Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 101 posts

Re: Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

#81

Post by chegra »

I will go with Wanting by Luke Burgis. It makes the works of Rene Girard accessible. For me, it made me conscious of how much of our nature is simply copying others. Basically, one should make a conscious effort to select who to copy. Also, because we copy it means we would have a desire for the same object in which conflict can arise. We can realize this and take steps to mitigate possible conflict.

A surprising insight of the book is that having hierarchies reduces conflict. I wrote a summary of the book here: https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-wanting-by-luke-burgis

Re: Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

#82

Post by pchangr »

voisin wrote: post #63
reallymental wrote: post #11

If you're not a person who tends to get sucked into a book, and has every waking thought resonate with what you've read, then read some Chomsky. You may not agree with his views (it's so far to the left, that it makes your head spin) but rather read it for how he writes. His terse words are a window into his psyche. Everything is presented in a very "matter-of-fact" way. I've read most of his books and it's surprisin…

Does he have a specific book that would relate to the hollowing out of the middle class?

I know “Requiem for the American Dream” talks about it. Just keep in mind it’s written from a very us centric perspective

Re: Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

#83

Post by D13Fd »

LeonB wrote: post #4

I’d like to say - Factfulness or - Sapiens or - Richard Feynman’s various writings …but the most measurable impact was probably from something like - “Strunk and white The Elements of Style” or - “How to win friends and influence people” or - “Oh! Pascal!” Or - “the dictionary” or - some specific bus timetable that enabled a pivotal moment in my life

Seconded on Strunk and White, although you also need to know not to follow some of its outdated advice.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

#84

Post by Lockal »

"Linux From Scratch" was a life-changing experience, with a high practical value: you finally take full control over your hardware and start to understand why every component exists on your system and how you can control it.

Not going to mention any psychological studies or philosophical essays, because, sorry, OP asked for non-fiction...

Re: Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

#85

Post by ydnaclementine »

Marie Kondo - Spark Joy. I like it because it provides a different perspective on the stuff you buy but don't use (thank you for showing me that I didn't like this style of shirt) as you give it away. Getting rid of stuff isn't revolutionary, but how she thinks about the things you own is different.

Her show is very similar to the book, but the book explains it better. Her second book is more of the same, not sure about the third

Re: Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

#86

Post by lmorandi »

Think and Grow Rich written by Napoleon Hill is the book that had the biggest impact on me. By the name you would think that only talks about money and finance, but the real message is about the power of desire. I loved it and really changed my mind and the way of doing things. Really recommend it.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

#87

Post by zingababba »

Some recent ones I've really enjoyed: The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind - Julian Jaynes; And: Phenomenology of the End - Franco Berardi; The True Believer - Eric Hoffer; I See Satan Fall Like Lightning - Rene Girard; Surplus Enjoyment - Slavoy Zizek; Dionysus, Christ, and the Death of God - Giuseppe Fornari

Phenomenology of the End in particular blew my mind.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

#88

Post by rasse »

mablopoule wrote: post #50

"The righteous mind" by Jonathan Haidt. I loved it so much that I gave it to three different peoples. It's about psychological studies of morality, and what tends to influence one sense of morality. It had a huge impact on me because I feel that it helped me grow as a person, and being able to understand other culture/other principle, even if I don't necessarily agree with that. Lots of stuff that seems plain evil fr…

I'd recommend The Righteous Mind along with Being Wrong by Kathryn Schultz to anyone who's ever argued on the internet.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

#89

Post by stranded22 »

Ok:

1) Happy by Derren Brown - a stoic interpretation for the modern world (how to live, and die, happy)

2) The Daily Stoic - 366 pages of stoic philosophy for each day

3) how to control drinking / this naked mind- second book is a reinterpretation of the first, made the biggest impact on my life, helping me stop drinking

4) Atomic Habits - helped me appreciate it is a little nudge that makes the biggest long term difference

Post reply on HN