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Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?
For example, "On The Shortness of Life" by Seneca (c. 4 BC – AD 65)
- zawerf 7y agoThe Count of Monte Cristo
- v-erne 7y agoI second that. There's also a lot of movie and tv adaptations of this book out there(Alan Badel was probably the best Count) and I really enjoy compering them to the book.
- abhiyerra 7y ago“Civilization and its Discontents” by Freud “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly “Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde
- steerpike 7y agoMeditations by Marcus Aurelius is a pretty obvious one for this demographic.
- perilunar 7y agoMy Airships, by Alberto Santos-Dumont, 1904
- h13g 7y agoA Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder, 1888 [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Strange_Manuscript_Found_in_a_Copper_Cylinder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Strange_Manuscript_Found_in_...
- perl4ever 7y agoWhat is Man? And Other Essays by Mark Twain https://www.gutenberg.org/files/70/70-h/70-h.htm https://www.gutenberg.org/files/70/70-h/70-h.htm
- chris5745 7y agoThe Secret Doctrine [0] [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Doctrine https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Doctrine
- dantodor 7y agoPlato's Dialogues
- 033803throwaway 7y agoProgress & Poverty (1879) by Henry George Orthodoxy (1908) by G.K. Chesterton The Brothers Karamazov (1880) by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- mandelbrott 7y agoTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea- Jules Verne (1870). Also many other novels by the same author.
- cpound 7y agoIn the 'travel essay' genre, Xavier de Maistre's "A Journey Round My Room" https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/a-journey-round-my-room-1794-1871/ https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/a-journey-round-m...
- strikelaserclaw 7y agoDon Quixote
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- mkovach 7y agoMichel de Montaigne, his Essays are awesome and touch a wide range of subjects. The 100+ chapters in three books require an investment that will payoff.
- hanoz 7y agoThat's quite a broad category. At least 100 years ago was a good period for books and essays.
- iBelieve 7y agoThe Bible. Mysterious Island (1874), Around the World in Eighty Days (1873), and other books by Jules Verne. Books by James Fenimore Cooper. The Sea-Wolf (1904) by Jack London. The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) by Alexandre Dumas. Oliver Twist (1839) by Charles Dickens.
- eitland 7y agoWe share some favorites. 20000 leagues under the sea by Jules Verne was my introduction to science fiction and I also enjoyed Mysterious Island (which overlaps, but is less science fiction). I had forgotten James Fenimore Cooper, and I have forgotten almost everything about the books, but yes, these were in the school library too and I read them. (we had no TV when I grew up so I read a lot, mostly books in the styles mentioned above but also historical books and fiction from the WWII, but obviously none of these are over 100 years old.) Also the Bible, it might not be highly regarded here, and I'm obviously biased, but as someone who reads other texts as well I think a number of people here could find parts of it interesting, especially contrasting it to what school and others might have told you. (Spoiler: besides the endless listings of who was who that most people will learn to skip, the full version is also a lot messier than what anyone working in school or wanting your money will tell you ; )
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- kthejoker2 7y agoMeditations by Marcus Aurelius Essays by Michel de Montaigne Self Reliance by Emerson Theory of Moral Sentiment by Adam Smith A Treatise of Human Nature by Hume And the memoir of my vote for the most interesting man who ever lived, Humphry Davy's Consolations in Travel
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- cryptozeus 7y agoSecond Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
- misternonki 7y agoEssays by Montaigne
- bmmayer1 7y agoEconomics: - The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith - Das Kapital, Karl Marx - That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen, Frederic Bastiat Philosophy / Politics: - The Republic, Plato - Second Treatise on Government, John Locke - The Law, Frederic Bastiat - Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes - Meditations, Marcus Aurelius - Democracy in America, Alexis de Toqueville - On Liberty, John Stuart Mill Fiction: - The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Mark Twain - The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin - Metamorphoses, Franz Kafka - Candide, Voltaire - The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
- 1ark 7y agoCrime and Punishment (1866) by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
- fernly 7y agoSome of the speeches of Robert G. Ingersoll. Great oratory from an age when oratory was prized. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_G._Ingersoll https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_G._Ingersoll http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2662 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2662 Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason. Not intended as oratory, but like Ingersoll's lectures, great fun to read aloud. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine http://thomaspaine.org/major-works/the-age-of-reason-part-1.html http://thomaspaine.org/major-works/the-age-of-reason-part-1.... > But some, perhaps, will say: Are we to have no word of God—no revelation? I answer, Yes; there is a word of God; there is a revelation. THE WORD OF GOD IS THE CREATION WE BEHOLD and it is in this word, which no human invention can counterfeit or alter, that God speaketh universally to man... The Creation speaketh an universal language, independently of human speech or human language, multiplied and various as they may be. It is an ever-existing original, which every man can read. It cannot be forged; it cannot be counterfeited; it cannot be lost; it cannot be altered; it cannot be suppressed....
- cik 7y agoThe Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau Second Treatise on Government, John Locke
- brobdingnagians 7y agoSecond, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, lucid and understandable essay
- ioseph 7y agoThe World Set Free - HG Wells (I wanted to put in the Shape of Things to Come but it doesn't quite make the cut)
- whycombagator 7y agoThe Revolt of the Masses by José Ortega y Gasset Edit: Not quite 100 years but will leave it here for posterity
- jmts 7y agoOn the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin. It's pretty dense, dry, and can require a bit of a commitment, but there's some pretty interesting bits and pieces in there aside from just proposing evolution.
- bmmayer1 7y agoI would also highly recommend the sequel, the Descent of Man. That's where Darwin actually discusses the evolution of humans, a topic he gingerly avoided in TOOS
- lolc 7y agoGreat read! I especially like how a lot of his speculation turned out close to what we know today. Choice quote: "I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their structure and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale."
- arethuza 7y agoThe Voyage of the Beagle by Darwin is a great read - its an account of his adventures (no other word) on the Beagle.
- zhoujianfu 7y agoThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- pmcjones 7y agoEuclid's _Elements_.
- dudul 7y agoThe entire _Arsene Lupin_ series by Maurice Leblanc, been reading them again and again since I was 12.
- interfixus 7y agoThe War of The Worlds, H.G. Wells, 1898 Great Expectations, Charles Dickens, 1861 Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper ("On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies"), A. Einstein, 1905
- awat 7y agoThe Jungle by Upton Sinclair
- hristov 7y agoVictory - Joseph Conrad Notes from the Underground - Dostoyevsky Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky (there is a bunch of other brilliant Dostoyevsky books)
- atlacatl_sv 7y agoi enjoyed reading this one:A History of Freedom of Thought http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10684/10684-h/10684-h.htm http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10684/10684-h/10684-h.htm
- glial 7y agoSpinoza's Ethics Euclid's Elements Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
- cbanek 7y agoThe Prince by Machiavelli, 1532 Chuang-tzu, 4th century BC The Art of War by Sun Tzu, 5th century BC Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, 14th century AD
- ioman 7y agoCandide by Voltaire It was the first book I read for school that made me laugh out loud and realize that some of these old boring books were actually pretty awesome (which is why people are still reading them centuries later)
- pinewurst 7y agoA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain North of Boston by Robert Frost Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (+ the other Sherlock Holmes') Candide by Voltaire (was reminded by other posting - this is great!)
- jeffdavis 7y agoI read a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court when I was around 12. It was fun and fantastical, but perhaps I didn't absorb any deeper meaning because I was too young. I'm curious what makes it top your list?
- jeffdavis 7y agoOn Being the Right Size: https://irl.cs.ucla.edu/papers/right-size.html https://irl.cs.ucla.edu/papers/right-size.html Only 90 years old, but it came to mind and it was close enough that I needed to check the date.
- dominotw 7y agoPro Spring 5: An In-Depth Guide to the Spring Framework and Its Tools 5th Edition
- rammy1234 7y agoMeditations by Marcus Aurelius Art of war
- brandonlc 7y agoDemocracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. Not an easy read, but one well worth the effort.
- 52-6F-62 7y agoEssay: A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. First read it in high school. A revolutionary piece of sardonic wit—especially for a young person after so many literature classes of pure gravitas. Book(?): And I’m not sure it qualifies but a collection of Rimbaud’s poems and lyrical prose is a sure winner as well. I have difficult time wrapping my mind around the fact that he was so young.
- ChrisSD 7y agoSince many other people have mentioned ancient essays I like, I'll go for something more "modern". Some of Bertrand Russell's earlier works are well worth a read even though they're obviously dated. * The Problems of Philosophy (1912) gives a short introduction to philosophy that he at the time considered "positive and constructive". https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5827/5827-h/5827-h.htm https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5827/5827-h/5827-h.htm * Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays (1901 to 1915) is an anthology of his ideas that were still evolving even then. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25447/25447-h/25447-h.htm https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25447/25447-h/25447-h.htm
- lostlogin 7y agoSomething that’s always fascinated me - Bertrand Russell’s life covered many years and massive change, making for a good biography. His grandfather met Napoleon when in exile and I believe recounted this experience to a young Bertrand Russell (I can’t find a source for this currently). Bertrand Russell also watched the moon landing on TV. These events seem so far apart but are separated by just 2 (long) lifetimes.
- eesmith 7y agoThere are people alive today with a grandparent born in the 1700s - https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/heir-raising-experience/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/heir-raising-experience/ (at least true up to a few years ago).
- wazoox 7y agoHis History of Western Philosophy is really great, too.
- ChrisSD 7y agoOh definitely! But I'd be stretching the "100 years ago" limitation if I included it.
- claudiawerner 7y agoThat book has a large number of criticisms for its (in the opinions of the views it criticizes) misguided polemics; if it's worth reading, it's also worth reading its criticisms.
- stevedis 7y agoTons of good stuff already here. I love lists like this. Two short b-sides: - The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway - The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
- mr3martinis 7y agoWalden by Thoreau - on self reliance and nature De architectura By Vitruvius - classical construction and architecture Song of Myself by Whitman - poetry Hound of the Baskervilles by Doyle - thriller
- tarboreus 7y agoTravels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships (1726) This book is filthy, funny, misanthropic, insightful, and ridiculous in all the right ways. > I was complaining of a small fit of the colic, upon which my conductor led me into a room where a great physician resided, who was famous for curing that disease, by contrary operations from the same instrument. He had a large pair of bellows, with a long slender muzzle of ivory: this he conveyed eight inches up the anus, and drawing in the wind, he affirmed he could make the guts as lank as a dried bladder. But when the disease was more stubborn and violent, he let in the muzzle while the bellows were full of wind, which he discharged into the body of the patient; then withdrew the instrument to replenish it, clapping his thumb strongly against the orifice of then fundament; and this being repeated three or four times, the adventitious wind would rush out, bringing the noxious along with it, (like water put into a pump), and the patient recovered. I saw him try both experiments upon a dog, but could not discern any effect from the former. After the latter the animal was ready to burst, and made so violent a discharge as was very offensive to me and my companion. The dog died on the spot, and we left the doctor endeavouring to recover him, by the same operation. Yes, this is a passage about trying to inflate a dog with a bellows. This is why this book is in the Western canon. The Beetle: A Mystery by Richard Marsh (1897) This novel is bizarre...to the max! (I'm bringing it back.) This shit came out in the same year as Dracula (1897) and outsold it. That tells you that this is a boss novel that you should read immediately. The plot is that a shapeshifting beetle person with mesmeric powers is trying to revenge themselves on a member of Parliament. After reading the first section of this book, in which a tramp is mesmerized, given spooky powers, and sent to steal some letters, you'll want to start shouting THE BEETLE! just like the characters in the novel. Keep an eye out for Sydney Atherton, a scientist who uses the mysterious fluid known as Electricity to fight our antagonist, and who randomly kills a cat with sarin gas to make a point in a conversation. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) Not as good as The Beetle, obviously, but holds up shockingly well. In this rollicking novel, Victorian organizational technology (gramophones, stenography, typewriters) triumphs over the undead. But read The Beetle first, it's way better. Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World (1778) This is another awesomely messed-up book that's a great beach read in 2019. People are constantly getting kicked out of carriages and rolling down hills, falling down stairs, etc. It's like Jane Austen but with violence. Incidentally, Frances Burney was Austen's fav writer. There's an old person race in this novel, so enjoy that.
- cjwillcock 7y agoThe Varieties of Religious Experience by William James (1902).
- jesterson 7y agoTao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu. Short, concise and applicable to modern world. Not an essay per se or book though.
- gHosts 7y agoAgreed... ..also "Zen Flash, Zen Bones" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Flesh,_Zen_Bones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Flesh,_Zen_Bones http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-index.pl http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-index.pl https://terebess.hu/zen/101ZenStones.pdf https://terebess.hu/zen/101ZenStones.pdf
- jesterson 7y agoNever got across this one, but it does look quite interesting. Thank you!
- mips_avatar 7y agoWitter Bynner’s translation is my favorite. My grandpa gave me a copy when I was starting high school and I read it probably 5 or 6 times a year since then.
- michael-ax 7y agoWitter Bynner's Translation is truly the one. Its complemented in me by Martin Fischer's Translation of Baltasar Gracian's "The Art of Worldly Wisdom". (Amazon seems to have a few) Quoth Nietzsche: "Europe has never produced anything finer or more complicated in matters of moral subtlety."
- jesterson 7y agoHmm, I used to the one by Stephen Mitchell. Will have a look at Witter Bynner's, thank you!
- DoctorOetker 7y agoMaxwell's book on electromagnetism, it shows his hindsight perspective on interpreting the phenomena. One can look at the papers and works he wrote that led up to it, but they are full of detours and unbalanced attention with small dead ends. When he writes his book he tries to convince the audience of his time in one comprehensive work. What I love especially, is that he is very careful and systematic about his conclusions, splitting up in cases, instead of simply producing the solution and then proving it is a valid solution. For example he does not assume that every point in space has a single value for total potential. First he describes how it is at least theoretically conceivable to follow a path and observe the total potential to vary continuously, and arrive back at the point of departure but end up with a different value of the total potential. He is effectively describing the possibility of wormholes (which didn't bear the name "wormhole" yet back then), or "charge without charge" (think Wheeler). But after this part of the book he assumes that the total potential is singlevalued (not because he proved so, but because describing physics in spaces with complicated topologies is far from straightforward, even today).
- rramadass 7y agoWhich book is this? I believe reading the original masters who came up with the discoveries is the way to understanding. It is said that when the Great Mathematician Gauss was asked as to how he made his discoveries, replied; "By studying the Masters and not their Students". There is something about the process of trial and error, testing various hypothesis', going down dead ends and then doubling back and finally lighting upon the answer which clarifies and provides intuitive understanding that can only be conveyed by the person who went through the experience i.e. The Discoverer himself. Everybody else is just parroting the end results without understanding (there are always a few exceptions of course).
- severine 7y agoI'm guessing this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Treatise_on_Electricity_and_Magnetism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Treatise_on_Electricity_and_...
- HNLurker2 7y agoMoral Letters (Seneca)
- hailk 7y agoReturn to Tipasa - Albert Camus
- lukewrites 7y agoAnna Karenina For a lighter, but still interesting read, anything by Saki is good - Sredni Vashtar was the first story of his I read and I still come back to it decades later. http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/vashtar.html http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/vashtar.html
- rsync 7y agoI second the votes for War and Peace, Anna Karenina and Brothers Karamazov ... but I think I can add a unique (and very special to me) entry with: Chesterfield's Letters to His Son: "Begun in the 1737 and continued until the death of his son in 1768, Chesterfield wrote mostly instructive communications about geography, history, and classical literature, – with later letters focusing on politics and diplomacy – and the letters themselves were written in French, English, and Latin, in order to refine his son's grasp of the languages."[1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Stanhope,_4th_Earl_of_Chesterfield#Letters_to_His_Son https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Stanhope,_4th_Earl_of_C...
- jrauser 7y agoStarry Messenger - Galileo Very fun and readable. He's so excited to tell the world about what he's learned.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- nindalf 7y agoMeditations by Marcus Aurelius has been mentioned 5 times in this thread so far. I endorse it as well. This book is the private diary of the Roman Emperor. He doesn’t say anything about politics or much about other people, just exhorting himself to do better and be better. This man walked the walk.
- TheGallopedHigh 7y agoTo follow up your recommendation: he was more than a Roman emperor, he was arguably one of, if not the most powerful people on the planet. Some might argue that any Roman Empror was, but his reign I believe was near the zenith of Rome’s Empire in terms of territory (please correct me if I’m wrong). Therefore you’re reading his diary, realizing his own worries, all the while being this person.
- nindalf 7y agoIn terms of territory, the Empire reached it's zenith under Trajan.
- TheGallopedHigh 7y agoWas Trajan later or earlier? Thanks for the clarification in any case
- nindalf 7y agoEarlier. After Marcus Aurelius it was a steady downward trend.
- achilleslinux 7y agoI really like books written by Jules Verne. Those books were really ahead of its time. He was a prolific and best Sci-fi writer. I would like to mention few of his works like 20,000 leagues under the sea, journey to the center of earth and Around the World in Eighty Days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne
- Fnoord 7y agoMacbeth. I was forced to read it for English class (am non-native speaker) and this is the book I remember. Jules Verne - Around The World In 80 Days I read a translation of. Immanuel Kant - An Answer to the Question: "What is Enlightenment? In the end, there is a lot of old text which I haven't read. Probably too much...
- ComputerGuru 7y agoI love that his books are so approachable for youth (especially in some translations). He paints such a beautiful picture of a world waiting to be explored, ripe for the taking. (Personally however, I would rank Journey to the Centre of the Earth above 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.)
- idoubtit 7y agoWhen I was a child, I loved Jules Vernes' novels. My favorite were "L'île mystérieuse" et "Michel Strogoff". I've read them again after a few decades, and I enjoyed them both. "L'île mystérieuse" is the survival adventure of a small and disparate group, but the main theme is how science can dominate nature. The mystery part is better enjoyed if the reader knows a bit of Jules Verne' other books. "Michel Strogoff" is a pure and romantic adventure in Russia, at the time of the Tatar invasions. It was sometimes brutal for a child reader, but I could still remember many scenes thirty years later. Other good novels are "Voyage au centre de la terre", "Vingt-mille lieues sous les mers", "Cinq semaines en ballon", "Le tour du monde en 80 jours", "Les indes noires". I've a few others which I enjoyed at a lesser point.
- erikerikson 7y agoGrowth of the Soil, Knut Hamsun
- eitland 7y agoI share many favorites with iBelieve (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20914527 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20914527) and others but here are some I also enjoy that I don't see mentioned yet: - a lot of the viking stories (Soga om Eigil Skallagrimson etc) - viking poetry, particularly Håvamål: a kind of a viking version of the Proverbs. - old Norwegian fairytales (a number of them can be read in more than one way besides the obvious bed time stories for kids and others aren't for kids, but you'll recognize the topics from modern films as well.)
- qazpot 7y agoThe Art of War - Sun Tzu
- qazpot 7y agoIs having Art of War as favorite book an unpopular opinion ?
- senjindarashiva 7y agoIt's been mentioned before but meditations is great, but I would also like to add "How to live on 24 hours a day" by Arnold Bennett https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2274 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2274 In fiction Sherlock Holmes and the Three Musketeers is some of my favorites.
- onion2k 7y agoSherlock Holmes and the Three Musketeers I wish that was one book.
- severine 7y agoIt was a wicked quote: > In his poem “Each June I Made a Promise Sober,” Ogden Nash voiced the common cry of those who work in bookstores or libraries or live otherwise surrounded: so many books, so little time! Always the guilt-inducing pile of unread books, eyeing us like neglected pets. He lists some of the classics he hasn’t read—my own list includes, I blush to say, Moby Dick, War and Peace, The Brothers Karamazov, The Faerie Queen, etc. etc. etc. etc.—and concludes: “So every summer I truly intend / My intellectual sloth to end / And every summer for years and years / I’ve read Sherlock Holmes and The Three Musketeers.” Sources: https://www.bookbarnniantic.com/single-post/2014/05/24/74-REREADING-SHERLOCK-HOLMES-AND-THE-THREE-MUSKETEERS https://www.bookbarnniantic.com/single-post/2014/05/24/74-RE... Nash, Ogden. "Each June I Made a Promise Sober," The New York Times Book Review (June 7, 1953), 1.
- danesparza 7y agoWOW. That book would be amazing. Much better than "The Hardy boys and Nancy Drew" mashups that were actually a thing.
- khazhou 7y agoThus Spoke Zarathustra - Nietzsche (esp. Walter Kaufmann preface edition). It's an energetic, angry, poetic, and often rambling tour de force on mankind overcoming its smallness. Halfway through you'll start wondering if Nietzsche is a genius or a lunatic, and the answer is Yes.
- powersnail 7y agoLes Misérables. First read it when I was in elementary school. It was a beautiful, touching piece. Not only did it tell a story, but also it presented the whole cultural background upon which the story occurred. Every time I read the book, I learn something new. In elementary school, I was mostly moved by Jean Valjean's resilience, calmness, and competency. Later on, I started to appreciate the humanity shown in other characters as well. Then, I read into the culture. It was most interesting to compare this book to A Tale of Two Cities.
- wazoox 7y agoNotre-Dame de Paris is great too, and similarly deep in historical and cultural reconstruction.
- Gibbon1 7y agoAmbrose Bierce, Tales of Soldiers and Civilians O'Henry, the Gentle Grafter.
- ComputerGuru 7y agoThe Count of Monte Cristo, hands down. Published 1844 by Alexandre Dumas, one of the greatest writers to have ever lived. I’m an avid reader and I always laughed at the idea of having a “favorite” book.. until I found mine. I loved the book so much, I resolved to learn French (et je l’ai fait!) just so I could someday read it in the original French.
- wazoox 7y agoThis. I remember when I started reading the tome (1800 pages IIRC) someday, 30 years ago. I simply couldn't put it down, literally. I went on reading almost non stop for 2 days and 3 nights, barely sleeping.
- henrikeh 7y agoThis is going to sound weird, but... I remember your comment from four years ago (!) [0] and it really stuck with me. However, I could never find the thread, so when I saw this thread, I simply had to check if you wrote a comment again; and here we are! I recently began reading it and is really enjoying it. Thanks for the recommendation! [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12245036 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12245036
- test1235 7y agoHa ... not as weird as you might think, 'cos I also thought the same, unless there're a few others on this site dedicated enough to learn French to read this book ...
- waiquoo 7y agoha, I also began learning French because of Count. Maybe we should start a club. Also, the only book I have found close/equal to Count of Monte Cristo is Les Miserables. The book is amazing, no idea about the musical. There are so many parts of the book (Waterloo) that just blow my mind. Also served as a motivation to learn French.
- 7y ago
- elihu 7y agoPhantastes, George MacDonald.
- brobdingnagians 7y agoMy favourite fiction book, well worth the read, and the author was hugely influential on a lot of later well known-English writers including, Lewis Carroll, and according to Wikipedia, a major influence on "W. H. Auden, J. M. Barrie, Lord Dunsany, Hope Mirrlees, Robert E. Howard, L. Frank Baum, T.H. White, Lloyd Alexander, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Walter de la Mare, E. Nesbit, Peter S. Beagle, Neil Gaiman and Madeleine L'Engle."
- fergie 7y agoThe poetry of Rabbie (Robert) Burns. He led a life of grind, hustle and debauchery, and his poetry is remarkable for its thematic breadth- Burns talks of love, solidarity, nationalism, drinking and everything else that concerns an intelligent young man of ambition and low birth. Its sort of a mix of Trainspotting (the book) and rap set 250 years ago in Scotland.
- void_nill 7y agoHere a short list - The Edda - Lots of Latvian Dainas[1] - Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant, (1785) and Critique of Pure Reason (second edition 1787) - Goethe's Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, (1828–29 edition - Divina Commedia, Dante Alighieri, (1320) [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daina_(Latvia) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daina_(Latvia)
- NeedMoreTea 7y agoThe Phantom Rickshaw and other Eerie Tales, Rudyard Kipling. This is the one that includes "The Man Who Would be King" that's a fairly well known film with Sean Connery and Michael Caine. His other short story books, such as The Jungle Book and Just So Stories - so much better than the Disney. The Time Machine and other Stories, H G Wells.
- oh-moses 7y agoAs a kid I really enjoyed the Winnetou stories by Karl May
- noufalibrahim 7y ago"The lost tools of learning" by Dorothy Sayers https://classicalchristian.org/the-lost-tools-of-learning-dorothy-sayers/ https://classicalchristian.org/the-lost-tools-of-learning-do...
- prepend 7y agoSailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Sloacum.
- m0xte 7y agoFlatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884) by Edwin Abbott Abbott
- gjango 7y agoI've seen Meditations being mentioned a lot on this thread but for me, 'letters from a stoic' (or 'moral letters to lucillius' ) by Seneca has been more approachable than Meditations.
- tonyedgecombe 7y agoI've got two translations of Meditations, one was fairly easy to digest (Hayes), the other was terrible.
- soldeace 7y ago'Letters from a Stoic' is indeed a masterpiece, and I've found that the Penguin Book's translation is fantastic. It made me feel like I was reading my own grandpa's letters with warm-hearted instructions on how to be a good person when I become a grown-up.
- tgv 7y agoThe first 19th century book to impress me was Nicholas Nickelby by Dickens. It's a British sort of "Les Miserables", A Christmas Carol style. And my wife reads Pride and Prejudice at least once a year. It's a surprisingly modern book, very much worth reading if you don't mind the romance.
- koopuluri 7y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satipatthana_Sutta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satipatthana_Sutta - Establishing Mindfulness, ~500 BC, by supposedly Siddhartha Gautama.
- gempir 7y agoThe Art of War by Sun Tzu, 5th century BC
- pimmen 7y agoThe Art of War by Sun Tzu. It might be a bit of a cliche but it really is profound and is actually more useful than I first thought. Especially "show strength at your weakest, show weakness at your strongest" is something that I've used during negotations and presentations. It sounds like common sense when you read it, because you've seen a lot of this stuff work out ahead of reading it, but it's only once you read it that it becomes abstract and defined enough for me to apply it.
- lucas_membrane 7y agoOn the Sensations of Tone by Hermann von Helmholtz The Road by Jack London all of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum The Scottish Students' Song Book Heart Songs The Age of Reason The Art of Money Getting by Barnum
- shrinathna 7y agoThe John Carter of Mars books have traveled remarkably well through time.
- wazoox 7y agoAnd the Pellucidar series too.
- wazoox 7y agoA clear winner for me: The Odyssey by Homer.
- zwischenzug 7y agoAnything by Oscar Wilde.
- mtts 7y agoBetween - very roughly - 100 and 200 years ago books (some containing essays) were where the intellectual life of the west happened. Since we are not in any meaningful way different - or smarter - than people from the 19th and early 20th century a lot of what they concerned themselves with is still relevant for us, especially the stuff that managed to get itself canonized. The novels that managed to become classics became so for a reason (and if you've ever read some second rate 19th century material you'll appreciate the the distinction). The art form of the fiction as moral treatise probably hasn't been surpassed since then. So just pick up a few big 19th century novels and start reading :-)
- cbailes 7y agoThe Hacker Classics - https://jsomers.net/hn/ https://jsomers.net/hn/
- jedberg 7y agoFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus Basically the first science fiction, and the warnings of the perils of technology are still just as relevant today.
- DickieStarshine 7y agoDune series by Frank Herbert, not much comes close.
- bdibs 7y agoDune was released in 1965.
- danesparza 7y agoSometimes the 60's feel like 100 years ago. Does that count?
- DickieStarshine 7y agoDammit, I skipped the "at least" part... I read "during the last 100 years".
- knorker 7y agoIn no particular order: Moby Dick Les Miserables Crime and punishment Alice in wonderland The Prince
- avinassh 7y agoFor me, its The Sorrows of Young Werther. Published in 1779. It is a short read and quite beautifully written.
- bakuninsbart 7y agoGoethe's later work Faust (I+II) is my absolute favorite. The first book (play) is quite short and extremely well written in the german original. The second book is much thicker and extremely convoluted. After a long journey through human abysses, it ends on the note "Who ever strives with all his might, that man we can redeem." which has always stuck with me and is one of the core ideals of my morality.
- gordon_freeman 7y agoThe Machine Stops by E.M. Forster (Written in 1909) Enchiridion of Epictetus Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
- mirceal 7y ago+1 for the machine stops. it’s happening right now
- voldacar 7y agoThe Odyssey The Iliad Moby-Dick Anything by Dostoevsky
- biztos 7y agoBoth have been mentioned a bunch of times, but I also find that the Tao Te Ching [0] and The Prince [1] both pop into my head, in fragments, from time to time when I'm thinking about the modern world and the humans in it. Also, if you're wondering where things like genome editing lead us, they lead us to The Island of Dr. Moreau [2] (H.G. Wells, 1896). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau
- gadders 7y agoA Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard from 1899. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Message_to_Garcia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Message_to_Garcia https://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.803/pdf/hubbard1899.pdf https://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.803/pdf/hubbard1899.pdf
- gadders 7y agoFor books, I'd say Herodotus and also Plutarchs Lives of the Great Greeks and Romans.
- ryacko 7y agohttps://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Bestsellers,_American,_1895-1923_(Bookshelf) https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Bestsellers,_American,_1895-1... From that, I’ve recently decided to start reading The Inside of the Cup by Winston Churchill, and Psychology and Industrial Efficiency by Hugo Münsterberg
- a-saleh 7y agoI would almost considered quoting the great ancient literature a cheat-code but I still do really like the Ecclesiastes. From the other end of the spectrum, "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" is the book/story that inspired my interest in cryptography. In the end I never worked in infromation-security but I did enjoy it from my 10 years til I left college, and I still do enjoy going for puzzle-hunts with some of my friends :)
- aaron695 7y agoThe Wind in the Willows I thought it'd be a shitty kids story but I found it quite touching. A buddy novel.
- louhike 7y agoThe Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, my favorite book of all time. I loved the characters, how they evolved and their relations with them. A weak character will through years become successful while another character they admired will fail miserably.
- vturner 7y agoAh yes! Thomas Hardy, Far From The Madding Crowd.
- MLij 7y agoSince no one has mentioned them I just wanted to add "The Canterbury Tales" by Chaucer and "Beowulf" to the list. I've both read them in high school and liked them very much.
- vturner 7y agoI remember reading the Canterbury Tales in high school. Was just recently talking with my girlfriend how studying history and people's lives of the past puts our struggles we have in some context. The Canterbury Tales is a good example of that.
- deepandmeaning 7y agoKahlil Gibran - The Prophet. Timeless themes written in beautiful prose: It's out of copyright (first published in 1923, so almost 100 years), someone has put a website together of each theme, here is one on work: http://www.katsandogz.com/onwork.html http://www.katsandogz.com/onwork.html I've probably moved on from this book a little now - but it's still beautiful and sometimes gives much needed perspective.
- elcomet 7y agoAnna Karenina, by Tolstoy
- mtts 7y agoA solid contender for the title "best book of the 19th century". Together with Madame Bovary. Which wins, IMHO. But still: great book.
- otalp 7y agoThe Conquest of Bread, Peter Kropotkin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conquest_of_Bread https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conquest_of_Bread It was written in the backdrop of massive industrialisation. Many argue that it predicted both: (1) the problems with capitalism and massive state protection of private property that go along with it, as well as (2) the atrocities that would occur if most production was centralised, as in the USSR. Anarchism, Libertarian Socialism and the anti-authoritarian left is definitely an overlooked branch of the political spectrum
- clydethefrog 7y agoSee also Anarchism and Other Essays (1910) by Emma Goldman. It reads like it was written yesterday.
- watwut 7y agoL'Ancien Régime et la Révolution (1856) by Alexis de Tocqueville. In English it is either The Old Regime and the Revolution or The Old Regime and the French Revolution.
- Jivatman 7y agoBhagavad Gita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita
- benstox 7y agoThe Confessions of St Augustine
- m_t 7y agoSome links from Project Gutenberg: Essays, by Michel de Montaigne In English (Vol. 1), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3581 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3581 In French (Vol. 1), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48529 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48529 Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius English translation by George W. Chrystal, 1902 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55317 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55317 English translation by George Long, 1957 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15877 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15877 Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo In English (Full), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/135 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/135 In French (Vol. 1), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17489 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17489 20000 leagues under the sea, by Jules Vernes In English (slightly abridged), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/164 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/164 In French (with illustration), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54873 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54873
- pjc50 7y ago"Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds" : stock bubbles! Politics of beards! Ancient memes! History of fiat currency! Tulip mania! All very relevant to our times. Ancient novels may require some leeway on the part of the reader. Dumas' Three Musketeers certainly stands up well. Ivanhoe is mostly good fun with some horrific antisemitism. Brits will enjoy "1066 and all that", although not strictly 100 years old.
- PaulAJ 7y ago"Madness of Crowds" is an entertaining read, but its not really solid history. His account of tulip mania in particular seems to have depended largely on stories in religious pamphlets about the dangers of greed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania#Mackay's_Madness_of_Crowds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania#Mackay's_Madness_o...
- claudiawerner 7y agoKarl Marx's Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume I: The Production Process of Capital.
- altharaz 7y agoMeditations, Marcus Aurelius => A lot of wisdom on how to lead and live On The Shortness of Life, Seneca => An essay about how to handle life and how to see what is really important On War, Clausewitz => An important essay about strategy and war, politics and management The Prince, Machiavelli => A little bit cynical but quite realistic about the nature of power in the hands of humans Thirty-Six Stratagems, multiple authors => A list of strategies that can be used in any situation, whether when winning or losing
- blaser-waffle 7y agoClausewitz and Machiavelli... but no Sun Tzu?
- sebastianconcpt 7y agoEverything Dostoievski
- RobertKerans 7y agoTraffic by Ruskin I reread quite a lot. For background, it's a lecture he gave when invited to speak, as the eminent architectural critic of the day, to dignitaries on the opening of a new exchange building. Was expected to talk about the architecture, but he talked about capitalism instead > You shall have thousands of gold pieces; - thousands of thousands - millions - mountains of gold: where will you keep them? More technical, but I constantly use Ruskin's Modern Painters as art reference. Each volume has detailed chapelters on natural forms (trees, mountains, etc). The attempts at geometric drawings of the structures of cloud patterns are particularly beautiful imo. He's a phenomenal writer, anyway. Mentioned by others elsewhere in the comments, but Candide and The Count of Monte Cristo are possibly my two favourite books. The first one feels incredibly modern, which is quite impressive given that it's basically the first European novel. Second one I've always thought is like an exceptionally good airport novel (and the sci-fi version is also one of my favourite books, and one of the best sci-fi novels ever written). Very difficult to put down. Also, anything by Swift, Hazlitt, Twain I can read and reread endlessly. I read a lot of opder stuff, but I've noticed I'm often quite quick to discard it if it doesn't scan as contemporary writing -- those three I find in particular have quite modern styles
- kareemm 7y agoWhat is The sci fi version of the Count of Monte Cristo?
- RobertKerans 7y agoThe Stars My Destination (or Tiger! Tiger! depending on when and where it was published) by Alfred Bester
- markussss 7y agoI am currently listening to Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and it is by far the most interesting book I've read/listened to. I have been moved to tears again and again by this book. Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun (1917) just turned 100, and it is also one of my most favorite books of all time, it too was moving me to tears again and again.
- Jwarder 7y agoI just finished Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within You. His writing about the plight of the workers and peasants was striking. It was also creepy to read his fears in 1890 about the threat of a senseless Europe-wide conflict. His criticism of governments, the church, and military service all seem valid to me. However, his advice to improve humanity is based on the assumption that the reader is a hard-core christian who wants to follow the literal words of Christ. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43302/43302-h/43302-h.htm http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43302/43302-h/43302-h.htm
- Sag0Sag0 7y agoThe State and Revolution - Lenin
- brlewis 7y agoIt's been a long time since I was acquainted with Uncle Tom's Cabin. I remember clearly how the opening presented an idyllic scene that could have been written by a proponent of slavery, but things went quickly downhill precisely because the slaves were not free. I was struck by how this was a judo-like persuasion technique. I don't remember the rest of the book well, but my curiosity is piqued by controversy surrounding the book that I found trying to verify a quote. I wish I had time to pick it up again. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0030.104/--lincoln-stowe-and-the-little-womangreat-war-story-the-making?rgn=main;view=fulltext https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0030.104/--lincoln...
- lbj 7y agoAtlas Shrugged had the most profound impact on me. Ishmael was a funny, short and enlightening read.
- tom_mellior 7y agoThe Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged also had a profound impact on me, but not in the way Ayn Rand had intended :-) It's strange, reading Rand; I liked her use of language but didn't like her "heroes", nor the points she was trying to make. And after The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged reads like a twice-as-long, twice-as-over-the-top rework of the same material, just with a female heroine. So it's safe to skip it if you're pressed for time.
- lbj 7y agoI was fortunate enough to start with Atlas Shrugged and read Fountainhead after. It does feel like Fountainhead was her runway into Atlas, her way of getting a clearer picture of the story she wanted to tell. Although I like Ayn and her philosophy I think its safe to skip Fountainhead.
- GoodJokes 7y agoYikes
- michele_f 7y agoThe Confessions by Augustine of Hippo.
- vo2maxer 7y agoI’m intrigued by the scarce mention of Spanish authors and their work, particularly those from the Spanish Golden Age. Other than Cervantes, I didn’t find any other coeval authors: Francisco Gómez de Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, Calderón de la Barca, Lope de Vega, and many others. What are the reasons for this oversight? Is their work too archaic for modern taste? Are translations too poor to convey some of the originals’ virtuosity? Lack of exposure? I’m truly curious as to why this phenomenon happens, and HN is not the only forum where I’ve observed it.
- vo2maxer 7y agoI’m intrigued by the scarce mention of Spanish authors, particularly those from the Golden Age. Other than Cervantes, I haven’t seen any of his coevals listed: Lope de Vega, Francisco Gómez de Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, Calderón de la Barca and many others. What are the reasons for this phenomenon, which is not unique to HN? Are the the works too archaic for modern taste? Are the translations just not good enough to convey the virtuosity of the originals? Lack of exposure? I’m truly curious to hear from this audience of why this phenomenon.
- danesparza 7y agoI'm convinced it's just lack of exposure. Amazon or Barnes and Noble don't feature their books, librarians don't mention their works, and most folks have probably just never been exposed to them (even in college).
- oyebenny 7y agoIt's be great if you linked us to their essays. It's a lack of exposure and education.
- andrenth 7y agoJosé Ortega y Gasset was mentioned.
- ComputerGuru 7y agoI think, unless you are taking a class specializing in Spanish literature, Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote unfortunately overshadows the rest in literature curricula.
- austincheney 7y agoNicomachean Ethics - http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.html http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.html On Liberty - https://www.utilitarianism.com/ol/one.html https://www.utilitarianism.com/ol/one.html Reading those allows a masterful foundation for understanding ethics, which is crucial for a deeper understanding of utility as a primitive concept.
- carusooneliner 7y agoPanchatantra -- more than 1000yr old collection of fables from India. It's a kind of self help book that uses vivid storytelling with animal characters, to impart practical life lessons.
- suchoudh 7y agoI would suggest to read the one with the sanskrit verses being translated into hindi/english/others as the conversation between the characters is very illuminating.
- BenGosub 7y agoDostoyevski, Nietzsche, Seneca, Montaigne...
- bag531 7y agoReform or Revolution? by Rosa Luxembourg.
- momentmaker 7y agoTao Te Ching
- totaldude87 7y agoDoes "Mahabharata" count?
- suchoudh 7y ago... and the various - interpretations "teekas" of Bhagvata Gita that came up subsequently. Mahabharat has everything in it. However west has not yet warmed up to it.
- GoodJokes 7y agoHN, judges by its commenters have a problem with not being exposed to non-male authors. Only reading shit published 100 years ago won’t help with that. Drink every time someone mentions Meditations.
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoEinstein's "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".
- timbit42 7y agoAnne of Green Gables
- yomansat 7y ago"Beginning Of Guidance By Imam Ghazali" Written by the popular 11th century philosopher and jurist on topics around the purification of the heart. This book was written towards the end of his life, where he didn't care much for what influential rulers might say. https://archive.org/details/BeginningOfGuidance https://archive.org/details/BeginningOfGuidance
- xchip 7y agoArs amatoria - Ovid (a book on picking up women, TL;DR: things have not changed much since back in the ancient Rome) On speeches - Cicero (the only book that breaks down a speech is such a detail, same thing as above) Gorgias - A Socrates dialog with a Gorgias, a sophist (men that were very well versed in the art or persuading but without having real knowledge), hard as it was (and it still is nowadays ) Socrates debunks this guy claims with elegance and class.
- mrbonner 7y agoFor novels, I love Shogun, by James Clavell, The Terror by Dan Simmons. For science book: QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter by Richard Feynman.
- AngeloAnolin 7y agoI'd like to chime in, although may be a bit late. One book I will never get tired of reading over and over again is: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry There's just something magical on that book which even to this day brings a lot of essence on how I understand and value life. This book traverses generations, and is always a good read regardless whether you are at a schooling age or even close to retirement.
- wodenokoto 7y agoAlice in Wonderland is one of my favourite books, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was also the most read > 100 year old book (well, not counting any religious writing!)
- arnoldgaltroth 7y agoEpic of Gilgamesh The Art of War
- tanseydavid 7y agoI recently came across a really great quote / piece-of-advice and it applies nicely to this thread: "If you want to learn something NEW -- read an OLD book."
- ReD_CoDE 7y agoDarwin's Dangerous Idea
- halfofstellar 7y agoRay Bradbury
- halfofstellar 7y ago“451 Fahrenheit” by Ray Bradbury
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- zacky777 7y agoA clear winner for me: 'The Odyssey by Homer"
- thiago_fm 7y agoAlso sprach Zarathustra. What a book.
- yesenadam 7y agoAll the essays of Emerson, GK Chesterton, Hazlitt, Oscar Wilde, RL Stevenson, William James Every book by Nietzsche (except Zarathustra). La Bruyere - Characters Charles Mackay - Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds Ambrose Bierce - The Devil's Dictionary
- sohodlers 7y agoDao De Jing of LaoTzu
- RosyM83 7y agopoetry from jalaludin rumi
- antoniorosado 7y agoThe Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy is a tremendous book.
- detcader 7y agoI'd recommend My Ántonia by Willa Cather
- techload 7y agoThe Book of Lies, by Aleister Crowley.