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What Books Do You Consider Required Reading In A Particular Area Of Study?
- Thread starter Pollux
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History, Economics
Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia
This is a truly excellent book I highly recommend. The detail in which he explains why and how Soviet Union collapsed results in the reader ending the book understanding the multiple causes of the collapse not only leaving no room for myths but also bringing new light into some commonly unknown aspects of the collapse. Most importantly this is a man who lived the collapse first hand. It is also a collapse that does bring some lessons to modern nations which bringing those lessons is also something the book attempts to do.
Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia
This is a truly excellent book I highly recommend. The detail in which he explains why and how Soviet Union collapsed results in the reader ending the book understanding the multiple causes of the collapse not only leaving no room for myths but also bringing new light into some commonly unknown aspects of the collapse. Most importantly this is a man who lived the collapse first hand. It is also a collapse that does bring some lessons to modern nations which bringing those lessons is also something the book attempts to do.
ElectricBlue187
Member
cool thread idea, I shall contribute:
GPS for Land Surveyors - Van Sickle - pretty much everything you could ever want to know about how the global positioning system works.
Remote Sensing of the Environment - Jensen - Fantastic book about the history and development of remote sensing
GPS for Land Surveyors - Van Sickle - pretty much everything you could ever want to know about how the global positioning system works.
Remote Sensing of the Environment - Jensen - Fantastic book about the history and development of remote sensing
For European history, the aptly named "Europe: A History" by Norman Davies, Ph. D. A very thorough book, to say the least (I could probably kill someone with the paperback) It's also well-written and attempts to give equal opportunity to the oft-neglected parts of eastern Europe that get glossed over in most histories. If you want a broad outline of European history from the first settlers until modern times, this is pretty great.
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
Holy fucking shit! I'm ordering this.
Great book about Tesla, his inventions and crazy experiments:
Tesla: Man Out of Time - Margaret Cheney
Want to learn basic electronics? The following book is great for beginners and has many experiments. By the end of the book you'll know enough to experiment a little yourself and come up with your own circuits!
Make: Electronics - Charles Platt
The next book is full of amazing photography of a great era in US history, taken by one of the best photographers of the 20th century, William Claxton. Anyone will be inspired by this book. Even if you hate jazz, this will gain you much general insight in US history and expand your worldview.
Jazzlife - William Claxton
More examples of William Claxton photography here.
Tesla: Man Out of Time - Margaret Cheney
Want to learn basic electronics? The following book is great for beginners and has many experiments. By the end of the book you'll know enough to experiment a little yourself and come up with your own circuits!
Make: Electronics - Charles Platt
The next book is full of amazing photography of a great era in US history, taken by one of the best photographers of the 20th century, William Claxton. Anyone will be inspired by this book. Even if you hate jazz, this will gain you much general insight in US history and expand your worldview.
Jazzlife - William Claxton
More examples of William Claxton photography here.
Can't believe this book hasn't been mentioned yet:
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
Don't let this thread die!
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
Don't let this thread die!
Flying_Phoenix
Banned
Why Nations Fail
Will make you look at politics the same way Guns, Germs & Steel made you look at geography.
Will make you look at politics the same way Guns, Germs & Steel made you look at geography.
Super sad that this thread simply died, but thankfully, my question relates best to this thread. So, here's hoping something can come out of it.
I am interested in learning a little more about quantum mechanics. It's a little silly, but I have become a bit more interested in the field after playing Steins;Gate and Virtue's Last Reward. I have never really studied physics before, so I don't want someone suggesting a bloody ol' textbook.
I want to read something that a person not proficient in physics can understand. I'm hoping to find a book that is on the same level as The Lucifer's Effect (i.e. I didn't really need to understand psychology or know much about Zimbardo to appreciate the content).
I am interested in learning a little more about quantum mechanics. It's a little silly, but I have become a bit more interested in the field after playing Steins;Gate and Virtue's Last Reward. I have never really studied physics before, so I don't want someone suggesting a bloody ol' textbook.
I want to read something that a person not proficient in physics can understand. I'm hoping to find a book that is on the same level as The Lucifer's Effect (i.e. I didn't really need to understand psychology or know much about Zimbardo to appreciate the content).
Writing [should be Creative Writing but I'll go with your topic header]
Popular classics:
The Elements of Style [take your pick which edition to list]
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft [Stephen King]
Creative Writing majors:
Lodge, D., The Art of Fiction [London: Penguin, 1992.]
Mullan, J., How Novels Work [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006]
Wood, J., How Fiction Works [London: Vintage, 2009]
For everyone else [e.g. journalists]
George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1946
---
Alright, got it down to sevenish.
edit: let me know if you want poetry too. Have to dig that one out from somewhere. Some course I did a while ago.
Popular classics:
The Elements of Style [take your pick which edition to list]
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft [Stephen King]
Creative Writing majors:
Lodge, D., The Art of Fiction [London: Penguin, 1992.]
Mullan, J., How Novels Work [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006]
Wood, J., How Fiction Works [London: Vintage, 2009]
For everyone else [e.g. journalists]
George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1946
---
Alright, got it down to sevenish.
edit: let me know if you want poetry too. Have to dig that one out from somewhere. Some course I did a while ago.
{insert code here}
Member
close to the edge
Member
Some more Computer Science books:
Real Time Rendering by Tomas Akenine-Möller, Eric Haines, and Naty Hoffman. A 1045 pages bad boy you can probably use to kill someone with, very well written, lots of nice (color-printed) pictures and quite exhaustive.
If you're into computer graphics, this is a pretty fantastic list of books, quite a few of the freely available, sorted by topic and with some comments by the author of the above book for every one of them.
Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example by Andrew Koenig and Barbara Moo: A great, modern (even though it's 13 years old now) introduction to C++. This book teaches you actual C++, not C and then C++. You start out using the STL vectors instead of arrays and pointers (which are error-prone and shouldn't be used as much in C++ anyways). It does not contain the new C++11 features, but other than that, I can't see anything wrong with this book. It's one of the very few C++ books that's less than 500 pages, yet still covers everything a beginner needs to know.
Real Time Rendering by Tomas Akenine-Möller, Eric Haines, and Naty Hoffman. A 1045 pages bad boy you can probably use to kill someone with, very well written, lots of nice (color-printed) pictures and quite exhaustive.
If you're into computer graphics, this is a pretty fantastic list of books, quite a few of the freely available, sorted by topic and with some comments by the author of the above book for every one of them.
Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example by Andrew Koenig and Barbara Moo: A great, modern (even though it's 13 years old now) introduction to C++. This book teaches you actual C++, not C and then C++. You start out using the STL vectors instead of arrays and pointers (which are error-prone and shouldn't be used as much in C++ anyways). It does not contain the new C++11 features, but other than that, I can't see anything wrong with this book. It's one of the very few C++ books that's less than 500 pages, yet still covers everything a beginner needs to know.
Professor Chaos
Member
Modern Imperialism/Globalization.
The New Rulers of the World by John Pilger.
Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy by Noam Chomsky.
The New Rulers of the World by John Pilger.
Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy by Noam Chomsky.
Monocle
Member
It's a real shame that Andrew Loomis's drawing and painting books haven't been mentioned yet. They're almost certainly the best of their kind. All of Loomis's books are essential but Successful Drawing and Creative Illustration are the most comprehensive. I'm seriously having a hard time stopping myself from gushing superlatives about this man's work. He's an extraordinary teacher whose affable writing style is a pleasure to read.
For drawing: Drawn To Life, the Walt Stanchfield Lectures volumes one and two are full of enough keen insight and practical information to fuel a student throughout his or her entire artistic education and beyond. A must for anyone who draws, even if you don't have the slightest interest in animation.
For painting: I've heard great things about Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting by Richard Schmid. This out of print book is rare and very expensive, but apparently an updated version is due out this fall.
For drawing: Drawn To Life, the Walt Stanchfield Lectures volumes one and two are full of enough keen insight and practical information to fuel a student throughout his or her entire artistic education and beyond. A must for anyone who draws, even if you don't have the slightest interest in animation.
For painting: I've heard great things about Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting by Richard Schmid. This out of print book is rare and very expensive, but apparently an updated version is due out this fall.
An Odyssean curriculum?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...get-smarter-read-something-list?tr=MostViewed
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...get-smarter-read-something-list?tr=MostViewed
DoktorEvil
Banned
Meditations- Marcus Aureilias
File it under philosophy. It was the book that began the stoicism movement.
File it under philosophy. It was the book that began the stoicism movement.
afternoon delight
Member
And it is wonderful.
Guerrillas in the Mist
Member
Africa since independence:
The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence by Martin Meredith
An excellent starting point for anyone that wants to read about Africa. Very concise for such a broad topic, yet it covers most major points very well.
The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence by Martin Meredith
An excellent starting point for anyone that wants to read about Africa. Very concise for such a broad topic, yet it covers most major points very well.
Chainsawkitten
Member
Security Engineering
Ros Anderson - Security Engineering is the bible of security engineering. What's more, it's free on his site.
Ros Anderson - Security Engineering is the bible of security engineering. What's more, it's free on his site.
SugarDaddy
Member
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene.
Definitely recommend it, and I believe it was a fellow NeoGAF member that recommended it as well, I just can't recall the thread or the user.
Very easy read that can give even someone with no physics background a good, fundamental understanding of the basics of the universe and the gist of what string theory is all about.
Definitely recommend it, and I believe it was a fellow NeoGAF member that recommended it as well, I just can't recall the thread or the user.
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