Spiderman by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee
In 1962, Steve Ditko and Stan Lee introduced Peter Parker, a teenager, bitten by a radioactive spider, which gave him superpowers. How he chooses to use them determines his fate and those around him.
Dialogues of Plato
Plato’s dialogues – Euthyphro,” “Apology,” “Crito,” “Meno,” and “Phaedo” – are his recollections of the wisdom of teacher Socrates in life and in death.
Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf
Beautifully illustrated, Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf provides insights into one of the greatest players to ever swing a golf iron on what he regards as the fundamentals of golf in regards to five areas: grip, posture, stance, backswing, and downswing.
The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression
With as many as 25 million in the former Soviet Union, 65 million in China, 1.7 million in Cambodia, and on and on―The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression systematically show where Communism was established, it led to terror, torture, famine, mass deportations, and massacres.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Written in 1932, Brave New World is a story of a technologically advanced future (AD 2540) where humans live in a perfect Utopian society where no one feels any hunger, suffering, or pain. This is accomplished by having reproduction and education under state control — rendering the archaic concepts of family and independence unnecessary. Entertainment and drugs (soma) are freely provided by the state so one can always be happy. But what is the price of this Brave New world?
Pride & Prejudice
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
In one of the classics of literature, Jane Austen tells the story of Elizabeth Bennet, and her sisters as they try to live life in the confines of 19th-century English society, with a plot that centers around Elizabeth’s meeting with Mr. Darcy.
I highly recommend the Audible version by Rosamund Pike which is glorious. For the print version get the Barnes and Noble Collectible edition.
The Selfish Gene
Neo-Darwinist Richard Dawkins, turns the science of biology on its head, by looking at evolution from the “point of view” of a gene in which organisms can be seen as vehicles for their replication.
A Brief History of Time
“How did the universe begin—and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending—or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends?” These are some of the questions, Stephen Hawking explores in his book, A Brief History of Time, where he gives his opinions on black holes and quarks, antimatter, and “arrows of time,” and the big bang.
The Secret Garden
‘Where, you tend a rose, my lad, A thistle cannot grow.’
The story of a young orphan and the adventures that await her when she discovers a hidden door to a secret garden.
Inside the Criminal Mind by Stanton Samenow
How a criminal’s actions are fundamentally determined by their thoughts.