Although the media seems dedicated to portraying men as oblivious to anything outside of sports, tools, and sex, the truth is that until a few decades ago any self-respecting man was expected to have a wide range of abilities. knowledge. “I have taken all knowledge as my own business,” says Bacon, while Marlowe encourages us to have “aspiring minds” and to climb “after infinite knowledge.”
To this end, we offer a book for each of the ten categories with which the whole man should be at least somewhat familiar.
1) Adventure: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Journey by Alfred Lansing
It’s not often that we celebrate failed explorers, but Shackleton’s disastrous third attempt at bringing a party to the South Pole is such an astonishing and inspiring story that it has come to be honored as a success in its own right. Stranded on a frozen island 1,200 miles from the nearest human settlement, Shackleton’s leadership and courage led his crew through one of the worst trials imaginable without a single life being lost.
Further reading: Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorerby Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell.
2) Classics: Village, by William Shakespeare
It is impossible to find a work that can encompass all the merits of classical literature, but Shakespeare’s work Village, which wraps a ghost story within a murder mystery and a play within a play, is surprisingly close. It is so influential that even less educated English speakers regularly quote it without knowing it. Every time we mention our “mind’s eye”, we do something “more sadly than angry”, or we feel that we must be “cruel to be kind”, we echo the words of the tormented Danish prince.
Further reading: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead, by Tom Stoppard
3) Science: The Double Helix: a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA, by James D. Watson
From biologists who explore the mysteries of life to criminalists who track down the murderers who destroy it, one of the most important tools in the modern world is DNA. In The double helix, Watson offers readers an intimate look at the hectic race between competing teams of researchers as they seek to reveal the nature of our genetic code. With a breathless narrative and clearly explained scientific principles, Propeller is a Boy’s Own adventure story about this remarkable chemical that makes us who we are.
Further reading: The selfish gene, by Richard Dawkins
4) Religion: A God’s Story: The 4000-Year Quest for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, By Karen Armstrong
Where do we get our idea of God? How can the God represented in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam be so different from his various followers, and how have our views of Him changed over the millennia? In this ambitious and meticulously researched book, Karen Armstrong traces the evolution of God over the past 4,000 years and seeks to answer the question, “Does God have a future?”
Further reading: The varieties of religious experience, by William James
5) Female Authors: Holy maybe, by Anne Tyler
Weather Accidental tourist is probably his most famous novel, a better introduction to his work is Holy maybe. This story about a young man who is indirectly responsible for his brother’s suicide and his sister-in-law’s fatal overdose is a lot of fun, as Tyler’s honest and refreshing observations on men and women touch on the quirks and weaknesses of all of us. She remains one of the few authors who treats men as human beings rather than villains or comedians.
Further reading: Mr sand, by Barbara Gowdy
6) Detective: The murders in Morgue Streetby Edgar Allen Poe
Considered by many to be the first detective novel, The murders in Morgue Street introduces the brilliant theorist C. Auguste Dupin, who solves crimes in the seclusion of his own home. There he is attended by an assistant who, foreshadowing Dr. Watson, also tells the story. As an added bonus, this book also has the distinction of giving us one of the most peculiar assassins in the history of the mystery novel.
Further reading: The range of the timbre, by Rex Stout
7) Policy: The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli
Despite his reputation for endorsing cold-blooded manipulation, the underlying principle of Machiavelli’s most famous work is that a population enjoys more personal freedom and security from a stable government than from a government that is always in conflict. Other books may give an idea of this or that specific political situation, but with Prince, readers gain an understanding of the fundamental complexities of nation-building.
Further reading: The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
8) Humor: Thurber carnival, by James Thurber
Thurber set standards for humorous writing that have occasionally been equaled, but rarely excelled. Their stories, often based on fact, convey the most extraordinary events in the most mundane way. No matter how hard the bed falls on the father, how many shoes the mother throws through the neighbor’s windows, or how many kilometers the inhabitants run before realizing that the curse has not been broken, Thurber recites it all with so much calm the reader. I can’t help but feel like this is part of normal life.
Further reading: The best of Robert Benchley, by Robert Benchley
9) Philosophy: The history of philosophy: the lives and opinions of the great philosophers, by Will Durant
With the clarity and brilliance that made him one of the world’s greatest philosophical writers, Durant takes the reader on a journey of philosophy through the millennia. Starting with Plato and ending with Nietzsche, The history of philosophy is an eye-opening look not only at the major philosophical schools that have influenced Western civilization, but also at the minds of the philosophers who founded them.
Further reading: Simplified philosophy, by Richard H. Popkin
10) Crime: The criminal history of mankind, by Colin Wilson
Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Values as a starting point, Wilson traces criminal motivations as they progress from simple necessities (robberies and murder for profit), through sexual gratification (Jack the Ripper), to the killer of Self-fulfilling revelry (Ted Bundy). . Careful scholarship, intelligently passionate writing, and a clear and provocative thesis make this one of the most compelling crime books you will ever read.
Further reading: Thinking about crime, by James Q. Wilson