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

Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 247 posts

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?

#223

Post by wensheng »

ComputerGuru wrote: post #177
wensheng wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2 years ago, I replied a similar question by saying The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book in my youth. I finished reading the Chinese version on one day when I was 16. Since that comment my son was given the book (English) at the same age for his English class last year, he finished it in more than 1 month. I think I have failed as a parent (by not forcing him to learn to read).

I’m curious if it was an unabridged translation? TCMC is some 1200-1400 pages long in English depending on the binding and the translation, but there are some much shorter versions. I pretty much paused my life once I picked it up, but it took me around three or four days to complete it. (Of course I purposely took my time, cherishing every page and not wanting it to end.) I ask only because you owe it to yourself to…

I'm pretty sure it's not abridged because it's 3 books, each a few hundred pages.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?

#224

Post by jesterson »

michael-ax wrote: post #184
jesterson wrote: post #53

Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu. Short, concise and applicable to modern world. Not an essay per se or book though.

Witter Bynner's Translation is truly the one. Its complemented in me by Martin Fischer's Translation of Baltasar Gracian's "The Art of Worldly Wisdom". (Amazon seems to have a few) Quoth Nietzsche: "Europe has never produced anything finer or more complicated in matters of moral subtlety."

Hmm, I used to the one by Stephen Mitchell. Will have a look at Witter Bynner's, thank you!

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?

#225

Post by jesterson »

gHosts wrote: post #55
jesterson wrote: post #53

Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu. Short, concise and applicable to modern world. Not an essay per se or book though.

Agreed... ..also "Zen Flash, Zen Bones" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Flesh,_Zen_Bones http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-index.pl https://terebess.hu/zen/101ZenStones.pdf

Never got across this one, but it does look quite interesting. Thank you!

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?

#228

Post by rramadass »

severine wrote: post #93
rramadass wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which book is this? I believe reading the original masters who came up with the discoveries is the way to understanding. It is said that when the Great Mathematician Gauss was asked as to how he made his discoveries, replied; "By studying the Masters and not their Students". There is something about the process of trial and error, testing various hypothesis', going down dead ends and then doubling back and finally li…

I'm guessing this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Treatise_on_Electricity_and_...

I am thinking this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dynamical_Theory_of_the_Elec... :-)

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?

#229

Post by rramadass »

ASlave2Gravity wrote: post #154
DoctorOetker wrote: post #54

Maxwell's book on electromagnetism, it shows his hindsight perspective on interpreting the phenomena. One can look at the papers and works he wrote that led up to it, but they are full of detours and unbalanced attention with small dead ends. When he writes his book he tries to convince the audience of his time in one comprehensive work. What I love especially, is that he is very careful and systematic about his conc…

Do you have a place to get a good copy of this? Amazon seems to be turning up those dodgy PDF rips to print.

You might find "Maxwell on the Electromagnetic Field: A Guided Study" (https://www.amazon.com/Maxwell-Electromagnetic-Field-Masterw...) an easier introduction to Maxwell's theories and hence a good place to start with.
Post reply on HN