Description: The hundred books thoroughly discussed here have radically altered the course of civilization, whether they have embodied religions practiced by millions (the Bible, the Koran), achieved the pinnacle of artistic expression (the Iliad and the Odyssey, Shakespeare's plays), pointed the way to scientific discovery of enormous consequence (Darwin's On the Origin of Species, Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity), redirected beliefs about the nature of man (Freud's General Introduction to Psychoanalysis and The Interpretation of Dreams, Hume's Treatise of Human Nature), or forever altered the global political landscape (Plato's Republic, Paine's Rights of Man). For each (listed in chronological order) there is an historical overview and little-known facts about the author and the work, an analysis of the work's effect on our lives today, and a lively discussion of the reasons for inclusion here.

Among the other works profiled: Locke's Essay on Human Understanding
-- Orwell's 1984
-- Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress
-- Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations
-- Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
-- Thoreau's Walden
-- Hobbes's Leviathan
-- Buber's I and Thou
-- Newton's Principia
-- Freidan's Feminine Mystique

The standard used by the author identifies those books that have most shaped our political, economic, and social lives -- for better or worse. Therefore, Mao's Little Red Book and Marx's Kapital stand beside the New Testament and Mill's On Liberty. All of these entries will remind readers of the genuine power of the written word.

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