In Management? Turn the Ship Around David Marquet
In literature? Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad
In Philosophy? The Republic Plato
In Religion? The Confessions St. Augustine
In Mathematics? The Elements Euclid
In History? Parallel lives Plutarch
In Physics? Principia Isaac Newton
And it's falling out of favor because of the racism and colonialism, so it's perfectly acceptable (in most literature circles) to say that you just didn't want to read that kind of crap and leave it at that.
I'm re-reading Heart of Darkness now and not likely to mention it to anyone because it's so regressive.
Republic is quite long but very approachable and I really enjoyed it.
Again the mythical man month still holds true and it very readable. It's interesting for anyone interested in computing history as well as for it's key points on management.
Edit: I also love how all the discussion of this list is happening in response to the well-formatted quote rather than the original comment.
- English Law: Treitel on The Law of Contract
- Economics: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith)
Constantly recommended on Twitter and I really wonder how many of those recommending it have actually read it.
Heart of Darkness is a short easy read in comparison. Moby Dick was another hard read and a real slog with only the occasional memorable passage to reward enduring the tedium.