Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#91

Post by davidgh » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 5:00 AM UTC

How We Got to Now, Steven Johnson. Walks you through a half dozen foundational inventions and the process through which they came to be. Fascinating to see what the inventors were trying to solve vs. how the world ended up applying their technology.

Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand. If you haven't read the book don't judge it by the (awful) movie.

The Liberators: My Life in the Soviet Army. Really opens your eyes to the problems and realities of communism. I love the author's dry sense of humor as he witnesses the absurdity of many of the things he encountered.

Sniper on the Eastern Front, Albrecht Wacker. A view of WWII through the eyes of a German sniper.

Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account, Miklos Nyiszli. A view of the holocaust through the eyes of a Jewish doctor in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#92

Post by graphememes » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 5:01 AM UTC

Houshalter wrote: post #84

Rationality: from AI to Zombies really changed my way of thinking in many ways. It's very hard to describe it or sell it in a few sentences. Partly because it covers so many different things. And partly because I read it so long ago and have already absorbed many of the good ideas in it. They no longer seem exciting and new, and just feel obvious. But they certainly weren't when I first read it. I constantly see plac…

Arguing or getting heated over semantics has always been an irksome detail of human emotion / behavior for me.

Guess I'll give this book a read.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#93

Post by graphememes » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 5:04 AM UTC

sngz wrote: post #68

bradbatt wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, because it changed my understanding of people for the better. Absolutely everyone should read this book. I wish it had a better title. "Understanding People" would be an excellent one.

I've seen this book recommended many times. I read a few chapters and don't feel like it was useful. Some of the stuff is obvious common sense like smile don't criticize others, be a good listener etc. Then it tells you to be genuinely interested in someone. How can you force yourself to be interested in someone? Does the book go into anything actually useful later on?

No, It doesn't. I've read it a few times trying to glean similar understanding and I just cannot for the life of me see anything beyond a basic human social communications and behavior. Perhaps if you knew absolutely nothing about communicating with others it would be beneficial.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#94

Post by shivrajrath » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 5:11 AM UTC

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late

This book is a detailed research on what's wrong with the world and what can be still done. The chapter II brings inputs from various culture on approaches that could improve from ground up. Must read book for us and future generations.

Can someone suggest something similar to this book?

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#95

Post by skookumchuck » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 5:18 AM UTC

sngz wrote: post #68

bradbatt wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, because it changed my understanding of people for the better. Absolutely everyone should read this book. I wish it had a better title. "Understanding People" would be an excellent one.

I've seen this book recommended many times. I read a few chapters and don't feel like it was useful. Some of the stuff is obvious common sense like smile don't criticize others, be a good listener etc. Then it tells you to be genuinely interested in someone. How can you force yourself to be interested in someone? Does the book go into anything actually useful later on?

Yes, it reads like common sense. But then even major politicians could learn a lot by reading it. Bill Clinton followed its principles. Hillary did not.

The book helped me a lot.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#96

Post by ctdavies » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 5:24 AM UTC

Das Kapital. You know why.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#97

Post by _jgdh » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 5:25 AM UTC

kesava wrote: post #79

_jgdh wrote: post #69

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. It gave me a good understanding of where we, as a species, came from. What did we do, why did we spread across the planet, how did we replace other hominids? What I really appreciated was his ability to explain some of the underpinnings of society like religion, nation states and currency with a relatively simple idea. Afterwards I felt like "damn that's so simple, I should have thought…

One doesn't have to be Indian to read the magnificent book by Guha.

Yes, a person who isn't Indian but has an interest in history or the Sub-Continent or both would find it engrossing. That said, it's optional for them, like how a history of the American Civil War would be optional for non-Americans. But in each case, citizens in their respective countries need to read their history so they understand their country well and be better citizens.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#98

Post by _jgdh » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 5:31 AM UTC

nojvek wrote: post #87

kesava wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One doesn't have to be Indian to read the magnificent book by Guha.

Yuval Harari's new "Homo Deus" is excellent. I had a blast reading it. It has a number of things from Homo Sapiens but talks about possible future and fundamental things that drive humans to create technology. Absolute one of my top 5 favorite books.

Reading that next!

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#99

Post by Sunset » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 5:34 AM UTC

cconcepts wrote: post #90

underyx wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why?

Personally, because a thorough understanding of the Bible shows that its teaching is quite different to what is often portrayed in media and in the assumptions of people like myself who had not previously read it. You can take many individual parts of the Bible out of context and make it sound like madness but reading the whole in its entirety has a narrative that many miss. For those raised on the internet and faste…

If you're already christian, I'd recommend not reading the bible cover to cover. I did, and it made me an atheist.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#100

Post by paraschopra » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 5:39 AM UTC

_The Beginning of Infinity_ changed my worldview from thinking progress is slowing down or problems in the world are overpowering to a more hopeful one where problems always be there for humans to solve, and that through human activity we can keep making progress. It also gave hope that one day in future, we might be able to clearly see that good, bad, evil, love, beauty might be fundamental aspects of universe, just like gravity, atoms, and radioactivity is. It also walks through philosophy of science (v/s pseduo-science). All in all, I wish I had read it earlier.

_Feeling Good_ because of the tools it contains to battle self-defeating feelings that lead bouts of sadness or depression. I wish everyone would read that book so that they can build mental immunity against circular, depressing thoughts.