Ask HN: Life Changing Books? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?

#91

Post by stevenfoster » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

- Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl

- Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman

- Debt by David Graeber

- Extreme Ownership by Jocko Wilink

- Genesis and the Big Bang by Gerald Schroeder

- The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila

Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?

#92

Post by stevenfoster » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:51 PM UTC

chernevik wrote: post #87

A few: "The Once and Future King", T.H. White -- best novelization of the problem of power "Don Quixote", Miguel de Cervantes -- why stories matter "Essence of Decision", Graham Allison -- how views of a historic episode vary with the theory you apply "Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings", Basler/Sandburg -- The application of reason to the problems of law, morality and politics

+1 for Cervantes

Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?

#93

Post by HPsquared » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:51 PM UTC

stevebmark wrote: post #70

ravenstine wrote: post #52

Here are mine: - "The 48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene - "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker - "Left of Bang" by Patrick van Horne and Jason Riley - "Influence" and its follow-up "Pre-suasion" by Robert Cialdini - "Courage is Calling" by Ryan Holiday (yes it was published this year but I found it helpful) - "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie - "No One Ever Told Us That" by John D. Spooner…

48 laws of power, influence, win friends, and to some degree rich dad, when put together in a list, could tell a story about someone. I’m curious in a non-attacking sort of way, do you consider yourself a sociopath, or to have more manipulative tendencies than those around you?

They're all books which explain social relations in a logical, mechanistic way. A lot of people lack intuition in this area, and this is the most effective way to understand "other people".

Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?

#94

Post by tbjohnston » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:52 PM UTC

Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Hobbit/LotR by Tolkien

Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?

#95

Post by reureu » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:53 PM UTC

thejackgoode wrote: post #86

snaveen wrote: post #76

A Master's Secret Whispers: For those who abhor the noise and seek The Truth about life and living https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Secret-Whispers-those-living/... Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735211299/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness https://www.amazon.com/Alman…

Are there other people who think Naval Ravikant has zero original ideas and his real competence is speech?

I'm wary of most entrepreneurs, investors, and "thought leaders" offering advice as they tend to either be self-serving, productivity porn, or deep-seeming ideas that are easily said but impossible to implement. And, all too often, they only have a platform or "success" because of a huge head start from family wealth or from being an outright sociopath (or both).

Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?

#96

Post by rasse » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:54 PM UTC

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?

#97

Post by whilestanding » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:56 PM UTC

The Denial Of Death by Ernest Becker.

The Holy Bible by God.

Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?

#98

Post by T0pH4t » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:58 PM UTC

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

By: James Nestor

Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?

#99

Post by jerome-jh » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:59 PM UTC

"Art of war", Sun Tzu -- only partially applies to modern wars, still a great reading. Many to the point maxims to understand life, history and the world.

"The Gallic Wars", Julius Caesar -- for the enjoyment of reading a 2k years old book by a major historical character. Probably more interesting if you are french, belgian or german. Truly epic ending with the battle of Alesia. The staging of this battle is almost unbelievable although to date, every archeological finding has only confirmed the description made by JC.

Both are short, direct, self contained books.

Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?

#100

Post by wy35 » Sat, Dec 18, 2021, 5:59 PM UTC

thejackgoode wrote: post #86

snaveen wrote: post #76

A Master's Secret Whispers: For those who abhor the noise and seek The Truth about life and living https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Secret-Whispers-those-living/... Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735211299/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness https://www.amazon.com/Alman…

Are there other people who think Naval Ravikant has zero original ideas and his real competence is speech?

Naval always comes off as pretentious/didactic, in my opinion. I respect his accomplishments and ideas but his ego is really off the charts. What makes it worse is his legion of fans that hang off his every word.