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Comment by kitsune_ | Hacker News Reader

Call me old-fashioned, but why would I read boring self-help books when there are thousands of books available, from all ages, that document the human experience? For instance:

- Scriptures of the major religions

- The Conquest of Happiness (Bertrand Russell)

- On Aggression (Konrad Lorenz)

- Crowds and Power (Elias Canetti)

- LSD, My Problem Child (Albert Hofmann)

- Huis Clos (J.P. Sartre)

- Essays by Michel de Montaigne

- The Incoherence of the Incoherence (Ibn Rushd)

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I'd add the following:

- Makers (Cory Doctorow) -- I recommend this to every entrepreneur and technologist I know, if only because it will inspire you to create something great.

- Masters of Doom (David Kushner) -- History of id software

- Game Over (David Sheff) -- History of Nintendo; seriously wild

You don't need to call me old-fashioned - I am.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_ludens

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptonomicon

Just my 2 cents on the list that actually matters.

I would add this one:

Decision Points - George W. Bush

http://www.amazon.com/Decision-Points-George-W-Bush/dp/03075...

Makers - Part I, is in fact very good. Just pretend that there is no part II or III.

Wow thats the first time I've ever seen Ibn Rushd mentioned on HN, may I also suggest people read Ghazalis "The incoherence of the philosophers" which Ibn Rushds book as actually a response too. Both are eye opening.

I agree that the scope of books that entrepreneurs would find helpful should be wider. I'd recommend some that might be a little easier to get through (just of the top of my head):

-Losing my virginity (Branson)

-How to win friends and influence people (Carnegie)

-Venture deals (Feld)

-Man's Search for meaning (Frankl)

+10 to Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl.

On a business side I personally like, "Postively Outrageous Service" & "The Heart of Change"

I agree. Another might be: http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/0385292163

Available for free from the great library. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/132

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert B. Cialdini

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life, Nassim Nicholas Taleb

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