Ask HN: Books on specific topics that have applied to many areas of your life?

Scale

https://www.amazon.com/Scale-Universal-Innovation-Sustainabi...

1984 - because it was the first book in English that I read front to cover, with a dictionary by my side, and learned so much recurring essential vocabulary that after that effort I could read anything; by now I have read much more from the much larger pool of writings in English than in my mother language. And, of course, it made me look differently at so many things.

Things Fall Appart - because it helped me understand how religions like Christianity and other initially subversive beliefs spread, and the sudden impact of Western culture on other cultures.

Anthropology (Marvin Harris) - because it impacted the way I look at humanity, society and history, and also helped me understand that marxism is much more than an arguably failed political doctrine.

The Bernstein Tapes about Critique of Pure Reason - I am still working through this, but has already impacted my conception of what knowledge is

History of Western Philosophy (Bertrand Russel) - because it made me understand the interwining between ideas and history. A desert island book

Concepts Techniques Models of Computer Programming - still working through it, because ir is making me realize I had no clue about programming and design. Best programming book I have come across

The Prince (Maquiavelli) - because it completely changed the way I look at politics and society

The Making of The Atomic Bomb - because it is a great way to see the incremental progress of science, and made me realize how much those at the leading edge extract from a few crumbles of information. Also the starkest description of the impact of industrialized killing in WW1,

The best book for me. I read this everyday.

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

I've learned a lot from this book. It made me calm and influenced my decisions.

For those who are interested and want to see an example here is an excerpt from the book:

July 1st

DO YOUR JOB

“Whatever anyone does or says, for my part I’m bound to the good. In the same way an emerald or gold or purple might always proclaim: ‘whatever anyone does or says, I must be what I am and show my true colors.’”

— MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.15

The Stoics believed that every person, animal, and thing has a purpose or a place in nature. Even in ancient Greek and Roman times, they vaguely understood that the world was composed of millions of tiny atoms. It was this idea—this sense of an interconnected cosmos—that underpinned their sense that every person and every action was part of a larger system. Everyone had a job—a specific duty. Even people who did bad things—they were doing their job of being evil because evil is a part of life. The most critical part of this system was the belief that you, the student who has sought out Stoicism,have the most important job: to be good! To be wise. “To remain the person that philosophy wished to make us.” Do your job today. Whatever happens, whatever other people’s jobs happen to be, do yours. Be good.

There's more gems in this book. Guaranteed!

Sideshow by Sheri Stewart Tepper.

This book changed the way I think about what is right and what is wrong.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. This is the book I've recommended more than any other, and have been thanked by people I've recommended it to disproportionately. He's got a few other books--Do The Work, Turning Pro--that cover similar ground, but The War of Art is the best of them by far.