<p>
</p>
<p>I believe that would be The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783 by Alfred Thayer Mahan.</p>
<p>Copied from the other thread</p>
<p>Night by Elie Wiesel
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon
Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau; not a book, but heavily influenced Gandhi and MLK
The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
On the Road, Jack Kerouac
Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler (why hasn’t anyone mentioned Mein Kampf yet? it’s such an obvious choice!)
Lady Chatterley’s Lover, DH Lawrence</p>
<p>I think we’ve compiled like thirty of the greatest books, now it’s up to Lindsey (the original poster) to make the first draft of the top twenty list so that we stay organized. Good luck (you’ll need it ;))!</p>
<p>I’m gonna make another push for the Communist Manifesto.</p>
<p>Think about the effects of this one book brought: Mao’s Great Leap Forward, Stalin’s systematic killing of the burgeoise, the collectivization of agriculture, mass famine, death camps, all from ONE THEORY! ONE BOOK! One theory that was completely mutilated and bastardized and that changed not only the lives of billions of people but the ENTIRE course of human events! Just one little book did this! That’s incredible.</p>
<p>I think The DaVinci Code is far more influential. It outsold the Communist Manifesto last year. Chew on that starvedartist87!</p>
<p>The Da Vinci Code, even though it is not as historical as the Communist Manifesto, can still be in the running since it was soooooo controversial and really made conspiracy theories popular in today’s mainstream world.</p>
<p>When Jaws came out it was very popular and then the movie followed suit and it kept people from vacationing at the ocean.</p>
<p>When The Exorcist came out it was very popular and controversial and scared the daylights out of people.</p>
<p>They are as “influential” as The DaVinci Code in that, for a year or two, they were wildly popular and transformed into movies that kept the hype going a little longer. But conspiracy theories have been popular long before The DaVinci Code and it did little but add one more to the mix.</p>
<p>Given the scope of literature across all of history since the invention of the printing press, to single out The DaVinci Code as an influential book is just laughable unless it’s one of the only books you’ve read – or heard about.</p>
<p>The Harry Potter books have stirred up at least as much controversy and far more fear among fundamentalist Christian parents who think it teaches paganism and Satanism and, globally, it has resonated with far more people than The DaVinci Code.</p>
<p>Sorry, but “influential” is one of the last words I’d use to describe The DaVinci Code. Okay, so it influenced many water cooler discussions at work. And it occupied many people who needed something to read on vacation or while on long plane flights. But to include it in a list of the most influential books ever, in all of history, is a stretch. Fun With Dick and Jane – the children’s reader book that baby boomers learned to read by – beats it, hands down.</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>] The Republik by Plato: Foundation of western thought and Philosophy.
[</em>] Communist Manifesto: For it’s affect on Russia and much of the colonial world.
[<em>]Ketab fi Isti’mal al-'Adad al-Hindi by Arab mathematician Al-Kindi: For introducing Hindu-Arabic numerals to the West. Imagine the world without zero.
[</em>]Quran: Do I even need to explain why?
[/ul]
Can’t think of anything else at this time.</p>
<p>My favorite though won’t make it to the list: Kama-Sutra by a 4th century Pornographer, Vatsayan: For infusing curiosity about the Oriental amongst the West.</p>
<p>PS: I found [url=<a href=“http://www.wisdomportal.com/Books/100MostInfluentialBooks.html]this[/url”>http://www.wisdomportal.com/Books/100MostInfluentialBooks.html]this[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Perhaps we should divide it into two categories - fiction and non fiction. Then my vote would be:</p>
<p>Non fiction - Origin of the Species (Darwin)</p>
<p>Fiction - The Bible</p>
<p>@D’yer Maker: You write real passionately against this…I guess you have just contradicted yourself my friend…the Da Vinci Code–as you have just proven–causes more than just “water cooler discussions,” unless you’re drinking out of one right now. Now don’t tell me that I’m taking anything out of context, because that has been just what you have done with your “analysis.” </p>
<p>Have you read conspiracy theories on the Knights Templar, Freemasons, Trilateral Commission, etc? They not only deal with one small sector of life, such as swimming at the beach, but with the whole picture of life, like living–PERIOD! These theories have existed for a very, very long time, and will probably never go away. However, they have never been mainstream. Do you know why Dan Brown was sued by another theorist, because he had basically stolen all the information from another historical analyst/conspiracy theorist who has written many nonfictions in this area but none went mainstream, yet The Da Vinci Code did. </p>
<p>And if you think that this is comparable to Jaws or whatnot, then be my guest, but I have not been persuaded at all by your argument, but rather furthur reassured in my own.</p>
<p>Euclid’s Geometry, upon which practically everything in this is world predicated, architecture, everything. Of course there are other geometries for the microcosm and the macrocosm, but Euclid’s is the one we apply in our everyday lives…it rocks</p>
<p>@ nyjunior: If you had said, The Perils of Pauline instead of The DaVinci Code I would have been just as quick to point out the short-sightedness and inanity of your choice. The fact that I object to the stupidity of that choice doesn’t prove that your choice is influential. Hardly. By your logic (such as it is) the more ridiculous your choice, the more affirmation you’d feel that it was a truly influential work.</p>
<p>It’s a fad book. Not influential. People got excited about dinosaurs after Jurassic Park was written. So what?</p>
<p>Actually, the DaVinci Code is no more influential than the books that it originated from. The publicity made it influential. The book itself is crappy, and trite.</p>
<p>Lets not make this a Da Vinci Code argument. Great book, but in my opinion, more controversal than influencial. </p>
<p>
Oh yeah, psh, like I can do that. I agree with a lot of the books posted though. </p>
<p>Uh, I tend to take a more historical slant onto it and tend to think of books like the Communist Manifesto and *Mein Kamf<a href=“Which%20I%20can’t%20believe%20took%20so%20long%20lol”>/i</a>. So common novels to me seem obsolete, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve a place. </p>
<p>I’m not sure if some of these are mentioned, but I’d add Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy by Newton, and Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft possibly a few more, but I don’t remember them at the moment. </p>
<p>Keep going, and if anyone dare try to put them in some sort of order, best of luck to you :p!</p>
<p>Someone said Origin of Species, which I think is a biggie.</p>
<p>The Feminine Mystique, anyone? Well, maybe that was just in America…
What about The Interpretation of Dreams? Or maybe some Nietzsche?</p>
<p>I agree with the Bible, the Communist Manifesto, The Origin of Species, The Wealth of Nations, The Prince, The Iliad, Don Quijote, and the Koran.</p>
<p>Please, not the Exorcist or the DaVinci Code!!!</p>
<p>The Koran (how many people look to the Koran daily)</p>
<p>The Book of Mormon (look at how much of the U.S. wealth is controlled by this tiny subset of the U.S. population!)</p>
<p>Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book</p>
<p>Abhi 08544 also referenced the Little Red Book by citing the list that includes the Little Red Book listed as:
Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung (Paperback)
by Mao Tse-Tung (Author) “The force at the core leading our cause forward is the Chinese Communist Party…”
Chairman Mao had a major and long lasting influence - the Little Red Book needs to be on the list</p>
<p>Given this list, What would you rank them?</p>
<p>Just put the numbers in the order you would.</p>
<p>Top 20 (or so) Influential Books and Documents
- Gutenberg Bible: Johannes Gutenberg
- In Praise of Folly: Desiderius Erasmus
- The Prince: Niccol</p>
<p>robinson crusoe and all of the jules verne books (20K leagues under the sea, around the world in 80 days, journey to center of earth)</p>