Comments on: Top Ten Most Influential Books Ever

By: Dave Berwald

Dave Berwald — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:39:45 +0000

I would put the Principia and Relativity first, then Origin Of The Species. I would add Maxwell and Desscarte. The others are important commentary.

By: Philip Buckley

Philip Buckley — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 01:22:42 +0000

very interesting….have to put it on the”bucket list”….

By: Ann

Ann — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 08:36:31 +0000

The list is an excellent illustration of the fact that if you don’t want a revolution, the first thing to do is to destroy all access to the written word. However, if you believe that scientific advancement is still important, go ask the folks at NASA what they read while growing up!

By: Doug Plumb

Doug Plumb — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 21:37:24 +0000

I’ve been reading the Critique Of Pure Reason by Kant for a few years. I would advise anyone to get the Routledge Guide by Gardner if they are to read this book. On my second “slow read” I think I’m getting the idea. I will spend a few more years studying Kant – Kantian philosophy is the most amazing thing I have ever learned besides calculus of variations.

By: Harry

Harry — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:01:21 +0000

The most influential book in my life was the very first: See Spot Run! Run, Spot, Run!
If not for that I would be watching TV. Of course, once the teachers discovered I was dyslectic, they declared I could not read, but I was in my 50′s then and did not care. In 1946 reading was taught by sight – and it does not matter what a word looks like, as long as it always looks the same.
Now, pemnmanship – I still haven’t mastered that.

By: Sharleen

Sharleen — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 03:06:06 +0000

I would love to see a list compiled by the Chinese; no doubt it would be different. And Atlas Shrugged is a good book to test the capabilities of high school and college kids, but a mature reader should outgrow it by age 25. I think the LOC was infiltrated by some tea-partiers.

By: SMc

SMc — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 14:54:57 +0000

Atlas Shrugged? Who regarded this rubbish as their most influential? Paul Ryan? Rush Limbaugh? Other right wing wackos?

By: james rock

james rock — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 14:45:43 +0000

Only problem is that there has been a number of survey’s conducted (by the US Library of Congress..among US readers) and except for the Bible…you got the rest wrong.

Top three most influential books were listed as:

1. The Bible (far and away number 1)
2. Atlas Shrugged
3. The Road Less Traveled

By: Ross Pooley

Ross Pooley — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 06:45:24 +0000

with 14 million members of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints & copies now reaching 150 million copies, The Book of Mormon cannot be overlooked as one of the most influential books ever written

By: Raye

Raye — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:41:45 +0000

“Tied:
1. The Quran by Muhammed
1. The Bible by Various

These two books are said to be the words of God, passed down to people on earth so his people could know how to act. ”

The Christian and Islamic holy books, it can be argued, were borne from the Judaic Tanakh. I think that that makes the Tanakh more influential than either.

By: ELBSeattle

ELBSeattle — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 07:39:08 +0000

No Tao Te Ching? No Upanishads? No Buddhavacana? This list skews heavily Westward.

By: Bryden

Bryden — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 04:05:47 +0000

I’m guessing the bible was just assumed to be a given.. very good list, I don’t think I could have done better myself.

By: Al

Al — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:12:27 +0000

As far as ranked literature that changed the world and heavily influenced culture and society, I would have to say this is the best list I have ever seen.

By: Julian

Julian — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:07:26 +0000

I would have to defend my good old HG Wells and Charles Dickens books there… But I guess that eventually science makes a headway. But I am glad that you added Republic by Plato-That is truly influential…

By: Jack

Jack — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:41:40 +0000

Admittedly it was hardly a scientific selection process. I collected what I thought to be the books that either captured the wild shift that was soon to occur (Common Sense, Civil Disobedience) or became the official book for something that has drastically shifted the world (Adam Smith, the religious texts) or changed our understanding of the world (Origin of Species, Relativity).

Happy to hear they’ve made your reading list. I promise none will disappoint, each at least deserving of a look.

By: RLWalker

RLWalker — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:30:54 +0000

How’d you all determine these as most influential?

I’ll save this as a post-grad school reading list!