Thursday, February 02, 2017

Books Recommended by Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson

Open Culture has two lists. The first is 8 books every intelligent person should read, suggested by Tyson. The second is Sagan's 40 Essential Texts for a Well-Rounded Thinker. I now feel seriously under-educated.

Tyson's list:
1.) The Bible
2.) The System of the World by Isaac Newton
3.) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
4.) Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
5.) The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine
6.) The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (I've read excerpts)
7.) The Art of War by Sun Tsu
8.) The Prince by Machiavelli

Sagan's list isn't available in a format I can just copy and paste here, but it's mostly books I haven't read:
In fact, it's a list that I have no interest in tackling. I have read the Plato, Shakespeare, and the Bible.

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4 comments:

  1. Bleubeard and Elizabeth3:28 PM

    I'm really intrigued by Sagan's list, since I was an engineer in a former lifetime.

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    1. Divers and Sundry8:05 AM

      Yes, it seems much more geared to the scientist/engineer than the liberal studies or general reader.

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  2. My name is Erika.5:18 PM

    Those are intense reading lists. I guess I am way under-education. I have read a couple thing son Tyson's list (The Bible and Origin of Species, a little bit of Thomas' Paine's-like the high school level synopsis kind), but I guess I don't even had a huge urge tor read much of those books, even though I might be smarter if I did. Hugs-Erika

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    Replies
    1. Divers and Sundry8:06 AM

      I agree with you. Tyson's list is much more approachable, and I'm thinking Sagan's list is not really intended for the general audience no matter what they've titled it ;)

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