An obvious technical one: The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. That might have saved me a lot of time to read in early adolescence. (Or maybe it was better to have to figure things out in my own half-assed way. Time travel is tricky.)
But something like Francis Bacon’s Essays might be more important. Seeing that lively and methodical a mind right at the horizon of easy readability would have been a powerful clue about how people think and how far afield it’s useful to look for interesting things.
Probably How to Win Friends and influence people. I could have done with being nicer to people much earlier in my life, probably around 12 or so.
I'm surprised by the number of tech books on this list, I found I had an appetite for finding them myself pretty much when I was ready for each of them.
When I was about 17 I was told, in no uncertain terms and by someone I respected: "You really need to learn how to get along with people."
I took that at face value, and tried to find a manual for how to interact positively with others, and I found H2WF&IP.
I treated it like a text book, and it changed my life completely. I was happier, more able to be sociable, and I could get along with people.
Now, after a further 30 or more years, I can still see the book's influence as I negotiate deals, manage employees, broker agreements, and generally "do stuff."
It's now out-of-date, but if you can make the effort to read it in the context it was written, and to ignore the obvious anachronisms, it's still valuable. The more recent versions try to be more up-to-date, but they lose something as far as I can tell, and I return to the original.
I'm 16 and picked that book up just before my 15th birthday. Well worth the read, and would recommend it to anyone. Going to give it a reread now, thanks for the reminder!
There is no single book which adequately describes my thinking. Rather, I would encourage him to read more in general, whatever he was curious about. Only through understanding a wide variety of classics and perspectives does one become educated. There were quite a few years where I did not read much at all, and I regret that, because I'm stupider for it.
I would also give him the practical limitations of only trying to read one book at a time, to take his time with it, and to start a new one not long after finishing. Then again, I'm not sure I should mess with the space-time continuum.
I think I read Paul Graham's essays when I was 18. I can't imagine diving into startup world any earlier than that. After all, had to enjoy my teen life!
Any way, if I really must, I would have given back 'Founders at Work' to my 18 self. I only got to read it once I was 21.
Any math books would have been nice. Shame to discover math now, when I'm in college. I overestimated the complexity of college math; there was a lot of handwaving in highschool about how demanding college will be, turns out it was all bull, all it served to do was discourage me from learning something. My own fault for listening, even half-heartedly, to high school people.
Atlas Shrugged. I'm not a Rand groupie but seeing some of the core ideas of what I always felt but never could quite articulate literally changed me as a person.
I think my father tried this exact experiment with me. He gave me a copy of Atlas Shrugged when I was twelve and asked me to read it and tell him what I thought.
Neither of us were (or are) objectivists, but it's one of those books that poke your buttons. Either you agree[1], you disagree[2], or you think it's insipid[3]. :-)
[1] Yeah, screw those looters who aren't as smart as I am! I mean, he is!
[2] Jeez, I hope someone drops a rock on these anti-social bastards. And what a floozy!
[3] You needed 80 pages for that speech? Weren't you reading this book while you wrote it?
I would give myself every newspaper from now until back then so I couldve known every lottery ticket number and sports score so I could gamble and be a billionaire. =)
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. I read this book during college, but I wish I had read it earlier in my life, like when I was in junior high. This book set my priorities straight.
'The Fountainhead'. It would have assured me that there were many other people with the hacker mindset (which ultimately is what the book is about), it would have helped me prepare for a world where that mindset was not the norm, and hence would probably have avoided years of agony and depression later.
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[ 5.2 ms ] story [ 173 ms ] threadAge doesn't matter. :)
Real answer, I can't think of better books to have read than what I did then, unless I could force myself to memorize a language book or something.
But something like Francis Bacon’s Essays might be more important. Seeing that lively and methodical a mind right at the horizon of easy readability would have been a powerful clue about how people think and how far afield it’s useful to look for interesting things.
the timeless lessons of the Toa Te Ching in a very accessible presentation
+ Masters of Doom by David Kushner
+ The Millionaire Mind by Dr. Thomas Stanley
+ The Intelligent Investor by Ben Graham
+ The Essays of Warren Buffet by Lawrence Cunningham
+ Buffet by Roger Lowenstein
+ The Knack by Norm Brodsky
+ Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar by Thomas Cathcart, Daniel Klein
+ The Return of the Great Depression by Vox Day
+ Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman
+ Road to Serfdom by Hayek
+ Iacocca:An Autobiography by Lee Iacocca
I'm surprised by the number of tech books on this list, I found I had an appetite for finding them myself pretty much when I was ready for each of them.
- The e-Myth Revisited - Rich Dad, Poor Dad
I've found these very useful in terms of how money works and also about the value of passive income
I took that at face value, and tried to find a manual for how to interact positively with others, and I found H2WF&IP.
I treated it like a text book, and it changed my life completely. I was happier, more able to be sociable, and I could get along with people.
Now, after a further 30 or more years, I can still see the book's influence as I negotiate deals, manage employees, broker agreements, and generally "do stuff."
It's now out-of-date, but if you can make the effort to read it in the context it was written, and to ignore the obvious anachronisms, it's still valuable. The more recent versions try to be more up-to-date, but they lose something as far as I can tell, and I return to the original.
I had already started small businesses and knew I wanted to do a web software company, but I just didn't have a mental framework to work from.
Paul Graham's startup essays (and later many other sources) gave me an idea of how to go about making a startup work.
I would also give him the practical limitations of only trying to read one book at a time, to take his time with it, and to start a new one not long after finishing. Then again, I'm not sure I should mess with the space-time continuum.
Any way, if I really must, I would have given back 'Founders at Work' to my 18 self. I only got to read it once I was 21.
Along with this, I would insist on The Law, by Frederic Bastiat. Written in 1850, this book still wows me.
Neither of us were (or are) objectivists, but it's one of those books that poke your buttons. Either you agree[1], you disagree[2], or you think it's insipid[3]. :-)
[1] Yeah, screw those looters who aren't as smart as I am! I mean, he is!
[2] Jeez, I hope someone drops a rock on these anti-social bastards. And what a floozy!
[3] You needed 80 pages for that speech? Weren't you reading this book while you wrote it?
Or just about anything by Martin Gardner, along with a note to write him sometime before 2010.