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Five Books: The best books on everything

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Re: Five Books: The best books on everything

#11

Post by awesome_dude »

leto_ii wrote: post #6

I find this to be simplistic pop intelectual nonsense. This is not how to learn anything. It's way more meaningful to understand and pursue your own actual interests than to humble brag by ticking the "correct" readings. Not to mention that talking about the best anything is basically meaningless, except for very tightly constrained achievements (e.g. we can talk about the best sprinter, but who's the best philosophe…

I've always viewed these lists as a "starter pack for beginners" - allowing people to dip their toes into fields that they are curious about (or should be dagnabbit!) and giving them an idea of how rich the field is, whilst they should also be encouraging people to dig deeper if they have found something that has really piqued their interests.

Re: Five Books: The best books on everything

#12

Post by lcuff »

is_true wrote: post #4
activitypea wrote: post #2

I've been looking for something like this, hopefully other users can weigh in if the curation is any good.

I think that usually the best books about a topic are textbooks, and by the look of it this site doesn't suggest many

As a generalization I have to disagree, at least in America for high-school subjects. I looked at both the math and biology texts from recent years. The math texts were written by people who didn't understand math, and the biology text was so focussed on the No Child Left Behind Act requirements that it was rubbish. (Also look for Richard Feynmann's experience reviewing textbooks). Undoubtedly there are good textbooks out there, but they are just as much in need of review and recommendation as non-textbooks.

Re: Five Books: The best books on everything

#13

Post by driscoll42 »

activitypea wrote: post #2

I've been looking for something like this, hopefully other users can weigh in if the curation is any good.

Reviewing some of the books on computer science, there's an English writing book recommended for "Computer Science for Data Scientists", "Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow" for Artificial Intelligence, for Naval History (20th Century) it's two WWI books, one inter war period, one WWII and then one on the British Submarines since then... not a good overall history, and for Ancient Rome "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" which has important significance for understanding the evolution of the study of Roman history, but is not a good source anymore.

In short, this seems to be taking some famous books related to a field without actually selection the five "best" ones.

Re: Five Books: The best books on everything

#15

Post by krapp »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #14

For sci-fi, they recommend the Arthur Clark award books. The first 2022 title I clicked is summarized like this on Amazon: “Part sci-fi, fantasy, and Afro-futurism but not squarely one or the other, A River Called Time…” What is “Afro-futurism”?

    Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technoculture and speculative fiction, encompassing a range of media and artists with a shared interest in envisioning black futures that stem from Afro-diasporic experiences. While Afrofuturism is most commonly associated with science fiction, it can also encompass other speculative genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and magic realism. The term was coined by Mark Dery, an American Cultural critic in 1993 and explored in the late 1990s through conversations led by Alondra Nelson.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrofuturism

- https://www.essence.com/entertainment/a-beginners-guide-afro...

- https://www.blerd.com/what-is-afrofuturism-why-is-it-importa...

Re: Five Books: The best books on everything

#16

Post by is_true »

lcuff wrote: post #12
is_true wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that usually the best books about a topic are textbooks, and by the look of it this site doesn't suggest many

As a generalization I have to disagree, at least in America for high-school subjects. I looked at both the math and biology texts from recent years. The math texts were written by people who didn't understand math, and the biology text was so focussed on the No Child Left Behind Act requirements that it was rubbish. (Also look for Richard Feynmann's experience reviewing textbooks). Undoubtedly there are good textbook…

I'm from America but not from the US, so that probably makes a big difference

Re: Five Books: The best books on everything

#17

Post by pavlov »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #14

For sci-fi, they recommend the Arthur Clark award books. The first 2022 title I clicked is summarized like this on Amazon: “Part sci-fi, fantasy, and Afro-futurism but not squarely one or the other, A River Called Time…” What is “Afro-futurism”?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrofuturism

The 2018 Marvel movie “Black Panther” is probably the most mainstream work under this umbrella.

Re: Five Books: The best books on everything

#18

Post by engineer_22 »

nindalf wrote: post #5

The Economist does something similar with their Economist Reads column. Their topics are more esoteric though. The best books to understand - The Scottish Independence Movement - https://www.economist.com/the-economist-reads/2023/05/02/wha... - Poker - https://www.economist.com/the-economist-reads/2023/04/16/wha... - Florida - https://www.economist.com/the-economist-reads/2023/04/16/wha... - Investing - https://www.e…

Forbidden books on Economist: https://archive.is/ntK0a

Re: Five Books: The best books on everything

#19

Post by anguswithgusto »

activitypea wrote: post #2

I've been looking for something like this, hopefully other users can weigh in if the curation is any good.

Curation is solid. Depends on who they pick as the subject matter expert, but for example, their Shakespeare biography recommendations are themselves from one of the best living Shakespeare biographers. [1]

I find "Five Books" picks better than Amazon recommendations, and faster than Google/Reddit searches. Example: search "wine book" on Amazon and it's all wine textbooks and pretty-but-vapid coffee table books. Meanwhile, Five Books will suggests Kermit Lynch's fantastic cult classic wine memoir [2].

[1] https://fivebooks.com/best-books/shakespeare-biography-james...

[2] https://fivebooks.com/best-books/randall-grahm-wine/

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