Re: Books that inspired you
 

To everyone who has responded to this thread:

Thank you for being readers!

Re: Books that inspired you
 

Well, I figure I'll add some that are sorely missing from this list:

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of The All American Meal - Very well researched book about a serious guiding force in the development of world economies. Gives a whole new perspective.

Manufacturing Consent (Noam Chomsky) - The classic on media bias (Althought many argue the book itself is biased :D).

A Mathematicians Apology (G.H. Hardy) - A number theorist bashing all other human pursuits while justifying his own life. An excellent book.

Re: Books that inspired you
 

I don't think you're nuts at all. As a matter of fact, I'll add The Fire Cat by Esther Averill to my list. Who can forget the lessons learned from Pickles, the young homeless cat who knows he should be able to do big things (he has big paws, you know) but does not know how or what to do, so he takes his frustrations out by picking on smaller cats in the neighborhood. Well, one day he gets himself stuck up a tree while chasing a kitten and has to be rescued by the fire department. A kind lady stands up for him and tells the firemen that he isn't a bad cat and that given the chance he could do great things (oh the possibilities of those big paws!). The firemen decide to give him a chance, they adopt him and train him to be a fire cat, and soon, instead of chasing cats, he's rescuing them and at the end of the book, he earns his fire hat and a wonderful future of helping others. Now, if you ignore the whole insinuation that only those with big paws will do big things, this book gives hope that dreams can come true and a message that you should never judge a book by its cover (imagine if the firemen had decided poor Pickles was just a bad, no good cat and not taken him in).

Heidi

<=========>
Go Pickles!

Re: Books that inspired you
 

I'm only 1/32 of the way through the book (something like that) but I saw the play twice, and I have to say that Les Miserables is turning out to be excellent.

Re: Books that inspired you
 

Tons of excellent books on the list already. The two that I love that are missing are:

<b> Cry the Beloved Country </b>
And <b> Brave New World </b>

I also liked <b> Ender's Game </b>, but I don't think I can really classify that as upstanding valuable literature. Just fun to read.

Re: Books that inspired you
 

I've had a few favorites here:

Solzhenitsyn's "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich"
You have to love a book that places such a great metaphor on a biscuit. One lone biscuit at that. =) Seriously though, it is a proof of the tremendous resilliance of the human spirit, even in the face of Josef Vissarovich Stalin's power.

Samuel P. Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations"
I don't agree with a lot of what Huntington says, but I do really like some of his stuff, especially the way people define themselves.

"This New Ocean"
I really liked this book, but it was incredibly long. It set me thinking for quite some time about where we are headed as a people.

And I almost forgot, "Feynman's Rainbow". It was a short little book, but all the same it was very good, and it matches how many inventors feel in times of frustration and struggle, and forget why it all matters, why they are driven like lunatics.

When I was younger, I used to go to the Old Bridge library and just relax in the large, comfy chairs and read all sorts of books. To those of you who know about the Old Bridge Library (Old Bridge, Middlesex Cty, NJ), it is one of the greatest libraries I have ever seen. I remember the old building as well, and the giant mural there used to terrify me. Thats why I stayed out of the children's section. =)

Re: Books that inspired you
 

Awsome -
The Bible - and then if you only read a few books of the bible read Psalms Proverbs and I recomment Matthew. Great stuff here and an answer for any occasion.
One I read in High School (I can still remember that far back) was Black Like Me - by John Howard Griffin - going from memory here - but a white reporter changes his skin color to experience what it is like to be black before the civil rights movement.
Like Al the Boy Scout Handbook - when Baden Powell organized this group he got it right the first time. Will Rogers said "The only bad thing about Scout is that there is not enough of them"
For a book that renewed my faith and encouraged me to look harder at what I believed in Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala
I love Clancy for techo/spy books
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Brothers Karamazov - Crime and Punishment I thought this was good.
I am curious now to read Atlas Shrugged - My son has this and when he is done maybe I can pick it up.

Re: Books that inspired you
 

As far as books on spaceflight go, this is the biggest one (at least in scope) - it traces the history of spaceflight, starting from the invention of black powder. In other parts, it reads like the best apology for spaceflight I've ever read. I'll try to find the specific passage (I highlighted it - it's that good) and post an exerpt here. The book as a whole is well worth reading, but set aside a month - it's huge, and more than a little dry.

Re: Books that inspired you
 

That's a great book. And yes, you could classify it as inspirational; teaches that you dont know what you are capable of until you try/ succeed, and to not give up, not matter how bad things get. I'm sure you can pick out more lesson's from that book.

Back to the Moon by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. Scientist hijacks the space shuttle so he can go to the moon, but he has an unexpected passenger.

The Things They Carried by Time O'Brien. A collection of Vietnam stories.

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (yes, it's technically a play, but it's still a great read). An old salesmen who wont let the past go, struggles to live on as his life crumbles around him, and he can't accept it.

Re: Books that inspired you
 

Rocket Boys - A great true story that is just awesome. I liked the movie made from it as well (October Sky)

I've also enjoyed the Harry Potter series quite a bit, just because Harry has some great qualities and is an enjoyable character to follow.

To those who have been saying the BSA Handbook - I would agree, but with the 10th edition of it (1990 release or so) just because of the sheer volume of information that was in that one. I'm not fond of the newest version, it's dinky.

Re: Books that inspired you
 

This thread has influenced me! Today, I just had a major shopping spree at Barnes and Noble. These will be great for the 6-hour-trip to Alaska, and back. Thank you, Chief Delphi members, for making my flying experience less dull.

Re: Books that inspired you
 

I just had to read this play for a literature class last week and it scared the crap out of me.
Not in a scary zombie type horror, or bloody horror movie type scared, but a genuine what if this really happens to me kind of thing.

Basically it's about a person who's vision of the "American Dream" is set so high for himself , his family life, and his two sons, and the fact that he comes to the realization that he will not be sucessful in the way he defines success - like his brother found success by exploring the world "from Alaska to Africa" and finding his riches in the diamond mines in Africa.

I really took this play to heart, from the influences around me to finish college and do something with my life, to the pressures to be a success, not from anyone around me per say, but seeing how the standard success stories and how I fit in to that vision, and the goals I have set for myself, and the realization that - "Holy Cow, what is that dream going to take for me to achieve that".

Anyways, enough of my rambling.

Now I have to right a response paper to that play and another longer paper about that one and other drama's.
Yay.. what fun.

Re: Books that inspired you
 

Today seems the right day to put this one up :) Sorry to infuriate some people.

Stupid White Men ...and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation!
by Michael Moore

Ah oui...les livres!
 

Finally! Someone actually put down Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side to the All American Meal! It’s sad what kind of unethical food people put into their mouths. This book is one of the reasons why meat is not found on my plate. Also, who thought that Walt Disney was that evil?

Catcher in the Rye: What can I say about a book who’s author (J. D. Salinger) lived in the woods as a hermit? If you think the world is “phoney”, you’ll identify with the main character.

I had to read Tuesdays with Morrie for my Organizational Behaviour class last year. I’m making all my loved ones read it. The book even made a guy cry. (Though my sister wanted me to point out that there is nothing wrong with that.) Enough said.

To all those people that have trouble with their grammar when posting up on this website, please read The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and with additions by E. B. White. I admit that I still haven’t finished the 105 pages though.

After reading through this whole post, I bought Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance today. I hope it lives up to what everyone says of it.

To Jeff (188): I think I’m going to read the book that you recommended, Shaking Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. If you want to read more UN-bashing material, there is a book that recently came out that is written by three former et present UN workers. It details stories about miscommunication amongst the different levels of the UN organization, “intimate” liaisons between workers, and the ignorance of certain issues by UN leaders. Sorry, I can’t remember the title of the book…I haven’t even seen it on the bookshelves yet.

Happy reading!

Cheers,

Yan Yan Tong

Re: Books that inspired you
 

I'll have to read that one.