NationStates Jolt Archive

World’s Most Influential Books

I’m going to assume that any discussion of the world’s most influential books would start with the Torah, New Testament, and the Qur’an.

So, those three aside, which book do you think has had the greatest impact on world events or has done the most to influence or even change the course of history?

I can add a poll later, but I am interested first in what works people think have had the greatest effect on world events and why. Some suggestions, in no particular order:

Homer. Iliad, Odyssey

Aristotle. Logic

Plato. The Republic

Copernicus. De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium

Immanuel Kant. Critique of Pure Reason

Newton, Isaac. Principia

Shakespeare. The Collected Works (may be cheating since this isn’t one book)

Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf

Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams

Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged

Charles Darwin. Origin of the Species

Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Machiavelli. The Prince

Marx, Karl/ Engles, Frederick. Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx: Das Kapital

Benjamin Spock. The Common Sense Book of baby and Child Care

Betty Friedan. The Feminine Mystique

Henry David Thoreau: Civil Disobedience

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring

Mao Zedong. Selected Writings

Smith, Adam. Wealth of Nations

Epic of Gilgamesh

Mahan, Alfred Thayer. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1660-1783)

Are you sure about Mein Kampf? I know that Hitler and the Nazis have had an extraordinary effect on the world, and will continue to do so imo, but I think Mein Kampf has very little if anything to do with it.

No Mao?

Green Eggs and Ham, nuff' said.

http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/030417/seuss-green-eggs.jpg

In the 19th century, it was discovered that much of Nevi'im was inspired by the epic Gilgamesh - which predates Torah by 1000 years. It should be included on the list.

How do you know that Noahs Flood and Giglamesh weren't the same thing?

Just because the Torah was written later doesnt mean it wasnt the same story....

Just to be a pain in the arse - Beowulf

Are you sure about Mein Kampf? I know that Hitler and the Nazis have had an extraordinary effect on the world, and will continue to do so imo, but I think Mein Kampf has very little if anything to do with it.
i'm glad to see it up there other wise i would have sugested it it helped motavate a people
another would be the turner diries(sp?)

Humpf.

With the exception of the Greek and Italian Classics, I doubt that anything on your list could beat the Confucian Works or Sun Tzu.

Ayn Rand? Do you actually think people outside the States bother to read her?

THE single most influential book of all time, including current world-wide sales, is the Bible ... like it or not! :)

i'm glad to see it up there other wise i would have sugested it it helped motavate a people
another would be the turner diries(sp?)
I don't think it did though, and although I would not say I am an expert of this period I have seen little evidence that it effect upon society in any way. It was simply a book, and a rather unreadable, boring one at that. Do you have any evidence that it was influential?

Although on the subject of MK, would The Protocols of the Elders of Zion constitute as a very influential book?

Are you sure about Mein Kampf? I know that Hitler and the Nazis have had an extraordinary effect on the world, and will continue to do so imo, but I think Mein Kampf has very little if anything to do with it.
Which brings up an interesting point ... did anyone else see that History Channel program about Hitler's Second Book? He wrote a sequel to Mein Kampf but never published it because the plans for his conquest of GB and the US were in it and too detailed to allow out. I found the program fascinating.

Which brings up an interesting point ... did anyone else see that History Channel program about Hitler's Second Book? He wrote a sequel to Mein Kampf but never published it because the plans for his conquest of GB and the US were in it and too detailed to allow out. I found the program fascinating.
I've read about it, I'll keep my eyes open to see if it will be put on the History Channel over here though.

Which brings up an interesting point ... did anyone else see that History Channel program about Hitler's Second Book? He wrote a sequel to Mein Kampf but never published it because the plans for his conquest of GB and the US were in it and too detailed to allow out. I found the program fascinating.
i fell asleep :(

Ayn Rand? Do you actually think people outside the States bother to read her?
Well, I have so had my father and a few other people I know.

Admittedly, people I know who have read her are few and far between though.

Would the Divine Comedy be considered sufficently influencial?

There are some good suggestions here, but I'm not seeing much in the way of an argument that the books being offered have impacted or changed history.

For instance, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was so wildly popular in England that even though the embargo on southern cotton hurt English textile workers, most of them supported the northern states and probably kept the British government from more overtly supporting the southern states. It also fixed itself so firmly in the minds of Union soldiers as an argument against slavery that when Lincoln met Stowe he said something along the lines of, "So here is the little lady who started this war."

The Epic of Gilgamesh on the other hand, which is historically important (and a good read), was actually lost to history until the mid-19th century. I don't know that it has had much of an effect on the world.

As for the influence of the Turner Diaries and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, I think racist wackos would continue to be racist wackos with or without these works.

Sun Tzu's Art of War.

Some books I think you should add : The Bible, The Ko'ran and Mao's Little Red Book.

In relation to Mein Kampf, he did write a second volume, called "the national socialist movement" which should be included in most copies printed today. I think this is what you may be referring to. Mein Kampf is a recommended read to history buffs.

Would the Divine Comedy be considered sufficently influencial?

I think there is a good argument for including Dante's Divine Comedy, not only because it is one of the most masterful poems in the history of literature, but also because it helped break the chains of Latin as the only legitimate medium for writing in Europe.

Some books I think you should add : The Bible, The Ko'ran and Mao's Little Red Book.

In relation to Mein Kampf, he did write a second volume, called "the national socialist movement" which should be included in most copies printed today. I think this is what you may be referring to. Mein Kampf is a recommended read to history buffs.

See the introduction to the thread:

World’s Most Influential Books

I’m going to assume that any discussion of the world’s most influential books would start with the Torah, New Testament, and the Qur’an....

I agree Mao's writings should be included.

The Epic of Gilgamesh on the other hand, which is historically important (and a good read), was actual lost to history until the mid-19th century. I don't know that it has had much of an effect on the world.

Well does something have to be widely read to be influential?

Since it did inspire/influence the Bible I think a case could be made for it.

Other Books for Consideration.

On Liberty by JS Mill

Wealth of Nations By Adam Smith.

Phrenology Of Spirit by WF Hegel (might have spelt it wrong though)

Common Sense/Rights of Man by Thomas Paine

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (possibly personal bias on this one though).

What about Jesus? The Bible is only the number 1 best selling book every year.

I think there is a good argument for including Dante's Divine Comedy, not only because it is one of the most masterful poems in the history of literature, but also because it helped break the chains of Latin as the only legitimate medium for writing in Europe.
Paradise Lost By John Milton. Seems to have had an effect on the general mindset of hell and devils.

Also A Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan.

What about Jesus?

What about him? He didn't write anything.

yeah he did

Well does something have to be widely read to be influential?

Since it did inspire/influence the Bible I think a case could be made for it.

Other Books for Consideration.

On Liberty by JS Mill

Wealth of Nations By Adam Smith.

Phrenology Of Spirit by WF Hegel (might have spelt it wrong though)

Common Sense/Rights of Man by Thomas Paine

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (possibly personal bias on this one though).

Good list. Can't believe I overlooked Wealth of Nations - Capitalism's Communist Manifesto.

What about Jesus? The Bible is only the number 1 best selling book every year.
Well if Copies Sold = Influence, I guess we should also include The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter.

In All seriousness. Lord of The Rings, considering that just about all fantasy writers after said they were influenced by it and a large portion of the genre ssems to be a pale imitation.

How do you know that Noahs Flood and Giglamesh weren't the same thing?

Just because the Torah was written later doesnt mean it wasnt the same story....

That was my point, silly. :p

What about Jesus? The Bible is only the number 1 best selling book every year.

Back to Sunday school for you. Jesus did not write any part of the Bible. Also, see my disclaimer at the beginning of the thread about the Torah, New Testament, and the Qur'an. Their influence is unquestioned.

Are you going to say Rachel Carson is more important than Jesus...only environmentalists care about silent spring. I sure don't.

Good list. Can't believe I overlooked Wealth of Nations - Capitalism's Communist Manifesto.
Well I have a few more, but won't write them. Firstly because I am not sure about their influence, and secondly I cannot remember the names :(

(If anyone can help, it is the book Maggie Thatcher read and anounced to the Cabinet "This is what we believe now." [or something to that effect] And can be seen as being instrumental in breaking the post war consensus in Britain.)

EDIT: I think it is Road to Serfdom by FA Hayek I was thinking about.

Well does something have to be widely read to be influential?

Since it did inspire/influence the Bible I think a case could be made for it.



That is a good point. Let me ponder that.

Are you going to say Rachel Carson is more important than Jesus...only environmentalists care about silent spring. I sure don't.

Do you only post without reading? I said (several times, including in the introduction to the thread) that the Bible's influenced is unquestioned. There is no doubt the Torah, New Testament and Qur'an are the three most influential works in history.

Now, on to the discussion of the importance of OTHER works....

What about Jesus? The Bible is only the number 1 best selling book every year.

yeah and lord of the rings is nr 2 in the list,
and like it or not that has also been very influencial.
ie: dungeons n dragons and lot of those kinda things.
and it also had a very good moral value....
although i dont see it compete with stuff like illias and the bible.
but very good for an entertainment book with infuence.

I'd have to agree with the number of copies sold thing.

If you were measured by book sales as a way of determining "importance" Stephen King would be a world dictator.

As for the original list, and some of the other books mentioned along the way, I guess if you are going for a historical aspect of what helped shape the world, they would certainly be influencial.

But speaking for someone who was born in late 1900's, none of those books meant a thing to me. I've read some of them, and I can't say any of them changed my life, or my way of thinking of something. They for surely haven't help dictate my viewpoints on the world, on the economy, or my relationship with my neighbors. They are, if nothing else, old.

Perhaps my viewpoint is part American-ignorance of the newer generation. I am not trying to speak for every American here, I wouldn't want that responsibility, but I can say of the hundreds of people that I have met and become friends with growing up, I can safely say I've never had a discussion involving any of the books mentioned, including the Bible.

And I graduated college with two English degrees. Whether that is sad, or whatever, I don't know.

To the person who said Lord of the Rings, whether or not that was in gest, I think at least that is a fair point. Influencial now, at least in America, is measured in dollar signs. Dollar signs mean popularity. Popularity means people are buying it. Given those standards, I guess Stephen King's books wouldn't be so far off base. I know a lot more people who have read them, and the LOTR trilogy than have read the Bible.

yeah and lord of the rings is nr 2 in the list,
and like it or not that has also been very influential.
ie: dungeons n dragons and lot of those kinda things.
and it also had a very good moral value....
although i dont see it compete with stuff like illias and the bible.

I love LOTR. It was the first book I purchased with money I earned myself (way back in 1975). However, long after the movie is forgotten will it continue to be important? Two hundred years from now will LOTR impact history or change people's lives.

With all due respect to J.R.R., I don't think so.

Well ... if we're going on sales ... according to the Guiness Book of World Records, Agatha Christie is the top selling author of all time and the "Guiness Book of World Records" itself is the #1 selling copyrighted work (the Bible is not copyrighted).

"Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tzu may rival the Bible in worldwide distribution and language translation within the next few years ...

As for the original list, and some of the other books mentioned along the way, I guess if you are going for a historical aspect of what helped shape the world, they would certainly be influencial.

But speaking for someone who was born in late 1900's, none of those books meant a thing to me. I've read some of them, and I can't say any of them changed my life, or my way of thinking of something. They for surely haven't help dictate my viewpoints on the world, on the economy, or my relationship with my neighbors. They are, if nothing else, old.

I think goes beyond the "it changed my life" thing. For example, the bible certainly influenced me right from when I was born. And I hardly think I am unique. Many people are born into religious families. Similarly the Communist Manifesto has effect the way millions of people lived, and I would assume that comparitively few people that lived/are Living in 'Communistic' countries have read it. Again to focus on me, I have never read The Road to Serfdom, but Thatcher did as as a concequence it has effected just about every single Briton that has lived since 1980.

To the person who said Lord of the Rings, whether or not that was in gest, I think at least that is a fair point. Influencial now, at least in America, is measured in dollar signs. Dollar signs mean popularity. Popularity means people are buying it. Given those standards, I guess Stephen King's books wouldn't be so far off base. I know a lot more people who have read them, and the LOTR trilogy than have read the Bible.
No it was serious. And I think it is far more influential that simple $$$$

"I love LOTR. It was the first book I purchased with money I earned myself (way back in 1975). However, long after the movie is forgotten will it continue to be important? Two hundred years from now will LOTR impact history or change people's lives.

With all due respect to J.R.R., I don't think so."

(I'll put a disclaimer in that I personally hate the LOTR triology as I see them as some of the most boring, mundane books ever written)

How do we not know that LOTR will not be in the vernacular centuries from now? Did Shakespeare ever think when he was writing that his name would be just as well known as any King, Queen, President, or Dictator in history? He wasn't even the most respected playwright of his day.

As for the Bible, again it's hard being an American to see the real relevance of that book. In a lot of ways it's like drugs, or alcohol, or any other vice in my eyes. It's there if you need it, but easy enough to look by if you don't. Now in other socities, ones that still have Holy Wars in the streets in the name of God, Allah, or Motley Crue, I can see the difference in importance. But here, aside for when I was a kid and I had to go to Sunday school because of my grandparents, religion is just another word.

And who knows what is going to end up lasting. In two hundred years will the US or Japan or England be a wasteland that is excavated on? If so, with all of the copies of King, Tolkien, Clancy, or Beatles CD's, with all of that that exists out there, isn't that more likely what they might find?

Sun Tzu - "The Art of War"

Sun Tzu - "The Art of War"

So, make an argument. Why do you think it is so influential or how do you think it has altered history?

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1660-1783) by Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan. This book was seminal in the history of the modern U.S. Navy and turned it from a weak, obsolete force into a powerful, modern military force.

Principia Discordia MALACLYPSE THE YOUNGER

Wherein is explained absolutely everything worth knowing about absolutely anything.

Very influential.

So, make an argument. Why do you think it is so influential or how do you think it has altered history?I can think of one: Its principles regarding the prosecution of ground combat are still applicable to modern warfare with some allowances for technology and they have been referred to as bibles by generals the world over for hundreds of years.

The fifth rule (and as such, most significant rule of Discordia):

A Discordian is Prohibited of Believing What he reads.
(That includes the Principia Discordia)

So, make an argument. Why do you think it is so influential or how do you think it has altered history?

No problem. It is the oldest known military treatize in the world written by Sun Tzu, in China. It has been used by the Chinese for last 2400 years and is still being printed.

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1660-1783) by Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan. This book was seminal in the history of the modern U.S. Navy and turned it from a weak, obsolete force into a powerful, modern military force.

Excellent choice! In addition to laying the ground work for the American Navy, Mahan's book helped to put into motion a naval arms race that contributed to friction between Britain and Germany leading up to World War I.

Humpf.

Ayn Rand? Do you actually think people outside the States bother to read her?

I only added Ayn Rand for the legions of her devoted fans. I personally find her to be a poor writer, and since her philosophy doesn't do anything for me, I find no appeal for her work.

I don't think anyone has added this yet, for some odd reason: George Orwell's 1984. The book scared the crap out of people and increased the lack of trust in government. Also, it gave us libertarians more material with which to attack you two party people.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy- created a new genre in literature that has become one of the largest in the modern world.

The Federalist Papers- not really a book but it has been compiled that way. Most of how we view the Constitution comes from the writings of Hamilton and Madison.

how about 1984 or Animal Farm by George Orwell for some more recent examples.

how about 1984 or Animal Farm by George Orwell for some more recent examples.
Beat you to it.

The Bible is only the number 1 best selling book every year.

Apparently it is also the book most stolen from bookstores, or Barnes and Noble at least.

I have a friend who works there and said that the different versions of the Bible, and New Age/Mysticism are the two most common books stolen from the store.

I think Sartre's "Being and Nothingness" should be on the list. Although the book is kind of scary at first, once you start to read it and really get into (meaning you pass the first couple pages) its not so bad. But then again, I'm a huge fan of Sartre...so maybe I'm biased :)

Apparently it is also the book most stolen from bookstores, or Barnes and Noble at least.

I have a friend who works there and said that the different versions of the Bible, and New Age/Mysticism are the two most common books stolen from the store.
Shouldn't Steal This Book be up towards the top?

The Lord of the Rings trilogy- created a new genre in literature that has become one of the largest in the modern world.

He didn't really create a new genre though. Just popularised it and subsequent writers used him as a foundation

He didn't really create a new genre though. Just popularised it and subsequent writers used him as a foundation
Okay, you are right. Still influencial for the genre. And it created an activity that made it so more nerds will never get laid.

Just to be a pain in the arse - Beowulf


Yea, good story. Definitely important to English literature.

However, I put Beowulf into the category of important national literature, such as Ireland's Tain Bo Cuailnge, Ukraine's The Song of Igor’s Campaign, the German Nibelungenlied, and the French Chanson de Roland. All important, but somewhat more narrow in their impact.

Beat you to it.


sorry got through a few pages and didn't see it

Rand definitely makes the list, unfortunately. I think collectively, her works are the best-selling commercial books in history (not considering the Bible and other religious texts). Rowling may have upset this title already, but I haven't heard it yet. And Rand is definitely included for the same reason Mein Kampf is: regardless of circulation or fan base, her books really defined American capitalism of the era (and into the present). Maybe Rand isn't responsible for American economic ascendancy in the wake of WWII, but she documents it well.

To add to the list, why isn't Ulysses included? Or is "influencing nobody but English majors" a separate thread?

Are we just limited to paper books or story in general?

Because an Opera (Muette de Portici IIRC) was responsible for the Belgian Revolution in 1830 which eventually led to independence.

Does it count?

Two more just occurred to me:

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle as the anti-Rand
Declaration of Independence (or Magna Carta). Not books, per se, but huge.

World’s Most Influential Books

I’m going to assume that any discussion of the world’s most influential books would start with the Torah, New Testament, and the Qur’an.


Aristotle. Logic

Plato. The Republic

Immanuel Kant. Critique of Pure Reason

Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams

Charles Darwin. Origin of the Species

Marx, Karl/ Engles, Frederick. Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx: Das Kapital

Benjamin Spock. The Common Sense Book of baby and Child Care



I would say the above narrowed list have all had a significant impact on society. Personally, I see Darwin killing God as the creator for a significant portion of society as being among the most detrimental to the social health of the world, though Dr. Spock's lack of discipline or at least the ineffective manner in which his ideas have been implemented have contributed in the western world.

Freud started my profession, so I have to give him some props, though I disagree with some of his theories give his research sample.

I don't know which of Marx's contributions contributed more to the establishment of Communist Dictatorships, but they undeniably had a very significant impact on the last 100 years.

Aristotle, Plato and Kant are largely responsible for the methods we use to reason and make decisions, so next to Darwin's effect, I'd say they, at least in combination, come in a close 2nd.

I would agree that the Declaration of Independence should be on that list. Like it or not, the US has probably had the greatest influence on the world in the last 100 years and that's where it all began.

yeah and lord of the rings is nr 2 in the list,
and like it or not that has also been very influencial.
ie: dungeons n dragons and lot of those kinda things.
and it also had a very good moral value....


Moral value? Like "it doesn't matter what you do, what matters is who's son's son's son's ... son's son you are"? Or "being alert? preparing for war? Nonsense! We are the good ones, we've got to win."

Tolkien was aparently dreaming about the good old days when the common people still knew their place and were always ready to bow before the noble ones.

America The Book!

For good or ill Benjamin Spock's The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care shaped one of America's largest and, as they never tire of telling us, most influential generations.

What about Jesus? The Bible is only the number 1 best selling book every year.

Sure it is (Urban Myth, anyone?)
Then why hasn't it topped the Amazon, NYT or Kirkus Bestsellers List.... ever?

The Avesta, the sacred book of the Zoroastrian faith. From its pages, the Abrahamic religions have taken the ancient Zoroastrian ideas of a savior (Jesus and Mithra are similar as hell), of an afterlife with judgement, of angels and deamons, of an evil force existing opposite that of a good God. It was from the Avesta that Christians and Jews took the idea of an apocalypse where all mens' souls will be judged.

Sure it is (Urban Myth, anyone?)
Then why hasn't it topped the Amazon, NYT or Kirkus Bestsellers List.... ever?

The Christian Bible isn't included in best seller lists. If it were it would top the lists every year.

I used to manage a bookstore and the number one book shoplifted was, hands down, the Christian Bible.

Gotta love irony.

I voted Plato The Republic

However what would I sit down and read first?
Machiavelli The Prince.
I always liked it.

The Book of War (i forgot who that book was by)

it hasnt had an influence yet, but it will, as it has tought me everything i know

*shifty eyes*

It seems to me that the obvious choice is Plato's Republic. Just looking at that list, every author on it except for Mao Ze Dong, read and was strongly influenced by Plato. Plato has had more time to have an effect than any of them others, and his ideas form the starting point for so much of western philosophy. Heck, the word idea comes to us from Greek, and I'm willing the bet the reason we took a Greek word (instead of a Latin or Germanic one) for idea was because of Plato.

Confucius deserves to be up there too though, and his writings are the only ones I can think of that would match the Republic for influence (after religious texts like the bible of course).

The Book of War (i forgot who that book was by)

it hasnt had an influence yet, but it will, as it has tought me everything i know

*shifty eyes*
You mean Karl Von Clausewitz , and his Writtings "On War".
Some the best stuff I have ever read.

You mean Karl Von Clausewitz , and his Writtings "On War".
Some the best stuff I have ever read.

The Mahdi of Mass.

Largely discredited after WWI.

Edit: Strategy by Basil Henry Liddell Hart. Everyine read it before WWII. Gave the germans a lot of ideas. Pity our numbnuts leaders stopped reading after WWII.

Id like to list a few in here, it would be so hard to pick but one... these are some personal favourite, and historically influential books

Kerouac's "On the Road" deserves a mention
Milton's "Paradise Lost" and I think I already seen that one here, but I want it on my list
Nietzsche's "Thus Spake Zarathustra" though its influence (compiled with other media of course) took a rather horrible turn

and I would be remise not to mention, of course, Vatsyayana's "Kama Sutra" :D

Other authors deserve a mention on their own, since I think it would be too hard to pick a single work...

Hemmingway
Steinback
Joyce (though "Dubliners" ought to be a frontrunner for this one)
Defoe
Dickens
and of course, Orwell (here again, Id likely choose 1984 as a frontrunner)

so thats my little list... :)

I had to go other, I can't decide on Mein Khamp, whose author, Hitler, plunged the world into war because he did what he said he was going to do in the book or The Prince, by Machiavelli, who told Europe at the beginning of the age of Enlightenment how it's government's should behave and they took him seriously.

The Mahdi of Mass.

Largely discredited after WWI.

Edit: Strategy by Basil Henry Liddell Hart. Everyine read it before WWII. Gave the germans a lot of ideas. Pity our numbnuts leaders stopped reading after WWII.
Yes, but read it as a work.
Very well written, and realistic for the time.
He did not deal very much with suppostion.
Also, many of the more profound teachings are still in practice today.
He set a great many of the ground rules down.
But the writting was simply....a pleasure.

THE single most influential book of all time, including current world-wide sales, is the Bible ... like it or not! :)

It's more than one book, though

I would agree that the Declaration of Independence should be on that list. Like it or not, the US has probably had the greatest influence on the world in the last 100 years and that's where it all began.

It's not a book

And actually, it's based on many things, the thoughts of ancient Greek philosophers, John Locke (whose writing should be on this list), etc. So no, that's not where it all began

I should have left out the poll. It is incomplete and a distraction from the discussion.

Callisdrun, when I first mentioned the Declaration of Independence, I prefaced it with "although it ain't a book." To be technical, Homer's works aren't books either because they were initially entirely verbal. But you can bind anything.

Also, I think the Magna Carta is more appropriate than the Declaration, because it's a direct precursor and, while both have grounding in earlier works, they represent the first time the concepts were put into practice.

Oh yeah, as for the "why doesn't the bible ever appear on Kirkus or Amazon bestseller lists?" question, easy answer: the Bible is public domain. For Dan Brown, you've got Random House (or whoever his publisher is) recording and reporting all the Da Vinci sales. For the Bible, you've got lots of different translations and lots of different versions floating around, printed by hundreds of different publishers, from Oxford UP to whoever the Gideons contract with. Because these are all technically different books, the total sales figures are murky. Because Jesus hasn't collected much in the way of royalties in about 1,969 years, there's no financial reason to track every last sale.

But rest assured, the Bible is far and away the best seller in all of western lit.

The most influential book is the "Bomber sick Truck" By Edvard Farkin. Its about a boy who eats his kids and then vomits life into the universe, and creates the world, known to him as "monkey". It was written around 345 bc.

Perhaps the Qur'an qualifies... it had and still has a major impact on the world as we know it. Not only today, but in history as well...

Homer's Odyssey & Iliad get my vote (Although I'm more of a Virgil man myself)

I was torn between Plato and Mao...but went for Plato.

It has to be something political, as politics affects everything going.
And as Plato's was the first of the above books, it has to be the one...all subsequent political writings are influence by Platonic / Socratic thinking, even if they are refuting what they said.

And the rest on the list haven't reallt influence the world in such a way.

Homer's Oydssey was merely a story...and probably not even strongly based on reality (there are many strong arguments for it being based in England, with the Celts as the people involved.)

On the side of Mao...his writings and their ensuing policies have affected over 1 billion people for decades...so there's a strong argument for him. Plus Mao was a bit of a leg end - it was just unfortunate that the Cultural Revolution happened...

The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, by Douglas Adams

It is the only book I know that is both brilliantly hiliarious and increadably meaningful. Its message

"Life is OK if you can have a sense of humour about it all"

The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, by Douglas Adams

It is the only book I know that is both brilliantly hiliarious and increadably meaningful. Its message

"Life is OK if you can have a sense of humour about it all"

Actually, I believe the message was "42" :D

what about the art of war? :mp5: (if someone already posted that, i apologize, id didnt read the rest of the forum

Just looking at this historically, I'd have to say that both the Bible and the Koran should be on the list, as they are both even more influential than any of the listed books (no insult to you, mind you). They've both been used as justification for wars, purges, philosophy and many massive social movements, so I'd have to say that either of those books ought to be up there.

Just looking at this historically, I'd have to say that both the Bible and the Koran should be on the list, as they are both even more influential than any of the listed books (no insult to you, mind you). They've both been used as justification for wars, purges, philosophy and many massive social movements, so I'd have to say that either of those books ought to be up there.
In most topics on this subject, the Bible and Koran are a given and are usually ignored.

Something makes me think it is the case with this thread too.

World’s Most Influential Books

I’m going to assume that any discussion of the world’s most influential books would start with the Torah, New Testament, and the Qur’an.

So, those three aside, which book do you think has had the greatest impact on world events or has done the most to influence or even change the course of history?

I can add a poll later, but I am interested first in what works people think have had the greatest effect on world events and why. Some suggestions, in no particular order:

Homer. Iliad, Odyssey

Aristotle. Logic

Plato. The Republic

Copernicus. De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium

Immanuel Kant. Critique of Pure Reason

Newton, Isaac. Principia

Shakespeare. The Collected Works (may be cheating since this isn’t one book)

Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf

Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams

Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged

Charles Darwin. Origin of the Species

Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Machiavelli. The Prince

Marx, Karl/ Engles, Frederick. Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx: Das Kapital

Benjamin Spock. The Common Sense Book of baby and Child Care

Betty Friedan. The Feminine Mystique

Henry David Thoreau: Civil Disobedience

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring

Mao Zedong. Selected Writings

Smith, Adam. Wealth of Nations

Epic of Gilgamesh

Mahan, Alfred Thayer. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1660-1783)

In most topics on this subject, the Bible and Koran are a given and are usually ignored.

Something makes me think it is the case with this thread too.

You are correct.

I know, The Art of War sounds cool, but someone who's pushing for it, please justify their choice. I understand that it's one of the earliest manuals of warfare, but war did not begin with Sun Tzu. He may have defined some elementary ideas ("When on difficult ground, you must fight!"), but you've got lots of capable generals around the globe independently developing strategies and winning wars without them.

Is it just because he wrote it down?

The wealth of nations outlined some of the most important tenets of today's economies and societies (division of labour an obvious example), but I'm not sure if it counts, since these principles weren't necessarily Smith's own invention, he was merely commenting on the trends of the day.

Will there ever be a movie that comes close to being as influential as any of the books on the list presented?

"Fun with Dick and Jane." Without that book, untold numbers of people would not be able to read.

"Fun with Dick and Jane." Without that book, untold numbers of people would not be able to read.

I know you are joking, but an argument could be made that Robert Cawdrey's A Table Alphabetical (1604), the first English dictionary, began a trend toward standardizing the English language that has had some historical influence - a least on literature and education.