This month we turn over the task of finding fascinating books to a guest. Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and popularizer of science, was asked in an online forum “which books should be read by every single intelligent person on the planet?” Here’s what he came up with along with his reasons for 
each. We agree with some, disagree with others, and think he missed several of the best ones, but it’s an interesting list and we could all certainly do worse. Do you have a better list to suggest?
1.) The Bible– “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”
2.) The System of the World by Isaac Newton– “to learn that the universe is a knowable place.”
3.) On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin- “to learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth.”
4.) Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift– “to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos.”
5.) The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine – “to learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world.”
6.) The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith- “to learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself.”
7.) The Art of War by Sun Tsu- “to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.”
8.) The Prince by Machiavelli- “to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it.”
Tyson concludes by saying: “If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.”
