Most Influential Book Ever Written? - Page 2

Senex · 10th April 2012, 09:23 PM

The Story of O.

NewtonTrino · 10th April 2012, 10:03 PM

This book I read called "The Last Canadian".

Skeptic Ginger · 10th April 2012, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by Beerina

IIRC, based on sales:

1. Bible
2. Atlas Shrugged

The Bible, sure. But Atlas Shrugged? Puhleese. You're in your own personal fantasy land with that one.

BTW, I have a first edition of Atlas Shrugged and it's worth a couple hundred bucks. My almost first edition of Gone With the Wind would have been worth a couple thousand but it turned out to be a second printing. On the Antiques Roadshow, for comparison, a first edition of The Book of Mormon, was about $75K IIRC.

LarianLeQuella · 11th April 2012, 07:08 AM

Originally Posted by Beerina

Since major religious works are ruled out, if we define it by sales:

1. Atlas Shrugged

If we define it by large studies asking the question, "What book has had the most influence on your life?" again:

1. Atlas Shrugged

Originally Posted by Paul Krugman

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.“

alfaniner · 11th April 2012, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by Complexity

We are mortified.

I no longer own a copy of any Dr. Seuss book.

I'm going to start writing my name and address on all of my clothes.

That's OK.

It took me some time to find a copy of Go Dog, Go, until I discovered it was not written by Dr. Seuss, but by P.D. Eastman.

mhaze · 11th April 2012, 09:02 AM

Originally Posted by LarianLeQuella

Originally Posted by Paul Krugman
“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.“

No other response would be expected or proper from the Ellsworth Toohey of 2012.

Originally Posted by RobDegraves

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

Unless it exceeded 500 000 by at least 100 million, it's not even in the ballpark.
....

The number you quote is for 2009 ONLY, and actually for 2009 only, total sales of Rand's novels exceeded 1M. Get your facts correct please.

Damien Evans · 11th April 2012, 09:53 AM

I've seen precisely 1 copy of Atlas Shrugged in my entire life, and I'm studying to become a Library Technician.

Craig4 · 11th April 2012, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by Damien Evans

I've seen precisely 1 copy of Atlas Shrugged in my entire life, and I'm studying to become a Library Technician.

I'm not sure if it's still the case but second year students in some American universities were subjected to read the foul work.

Skeptic Ginger · 11th April 2012, 10:06 AM

That's a great Krugman quote.

As for the Atlas Shrugged mythology, there are a lot of Libertarians who believe in Rand folly. It's no wonder they push the myth their god is the greatest. But I'm pretty sure the fact there are more Mormons, more Christians, more Muslims, more Hindus and so on than Libertarians is evidence the worship of Rand is full of exaggerated beliefs about the influence of Randism. Heck, the Libertarians can't even get their own candidates in major elections in this country, they have to run as Republicans.

Is it true that Atlas Shrugged is the second most influential book ever written?

Quote:

No one knows exactly how influential Atlas Shrugged is, because there has never been a proper study done to check. The "second most influential" claim comes from a Survey of Lifetime Reading Habits conducted in 1991 by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Library of Congress. Printed surveys were sent to members of the Club, asking them what books had most influenced their own lives. A little over 2,000 responses were received. The Bible ranked first, and Atlas Shrugged ranked a distant second. ....

... In 1998, book publisher Random House ran an online vote asking readers to name the "best" English-language novels of the 20th century. Atlas Shrugged placed first in this vote, with Rand's other novels placing high on the list as well. However, there was a considerable amount of campaigning by special-interest groups to promote particular authors and books. There were also only limited controls to prevent repeat voting and other "ballot stuffing" techniques. In the end, the results probably reflected the intensity of feeling among the most highly motived voters as much or more than the breadth of support for any of the top vote-getters.

Seriously, a Book-of-the-Month Club reader survey and a Random House online vote?

We all know about Ron Paul supporters' enthusiasm when it comes to finding and voting in these online polls.

varwoche · 11th April 2012, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by Beerina

Since major religious works are ruled out, if we define it by sales:

1. Atlas Shrugged

If we define it by large studies asking the question, "What book has had the most influence on your life?" again:

1. Atlas Shrugged

It's also a stellar performer in terms of blithering idiocy. A trifecta!

Skeptic Ginger · 11th April 2012, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Damien Evans

I've seen precisely 1 copy of Atlas Shrugged in my entire life, and I'm studying to become a Library Technician.

Heh, I have to share the story of how I found the first edition. At out Friends of the Library book store they had a display on the top shelf. They had old books in groups of 3-4 literally glued together to make fake displays. When I saw Atlas Shrugged I talked the sales clerk into selling it to me. But I didn't want to damage it so I took it and the book it was glued to for $2. I took them home and carefully separated them. Turns out the other book was worth about $50 as well. But without the dust jacket the Atlas Shrugged book is worth a lot less than if it had had the jacket. Still, for $2 it was a score.

I didn't see any old Bibles in the glued book display.

Alphaba · 11th April 2012, 10:26 AM

My bet is not on single titles, but on a genre: Cookbooks are IMO the most influential ever printed.

TubbaBlubba · 11th April 2012, 10:34 AM

For the record, the quote wasn't Krugman's originally - he quoted it from John Rogers heree: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.se/2009/03/...ra-2009-7.html

LarianLeQuella · 11th April 2012, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by TubbaBlubba

For the record, the quote wasn't Krugman's originally - he quoted it from John Rogers heree: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.se/2009/03/...ra-2009-7.html

Ah, interesting.

Aren't the tubes fun?

Skeptic Ginger · 11th April 2012, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by Alphaba

My bet is not on single titles, but on a genre: Cookbooks are IMO the most influential ever printed.

I'd go with the genre of religious fiction, myself.

Craig4 · 11th April 2012, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by Alphaba

My bet is not on single titles, but on a genre: Cookbooks are IMO the most influential ever printed.

True, Fanny Farmer and Julia Childs had huge impacts on how we eat. One for the worse and one for the better I'm afraid.

Staffsknot · 11th April 2012, 01:26 PM

If we discount the bible, I would have to say the collected works of Aristotle. His influence on philosophy was enormous.

LarianLeQuella · 11th April 2012, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

religious fiction

Isn't that redundant and repetetive?

Skeptic Ginger · 11th April 2012, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by LarianLeQuella

Isn't that redundant and repetetive?

No, there is romance fiction, science fiction, historical fiction and so on.

There can also be historical non-fiction books about religion, but the religious texts themselves are all fiction.

mhaze · 12th April 2012, 07:21 AM

Originally Posted by varwoche

It's also a stellar performer in terms of blithering idiocy. A trifecta!

Indeed it certainly is. In fact the whole thesis of AS revolves around idiocy and the various ways it manifests itself in collective society. Namely, when people shirk the responsibility for individual decisions and place their trust in the collective, they have rejected to that extent, intelligent thinking and decision making, and embraced idiocy.

It's not the first time I've agreed with varwoche, although never in the way expected.

But someone should politely inform the Bamsters that AS is just a fiction book, not an instruction manual.

Skepticemea · 12th April 2012, 07:26 AM

Originally Posted by LarianLeQuella

Isn't that redundant and repetetive?

A tautology, perhaps?

Damien Evans · 12th April 2012, 08:44 AM

Originally Posted by Staffsknot

If we discount the bible, I would have to say the collected works of Aristotle. His influence on philosophy was enormous.

That's a pretty good call. He did dominate Western Thinking for well over 1,000 years after his death.

arthwollipot · 12th April 2012, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by Damien Evans

That's a pretty good call. He did dominate Western Thinking for well over 1,000 years after his death.

Yeah, but that wasn't really his fault.

TubbaBlubba · 12th April 2012, 12:57 PM

The Analects of Confucius is another good contender.

And while we're in China - The Art of War.

mhaze · 12th April 2012, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by TubbaBlubba

For the record, the quote wasn't Krugman's originally - he quoted it from John Rogers heree: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.se/2009/03/...ra-2009-7.html

For the record, if you look at my assertion above:

No other response would be expected or proper from the Ellsworth Toohey of 2012.

And then you look at the actual article by Krugman:

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/201...sworth-toohey/

You will find that Krugman admits to being the slimeball of the planet.

applecorped · 12th April 2012, 06:06 PM

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.

Skeptic Ginger · 12th April 2012, 10:16 PM

Newton's Principia belongs on the short list. Certainly it belongs higher on the list than Wiki's #49 in Andy's second post.

DrDave · 13th April 2012, 04:18 AM

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

Newton's Principia belongs on the short list. Certainly it belongs higher on the list than Wiki's #49 in Andy's second post.

The list order threw me as well - it's in chronological order rather than importance

Enceladan · 13th April 2012, 05:20 AM

Though he likely wasn't the first to have done so (according to what I've read anyway,) I'd suggest Herodotus' The Histories as pretty influential, if only due to the style of constructing a cohesive historical narrative upon which many more modern works would follow.

While the bias and historical accuracy of the contents can be questionable at best (and pretty far in the "holy crap!" zone at worst,) it's still recognizable for its literary influences.

Ian · 13th April 2012, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by Lamuella

can I ask how we are defining influential?

That's a good question. Nobody has mentioned Mein Kampf yet.

applecorped · 13th April 2012, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by Ian

That's a good question. Nobody has mentioned Mein Kampf yet.

Or The Joy of Cooking.

Astrodude · 13th April 2012, 06:43 PM

Originally Posted by Craig4

It's hard to say "Atlas Shrugged" was influential when we don't see very many economic or political systems based on the ideas in the book. We, even in the very free market United States have regulated markets for financial instruments and regulated trade.

I'll grant that Ayn Rand seems to have influenced Alan Greenspan and his Rand based ideas contributed to the economic crisis in 2007 (which he both acknowledged and regretted later). However the ideas couldn't have had too much influence since he was the chairman of the Federal Reserve, a most un-Randian position. Just because it's read does not make in influential.

Wikipedia war partly inspire by Rand too, as Jimmy Wales identifies as an Objectivist.

What about The Internet for Dummies or Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People?

Craig4 · 14th April 2012, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by applecorped

Or The Joy of Cooking.

It certainly had a profound effect on the way Americans eat (particularly the 1975 addition). I'm not sure you could call the impact of the book global.

VanillaCone · 14th April 2012, 11:53 PM

It's interesting how few books on the above (impressively comprehensive) "most influential" list are works of fiction. Don Quixote was a good pick - I'm glad they included it. And of course there is the Bible, but it's my understanding that AndyAndy does not want us to blaspheme in this particular thread.

ingoa · 16th April 2012, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

No, there is romance fiction, science fiction, historical fiction and so on.

There can also be historical non-fiction books about religion, but the religious texts themselves are all fiction.

I would phrase it differently.

Romance can be real. Science can be real. History can be real. But religion is always fiction.

ETA: real in the sense of "non-fiction"

mhaze · 16th April 2012, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by ingoa

I would phrase it differently.

Romance can be real. Science can be real. History can be real. But religion is always fiction.

ETA: real in the sense of "non-fiction"

I'm curious, since religion was excluded in the OP. What are you trying to do, get it back included by defining/redefining as fiction?

Then it would win.

Jorghnassen · 20th April 2012, 09:43 AM

Originally Posted by TubbaBlubba

The Analects of Confucius is another good contender.

And while we're in China - The Art of War.

I'm surprised it took so long to mention it. War is probably the thing for which humans are most adept.

10th April 2012, 09:23 PM	#41
Senex Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 5,190	The Story of O.
Senex Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 5,190

10th April 2012, 10:03 PM	#42
NewtonTrino Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 4,295	This book I read called "The Last Canadian".
NewtonTrino Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 4,295

10th April 2012, 10:14 PM	#43
Skeptic Ginger formerly skeptigirl Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 61,450	Originally Posted by Beerina IIRC, based on sales: 1. Bible 2. Atlas Shrugged The Bible, sure. But Atlas Shrugged? Puhleese. You're in your own personal fantasy land with that one. BTW, I have a first edition of Atlas Shrugged and it's worth a couple hundred bucks. My almost first edition of Gone With the Wind would have been worth a couple thousand but it turned out to be a second printing. On the Antiques Roadshow, for comparison, a first edition of The Book of Mormon, was about $75K IIRC.
	Last edited by Skeptic Ginger; 10th April 2012 at 10:18 PM.

11th April 2012, 07:08 AM	#44
LarianLeQuella Elf Wino Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2,066	Originally Posted by Beerina Since major religious works are ruled out, if we define it by sales: 1. Atlas Shrugged If we define it by large studies asking the question, "What book has had the most influence on your life?" again: 1. Atlas Shrugged Originally Posted by Paul Krugman “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.“
LarianLeQuella Elf Wino Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2,066	__________________ My crappy blog that no one should be forced to read. Ever... But I like traffic and comments, so have at it if you please. Larian LeQuella Armyn ab Treanid Last edited by LarianLeQuella; 11th April 2012 at 07:11 AM. Reason: Found Attribution

11th April 2012, 07:22 AM	#45
alfaniner Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 16,733	Originally Posted by Complexity We are mortified. I no longer own a copy of any Dr. Seuss book. I'm going to start writing my name and address on all of my clothes. That's OK. It took me some time to find a copy of Go Dog, Go, until I discovered it was not written by Dr. Seuss, but by P.D. Eastman.
	__________________ Science is self-correcting. Woo is self-contradicting.

11th April 2012, 09:02 AM	#46
mhaze Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 15,718	Originally Posted by LarianLeQuella Originally Posted by Paul Krugman “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.“ No other response would be expected or proper from the Ellsworth Toohey of 2012. Originally Posted by RobDegraves .....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged Unless it exceeded 500 000 by at least 100 million, it's not even in the ballpark. .... The number you quote is for 2009 ONLY, and actually for 2009 only, total sales of Rand's novels exceeded 1M. Get your facts correct please.
mhaze Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 15,718	Last edited by mhaze; 11th April 2012 at 09:08 AM.

11th April 2012, 09:53 AM	#47
Damien Evans Up The Irons Tagger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts: 33,515	I've seen precisely 1 copy of Atlas Shrugged in my entire life, and I'm studying to become a Library Technician.
	__________________ i loves the little birdies they goes tweet tweet tweet hee hee i loves them they sings to each other tweet twet tweet hee hee i loves them they is so cute i love yje little birdies little birdies in the room when birfies sings ther is no gloom i lobes the little birdies they goess tweet tweet tweet hee hee hee i loves them they sings me to sleep sing me to slrrp now little birdies - The wisdom of Shemp.

11th April 2012, 10:05 AM	#48
Craig4 Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Next door to Florida Man, world's worst superhero. Posts: 13,866	Originally Posted by Damien Evans I've seen precisely 1 copy of Atlas Shrugged in my entire life, and I'm studying to become a Library Technician. I'm not sure if it's still the case but second year students in some American universities were subjected to read the foul work.

11th April 2012, 10:06 AM	#49
Skeptic Ginger formerly skeptigirl Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 61,450	That's a great Krugman quote. As for the Atlas Shrugged mythology, there are a lot of Libertarians who believe in Rand folly. It's no wonder they push the myth their god is the greatest. But I'm pretty sure the fact there are more Mormons, more Christians, more Muslims, more Hindus and so on than Libertarians is evidence the worship of Rand is full of exaggerated beliefs about the influence of Randism. Heck, the Libertarians can't even get their own candidates in major elections in this country, they have to run as Republicans. Is it true that Atlas Shrugged is the second most influential book ever written? Quote: No one knows exactly how influential Atlas Shrugged is, because there has never been a proper study done to check. The "second most influential" claim comes from a Survey of Lifetime Reading Habits conducted in 1991 by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Library of Congress. Printed surveys were sent to members of the Club, asking them what books had most influenced their own lives. A little over 2,000 responses were received. The Bible ranked first, and Atlas Shrugged ranked a distant second. .... ... In 1998, book publisher Random House ran an online vote asking readers to name the "best" English-language novels of the 20th century. Atlas Shrugged placed first in this vote, with Rand's other novels placing high on the list as well. However, there was a considerable amount of campaigning by special-interest groups to promote particular authors and books. There were also only limited controls to prevent repeat voting and other "ballot stuffing" techniques. In the end, the results probably reflected the intensity of feeling among the most highly motived voters as much or more than the breadth of support for any of the top vote-getters. Seriously, a Book-of-the-Month Club reader survey and a Random House online vote? We all know about Ron Paul supporters' enthusiasm when it comes to finding and voting in these online polls.

11th April 2012, 10:13 AM	#50
varwoche Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Puget Sound Posts: 10,245	Originally Posted by Beerina Since major religious works are ruled out, if we define it by sales: 1. Atlas Shrugged If we define it by large studies asking the question, "What book has had the most influence on your life?" again: 1. Atlas Shrugged It's also a stellar performer in terms of blithering idiocy. A trifecta!
	__________________ To survive election season on a skeptics forum, one must understand Hymie-the-Robot. random

11th April 2012, 10:17 AM	#51
Skeptic Ginger formerly skeptigirl Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 61,450	Originally Posted by Damien Evans I've seen precisely 1 copy of Atlas Shrugged in my entire life, and I'm studying to become a Library Technician. Heh, I have to share the story of how I found the first edition. At out Friends of the Library book store they had a display on the top shelf. They had old books in groups of 3-4 literally glued together to make fake displays. When I saw Atlas Shrugged I talked the sales clerk into selling it to me. But I didn't want to damage it so I took it and the book it was glued to for $2. I took them home and carefully separated them. Turns out the other book was worth about $50 as well. But without the dust jacket the Atlas Shrugged book is worth a lot less than if it had had the jacket. Still, for $2 it was a score. I didn't see any old Bibles in the glued book display.

11th April 2012, 10:26 AM	#52
Alphaba Optical Allusion Photo Contest Winner Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 701	My bet is not on single titles, but on a genre: Cookbooks are IMO the most influential ever printed.

11th April 2012, 10:34 AM	#53
TubbaBlubba Knave of the Dudes Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 11,208	For the record, the quote wasn't Krugman's originally - he quoted it from John Rogers heree: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.se/2009/03/...ra-2009-7.html
	__________________ "The president’s voracious sexual appetite is the elephant that the president rides around on each and every day while pretending that it doesn’t exist." - Bill O'Reilly et al., Killing Kennedy

11th April 2012, 11:39 AM	#54
LarianLeQuella Elf Wino Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2,066	Originally Posted by TubbaBlubba For the record, the quote wasn't Krugman's originally - he quoted it from John Rogers heree: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.se/2009/03/...ra-2009-7.html Ah, interesting. Aren't the tubes fun?
LarianLeQuella Elf Wino Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2,066	__________________ My crappy blog that no one should be forced to read. Ever... But I like traffic and comments, so have at it if you please. Larian LeQuella Armyn ab Treanid

11th April 2012, 12:10 PM	#55
Skeptic Ginger formerly skeptigirl Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 61,450	Originally Posted by Alphaba My bet is not on single titles, but on a genre: Cookbooks are IMO the most influential ever printed. I'd go with the genre of religious fiction, myself.

11th April 2012, 12:34 PM	#56
Craig4 Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Next door to Florida Man, world's worst superhero. Posts: 13,866	Originally Posted by Alphaba My bet is not on single titles, but on a genre: Cookbooks are IMO the most influential ever printed. True, Fanny Farmer and Julia Childs had huge impacts on how we eat. One for the worse and one for the better I'm afraid.

11th April 2012, 01:26 PM	#57
Staffsknot Student Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 44	If we discount the bible, I would have to say the collected works of Aristotle. His influence on philosophy was enormous.
Staffsknot Student Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 44

11th April 2012, 01:32 PM	#58
LarianLeQuella Elf Wino Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2,066	Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger religious fiction Isn't that redundant and repetetive?
LarianLeQuella Elf Wino Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 2,066	__________________ My crappy blog that no one should be forced to read. Ever... But I like traffic and comments, so have at it if you please. Larian LeQuella Armyn ab Treanid

11th April 2012, 01:39 PM	#59
Skeptic Ginger formerly skeptigirl Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 61,450	Originally Posted by LarianLeQuella Isn't that redundant and repetetive? No, there is romance fiction, science fiction, historical fiction and so on. There can also be historical non-fiction books about religion, but the religious texts themselves are all fiction.
	Last edited by Skeptic Ginger; 11th April 2012 at 01:40 PM.

12th April 2012, 07:21 AM	#60
mhaze Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 15,718	Originally Posted by varwoche It's also a stellar performer in terms of blithering idiocy. A trifecta! Indeed it certainly is. In fact the whole thesis of AS revolves around idiocy and the various ways it manifests itself in collective society. Namely, when people shirk the responsibility for individual decisions and place their trust in the collective, they have rejected to that extent, intelligent thinking and decision making, and embraced idiocy. It's not the first time I've agreed with varwoche, although never in the way expected. But someone should politely inform the Bamsters that AS is just a fiction book, not an instruction manual.
mhaze Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 15,718

12th April 2012, 07:26 AM	#61
Skepticemea Master Poster Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 2,771	Originally Posted by LarianLeQuella Isn't that redundant and repetetive? A tautology, perhaps?

12th April 2012, 08:44 AM	#62
Damien Evans Up The Irons Tagger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts: 33,515	Originally Posted by Staffsknot If we discount the bible, I would have to say the collected works of Aristotle. His influence on philosophy was enormous. That's a pretty good call. He did dominate Western Thinking for well over 1,000 years after his death.
	__________________ i loves the little birdies they goes tweet tweet tweet hee hee i loves them they sings to each other tweet twet tweet hee hee i loves them they is so cute i love yje little birdies little birdies in the room when birfies sings ther is no gloom i lobes the little birdies they goess tweet tweet tweet hee hee hee i loves them they sings me to sleep sing me to slrrp now little birdies - The wisdom of Shemp.

12th April 2012, 08:46 AM	#63
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Location, Location Posts: 55,573	Originally Posted by Damien Evans That's a pretty good call. He did dominate Western Thinking for well over 1,000 years after his death. Yeah, but that wasn't really his fault.
	__________________ Read my fantasy novel for free!

12th April 2012, 12:57 PM	#64
TubbaBlubba Knave of the Dudes Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 11,208	The Analects of Confucius is another good contender. And while we're in China - The Art of War.
	__________________ "The president’s voracious sexual appetite is the elephant that the president rides around on each and every day while pretending that it doesn’t exist." - Bill O'Reilly et al., Killing Kennedy

12th April 2012, 02:22 PM	#65
mhaze Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 15,718	Originally Posted by TubbaBlubba For the record, the quote wasn't Krugman's originally - he quoted it from John Rogers heree: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.se/2009/03/...ra-2009-7.html For the record, if you look at my assertion above: No other response would be expected or proper from the Ellsworth Toohey of 2012. And then you look at the actual article by Krugman: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/201...sworth-toohey/ You will find that Krugman admits to being the slimeball of the planet.
mhaze Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 15,718

12th April 2012, 06:06 PM	#66
applecorped Rotten to the Core Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 16,745	Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.
	__________________ All You Need Is Love.

12th April 2012, 10:16 PM	#67
Skeptic Ginger formerly skeptigirl Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 61,450	Newton's Principia belongs on the short list. Certainly it belongs higher on the list than Wiki's #49 in Andy's second post.

13th April 2012, 04:18 AM	#68
DrDave Illuminator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,300	Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger Newton's Principia belongs on the short list. Certainly it belongs higher on the list than Wiki's #49 in Andy's second post. The list order threw me as well - it's in chronological order rather than importance
DrDave Illuminator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,300

13th April 2012, 05:20 AM	#69
Enceladan Student Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 34	Though he likely wasn't the first to have done so (according to what I've read anyway,) I'd suggest Herodotus' The Histories as pretty influential, if only due to the style of constructing a cohesive historical narrative upon which many more modern works would follow. While the bias and historical accuracy of the contents can be questionable at best (and pretty far in the "holy crap!" zone at worst,) it's still recognizable for its literary influences.
Enceladan Student Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 34

13th April 2012, 01:41 PM	#70
Ian Thinker Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 241	Originally Posted by Lamuella can I ask how we are defining influential? That's a good question. Nobody has mentioned Mein Kampf yet.
Ian Thinker Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 241

13th April 2012, 06:03 PM	#71
applecorped Rotten to the Core Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 16,745	Originally Posted by Ian That's a good question. Nobody has mentioned Mein Kampf yet. Or The Joy of Cooking.
	__________________ All You Need Is Love.

13th April 2012, 06:43 PM	#72
Astrodude Critical Thinker Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 371	Originally Posted by Craig4 It's hard to say "Atlas Shrugged" was influential when we don't see very many economic or political systems based on the ideas in the book. We, even in the very free market United States have regulated markets for financial instruments and regulated trade. I'll grant that Ayn Rand seems to have influenced Alan Greenspan and his Rand based ideas contributed to the economic crisis in 2007 (which he both acknowledged and regretted later). However the ideas couldn't have had too much influence since he was the chairman of the Federal Reserve, a most un-Randian position. Just because it's read does not make in influential. Wikipedia war partly inspire by Rand too, as Jimmy Wales identifies as an Objectivist. What about The Internet for Dummies or Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People?
	Last edited by Astrodude; 13th April 2012 at 06:46 PM.

14th April 2012, 09:32 PM	#73
Craig4 Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Next door to Florida Man, world's worst superhero. Posts: 13,866	Originally Posted by applecorped Or The Joy of Cooking. It certainly had a profound effect on the way Americans eat (particularly the 1975 addition). I'm not sure you could call the impact of the book global.

14th April 2012, 11:53 PM	#74
VanillaCone Muse Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 816	It's interesting how few books on the above (impressively comprehensive) "most influential" list are works of fiction. Don Quixote was a good pick - I'm glad they included it. And of course there is the Bible, but it's my understanding that AndyAndy does not want us to blaspheme in this particular thread.
VanillaCone Muse Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 816	__________________ I believe I am doing what I think is right. -Closing line of a "Nigerian Prince" e-mail I received.

16th April 2012, 12:41 PM	#75
ingoa Surfing on the relativistic brain wave Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 494	Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger No, there is romance fiction, science fiction, historical fiction and so on. There can also be historical non-fiction books about religion, but the religious texts themselves are all fiction. I would phrase it differently. Romance can be real. Science can be real. History can be real. But religion is always fiction. ETA: real in the sense of "non-fiction"
	__________________ Suum cuique I have no prejudices. I hate everbody! Last edited by ingoa; 16th April 2012 at 12:42 PM.