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-> Interesting Discussions
Motek
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 Sun, Feb 25 2007, 8:25 pm
Aside from the Bible, which is probably the most influential book ever, what other books do you think have been extremely influential?
I thought of this question when discussing books with someone and how in the period of the Maskilim, yeshiva bachurim would be caught with maskilishe books and would sometimes be swept away by them. The person I spoke to found it hard to believe that a book would have that kind of impact.
I said, you'd be surprised. Books have been very influential though I think that there are other things that have to go along with it like a readiness to hear the message in a book or the times the person lives in (like in the days of Haskala, Zionism, Socialism, Communism - it was in the air, people in the streets were excited by these ideologies, there were fiery speakers on these subjects, it wasn't just something in a book).
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Chani
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Sun, Feb 25 2007, 9:11 pm
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica - Newton
Origin of the Species - Darwin
Dialogo Sopra I Due Massimi Sistemi Del Mondo, Ptolomaico E Copernicano - Galileo
Essays in Radical Empiricism - William James
Uncle Tom's Cabin - Stowe
Silent Spring - Carson
Dialogues - Plato
Of Civil Government - Locke
Discourse on the Method - Descartes
The Social Contract - Rousseau
Utilitarianism - Mill
The Interpretation of Dreams - Freud
Das Kapital - Marx
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amother
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Sun, Feb 25 2007, 9:13 pm
Mein Kampf 
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MOM222
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Sun, Feb 25 2007, 9:21 pm
The Manifesto of the Communist Party by Karl Marx - Communisim Party
Darwins theory
Wasn't there something that influenced Hitler y"m to start the Natzi Party (can't remember)??
On a lighter note
Dr. Spock's "Baby and Child Care" influenced many mothers and doctors and changed the way we see child care today.
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MOM222
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Sun, Feb 25 2007, 9:23 pm
Found it
Martin Luther wrote "Jews and their lies" that influenced Hilter y"s and is mentioned in Mein Kampf
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chocolate moose
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Sun, Feb 25 2007, 9:27 pm
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Rabbi Shmuely's writings.
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Motek
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Sun, Feb 25 2007, 9:31 pm
| MOM222 wrote: | | Wasn't there something that influenced Hitler y"m to start the Natzi Party (can't remember)?? |
Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Chani - how many people actually read those books you listed? I think the ideas in those books got "out there" without that many people actually reading the books! I mean - they are no comparison to how many people actually own and read the Bible!
Of course I've heard of the books and the authors, and was exposed to the ideas, but although I've read many books I didn't read a single book on your list!
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Chani
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Mon, Feb 26 2007, 6:13 am
| Quote: | Chani - how many people actually read those books you listed? I think the ideas in those books got "out there" without that many people actually reading the books! I mean - they are no comparison to how many people actually own and read the Bible!
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I thought you wanted a list of influential books, not popular books which were also influential. I think that the people who got those ideas out there amongst the populace (sort of the first level "movers and shakers") certainly read them. And certainly Newton and Galileo were hugely influential - modern science wouldn't have happened without these works. Darwin, interestingly, came up with his theory contemporaneously with another scientist, but was the first to publish. Nonetheless, he was very widely read and debated at the time. Stowe, Carson, Freud - all also very widely read. You better believe Das Kapital was read in communist countries by the intelligentsia who had drunk the koolaid. (may be an oxymoron  ). As for the other books of philosophy - who says they aren't read? I read most of them in high school and the rest in college...I checked with DH just now and he has read all of them...and I'm not even a huge philosophy fan. And this is today...in their time I would think that since the ideas took root SOMEBODY was reading them! Indeed, I think Plato's Dialogues were probably the most widely read piece of philosophy in the ancient world, and was very influential on Greek thought, which forms the basis for much of Western thought today. (DO NOT take that as a pro-Greek culture statement! Merely pointing out its relevance to life today!)
Found this interesting quote about Locke in Wikipedia:
Locke's ideas had an enormous influence on the development of political philosophy, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and contributors to liberal theory. His writings influenced both Voltaire and, along with those of many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, the American revolutionaries as reflected in the American Declaration of Independence.
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JRKmommy
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Mon, Feb 26 2007, 2:14 pm
To go along with Locke, I'd also include "Leviathan" by Thomas Hobbes.
I learned about the Locke vs. Hobbes philosophies of human nature and the social contract in high school. Quite frankly, I see them as very relevant to current issues. [To give a very, very brief summary: Hobbes believed that human beings will inevitably engage in constant warfare, unless there is a strong state power to keep the peace. For this reason, he sees the necessity of state and government to avoid anarchy, even if the government is authoritarian. Locke, on the other hand, has a more optomistic view of human nature, and believes that governments are legitimate only when they rule with the consent of the governed. If this all seems too esoteric - take a look at the news. IMO, much of what is happening in Iraq reflects the collision of these 2 world views.]
I'd also add various other religious works - including the Koran and the Mahabharatah, due to their immense influence upon huge numbers of Muslims and Hindus respectively.
"The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan launched the modern women's movement in the 1960s, transforming the social norms in the United States, which then echoed around the world.
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momof5boys
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Mon, Feb 26 2007, 3:06 pm
two dramas that were most influential:
the Dolls House
Waiting for Godot
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Motek
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Thu, Mar 01 2007, 11:58 am
Your list is good Chani  I guess I had in mind something like "The Feminine Mystique" (though I didn't think of that myself) which was a bestseller.
How about if I word it this way - what bestsellers made a huge impact?
I think "Roots" is one.
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JRKmommy
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Thu, Mar 01 2007, 2:12 pm
The Diary of Anne Frank is another - it's probably the most widely read book regarding the Holocaust, even in non-Jewish circles.
George Orwell's 1984 - so much of it became part of contemporary language and thinking. For those who haven't read it, this is the book that spawned the idea of "Big Brother", as it described the in a future totalitarian state engaged in constant surveilance of citizens and all-encompassing propoganda.
Along similar lines would be "Brave New World", a critique of modern social mores.
The plays of William Shakespeare.
Some of Charles Dickens' novels had a big impact, raising the social consciousness of the plight of the poor at the time.
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Motek
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Thu, Mar 01 2007, 3:15 pm
| JRKmommy wrote: | | The Diary of Anne Frank is another - it's probably the most widely read book regarding the Holocaust, even in non-Jewish circles. |
Perhaps matched by "Night" by Eli Weisel
the other books you mention - yup
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Chani
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Thu, Mar 01 2007, 5:08 pm
How about "The Jungle"?
The Kinsey Reports
The Joy of S@x
Generation X
the works of Dickens - especially Oliver Twist - hugely influential in bringing about social reforms in England
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Chani
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Thu, Mar 01 2007, 5:09 pm
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Motek, I totally agree about Roots...
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brooklyn
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Thu, Mar 01 2007, 5:11 pm
Found this tidbit on the net.
Today is World Book Day, and a poll has been conducted to find the ten books readers can't live without.
1) Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 20%
2) Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkein 17%
3) Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 14%
4) Harry Potter books - J K Rowling 12%
5) To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee 9.5%
6) The Bible 9%
7) Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 8.5%
8 ) 1984 - George Orwell 6%
9) His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 6%
10) Great Expectations - Charles Dickens .55
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bashinda
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Thu, Mar 01 2007, 5:20 pm
a big question is:
influential to who?
my list includes:
The written Torah
The Oral Torah
Shulchan Oruch
Commentaries of Rashi
The Shaloh
The Tanya
Mesilas Yesharim
etc etc
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Motek
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Thu, Mar 15 2007, 5:10 pm
maybe Catcher in the Rye - Salinger
Think and Grow Rich - N. Hill
How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Covey
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JRKmommy
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Thu, Mar 15 2007, 5:28 pm
For the slightly younger set:
As a kid growing up in the 1970s, Judy Blume's books were read by EVERYONE (well, at least all the girls I knew).
"Go Ask Alice" was widely read by teens. It's a diary of a teenager drug addict.
"Underground to Canada" was widely read in the schools, and provided many students with their background knowledge re slavery.
"Little House on the Prairie" and all the others in the series, plus "Anne of Green Gables" and the rest of that series - both "Laura" and "Anne" became cultural icons, and gave a vivid picture of the life of American and Canadian girls a hundred years earlier.
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Motek
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Sun, Apr 29 2007, 6:29 pm
| Quote: | | The Autobiography of Malcolm X was written by Alex Haley between 1964 and 1965, based on interviews conducted shortly before Malcolm X's death (and with an epilogue for after it), and was published in 1965. The book was named by Time magazine as one of the five most important nonfiction books of the 20th century. |
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