Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s 8 Books That Should Be Read by Every Intelligent Person on the Planet

When you look to the list of canonical books that they say you should read before you die, you might lose your energy when you see how numerous they are. There are lists like the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and the Great Books of the Western World that contain thousands of books that you might probably die before finishing reading them all. So, the renowned astrophysicist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, gives us a list of only 8 books that you should read to be an intelligent person. Here is the list of books that Tyson wants us to read (with reasons by Tyson himself):

                                         Watch out. We got a badass over here!

1. The Bible, “To learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.” I already read some parts of it.

                                  The Gutenberg Bible, the first printed Bible. Source: Wikipedia

2. A Treatise of the System of the World or Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica by the great English scientist Sir Isaac Newton, “To learn that the universe is a knowable place.” I tried reading this beauty, but I’m afraid the book is mathematical in nature and I’m mathematically impaired. I only know the book by secondary source materials.

3. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin, “To learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth.” I already read this beauty. It’s such a masterpiece of scientific literature. It is intelligible to the average reader, as opposed to other very serious scientific works.  

4. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, “To learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos.” I already read this delightful work.

Gulliver Exhibited to the Brobdingnag Farmer, a painting by Richard Redgrave. (Wikipedia)

5. The Age of Reason by Enlightenment philosopher Thomas Paine, “To learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world.” I didn’t read this yet. I only know this work by secondary source materials.

6. The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, “To learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself.” Didn’t read this yet too. I’m afraid that this is also mathematical in nature, so maybe I’ll just get some secondary source materials.

7. The Art of War by Sun Tzu, “To learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.” Already read this Chinese masterpiece.

8. Il Principe (I like calling it by its Italian name) by Niccolo Machiavelli, “To learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it.” I already read this beauty tho.

The Italian political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli with Ezio Auditore depicted in the videogame Assassin’s Creed. (assassinscreed.wikia.com)

          Tyson said that “If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.”

References:

1. dykn.com