some may say it has changed the world for good, some may say it has changed the world for worse. I guess it's in the eye of the beholder and I'll leave my own opinion out of it

#2. One of the most influential books of the 20th century, the Feminine Mystique. I have read half of it (I will have it entirely read by Wed). And well, it has made me view things a little differently, and I can only imagine the effect it had on middleclass women in 1963. A very good book.

For me personally, I can't think of my favorite books off the top of my head.
When God Was a Woman has completely changed me and I think it would do most people good to realize that this world has not always been a patriarchal place. Especially to know that some of the most advanced civilizations in the history of our world were in deed matriarchal. This is one of my most favorite books of all time!!!!

 

Walden by Thoreau!!

Anything by his partner in crime, Emerson!

humandraydel

 

Oooh, me love the transcendentalists. Probably one of my favorite genres I guess I see myself in much of what they write.

 

the alchemist

brave new world

anything by leary

this may be wierd...but i think a more effective way of changing the world would be through song/poetry....most people can't decipher a book or take the time to sit down and read it...

so on that note..i nominate Lennon's Imagine

 

i think thoreaus civil disobediance is pretty fucking cool

 

Well, it would have to be from song, cause most people can't decipher poetry either. At least the masses can understand poetry put to melody. And even then I have to wonder. Isn't it New Jersey who has an awful Poet Laureate right now? I forget his name, but in his long list of poetry, he has one particular poem that says something along the lines of "rape the daughters, murder the mothers...etc." There's a big controversy over getting him out of that position, but it's a voluntary position and he won't step down. You have to wonder about the people who appointed someone with such awfully violent verses to begin with, either they weren't paying attention or they didn't care. We were discussing this the other day in my women writers class cause apparently most feminists hate this guy, and now he's causing controversy with the poetry he's writing at the present moment. I wish I could remember his name. Any New Jersey peeps out there with insight into this mess?

Anyway

We were having a dicussion in my American Indian Lit class the other day. There is a wide range of ages in that class, and we were comparing the atrocities committed the Natives by our government to Vietnem and to Iraq. The self proclaimed senior citizen in the class was discussing the guilt she felt for not standing up and protesting more during and after Vietnam because now she sees the same thing going on in Iraq and feels that part of that is on her shoulders. (I personally feel it's on Bush's shoulders, but you can't get everyone to let go of their guilt). But, during all this discussion, we were also talking about the history books, we had just read _from Sand Creek_ by Simon J. Ortiz, and she says... "I'm to the point that I think all history books should be thrown out and we should learn our lessons from literature!"

And I think she is very correct. In reading slave narratives and now reading American Indian Literature and feminist literature, I'm beginning to see the whole of American history and it ain't too pretty. I feel that some of the most important parts of humanity have been captured by writers and musicians and that they are very important to making this world a better place. We should be learning more from the artists than the historians, cause historians only write about what suits them.

 

Oh and don't forget....Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," remember all that mumbo jumbo about his obscenities???lol.

 

I don't know about TEN books, but I have a few.

Tao Te Ching - ?
The Quran - ?
The Bhagavad Gita - ?
The Dhammapada - ?
The Holy Bible - ?
The Torah - ?

As a religious studies student, I think it is best to look into others faiths to better understand and respect the world.

 

Scorpion's top ten books that may affect the course of mankind's eloquent history:

1. The Anarchist's Cookbook

That's it.

 

the last temptation of christ by nikos kazantzakis

 

I believe that the books you need will seek you out. Here are some that have greatly influenced my consciousness:

- The Alchemist
- Excuse Me, Your Life is waiting by Lynn Grabhorn
- The Bhagavad Gita
- Parenting Well in a Media Age by Gloria DeGatano (?)
- Bringers of the Dawn by Barbara Marciniak
- Solviva: How to grow $500,000 on one acre and peace on earth by anna edey
- A Reasonable Life by Franc something or other
- The Biology of Transcendence by Joseph Chilton Pearce
- Science of Breath by Yogi Ramacharaka

and I will leave the 10th one blank for a book I have yet to read.

 

Oh - and I'll have to concur on

Brave New World

as well.

 

Ok so i have more then 10! I can't believe i almost forgot one of my all time favorites:

THE BOOK: On the Taboo Against Knowing who you are by Alan Watts!!!

that one is a must read!

 

Well the first book that came into my head when I read this post was Ishmael by Danielle quinn. This is one of those books that you read, then look at things diffrently ... I definitely think it could help change the world!

 

um why do we need more than one?

 

that movie will go down as the funniest version of a book ever. either that or the most ridiculous. I hated it. From the first two minutes I hated that freakin movie.

 

Well for starters they're all different. Some are spiritual, some political (mostly both), some are personal and others take a worldview.

I've chosen these 10 because I think that even if someone reads just one of them, it would impact on them.

If I had to recommend just one I would say

- The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann

FYI it's nonfiction about the history of human civilisation and how things came to be the way they are. It's about matters that affect everyone on the planet. It is very easy to read and absolutely fascinating. PLEASE read it.

 

I will! I promise, i'll go to the library today to see if they have it. I'll try to read it but I can't guarantee it cause I really don't know how to read.

what's another good book that is BRAND NEW? "Biology of Belief" by Bruce Lipton. Check it out! You will not be disappointed. I heard him on COAST2COASTAM w/George Noory. unbelievable!!

 

i tend to think of children's books, because adults tend to be closeminded as a mass. so, i will vote for:
the giver by lois lawry