100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man’s Library
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Amazon Listmania: The Essential Man’s Library Part II
Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins
Just like The DaVinci Code, but on hallucinogenic mushrooms…and written 30 years prior. A psychedelic story of a wandering musical troupe that settle down to open “Captain Kendrick’s Memorial Hot Dog Wildlife Preserve,” and somehow get mixed up with the Vatican. The motto:
“The principal difference between an adventurer and a suicide is that the adventurer leaves himself a margin of escape (the narrower the margin, the greater the adventure).”
White Noise by Don Delillo
This National Book Award winner was more right on in 1985 than Delillo could have possibly known. The drug Dylar is the supposed answer to man’s fear of death, yet causes users to lose their minds. This is an extremely enjoyable read, particularly relevant and funny in its examination of how people act in a climate of fear (hello Homeland Security) and under a “hail of bullets” from advertisers and imaginary enemies alike. The lesson: secretly hold out for the wonder drug and/or fountain of youth, but live each day like it might be your last…in a good way…and still show up to work unless you really, really know it is your last day on earth.
Ulysses by James Joyce
Just buy it and put it on your bookshelf and remember this from the book: “A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” We suspect that even those who have written their doctoral thesis on the book only pretend to have read every word, but a good friend of mine said not to question an academic on things of this nature, so if you encounter someone who has built a career around Joyce, don’t ask if they actually read it.
The Young Man’s Guide by William Alcott
The Young Man’s Guide is a thorough resource which deals with the formation of character in a young man with regard to the mind, manners, and morals. It also has a good amount of insight on the topics of marriage and business. A strong foundational book for a young man asking the practical questions of how to live life while minimizing both terrible temporal mistakes and, well…the wrath of God. As is stated in the introduction, it is Alcott’s intention to influence young men such that they contradict the stereotypes of thoughtlessness, rashness and an unwillingness to be advised or taught. Alcott was prescient in writing this book and would probably roll over in his grave if he saw the modern race of man-babies that play X-Box for 20 hours each week and are perpetually bartending their way through junior college.
Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
This Western novel written in 1985 is not only considered to be McCarthy’s personal masterpiece, but also one of the greatest books of the 20th century. As the title suggests, the story is marked by extreme violence and contains many religious references. Isn’t that what the history of man is all about?
Seek: Reports from the Edges of America & Beyond by Denis Johnson
Through a collection of short stories that take you from a Bikers for Jesus convention to the 13 year olds with semi-automatic machine guns in Liberia, Johnson uses rich prose to examine the role of a man as a potted plant, observing his surroundings and soaking it up. In this story, horrific violence in seeming other worlds contrasts with the comparatively safe process of self-discovery in different U.S. subcultures. This will absolutely open your eyes to the simultaneous beauty and horror of our world, and remarkably, he does it without sounding condescending, jaded and bitter…he is just there, and you will absolutely see everything that he sees.
“In the Ogaden, life comes hard, but these have won through yet another day, unlike all the others they’ve lost to sickness, famine, massacres, battles. The villagers sit close together, everyone touching someone else, steeped in a contentment that seems, at this moment, perpetual. It occurs to the writer that the secret way to happiness is in knowing a lot of dead people.”
Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Photo by aquinas
One of the most amazing aspects of this masterpiece is that it was written by Dostoevsky as part of his resolve to deal with some serious financial hardships. The lesson isn’t to quit your job and write that novel you’ve been meaning to write…but many of us can relate to that sense of personal ambition and pride in the face of fear and financial stress. Again, take the moral lessons from the characters’ mistakes, don’t model your life after them.
“‘Oh God, how loathsome it all is! and can I, can I possibly….No, it’s nonsense, it’s rubbish!’ he added resolutely. ‘And how could such an atrocious thing come into my head? What filthy things my heart is capable of.’”
…Ah, the classic moral dilemma arising from something as simple as a justified murder.
Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
The mysterious drifter is always an intriguing protagonist. One of Hesse’s best known works, Steppenwolf gained much popularity through the Beat and hippy genenerations of the 50’s and 60’s which related to his common theme of search for spirituality outside the boundaries of society.
The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry by Christine De Pizan
An example of what we can learn about being better men from the perspective of a woman (de Pizan pictured above, instructing her son). She wrote this classic in the 15th Century, a time period not known as the peak of gender equality. Of course, we can project this into our work and not use the text as the foundation to build a neighborhood militia group.
“No one is afraid to do what he is confident of having learned well. A small force which is highly trained in the conflicts of war is more apt to victory: a raw and untrained horde is always exposed to slaughter.”
The Art of Warfare by Sun Tzu
Written in the 6th Century, this has been one of the most influential texts in strategy and planning, especially emphasizing an ability to adapt to changing circumstances and environments rather than having a rigid plan and staying the course through to disaster.
“So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will fight without danger in battles.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.”
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Considered by many to be the greatest work of fiction, it is a goldmine of quotes surrounding a central theme that could be summed up by “all that glisters is not gold.” This is also a great reminder that it is great to be a dreamer and a visionary, but remember to keep (at least somewhat) grounded in reality.
“I would do what I pleased, and doing what I pleased, I should have my will, and having my will, I should be contented; and when one is contented, there is no more to be desired; and when there is no more to be desired, there is an end of it.”
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
This one is tough, because you want it but you don’t…but a wise friend once said, upon being flattered for his world travels “yeah, well you go to all these places always knowing that one day you will come back to somewhere.” We all have friends who are, or some of us may be personally, drifters, soaking up each place like a sponge, and then leaving for the next whistlestop. It is the classic battle between stability/same vs. mobility/change. In the end, the self-centered opting out of human interaction might not be quite as romantic as you hoped. All good things in proportion dear friends. His realization (”Happiness Only Real When Shared”) is the great counter-balance to that primitive urge to walk alone into the wild. Or at least think about the fact that snow melts, and rivers get higher.
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
This epic vision of afterlife is valuable because it challenges us to examine the roots of what we believe and why, and the role of faith in our lives. Further, it is a vision of a world (or worlds) beyond our every day concerns, which is particularly fascinating because it was very much influenced by both Muslim and Catholic thoughts, beliefs and history.
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The precursor to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, this is a good one to read (or re-read) in advance of the 2010 release of the movie adaptation which is being directed by Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth). This is the foundation of it all, and this passage demonstrates the effect on all men (and dwarves) when faced with the prospect of power.
“Their mere fleeting glimpses of treasure which they had caught as they went along had rekindled all the fire of their dwarfish hearts; and when the heart of a dwarf, even the most respectable, is wakened by gold and by jewels, he grows suddenly bold, and he may become fierce.”
The Rough Riders by Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt’s own account of his experience commanding the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. A great war history from a man who lived it himself. From his account, a man can learn what it means to be a true leader. TR set the example for his men and they followed because they simply respected him.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Considered by Steinbeck himself to be the work that he had been preparing for throughout his entire life. If you have had the chance to read this, or if anyone has ever talked about this book to you…perhaps you have been graced to read or even hear an excerpt from the legendary opening to Chapter 13:
Sometimes a kind of glory lights up the mind of a man. It happens to nearly everyone. You can feel it growing or preparing like a fuse burning toward dynamite[...]Then a man pours outward, a torrent of him, and yet he is not diminished. And I guess a man’s importance in the world can be measured by the quality and number of his glories. It is a lonely thing but it relates us to the world. It is the mother of all creativeness, and it sets each man separate from all other men.
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
Written during the English Civil War, Hobbes’ work is one of the foremost authorities in political theory and contributed greatly to Enlightenment philosophy. Leviathan’s primary concern is the centralized power of the sovereign state existing to maintain order and peace both within and without. A valuable resource, as a man never knows when he is going to be commissioned with the task of forming a new government.
“In the first place, I put for a general inclination of all mankind, a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death.”
The Thin Red Line by James Jones
The author’s fictional depiction of the Guadalcanal Campaign during WW2. Portraying various wartime activities most would consider repulsive, Jones gives account without judgment. With the current events of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, this work is very relevant today.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
A satirical depiction of the social climate in the South just before the turn of the century, “Huck Finn” is largely considered to be the first Great American Novel. Twain’s take on the issue of racism and slavery was initially criticized upon publication and remains largely controversial to this day.
The Politics by Aristotle
From the man that gave pointers to Alexander the Great we can all take note. His writings created the first comprehensive system of philosophy, including morality and aesthetics, logic and science, politics and metaphysics. Though it is thought that much of Aristotle’s work has been lost over the years, it is not a bad idea to take in the surviving words from one of the founding figures of Western Philosophy.
“Now if some men excelled others in the same degree in which gods and heroes are supposed to excel mankind in general… so that the superiority of the governors was undisputed and patent to their subjects, it would clearly be better that once for all the one class should rule and the others serve. But since this is unattainable, and kings have no marked superiority over their subjects… it is obviously necessary on many grounds that all the citizens alike should take their turn of governing and being governed.”
First Edition of the The Boy Scout Handbook
This is the book that started the Boy Scout movement. If you’re a former Boy Scout, you’ll be amazed at the amount of useful information the first edition manual has compared to Scout manuals today. In edition to teaching essential scouting skills, the first edition of the Boy Scout Handbook also includes stories of adventure and bravery that will excite and inspire any man.
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
A poet, musician and expert swordsman. That is a true Renaissance Man. Unfortunately, Cyrano had a tragically large nose which affected his confidence enough to keep him from professing his love for the fair Roxanne, even on his deathbed. I wasn’t exaggerating when I used the word “tragic.” Also, one must respect the play responsible for introducing the word “panache” to the English language.
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
For its honest and graphic depiction of sex, this book was deemed “pornographic” by state courts upon its New York publishing in 1961. This ruling, however, was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court and the book became very influential in the sexual revolution of the 60’s and 70’s.
The Crisis by Winston Churchill
A fictional Civil War era romance between a New England lawyer and a southern belle, written by the “American Churchill” but often mistaken for the British Prime Minister who shared the same name. Out of respect for the American’s work, the British Churchill offered to add his middle initial to any of his own published writings to avoid confusion.
The Naked and The Dead by Norman Mailer
Taking place in World War II, this is widely considered to be one of the best war novels ever written. As a young man, Mailer showed extraordinary insight into power relationships between the soldiers and their superiors. Further, the soldiers also deal with various degrees of compassion while fighting to maintain a belief in the capacity of humanity to be good while engaging in the brutality of war and being forced to follow orders against their ideals in some cases. A prime example of his superb insight into the workings of many systems and organizational structures, which is still relevant in today’s wars and corporations alike:
“To make an Army work you have to have every man in it fitted into a fear ladder… The Army functions best when you’re frightened of the man above you, and contemptuous of your subordinates.”
Great books … Remarcable
I’ve seen a little error
“The Catcher in the Rye” not “The Catcher and the Rye”
This is pure awesomeness, guys! Off to the library see you in a few weeks
This will give me something to do for the next…few years…I like the list. I have read about a dozen of those, but I look forward to reading the rest
Very well-done list- every time I thought of a new one, I’d see it on the next page. I might be female, but you’ve sure given me some great summer reading suggestions. Great job!
You have 4 books on Teddy Roosevelt, but have neglected to include The Fountainhead? Come On! I understand Teddy is a great man, and this site has a cery high opinion of him, but the Fountainhead is an incredible book that teaches a man to stand for what he knows is true, no matter the opposition. It may have been written by a woman, but she showed the world what makes up true manhood.
I would also like to give a runner-up prize to “The Sea Wolf” by Jack London. The transformation to a self-realized man is a voyage we should all take.
Much like when I go to a record store and forget what I went in there for in the first place, when summer rolls around, I try and make it a point to read books I’ve always meant to read but never got around to only to forget which books those are.
I will be coming back to this page for the remainder of the summer. Thank you very much.
Bravo….this is a great list indeed. I will be referring back to this list for some time as I read through this list of great works. Sadly the only book I have read in its entirety that is on this list is “Moby Dick” I have read a good portion of the “Holy Bible” as well. Now I need to go to the library
Great list. Your readers might also like to reference the Harvard Classics “Shelf of Fiction,” which they can peruse online: http://www.bartleby.com/hc/
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Excellent list, men. To ensure that these actually get read, I’d encourage your readers to develop a reading plan. Pick a few titles each month and you could easily get through the list in two years. This is how I’m planning to read 50 books in the next year:
http://michaelgowin.com/blog/50-books-project/
Great list! I’m particularly pleased that you included “The Hatchet,” one of my childhood favorites that I hadn’t thought about in years.
Also, The Bible. I think a great book for young men specifically inside the Bible is Proverbs. Filled with some incredible wisdom and advice for everyday living. I have been reading one per day for the past several years and still find something new to chew on each time I sit down.
This is up there in the Top 5 Blog Posts I’ve ever read. Excellent work!
Scanning the list at first, I had fond memories of the books on the list I’ve read, and was motivated to pick up a few more on the list that I haven’t.
I agree with Cameron – the obviously missing text is the Bible. (Heck, it even literally means “Book”.) But I’ll add to his Proverbs suggestion… Sirach is the book for men.
This a good list. However, it’s pitiful that there is only one book by a Black author. (Alex Haley/Malcolm X)
These are classics, powerful books that deserve to be in this list.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Native Son by Richard Wright
The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
The Souls of Black Folk by WEB Dubois
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.
Some additions:
“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens
“The Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien
“The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint Exupéry
“The Screwtape Letters” by C. S. Lewis
“The Chronicles of Narnia” by C. S. Lewis
“Mutiny on the Bounty” by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
The various Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Arthur Conan Doyle
Interesting list…so real thought provoking stuff…..
But….
No Byron?
No “Proverbs of Heaven & Hell by Blake”
No Last of the Mohicans?
Some glaring omissions…but perhaps this might lead to a recommended classic book of the month as a feature?
What do you think?
Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption (Stephen King)
Brilliant list, want to go buy a lot of these books now, but I would say the the inclusion of Moby Dick is faulty. It is one of the worst books I have ever read… ever. But overall, great list.
Awesome list! Posted and shared it with friends.
Some additions:
- Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
- The lord of the rings books. I know that you have the Hobbit on there, but I liked the other ones better
- Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
- Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegutt
If you guys could create an Amazon list it would be great to keep track.
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You forgot Gulliver’s Travels!!!!!
A must read
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I agree with a lot of your choices here, and would also recommend To Kill a Mockingbird. Great book. I am definitely going to get the ones you listed that I haven’t read yet
I have read about 22 of these books. 2 books need on here that arent. And they are The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Johnny Got His Gun.
this is a really great list though!
Nice work!
An interesting list!
However, Thoreau did NOT spend his years at the pond writing “Walden” (a common misconception). He was actually writing his first book, “A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers”.
“Walden” was written a few years later.
Great list, though I agree with some of the others about ones that were left off. That said, it’s only a list of the 100 ‘manliest’ – not the 100 best, so that makes for a serious difference.
In any case, I’ve compiled the list into a .pdf document (because I have that kind of time) that may help others. You can download it here.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guan Zhong is also a book read by many all around the world. A hard read but still a very good book.
“the jungle” by upton sinclair
“ficciones” by jorge luis borges
“100 years of solitude” by gabriel garcia marquez
“les miserables” by victor hugo
Oops, sorry, thought I had gone through the whole list when I recommended To Kill a Mockingbird, but I missed seeing you had already listed it!
@Gene;
It’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, not Hate and Loathing in Las Vegas
@Robbie Cooper;
As Concerned Citizen already said to you, accusing a writer of being anti-American for whole the world to read is just stupid. nobody cares about these things, other posters just made comments that were worth reading in addition to this list, or were useful for the author, who by the way have done a nice job. Also being anti-American does not make you or anybody a better or worse writer, so please keep it down and let people enjoy reading the list and comments please.
@ author;
Great list as i have already said. Some additions might be Perfume by Patrick Suskind (1989) for general reading. The Meaning of Hitler by Sebastian Haffner (1969) due to the increase of neo-nazism in many countries, whilst most people don’t even knew who Hitler was beside a dictator and mass murder. It’s an easy to read 200 page analysis of Hitler (Not a biography).
I’m currently reading Catcher in the rye and find it very amusing. People who also liked it might wanna read Ryu’s Murikami’s 69 (Get the translation by Ralph McCartny) for it has the same storytelling, but another story, country and culture.
For Whom the Bell Tolls was set in the Spanish Civil War, not the U.S. Civil War, as its entry implies.
Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” is set in the Spanish Civil War – specifying “Civil War” is hardly specific enough and might lead many to assume you are speaking of the United States Civil War. The two conflicts could hardly be more dissimilar.
How do I get this list in a word doc or excel sheet?
The list is incomplete. No one should go through life without having read “Stranger In A Strange Land” by Robert A. Heinlein.
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Billy Budd by Herman Melville: When the Law is wrong
It might be helpful to have a list of links to these books on Amazon, or another place to buy these books. You could even use affiliate links to earn revenue. That way we could add the books to our Amazon wish list, instead of having to copy and paste. Maybe I’m just lazy…
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Surprised that there wasn’t any Bukowski. His carefree attitude is a great example of not having to worry too much about life, and just take it as it comes and enjoy what little pleasures you might have while they last.
Some mention of Lovecraft would have been wonderful as well. No matter how big and important we are, we are actually insignificant specs of life in a massively huge universe of the unknown.
Great list – A lot of essentials yet many books I’ve never heard of – Also, I’d recommend Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (unabridged) – Hugo has a way of capturing the essence of that time and its ideas better than most I’ve read.
Cool list I might read one……or burn it
Hey Cameron Schaefer what’s up!? I’m a friend of Ryan Rayborn’s. Didn’t expect to see a comment by you here.
This list is great. It’s a shame that I’m just discovering it on the tail end of my spring reading push. Studying will take over in June.
Only complaint… no Of Mice and Men. However I do realize that East of Eden is included. Have not read past the introduction thus far, but I can’t wait! He is a fantastic writer.
With regards to A River Runs Through It, it’s the Blackfoot River, not the Black. The Milltown Dam that flooded the cataracts described in the book has been removed. The river runs free for the first time in almost a hundred years.
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For Whom the Bell Tolls was set in the SPANISH civil war … otherwise good list.
Seriously if The Count of Monte Cristo is not on here then I just cant give this list the A+ it deserves …
COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO< READ THE ORIGINAL BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS !
Vonnegut is a humanist. Not a terrorist apologist.
If we all had been able to write our favorites, this list would have been in the thousands. Narrowing it down to 100 (manly books) was the difficult part, and many of you have written some books that just barely missed the list.
Glad most of you enjoyed the list.
@All-Thanks for the corrections. We’re not literary critics or experts, just some guys who enjoyed these books. With 100 entries, there’s going to be some mistakes. We’ll make the changes.
I hate to be another one of those guys that lists off more books for you to include, but I’m going to. First and foremost, great list. My additions are no to replace any of these, but to add to them. Second, Jason and Ross are girls themselves, and should not have been allowed to contribute to this list. Here are my additions:
The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand
Endurance – Alfred Lansing
Survival In Auschwitx – Primo Levi
Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Coleman
The Raven – Edgar Allen Poe
Solid list, but maybe a bit more international representation?
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombian) — One Hundred Years of Solitude, Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Milan Kundera (Czech) — The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Immortality
Graham Greene (British) — The Comedians, The End of the Affair
Chinua Achebe (Nigerian) — Things Fall Apart
Pablo Neruda (Chilean) — Heights of Macchu Picchu, The Captain’s Verses
Arundhati Roy (Indian) — The God of Small Things
…and a few other worthwhile reads…
Walt Whitman — Leaves of Grass
R.W. Emerson — Nature
Robert Penn Wilson — Spin
Isaac Asimov — Foundation Series
Tao de Ching — Lao Tzu
The Diamond Sutra — Siddhartha Guatama
“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig” This is a horible book. A decent list before this.
I would have included these books: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce and Demian by Hermann Hesse; otherwise a great list.
One word …. Bukowski
Also…The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
Krakauer’s first name is spelled Jon in one place, John in another.
It’s “Jon.”
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Real men read Jane Austen
What about the Aubrey Maturin series by Patrick O’brian? Or even 2 years before the mast. The very first book about life on the California coast in 1835?
I love the list and have read most of them. My only issue is why is there not a single mention of Upton Sinclair? The Jungle and Oil! in my opinion are essential for the growth and development of any man, and are perfect lessons in man’s dark side.
wot, no Burroughs? – Surely “Naked Lunch” or perhaps “Junkie”
J.G. Ballard’s “Crash”
and as mentioned previously, how about Hunter S. Thompson? “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail” or “Hells Angels” more than “…Las Vegas” in my opinion.
‘heart of darkness’ joseph conrad
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A cracking list indeed- some belting reads!
I’d have included:
The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham.
Gives a level headed way of dealing with finances, very appropriate given current financial climates.
Hey, great list. I would add “Cryptonomicon” by Neal Stephenson as the 101st, along with just about any of his other works, each of which will give you some nugget of understanding about how the world really works, and are otherwise entertaining and funny. To tackle one of the shorter ones, try “Cobweb”.
Wow! what a great list.. As a compulsive collector of things, I now have a mission to collect each of these books and read them. Thanks for giving me a new hobby (as if I needed a new one). Keep up the great work!
p.s., I don’t fault your list at all, unlike many posters here who chastise you for having forgotten their one favorite. That’s what comments are for, people.
Including a book by P.G.Wodehouse, e.g. ‘Jeeves’ or ‘Mr. Mulliner’ will make the collection complete.
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Wonderful list, I would also recommend A Prayer for Owen Meany as a great read for any guy.
Hmmm… not bad, despite a very clearly American list (nothing wrong with that, ’specially if the audience is American)… I’d also add my vote for “100 Years of Solitude”. An epic, if there ever was one.
What a wonderful blog, and excellent list.
Many of these books have been significant in my life. Atlas Shrugged particularly opened my mind at a very formative period in my late teens.
Peace,
Alec
Pretty nice list. Though I was surprised at the inclusion of multiple books by Steinbeck, Hemingway, and even a McCarthy – but no Faulkner?
Also: you’ve got some great pictures of the books here. How’d you go about collecting those?
“The Virginian”
How about Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States”? I thought I’d see that one for certain.
Oh…and no Charles Bukowski? You certainly wouldn’t find him on a Must-Read list for women…
This is a great list…for women too
Oh and this…tj on May 14th, 2008 11:19 am Oh…and no Charles Bukowski? You certainly wouldn’t find him on a Must-Read list for women…
I like him and I am a girl.
four roosevelts, was the necessary? also, two vonneguts and not a single pynchon… I would have liked to see gravity’s rainbow on the list
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I would think to include the following:
Where the red fern grows
The crossing
Fear and loathing in las vegas
I would have added Aesop’s fables, but overall this is one of the best reading lists I’ve ever seen. I’ve read a bit less than a quarter, but I’m planning on reading most eventually.
There are a lot of solid books on this list, but way too much in the way of Teddy Roosevelt and Steinbeck. I was happy to see Dashiell Hammett and Edgar Rice Burroughs. However, I am surprised that writers like Robert E Howard, HP Lovecraft and Philip K Dick aren’t on here.
Lovecraft’s work reminds us we’re absolutely insignificant in the truest sense of the word. Dick’s reminds us to keep our eyes open so that we don’t forget about the wonders around or or lose ourselves in the noise. Howard’s Conan stories tell us that absolutely no one is in control of us but ourselves.
And despite what some people might say, being a man isn’t ALL about liking old stuff. The civil war is great and all, but again, too much reliance on a particular subject.
Instead of the bible, I might’ve put Takuan Soho’s The Unfettered Mind or even Yoshikawa Eiji’s Musashi on here. Musashi especially as it walks us through the life of one of the most famous swordsmen in history and his growth from a young punk into an iron pillar of a man, absolutely open but without a sign of weakness.
@ A
I love women who read Bukowski.
Buk took poetry to the places where poetry was never welcome. Poor houses, streets, bars. The stock rooms of shitty jobs.
I’ve always argued his case on the sexism issue. I don’t think he was so terrible towards women. He just wrote about the people in his life, which included some awful women (and he probably describe them accurately). In many moments, he was capable of incredible bouts of love poetry.
Speaking of which…no ee cummings.
Great post. Lots of good comments thus far. The only thing I’d add is that there’s a little too much Steinbeck. As Robert Gottlieb, writing in the New York Review of Books, recently put it, “The extraordinary thing about John Steinbeck is how good he can be when so much of the time he’s so bad.” (See http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21264 for the full article — it’s well worth reading.) Hence a suggestion: replace the Steinbeck with books readers have suggested above.
Damn, whoever compiled this list sure was hung up on Teddy Roosevelt.
Heh. I was almost to the end of the list, and starting to hold out faint hope that you wouldn’t pander to the Christian screamers by putting the Bible on it, when there on the last page … bang, you had to do it. There would be shrieks up to the sky if you didn’t include it, wouldn’t there? Wussies. Wading through the Bible, for a non-Christian, is excruciating. How about a few more books on science and reason instead? How about Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species”? Steven Pinker’s “How the Mind Works.” Or even Tom Paine’s “The Age of Reason.”
(Oh, reading the preceding comments, I see the Christian screamers have chastised you for not putting the Bible FIRST. Gawd, how typical.)
Just a question too: Have any of you READ Huck Finn lately? It might be the first great American novel, but it just isn’t that good. Twain’s one of my heroes, but this book is written like Twain lost interest in it about 3/4 of the way through, and then just hurried to finish. I’d recommend his “Innocents Abroad” as more readable.
I’d probably include a good-sized dictionary on my Top 100 list, and — these days — maybe something on grammar and punctuation.
Considering this list is probably aimed at stupid Americans (I’m one of them), why not something on how to win the lottery, or a book or two on having the perfect orgasm? And where’s The Britney Spears Story???
And what about:
Sinclair Lewis’ “The Jungle”?
Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451″?
Heinlein’s “Stranger in a Strange Land”?
Wilson Rawls’ “Where the Red Fern Grows”?
Nathaniel Branden’s “The Psychology of Self Esteem”?
And just my opinion, I don’t think you can be a properly-grounded macho guy without reading Dr. Suess’ “Fox in Socks.” Out loud, to kids.
@S3An3Rs I agree. Count of Monte Cristo should have been on the list.
Dugg for ZMM and The Art of War.
good work. id like to see fear and loathing in Las Vegas and The Stand up there- good manly reads.
Shashank-Monte Cristo is on the list.
Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
@Brett… you are right. My bad.. after reading thru all the books I thought I did not see Monte Cristo on the list. =))
Great list, but it could include a couple of American authors that weren’t listed. Wallace Stegner – Angle of Repose and Edward Abbey – Monkey wrench gang.
The Plague by Albert Camus is also a great read.
Looks like I need to update my list on Amazon.
Interesting.
The real gaping hole in your list is your inclusion of The Prince, by Machiavelli.
You should replace it with the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, possibly the greatest swordsman who ever lived.
Why?
Because, if you look at the world these days, it is OBVIOUS that Machiavellian statecraft and behavior lead to;
COWARDICE.
That is not a thing for a real man. Use and abuse of power in the way of Machiavelli is for cowards who would rather others fight their battles for them. The “higher” you get in our so-called civilized society, the more you will find people who never took a punch, never bled for their work – well, never blood anyway, but maybe they bled away their humanity. It’s foolish to look for “role-models” in high places when the greatest people you will find are right next to you. Machiavelli is for those who are truly lost and starving. Just like Ayn Rand’s materialism.
Why does a capable and self-reliant man need power over others? Why does he need control over others if he is so great? The greatest leaders have been followed by people who joined them of their own free will, without coercion.
If you have to use power to keep people in line, you are weak, as weak as those who need money to feel successful, and no matter how nice you make it look, you live in one hell of a gutter.
another vote for: Heart of Darkness and Stranger in a Strangeland. I would also submit Heinlen’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
Amazon link is incorrect on this page.
http://www.amazon.com/100-Must-Read-Books-The-Essential-Man-s-Library-Part-III/lm/RYEM6Q77707AX/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full
Light in August, Faulkner
I must admit that I am not the heaviest book reader out there. I do read books on occasion, or whenever something is highly recommended to me.
But damn, I have to agree that there are some bad ass books listed here. Very inspiring list, maybe I might have to pick a up a couple listed here.
It would be also be a good mention to add a couple of other Religious texts, seeing as they are informational whether you are of the religion or not.
And I am a little surprised that The 48 Laws wasn’t mentioned among these titles. All in all, great list. Manly, list that is.
Bluequiz might be the most boring book Ive ever read
I would say heavy on the teddy Roosvelt I would take oout two of the teddy books and put in two biographies on the founding father fueds like Jefferson and Adams. Or Burr and Hamilton. I think that reading books like that show that all the great men in american history didn’t get along and that is important to know that there was no golden age of everyone getting along in America and polotics were always as bad as they are today. Back then the name calling was just worse.
Why so hung up on Roosevelt? And where is Heart of Darkness? Overall a great list though.
You have made a mistake in your list. Nietzsche did not found the existentialist “movement” as you call it. In addition religion and existenzialism are not an oxymoron.
Kierkegaard was the “founder” of existentialism, with his thoughts about making choises, best example for that is his “either-or”
He also was a very religious man.
So your comment regarding Nietzsche and Existentialism is wrong on many levels.
I saw a lot of good books on your list that I hadn’t read yet, but reading your list kind’ve soured my anticipation. There appear to be several plot spoilers in your descriptions of fiction books. Even if you don’t give away the ending, knowing that someone’s child dies, or that so-and-so gives up his pursuit of revenge is a huge kill-joy.
Otherwise, a lot of your picks piqued my interest. Thanks for the recommendations!
wow. great list. I’m not goin’ to touch the ignorant arguement, but I love Kurt’s work. What I found missing was Polahnuk, c’mon the author of Fight Club, man. Every one of his books are excellent and manly!!
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A good list, like many others I have found reading material for years…if not the rest of my life. However, 4 books on Teddy is absurd. 3 of those spaces should have gone to classics mentioned by other comments.
@Crimson Praetorian,
You forgot the URL in your link…
@All,
This is an American site, thus it has an American focus. That said, I’m surprised by the complaints that this list has little international influence. While I didn’t count, it seemed to me that close to half of the books were written by non-U.S. authors.
Also, remember that this list was compiled of books that — in the authors’ (yes, plural) views — are “essential” for a man in various ways, not favorites, good reads, etc.
@Concerned Citizen,
I love how you hide behind an alias…at least Robbie Cooper wasn’t afraid when he made his inflammatory comment. Oh, and let’s bring up the fact that, based on your command of language (”americans – you’re not even the majority of internet users anymore”), you aren’t even an American, so how can you be a concerned citizen, hm? If I’d have to hazard a guess, I’d say you’re French.
What, No Fight Club? Not a singly work by Chuck Palahniuk?
I guess I should make the recommendations of Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr by Nancy Isenberg and Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. The Fallen founder is too bias but all the negative bias against Burr this is understandable. These two books together not only show conflicting lives of early politicians but also the editorial processes of history and how we can never really know what really happened.
The Decameron By Giovanni Boccaccio
Lives of the artists By Giorgio Vasari
Alice in Wonderland By Lewis Carroll
Diamonds Are Forever (James Bond Novels) By Ian Fleming
Nineteen Eighty-four By George Orwell
A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes Novels) By Arthur Conan, Sir Doyle
Night By Elie Wiesel
I disagree with Staked Plains Texan on The Prince. So long as workplaces are filled with all kinds of people, an understanding of Machiavelli is essential whether one practices its strategies or not. Real men do use their brains for more than the pickle in a bath of testosterone brine. “Cowardice”? I guess from an ivory tower overlooking the Plains of Impracticality, the word might apply.
Moreover, the greatest leaders were often forced to use coercion at times. Alexander the Great’s long march back from India would be a great example. Often these are situations caused by their own errors or egoism, but many a mutiny has been put down by a leader who most (if not all) respect when the final tally is done.
I quite like Musashi though, and it follows from the idea that the greatest books are seldom about what their setting and plot suggest. Book of Five Rings is one such book, a classic.
Ayn Rand materialistic? At least so far as Atlas Shrugged goes, I am not sure I follow. Objectivism stresses that pursuit of one’s own happiness is the highest virtue. Her protagonists – Dagny Taggart, D’Anconia, Galt, Reardon – all are wealthy, but work in inauspicious offices and are willing to work hard at dirty jobs to get there. Their accomplishments are their implacable trappings, regardless of whatever else they may be materially burdened with. The heroes were willing to foresake the world and their wealth for a greater cause. I would agree that objectivist thinking is a little off-pitch for pure reason, but “materialistic” is off-target.
Anyway, a thoughtful list.
It is a great list indeed. Only I am very surprised none of C. S. Lewis’s books made the list. For instance, The Screwtape Letters is by far a book every human should read.
Sweet list – and way to give a shout out to Christine de Pizan. She’s bad ass – I thought the only other person who knew about her was my “Gender in the Middle Ages” professor.
I can only wonder if the author has ever read “War and Peace”.
I’d add to that list Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer, one of the best books on the horrors of war. Guy was a naive French volunteer for the German army in WWII sent to the Russian front. The physical trials he (and the other ill-equipped soldiers) had to endure were massive – sleeping outside in sub-0 weather while starving and sick with diarrhea just to name one.
List of great books.. I would add “War and Peace” by Tolstoy though
Tarzan? You must be fucking kidding me. Tarzan is one of the most ridicules, racist, sexist, pieces of pulp ever published. Tarzan is in no way the model man (at least not the contemporary man) and his actions should not looked up to. He lynches a black prince and stabs him in the chest for FUN because he discovers the noose for cryin’ out loud.
so — if we are talking about 100 / must(s). … how about music?
just add what you like – and comment away…
Where the Hell’s Angels is Hunter S. Thompson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?
http://authwhore.com/2008/03/25/fear-and-loathing-on-the-campaign-trail-72-by-hunter-s-thompson/
Alexander pope’s – An essay on man
I’m happy that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig was on the list! Life-changing! Nice work!
how about ender’s game or any enders series books by orson scott card.. i know its geared for young adults but it’s still a must read
also what about man’s search for meaning by frank e doyle?
@Mario-Check out our forum. There’s a forum topic about the best music.
Dang–I’ve read about 75% of the books on this list. Should’ve gone outside a wee bit more in my salad days…
Not a bad list, but where’s The Origins of Conciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes?
This was incredible list. Never have I seen a list that comprised some of the best writings for an up-and-coming man to read. I am just going to go down the list till I am done with all of them. I am seventeen, I have time to read them all before I… before I have to decide what to do with my life. I am going to call this list “100 Books to Manhood” I am going to start reading one of them today, The Great Gatsby.
Somtimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
Wow, I’ve read maybe six of these. I’ll certainly read some of these others.
And what about Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? I would personally have to say that that book carries quite a tale of manliness.
Weighing into this Kurt Vonnegut discussion — I’ve found Vonnegut’s books to be simply worthless waste of time. So why is he popular with some people?
My theory is that Vonnegut’s politics get him the accolades. For example, Slaughterhouse-Five is a pacifist’s dream novel.
If you are a far left-winger then you may like Vonnegut, but for anyone else, you’ll probably feel like I did – his plots are stupid, his characters ridiculous and his “jokesâ€? are consistently unfunny.
I’d like to add to the list of corrections:
First, concerning The Stranger. Though Meursault may well be “the ultimate man,” it is not because he was “unable to cry at his own funeral.” While true, this particular accomplishment is also common to every other human. What you were trying to say, I think, is that he was unable to cry at his own *mother’s* funeral.
Also, Erich Maria Remarque’s name has been misprinted as ‘Remarq.’
Very Interesting. Some additions:
Julian and Myra Breckingridge by Gore Vidal
Generation X by Douglas Coupland
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
The Dispossessed by Ursala K. Le Guin
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (also The God Delusion)
The Demon-Haunted World Carl Sagan
And Deletions:
The Bible? Pure nonsense.
Miller and Kerouac but no Burroughs or Bukowski???
The “Collected Poems of Robert Service” helped me learn to chill and be more adventurous. He’s probably most famous for his Yukon ballads, but he wrote many others. A favorite “The Bohemian” begins
Up in my garret bleak and bare
I tilted back on a broken chair,
And my three old pals are with me there,
Hunger and Thirst, and Cold;…
His poems are online free.
“But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Barack Obama.�
The Bible?
Anna Karenina?
War and Peace?
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (complete)?
The Decameron?
The Aeneid?
Other Shakespeare?
The Magic Mountain?
The Cantos of Ezra Pound?
The best list of must-reads would probably be Harold Bloom’s assessment of the literary canon.
I wish you wouldn’t reveal the endings in your descriptions, specifically in your description of “The Pearl” by Steinbeck. It ruins the inclusion of a specific book, for the drama of reading the ending of a book with one’s own eyes plays a great part in the realization of the theme and its significance.
A better choice than a number of the books on your list would be the biography of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the hero of Gettysburg. The story of his early life as a boy being educated in Maine is particulary instructive, as is his strong moral character during the war and after.
“written during the ’20s” — there, fixed that for you. In reading all 100 of these books you seem to have missed the proper use of punctuation in dates.
“The Bible? Pure nonsense.”
I think this comes from someone who never took the time to actually read the Bible.
Maybe that person should consider that not only is the Bible one of the largest influences of modern society and a great historical read, but also contains some wonderful poetry.
Not bad, but definately american oriented. Four books on Roosevelt is a bit much for those of us who do not inhabit the USA. I disagree with some of this, but like anything else it is simply anothers opinion.
Very good, I published your post on my blog in Brazil http://thefries.blogspot.com/
You got the credits…. thanks
An excellent list. I was particularly pleased to see Cyrano de Bergerac make the list. People often forget that romance is the manliest of arts.
I would also recommend the works of Robert B. Parker, John Sanford and Lee Child. If you are looking for a manly role model, you can’t do much better than Spenser, Davenport and Reacher.
Congrats on hitting 1,000,000 visitors! That’s amazing!
Excellent books list! I’ve got some great reading ahead from the looks of it…
If there’s one book that I wouldn’t recommend on this list it’s the Stranger by Camus…god I hate this book!
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i already read 11 of those books for school. im a senior class of 2008
WHy there is no tolstoy here!! I would add War and peace , and also Anna karennina!!
NO DICKENS? PUHLEEZE.
Pretty good list! I’ve read a lot of these. However, there is far too much Hemingway and not enough Faulkner (as in, why isn’t there any at all? He trumps Heminway in style, emotion, prose, chracters, situations, language, & on).
Or Gabriel Garica Marquez.
Or Borges
Or John Crowley (Little, Big, man, Little, Big)!
Nabokov?
Jan Morris?
Still, the real crime is the absence of Faulkner. I think.
Otherwise, very cool.
Oh, and Pynchon! How’d he get omitted?
Does this list have The Good Earth?
If it doesn’t, it’s not worth considering, we’ll just have to wait for the next blog list like this. Sorry.
Excellent, excellent list. I’ve been looking for a list like this for years. I’ve only read just over 1/4 of it so I need to get to work!
Hmm… Very good selection, but no Beowulf? One of the greatest stories in English Literature, and also some other ppl make good points as to no Dickens, Tolstoy, and several others.
By the way, you can just take off the bible.
“The Stand” Steven King
Not to nitpick but…….
The Boy Scout Handbook shown is the 5th edition published in 1950
A list can be found at
http://www.threefirescouncil.org/History/1948.htm
Still a very good book.
Avoid the 8th edition….It almost single handedly destroyed scouts..
So which edition did you read????
I’m still surprised people are STILL saying (and I’m paraphrasing here) “Definitely is focused towards Americans”. That’s interesting, as stated already, most of the authors are not from the U.S. so don’t go assuming anything.
I’ve only read a few of these books, it looks like I have a TON of reading to do!
Concerned Citizen – Sorry, the internet was BY Americans, so you can fucking jump off a cliff.
To the author – Shane should have been listed. And anything by Louis L’amour. He really had insight in what he had written.
The Bible? Meh, nothing in there you can’t learn from any other book of faith. Koran, Dhammapada, Ashtavakra Gita, Torah, Daozang, etc.
Although I would certainly like to read up on Theodore Roosevelt I think having 4 books about/by him is overdoing it. That’s 4% of your list [however, I do appreciate that it's -your- list, so whatever I say doesn't count].
I would have liked seeing ‘The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, which is most certainly a monument in its own right.
This is a great idea. People should be inspired to read a great deal more.
Keep up the good work.
I would add A Clockwork Orange to the list. I was surprised I didn`t see it.
_Dracula_ – duh!
_Childhood’s End_ – A.C. Clark.
(think “Independence Day”)
_Captians Courageous_ – R. Kipling.
_Plain Speaking…_ – H.S. Truman
_Pet Sematary_ – S. King
(not at night though- trust me)
No Patrick O’Brian? No Arturo Perez-Reverte?
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I just wanted to thank you for putting such effort into constructing this list. These are all of them good books for a variety of reasons, and well worth the effort even to slog through the more difficult ones. A good book is still an accessible bargain of transportation, imagination, and education. Great job, thanks.
Without Lolita, this list is fundamentally flawed. Not to mention a complete absence of Hunter S. Thompson’s works. For shame.
C’mon, how many T.Roosevelt biographies do you really need?
Ullysses by James Joyce…
yep I have yet to meet a person who have actually read the entire book.
i tried to but could not get past the first several pages…
this is a case of the emperor’s new clothes syndrome…
because someone (don’t know who) said that it was a great book…everone followed. i really don’t know how it could have been a “Book of the Year” or was it the century???
I wholeheartedly concur with the previous post suggesting the addition of Fahrenheit 451.
In fact, almost anything by Ray Bradbury is great brain food for the Man. I mean, adventure and exploration is pretty manly. To adventure and explore SPACE? Now that is something else altogether.
So, I would further add The Martian Chronicles and any other of his short story collections, most of which have at least one tale of the Final Frontier.
Also, Issac Asimov would be another welcome addition. The Foundation Trilogy is excellent reading.
You need to quote a different line for 1984 … that’s the last line of the book, and while its not a spoiler, it has a better effect if you’re expecting it
Love the book though
Nice collection, though I’m kind of surprised that none of Ken Follett’s work made the list. The two that are coming to mind are the thriller “The Eye of the Needle” and the epic “The Pillars of the Earth”.
This is a very good list, and I have about 80 more books on my “To Read” list now, but I think you should have considered putting Siddhartha on the list. Siddhartha is a very good book that I think definitely deserves a place on this list.
what about Meditations by Marcus Aurelius:
http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Penguin-Classics-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/0140449337/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210825620&sr=8-1
Thus Spoke Zarathustra, an amazing piece of philosophy and humor, is also absent from the list. Perhaps it could replace Hatchet, of 6th grade summer reading fame, or be added to the blog “The Art of Surviving Cooties”.
A good list, if a bit Roosevelt heavy and lacking in more current literature.
Tao of Jeet Kun Do mayhaps? It’s an entire mindset, along with showing you how to beat ass, all in one nice book, written by Bruce Lee.
I find it difficult to believe that you never mentioned any graphic novels (or as they are also known, comic books.). Dark Knight Returns, for example, is a masterful piece that details a Batman who’s grown weary of his fight, but some ten years later, seeing how far his charge, Gotham City, has fallen, decides to don the mask again to clean up his town.
And I don’t think I need to go into graphic detail about graphic novels like 300, or Sin City, as I’m pretty sure you’ve seen the movies.
The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane
It’s on there Jack. Look again.
Night by elie weisel should definitely be on this list
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where ar thou chinaski?
no bukowski no list. sorry
there are a lotof books i should read, but i think several of these books they dont deserve to be here..anyway no way everybody will b happy always.
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This was a great list; maybe heavy in some areas, that is your choice. obviously.
In regards to comments regarding whether the Holy Bible should have made the list, I would have to agree with its placement. Being an atheist myself and understanding that it is not of the highest literary standard, it is still good to read if only to better understand the other books on the list. The majority of these books were written in the West, and therefore, are highly influenced by Christianity. Most people understand the basic story of the Bible, but it takes a more in-depth look to understand the nuances of The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, etc.
As for additions I was surprised by the lack of Hunter S. Thompson.
And to spread the list passed Christianity I would also suggest The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Ramayana, and the Qur’an (especially for people afraid of those Arabs, for no particular reason).
A personal request would be a Chuck Palahniuk book, as while they have not stood a large test of time, they are an excellent read for all men.
Just two to go
I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed with the synopsis of “The Count of Monte Cristo”. The point is not that he has to choose between his love for Mercedes and his love of revenge, and that justice is carried out anyway. The point is that he did not have the right to take revenge as he did, and his love for Mercedes did not end up consummated anyway. Two innocent people died because of his attempt at revenge, at which point my favorite quote from the entire book comes out, when he realizes that, “God is a father first, then a judge.” Dantes realized that he had been given a new lease on life – a vast treasure with which to start a new life and a woman who loved him (the Greek woman, not Mercedes. Yes, he was like a father-figure to her, as he raised her, but keep in mind the book is French and it comes across very well that she loved him as more than just a father), but instead Dantes had refused to move forward and take what God had given him, using his wealth to end the lives of those who had ended his old life, completely ignoring the love of the Greek woman. That is why he does not live with Mercedes at the end – Mercedes lives alone in a village, her son joins the army to earn his own honor, and Dantes and the Greek go elsewhere to live.
Wow, this is way too long. Sorry.
Oops. from the first page that is….
[pedant]
In Lord of the Flies you say its an example of what happens when we’re taken outside civilisation. The boys, however, are rescued by a naval officer, presumably engaged in the war that is going on at the beginning of the book.
The message being … that what happenes to Jack and Ralph and the others is also happening to the ‘civilised’ adults on a much larger scale.
Or in other words … we’re doomed to nasty, vicious and brutal lives, even if we do have plasma screen TV sets.
[/pedant]
Great list for the most part. My list would include a few more genre. A few examples:
Historical Fiction:
The Virtues of War by Steven Pressfield (Story of Alexander the Great)
The Flashman Series by George McDonald Frasier
Science Fiction:
The Robot Novels by Issac Asimov
The Gripping Hand by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
Biography:
His Excellency by Joseph Ellis(George Washington)
Issac Newton by James Gleick
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Pretty good list. I would advise anyone read these books is to read them SLOWLY. Many of the ideas and concepts in these books need time to be absorbed. I advise reading a few pages, putting down the book and thinking about what you have read. It makes no sense to “power” through a book and miss the concepts, emotions, situations the author has written. If you get through these in 25 years, you’ve done just fine.
I was just thinking about this, Where also is Farenheit 451? And maybe mix it up a little with some Edgar Allan Poe?
Surprise – an excellent list!
For those who take the time to look, there are many, many non-American authors/books.
I, too, was a little taken aback by the inclusion of four Roosevelt books.
I would add: The Joy of Sex (I forget who wrote it).
But it’s a far, far more comprehensive list than I (or, probably, any of the nay-sayers) could ever come up with.
Ralph
Great list. And I was pleasantly surprised that I had indeed read a few of them. One of my favorites is: “Still Life with Woodpecker” by Tom Robbins. A buddy of mine back in college suggested it to me, and I have loved it ever since. Thanks.
This list is not simply for men. More than half ought to be read by women, also.
Some of these I read when I was younger than 16 – a notable fact considering what we were exposed to for literature in the 50’s and 60’s.
Ayn Rand?? No thank you. The only purpose for that drivel would be to learn how NOT to live your life. Poorly written, poorly conceived and hypocrtical as the day is long.
Lonesome Dove. How to live a life free and happy, how to live a life forever bound by duty. Having lived, how to die; which is remarkably absent from Western culture.
It is a bit Teddy heavy, even including 2 books by the same author about the man…
Oh, wow, guys. This is ambitious!
To everyone who has ignorant and combative things to say about the inclusion of the Bible:
The Bible has been and continues to be one of the most influential books in Western culture. Our culture is becoming dangerously Biblically ignorant, meaning most people have no idea where many of our beliefs and practices come from. It is important to understand the Bible, to know how it shaped our history, and to know how it continues to influence our lives today. If you want to just accept what an authority figure tells you is in the Bible, don’t read it for yourself. If you want to argue unintelligently with “believers” without solid evidence that many modern religious practices have no basis in the Bible, don’t bother to pick it up. If you would like to be an informed citizen of the Western world, able to carry on intelligent conversations and read literary masterpieces, please do everyone a favor and educate yourself by opening a good translation of the Bible.
I would also recommend reading Milton’s *Paradise Lost*, which has been arguable more influential in Western society than has the Bible. Also, read Pullman’s *His Dark Materials* trilogy, which brilliantly challenges our society’s blind dependence on religious leaders and gives us hope for a new kind of world, not to mention the appeal of the strong female protagonist – many of these “men” could learn quite a bit from her example about being a strong, independent, and intelligent human being.
I can’t think of a book that could possibly be any manlier than Blood Meridian by Corrmac McCarthy. Great to see it on the list. My favorite book of all time.
No point in contesting inclusions/exclusions in any list, especially on a subject as significant as this. You have produced a great and worthwhile list and presented it nicely. I had to smile out loud when I saw “Boys of Summer.” Did I say this was a great list?!
It’s incredible that you’ve included the Federalist Papers. I get a lot of grief from friends when I mention that it’s in my top ten.
Even more amazing is that our collections match quite well on pages one and three, but not so well on two and four.
No mention of Thomas Pynchon’s “Gravity’s Rainbow”?
Also, I would add “Junky”, by William S. Burroughs, and “Infinte Jest”, by David Foster Wallace…Douglas Adams is also worthy of mention, here, too…
I wish there was a way to export this list (titles only). Like to notepad or a spreadsheet file or something. If you guys have one laying around there could you email it to me please.
Wolfe- The Right Stuff
Gibson- Neuromancer (the man coined the phrase “cyberspace”)
Bowden- Black Hawk Down (Killing Pablo while your at it)
Golding- The Hot Gates (better than Lord of the Flies)
McCarthy- The Road*
*A little “Johnny come lately” but an incredible read that will stand out for decades.
Excellent list, have already ordered some of them.
Atlas Shrugged I am especially excited to read.
I must confess that I am surprised that not one of the Dune books are on this list, perhaps one of the ultimate coming of age stories ever told.
And for that extra manliness I recommend any book by Wilbur Smith.
Especially “The Courtney Series” , and The Egyptian Series.
Oh yeah. I don’t want poor Anomie to be the only dork around here that mentioned graphic novels (solidarity and whatnot). Frank Miller is fine, but, if your going to go the graphic novel route, for this list you gotta pick one with some serious literary heft.
Mike Mignola’s “HellBoy.”
A few spliffs:
1. Tropic of Cancer is simply wretched, a parisian tour diary disguised as a novel, with bastardized Nietzsche-isms to make it sound hip and smart. No book that makes sex this boring should ever be widely praised.
2. All the Bible screaming sounds like it comes from people who have barely ever cracked it open. There is more to the Bible than Leviticus. It is a founding document of Western Civ, and like the Iliad and Shakespeare, needs to be read by all who walk under Western skies, if only that they have some understanding of the continuity to which they owe their culture. Stop whining and name-calling and read it. It won’t brainwash you. And if you want to move on afterwards to Gilgamesh, The Koran (though how someone reads the Koran without a passing familiarity with the Bible is beyond me, Muslims certainly don’t), the Zend-Avesta, the Tao Te Ching, etc., more power to you.
3. There’s no where near enough of the right kind of history here (see aforementioned snarks about TR-olatry). With that in mind, the following should be considered standard Historical reading:
- The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England, by Antonia Fraser
- The Twelve Caesers, by Suetonius
- The Civil War: a Narrative, by Shelby Foote
- The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William Shirer
- The Gulage Archipilaego, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
- Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville
There are doubtless others, but I chose generally recognized ones, because I wish not to start a slapfight.
I was waiting for an overblown Abu Ghraib/Guantanamo reference and struck gold in your suggestion for The Thin Red Line. You do not disappoint.
I agree there could be a lot more history. I especially like Francis Bacon’s History of Henry VII. I did a paper once on it and why it would appeal to Francis Bacon (answer: because Bacon was a Machiavelli fanatic and Henry VII did pretty much everything right as per Machiavelli before Machiavelli published) to write a history of Henry VII. I found the history to be a very good read, very well done.
And I’m glad the Histories are on there, though I’m surprised Thucydides didn’t make the list. But then, this is a top 100 list, and only 100 books can fit on it. Can’t really list all the best books of all time if you’re only doing 100.
Woah. That’s a crazy list! 100 items!
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Well, at least you’ve read 100 books. About 15% – 20% I would consider essential for a well-educated man to have read. The rest…hmmm. If you’re listing two books by Kerouac, that tells me that you really haven’t read very many books. Three books by or about Teddy Roosevelt? C’mon, get a grip. But again, nice to know that someone out there is at least reading.
Great work, guys. I’ve read many, but not all, of your recommendations. In my opinion, no list is complete without Thomas Wolfe’s “You Can’t Go Home Again.”
You can read most of this books on your iPhone or Facebook. Try http://www.portablereading.com Point your iphone to http://www.portablereading.com or install portablereading Facebook app.
The one book that absolutely should be on the list that isn’t? Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
A great list a few fabulous books are missing but not many I’ve read about 1/3 of the list already and most of the remainders were already on my list… Fellows go read these books they will expand your mind and help you to understand life in a new way… please do yourself a favor and read Ayn Rands entire library… As well as Plato, and Socrates offerings they are masterful and very enlightening. (ps I hated reading as well but once you start you do get hungry… force yourself through a few good books and see)
Kesey? “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” sorry if it’s already been mentioned in a post…started going cross-eyed after half of them.
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I think Robert A. Heinlein deserves a place on the list. Starship Troopers gos along way in describing what a solider, and what war is like.
Like most lists of books, most of this list is crap. I’ve read 90% of it, and regretted 90% of those. Not all books are worth reading.
That said, “The Fall” by Camus is a much more instructive book than “The Stranger”.
And I was looking for a good biography of Teddy Roosevelt.
What is interesting about the entirety of the list, and for the most part the commentary, is that there are few books directly involving matters of consciousness or spirituality. The list is a fine illustration of distortions regarding the masculine and the feminine that have existed within “man’s” mindset for the last two millinia. Considering the wreckage in the world from the masculine mindset and authority, I feel it would have been wise to have included books such as:
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Healing through the Dark Emotions by Miriam Greenspan
Beauty-Rediscovering the true sources of compassion, serenity, and hope
by John O’Donohue
Regarding the Bible. Considering that most of the environmental destruction, war, and disasterous economic policies of “Machavaellian” elitists, have come from western “Christian” societies, maybe Beyond Belief by Elaine Pagels would be in order; or better yet, Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Without the above, and works such Leaves of Grass, History of the U.S.etc., I feel your list speaks of literature that predominantly serves to perpetuate a (m)ale (E)go mindset that has not, and will not, serve humanity and this earth.
Any man’s library that doesn’t have at least one book by Ellroy, Palahniuk, Hunter S. Thompson and especially Bukowski is like the eunuch at the orgy. Lacking.
But the good news is that I’m no longer shafted when it comes to looking for looking for books to read any more. Cheers for that!
How did “A Confederacy of Dunces” not make this list?
(oops.. never mind… it did)
Dude! Would you write posts for my blog?
http://www.stuffwhitedbagslike.wordpress.com
It’s kind of a theory of American masculinity.
They made a list
But I am pissed
Why is that
No Cat in the Hat
Where is “100 years of Solicitude” by Gabriel GarcÃa Marquez???? this has to be on any list, if anyone read it, you´ll understand what I´m saying this.
@Chunque-
That’s okay. I’m sure you have enough material from your own life to never run out of ideas for posts.
Am I wrong or were there some duplicates?
I think you’re a little too obsessed with Teddy Roosevelt
Awesome list! As a young, adventurous man with a strong sense of morals and ethics, this appeals to me a ton.
My recommendation: Conversations With God. Changed my life, and my thoughts on a great many things, including what it is to be a man.
Thanks again!
Thanks Neil. We had in mind guys just like you.
Nothing by CS Lewis?
Wow, excellent list! Now I never have to wonder which book to read next, just pick one of these.
I was disappointed not to see anything by Joseph Conrad.
But seriously. Tarzan of the Apes?
I submit The Sensuous Man as a replacement. I found this while snooping in parents bedroom at 14, was perhaps the most influential book on my life. It has the foundation for a man to become a great lover, which most men want to be more than just about anything else, no?
Numerous suggestions for a history book. I suggest “1491: The Americas Before Columbus.” A book every American should read.
Sorry to post a third time, but you really must consider these very manly adventure stories that will totally put you into a world of incredible excitement and drama:
Arundel by Kenneth Roberts
Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts
Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Great list. I would add:
1. Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer. non-fiction, the definitive account of Hitler’s rise and fall by a journalist who was there for most of it. He benefited from 1) speaking fluent german; 2) covering the war crimes trials after the war; and 3) being one of the first to get his hands on the German records released after the war. This book is sprinkled with source materials. I will never forget the scene, documented by transcription, post Christalnacht when Goerring explains to the unhappy German insurance executives that they will have to pay for the damage to the Jewish shops but the Government will immediately confiscate the payments. I don’t know if any other author covers the subject in such detail, written in an immersive, interesting “journalistic” manner.
2. Rather than two Dostyoevsky books, I would add one of Solzenitsen: A day in the life of Ivan Denisovit. (I apologize for my mispellings of the Russians.) I’ve had trouble reading Solzenitsen but this one is a great read, hard to put down. You may read it in one sitting.
I agree 100% Jim Foreman (on May 15th, 2008 2:38 pm)
“What is interesting about the entirety of the list, and for the most part the commentary, is that there are few books directly involving matters of consciousness or spirituality.”
And this was well-stated:
“Without the above, and works such Leaves of Grass, History of the U.S.etc., I feel your list speaks of literature that predominantly serves to perpetuate a (m)ale (E)go mindset that has not, and will not, serve humanity and this earth.”
Any list list this should include something that isn’t mired in the Western ego-centric mindset.
I might also add another Twain… A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court.
A hilarious, but subtly angry rebuke of willful ignorance in institutionalized injustice. But the book also a monument to what it means to be a man.
Great list. I’ve read many of these and plan to read most of the others. One gripe, though: only 3 female authors? I know this is the essential “man’s” library, but does that mean the authors should all be men?
Oh, and if you are keeping mainly with maie authors…what about Dickens? W. Somerset Maugham?
A few things:
Why so Teddy-heavy? He was a good man and a good President, but why not include something about Kennedy during the missile crisis? Or Lincoln? Or Washington? Jefferson for God’s sake. These are all men and actions that have shaped the country we live in every bit as much as Teddy Roosevelt.
Otherwise a pretty good list, although I would have liked to have seen more books about Eastern values and beliefs. Any survey book of world religions (The World’s Religions by Huston Smith, for example). A man that doesn’t know at least the basics of the world in which he lives is a potential threat to that world’s future.
And as a matter of fact, A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, and the 12 Caesars by Suetonius. And the Oedipus trilogy (specifically Oedipus the King).
Done pontificating. I’ll attempt to read as many of these as possible!
Shakespeare, Tolstoi, Shakespeare, Quevedo, Shakespeare, Chejov, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare, Moliere, Shakespeare, Basho, Shakespeare, Goethe, Shakespeare, Baudelaire, Shakespeare, Rabelais, Shakespeare, Voltaire, Shakespeare, GarcÃa Lorca, Shakespeare, Bocaccio, Shakespeare, Borges, Shakespeare, Vargas Llosa, Shakespeare, Onetti, Shakespeare, Conrad, Shakespeare, Vian… and Shakespeare.
It makes an incomplete list, so many writers famous across the globe are out.
It’s weird list, it reads “man’s” but means “american’s”, there’s Catch 22 but no Good soldier Svejk, it’s obvious Svejk is much more influentian than Catch 22, look into how many languages Svejk has been translated, even Heller noted that without Svejk there would be no Catch 22, so where the Svejk is? It’s substituted with The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt or The Boys of Summer, I’ve never heard of those books, and Bible? How can any normal man read Bible, it’s boring, long and chaotic. And when there is Bible, why not Koran or Vedas? And what about Tacitus, Mann, Sartre, Capek? This list is only tendentious, my 13 years old son has better overview of literature then the author of this bullsh…
First of all this seems to be a list of 100 must-read books for American Man, a western European, a Russian, an Indian, an Arab or a Chinese can come up with lists of quite different must-reads. and may I say the compiler loves Theodore Roosevelt a lot?
And The Art of War by Sun Tzu was written in 6th Century B.C., that’s a difference of 1,200 years.
Moby Dick! C’mon people!
An awful lot of English books. English & American writers must be superior!
I don’t disagree with much, though I was disappointed with a few omissions… most have already been stated but I’ll state them again because I want to:
Either Stranger in a Strange Land or Time Enough for Love… Probably Stranger is a better choice (Jubel Hershaw alone makes it), but Lazarus Long is a total man… Hell, even Starship Troopers might deserve a place on the list.
Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by G.G. Marquez
All the Pretty Horse, by Cormac McCarthy
I always preferred My Side of the Mountain to Hatchet… a little more serene, a little less jumbled, but that’s just me
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or the Trilogy (I think Life the Universe and Everything was the best written) … leave out the last one
The People’s History of the United State
The Illuminatus! Trilogy will blow your mind
The Cartoon History of the Universe by Larry Gonick makes a good case for the worthiness of Comics as a teaching tool that can also be engaging and hilarious
Gods, too many…
what, no DIANETICS?! that book rules, man.
A very good list, but I must say I was surprised by the omission of Patrick O’Brian – I know you guys are great fans of Admiral Nelson, and one of the two protagonists in O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series models himself on Nelson. And of course O’Brian is a fantastic prose stylist to boot.
And no C.S. Forester either? I’d expect his Hornblower books would be right up your alley.
Jim Foreman you read and spoke my mind.
no dracula or bukowski? whats up with that?
also, do androids dream of electric sheep? by philip k dick should be on there, post-apocolypic genius coupled with a bounty hunter sexing his prey (a female android) up, it dont get much better than that
Superb list. Thanks for your work in compiling this. I have two comments to make:
1: Many of these books are DENSE in their significance and topicality. Crime and Punishment, for example, makes you work your brain to conceptualize the themes. It’s a great book, but I don’t know if the ‘average Joe’ is going to be able to understand the full meaning of many of these books. Hell, I’m a relatively smart teenager, and I know I have no chance of Fully comprehending Dostoevsky’s other novel, The Brothers Karamozov. I suppose that’s what makes them so darned great though. My ability to relate to these oh-so-manly novels will likely increase with age, as well.
2: I would have liked to see Heart of Darkness on here. Randomly boating into the Congo Jungle is pretty manly, no doubt. Even more, I think The Crucible provides some very interesting insight both into the real New England witch hunts and the red scare of the last century. Those lessons can be applied quite easily to many current events and life in general.
Again, thanks for compiling this.
Also, I was reading the comments and saw some trouble being started based on your inclusion of The Bible.
While I’m a fairly diehard atheist, I agree that it’s a good idea for any reader to be familiar with the Holy text. SO MANY NOVELS include biblical allusions, it’s almost insane.
Also, in defense of the Teddy Roosevelt frequency: This is a list of Manly Books. Teddy Roosevelt was the epitome of manliness, so it just fits. Definitely more manly than Chuck Norris.
Cool list! Combing through it I realized some of these titles were required reading at some point in high school/college but only now do I feel like I want to indulge myself in their text.
I saw a few others mention Bukowski but nothing specific. At first I only came across him because of the film Factotum but it led me to that book and a couple others (Post Office and Ham On Rye). I like how he just lays it all bare on the table and doesn’t really seem to acknowledge some greater presence in the fates of himself and the people in his life…he just likes to drift along.
Anyway, I wanted to mention John Fante (Ask The Dust, Brotherhood of the Grape, Wait Until Spring, Bandini) who I think has a style similar to Bukowski but perhaps has a bigger ego and is somewhat conflicted about his Italian-American lineage.
Also, I’m not sure what inspires me to mention of The Corner by David Simon/Ed Burns (duo that developed HBO show, The Wire) but I think any ‘man list’ would do well to take notice of the current state of urban cities in regards to the divide between the poor residents of Baltimore and the rest of society.
Also, no Philip K. Dick…A Scanner Darkly? Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
I just wanted to say that I thought your list was quite good. While perhaps not a list of the 100 most important books of all time (is it even possible to create such a list?) it is indeed a great list of 100 books that a literate English speaking person should know. I’ve had a blast making a spreadsheet of the list, and adding other books from commentators. Thanks everyone!
To those who complain about a lack of foreign titles (erroneously), I would like to kindly ask that they put up or shut-up. I wouldn’t expect a (for instance) a Chinese guy to know much about Vonnegut – perhaps he/she would be delighted to discover his writings. The same goes for me – let me know some of these books that are great that I’ve never heard of – I would appreciate it.
Good list, but how could you include wealth of nations without including the work which built a tower on it’s submerged foundations: Capital?
Atlas may shrug all he likes, but the lessons of Rand are best learnt through the objective and authoritative perspective of Marx. It is a tad dry to read, perhaps, but then so are The Politics and english translations of Nietzsche.
Even if one disagrees with Marx’s conclusions on labour theory of value, any Man who considers himself to be well-rounded surely requires a strong grounding in marxian (if not marxist) theory? Even if simply to be capable of intelligently rebutting socialist economic ideas.
But as i said, apart from that (and the scout books… but then each to their own), a very good list, well done.
100 books and not a Heinlein amongst them. Rubbish.
After reading through this entire list of books I’m speechless. I’m going to try my very best to get a hold of as many of these books as possible and read them over this summer. This collection is a must for anyone who enjoys reading and wants to step into the world of the classics.
Thanks for the list!
Sam
I second the suggestion to add Dune to the list. Politics, economy, ecology, religion, war and male coming of age are just some of the themes woven into a fantastic story-line. Heady stuff and far more complex with “hard subjects” than LOTR.
Excellent list! Some old favorites and some that I hope to read this summer.
A couple recommendations for those who’ve finished your list.
A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving
The Brothers K – David James Duncan
The Sun Also Rises – E. Hemingway
A Pen Warmed-Up in Hell – Mark Twain
The Narrow Road To The Deep North And Other Travel Sketches – Basho
The Highest Tide – Jim Lynch
You mean ,”The art of war” by Sun Tzu.
To those of you looking to add some Japanese authors to your reading list here are some books that I’ve enjoyed.
Snow Country – Yasunari Kawabata
The Temple of the Golden Pavillion – Yukio Mishima
A Personal Matter – Kenzaburo Oe
Cheers!
Surprised you didin’t put at least..
Hell’s Angels by Hunter T. Thompson
Or
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
Or even…and the most appalling
The Outsiders by Susan E. Hinton
Hi
Congratulations. I agree with almost all of these choices. I am surprised, however, that you fail to mention Homers’ ‘Iliad Odyssey’ & / ‘Histories’ by Herodotus. These three are in my view the main omissions. However, you should also have chosen ‘La Chute’ by Albert Camus & ‘The DEAD’ by J.Joyce … the last tale in his ‘The Dubliners’.
Not sure what everyone thinks but how about the the tales of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle… I have only read a few but they are pretty good like CSI ….. but …. good!
Thanks for this list. Here are some suggestions for the next 100, a couple of which have already been mentioned:
Once a Runner by John L. Parker, Jr. – Shows that being skinny and wearing skimpy running shorts can be quintessentially manly. How many football players have trained until they pissed blood?
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce — “I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe whether it call itself my home, my fatherland or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defense the only arms I allow myself to use–silence, exile, and cunning.” Go ahead, try to top that quotation for capturing the essence of the spirit of male independence.
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk – Perhaps no other recent book more perfectly captures the disillusionment of the American male; surpassed only by the (more literate, surprisingly) movie.
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham – along with Joyce’s Portrait, a bildungsroman novel that should be required reading for every male.
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser – A psychologically compelling look at how a series of wrong choices can aggregate and ultimately undo a man.
Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson – Glad to see another Johnson work on here, but Jesus’ Son is mind-blowing.
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis – A brilliant satire of the excesses of 1980’s materialistic culture, carefully woven into a depraved, graphic depiction of the machinations of a serial killer.
A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard – Though it may seem rather condescending and even vaguely communist at times, this ultra-short book imparts the importance of becoming a proactive, effective problem solver. Interestingly, it happens to be required reading in many neurosurgery residency programs across the country.
Thanks so much for including A River Runs Through It!
Sorry, but I’m going to break with the fawning ranks here: this perfunctory, straitjacket-ed rundown of what is off-handedly tossed under the ever-ossified rubric of ‘canonical’ these days, in the territorial fashion of Bloom’s great Western tradition endlessly parroted in college classrooms everywhere, is simply that: D-U-L-L.
I’ll admit there are a couple of entries I do enjoy – Golding and Melville among them – but on the whole this list is massively unimaginative, and if one may be allowed to speak of a postmodern crisis of the masculine, then this sort of knee-jerk recourse to an already-embattled conception of a justificatory past is hardly going to prove adequate. Where are John Hawkes’ avant-gardist narrative experimentations in emotional texture ? Proust’s epic foray into the lyrico-mnemonic topography of a mental macrocosm ? Or the razor-sharp edges of Nabakov, hidden beneath a prismatic, iridescent luster of verbal coruscation ?
Too girly perhaps ?
Even so: as a previous poster has kindly pointed out, WHERE THE HECK IS MARX ? Ayn Rand makes the cut but he doesn’t ?
Hear me, my (presumably) heterosexual brothers, the future of what defines our gender-hood lies not in a panic-stricken cleaving to the road well taken, but in daring to write back to the ideological posturings and platitudes of our common inheritance.
Too much Steinbeck, not enough Chandler. At least include the Big Sleep for the Big Lebowski tie-in. I’d add:
Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami;
Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger (for a counterpoint to All Quiet on the Western Front);
Confusions of Young Torless by Robert Musil (about sadistic little proto-fascists in a boarding school);
and some of Richard Yates’ short stories, esp. ‘Liars in Love’. The character of Elaine’s father in Seinfeld was based on Yates, whose daughter Larry David dated.
Rob Davidson on May 14th @ 10:28 am: “Real men read Jane Austen”
only to learn about the other team’s strategies
Let’s call this list what it is, “books four blokes like.” I certainly wouldn’t take this as an essential library, after all there are some odd clustering that makes one a bit suspect, and even somewhat tempted to ask like one of the comments above, whether “this list was compiled by eigth graders?” What is the hard-on for T. Roosevelt, Steinbeck, and Dostoevsky about? Certainly one might do well to have an acquaintance with Roosevelt and Dostoevsky, but in the limitations of 100 essential books for whole of mankind? Where’s Tolstoy? Nabokov? Gogol? Woolf? Chekhov? Henry James? “Dharma Bums” wasn’t even all that great. Dickens? Freud? Philip Roth? Mill’s “On Liberty?” Locke’s treatises on government? Paines’ “The Rights of Man?” How about a Greek playwright? Virgil? Gunter Grass? Caesar? Cicero? Augustine? Should a man have Dante as the only exposure to poetry? No theatre save one Shakespeare play?
The list speaks volumes about the limits of your reading than your authority to give a list of essential books for mankind. Such a list calls for a full assembly of giants, not some motley crew of small fries and titans. I might suggest some humility and maybe trading “Theodore Rex” for Oedipus Rex.
Thank god we have the United States. More then 50% of the book come from there. It must have been dull living on planet earth before this great nation came to us. I hope France, Italia, Spain, Japan and all Latina America finds a way to create great books like America. And why read on FDR, the president that whole world knows and celebrate, when you can read so many books on the other one named Roosevelt that the whole world confuse with FDR…
This list was required reading in high school when reading good books was mandatory.
No Gabriel Garcia Marques?,No Leon Tolstoy,No Ismail Kadare?
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Thanks for the list! Added a whole bunch of them to my ‘To Reads’
You could probably take everyone’s comments and make “The Second Hundred Books….”
Great job!
@Louis wrote:
“Too girly perhaps ?”
Perhaps not, but certainly missing the fucking point.
Just for you, on the house, a clue:
You write, “WHERE THE HECK IS MARX ?” You then conclude, “…the future of what defines our gender-hood lies not in a panic-stricken cleaving to the road well taken, but in daring to write back to the ideological posturings and platitudes of our common inheritance.”
@Cooper-I think we might do just that.
“All quiet on the western front”
I never played war games again after reading it.
Check also this: the Harvard Classics – 100 book reading list.
I’d say many of these are entertaining books (eg Catch 22) but don’t add solid meat onto a man. 1984 should only be read in conjunction with a critical approach to Orwell – his motives were highly questionable, and 1984 could function as mere terror propaganda to subdue an inquisitive population.
Maybe he was the one with four legs.
No FAUST?
Great work! Thanks for doing the legwork and so freely putting yourselves out there to the nattering nabobs of internet knowitallism.
Most of the list is fantastic, much of it is intreaguing and a only a small percent completely blows.
Here’s my unsolicited two cents:
Nikolai Gogol – Dead Souls
Mark Twain – A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthor’s Court
Tim O’Brien – The Things They Carried
Goethe’s – Faust
Will Shakespeare – Julius Caesar
Apologies if any of the above were there and I just missed them. And thanks again for the list.
The Bible is influential, but only out of fear. Its a way for someone else to control you.
Do you really believe that everyone who doesn’t agree with your religion will go to a “bad” place for eternity? Don’t be so vain as to think you deserve an afterlife when you take this life for granted.
Very First Comment:
“Great books … Remarcable
I’ve seen a little error…”
…and left one too?
“The Catcher in the Rye� not “The Catcher and the Rye�
Great list, how about “Two Little Savages” by Ernest Thompson Seton? Natural History and North American Native Lore for 12 year-olds.
@Nadal: Did you proof-read that comment, genius? “remarkable” is spelt with a “k”.
An ellipsis (’…’ or the three dots you used) does not require a capital letter after it, as it is not a new sentence.
I could go on, or you could just let the guys at http://www.artofmanliness.com do their work (well done guys, great list).
As you were.
# Nadal on May 14th, 2008 1:10 am
Great books … Remarcable
I’ve seen a little error
“The Catcher in the Rye� not “The Catcher and the Rye�
You left out the most manly book of all time, “The ABC’s of Manliness” by Maddox.
“The Power Broker” by Robert Caro
A skeptical biography of the polymath Robert Moses, who literally and figuratively re-shaped the landscape of New York, and who held in his hands the fate of the lives of millions of Americans.
Quite possibly the most untouchable and ruthless American to risen to power in our country since 1776.
Interesting choices in nominating the same author for 2 books i.e. Krakauer, Steinbeck, Kerouac. I dont necessarily disagree, I do think Portrait of an Artist is more valuable to most than the cryptic mountain of a book, Ulysses. Thanks for a great list, I need to start filling in my gaps today.
Thanks for the list I’ve added the ones that interest me to the “to do” list.
I echo another commenter about the spoilers. It was quite disappointing to see the entire plot and ending laid out right there on a few selections.
Also to all the commenters poo-pooing these choices. It’s a good stepping stone for discussion and keep including your own choices and favourites! I added a handful more to my list from the comments alone. Try and keep your faux hipster intellectual bullshit lingo to a minimum though.
Love the list, what a great find. some of my favorites are Ishmael by Daniel Quinn , Sidhartha by Herman Hess and of course the lorax by Dr Suss I have read many on your list and look forword to discovering the others.
Obviously any list of this nature is gonna have friends and enemies. Many worthwhile reads and plenty I know nothing of. This comment is to offer anyone who wants a text file of the list, let me know, I have one for you if you need it. Let me know.
Louis: get over yourself.
Thank you for your list. It affirms the high degree of my manliness!
Wow Louis is so smart! He really impressed me with his comment. I hope he is a professor because the world needs more people who can communicate their ideas clearly enough for the layperson to understand, and he could equip an army. So many hard words, and I’m sure he felt modest after writing his comment.
I’m a girl, and I really like the list. I look forward to passing the list on to my 11 year old son. I have recently added “To Kill a Mockingbird” (an essential for us here in south Alabama), “The Catcher in the Rye” ( my own very well worn copy), “Animal Farm” and “The Dangerous Book for Boys” to his bookshelf for this Summers reading. My thinking is if he gets started early on he will not only be more well rounded, spoken and read as a young man, but will actually get much further along in his own personal list that I, like so many of us, never get around to reading even though we really want to.
I noticed a comment or two that mentioned links to buy the books on this list. I happen to know of a very good website that has many of these titles included that does in fact have a “purchase here” link. It is also fairly informative /entertaining as well. Here it is for the intrested: http://title.forbiddenlibrary.com/
By the way, in reference to the comment by Neil. I think I speak for many intelligent women when I say to you, “UUgghh.” (eye roll, deep collective sigh).
Aww, Damn!
Sorry to Neil, the collective sigh wasn’t intended for you (if you exist on this commentary) Apparently LOUIS (Louis on May 17th, 2008 9:03 pm) impressed my so much that I forgot his name.
I pulled the equivolent of speaking my mind and walking out and slamming the door and then realizing I forgot my purse!!
Opps! Sorry for the confusion. (both mine and any I may have caused poor Neil)
Ivy and Keril are one in the same. Ok, I am leaving now. Sleep Deprivation I guess. Sorry again. (I am Flash backing to the answering machine scene in Swingers)
Awesome post. I have been listening to books on tape/cd during my commute for the last few years and try to choose books that “expand my horizons” which sometime means they are not page turners that I would devour in a few days at home. For example, I just finished listening to Gulliver’s Travels and am glad I did, but would have trudged through its pages in book form.
I have a great library system and most of these books have audio copies. This is great for some of the more complicated books since the reader/actor always gets the pronunciation, tempo, and emphasis right. I love my commute and sometimes sit in the car after arriving at my destination to get a few extra minutes. I don’t mind traffic and detest interuptions like the cell phone or drive through windows.
Scanning through the comments reminded me that while in the Marine Corps we were very highly encouraged to obtain proffesional devlopment through reading and were given some guidance in the form of a reading list. It has evolved into a more formal “Marine Corps Professional Reading Program “:
“http://www.mcu.usmc.mil/ProDev/ProfReadingPgm.htm” – not sure if everyone will be able to access this since it is a .mil site
There is a heavy focus on history, warfare, leadership, and now Arab and Islamic culture.
Rifleman Dodd, We Were Soldiers, Battle Cry of Freedom, Bridge at Dong Ha, Band of Brothers, Ender’s Game, Starship Troopers, and the Killer Angels were some of my favorites from the list of my time.
I just picked up “Catch 22″ to read, because I like picking up classics and reading them. About 5 chapters into it, I am bored out of my skull and do not care what happens to the characters.
Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” should be required reading for everybody in the US.
Glad to see Hammett and Chandler represented. I wish John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series had made it. As a teenager, I learned a lot from that series. Perhaps Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series as well.
Fantastic list my man! Right on with Miller and the gang. I would also suggest Sartre’s “Nausea”, Bukowski’s “Women” and McMurtry “Lonesome Dove”.
-LittleWarsaw
I don’t know if someone else has said this, and if they have then I apologize, but I believe that “100 Years of Solitude” should be noted in this list. If you haven’t read it, I strongly recommend it.
Other than that, I’ve read ~50 of the books on this list, they are truly amazing reads.
Thank you for the great list. The inclusion of the bible is strange for me as an atheist, but if you have included it for the literary value, then there are many books by other beliefs that deserve attention. Ancient texts of India, old sagas and Egyptian historical documents also make good reading.
I have noticed a strong American bias, but that is understandable, since there are many people that think the sun evolves around America.
By the way, the bible contains many contradictions, perhaps meaning it was written by more than one person. So it is a compilation, rather than the work of one “being”.
No offense, but I think we need to have more of life and less of religion. The more of this list you read, the more enlightened you’ll become. Only then you can evaluate the literal value of the books of the religions.
this is the american point of view? what about Federico Garcia Lorca, Edgar Allan Poe, Jorge Luis Borges, Goethe, Charles Baudelaire, Marcel Proust or even Karl Marx? I think if you want to understand “the art of war” you have to read first “the Tao”. And if you want to understand The Bible you have to read The Bhagavad Gita.
Catch 22
Gorky – My Childhood
Great list! I have a feeling that more than a few Digg.com folks have filtered over here to criticize your selections, and to {sarcasm} enlighten {/sarcasm} us with the breadth of ttheir literary knowledge.
Regardless, again – Great List!
My additions would echo many of the others posting here, but incase some were missed
) –
The Things They Carried – by Tim O’Brien – Great book about soldiers’ eperience Vietnam.
The Invisible Man – by Ralph Emerson – a book that profoundly affected my views on race.
Silence – by Shusako Endo – a tale of Christianity and personal faith/devotion in ancient Japan from the perspective of a spanish preist. A remarkable novel.
One thing about The Count of Monte Christo, Edmond does stay his hand because of his past with Mercedes, but in the unabridged version he ends up sailing away from the Ilse of Monte Christo with the daughter of the deceased sultan Ali Pasha (I can’t remember her name off hand). I’ve never read the abridged version and have seen both movies (there are two, but the newer one is in some instances much truer to the full story than the older one). If you couldn’t tell this is probably my favorite book, but I also own quite a few of the other books on this list and have read more than half of them. Overall I really like this list and will attempt to aquire those books that I am still missing.
You know what The Essential Man doesn’t need in his library? A list from some dweeb on the internet who probably hasn’t read 10% of the books in his pretentious little list, that’s what.
I would defenitly add Pressfield’s “Virtues of war” to the list
(click to show comment)
Very few non-fiction books. Here are a few that should perhaps grace a list that might include more non-fiction titles:
Free to Choose by Milton and Rose Friedman
Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman
The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek
Our Enemy, The State by Albert Jay Nock
The Future of Freedom by Fareed Zakaria
The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama
The Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington
The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant
What’s So Great about America by Dinesh D’Souza
Applied Economics by Thomas Sowell
The Making of Modern Economics by Mark Skousen
And a fiction work or two I was surprised not to see on the list:
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Very good list. Thank you for the compilation.
Of course, that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Gregor, is this you?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/books/23read.html?ex=1369281600&en=224b7dc429a11faf&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
NY Times article on 1001 books to read before you die. i wonder if all the critics here would be satisfied with this list?
Agree with earlier comment about no Abbey, but not Monkey Wrench Gang — A Fool’s Progress is the perfect tale of man, full of potential and failure.
I know most people wont believe me but iam 18 and have read most of these books already and i own a few of them aswell.
Very fine list. However, no list is complete without Heart of Darkness or Siddhartha. Siddhartha should be an easy choice over Steppenwolf.
Don’t forget about Graham Greene!
“Because of Romek” by David Faber should be added. Faber’s account of surviving 8 concentration camps in a 5-year period, while losing most of his immediate family in World War Two Poland, reads more like a mystery than a list of blatant atrocities. Faber’s message is simple: stop hate, and stop war. How he comes to that message is a hugely interesting read, and a powerful memorial to his brother, Romek.
“Invisible Man” – Ralph Ellison
Wow, what a haphazard list. I bet I know who someone’s favorite president is! Honestly, I know these books aren’t suppose to reflect the greatest pieces of literature of all time, but the manliest, but seriously, what the hell is with this list?
Someone start a poll whereby people submit their entries on the matter. Let democracy, the opinion of the lowliest man decide such affairs. There is almost no exception where a doubling up of authors is acceptable considering the cannon available. Men have been writing actively for far longer than women (unfortunate as that is), so most literature is by definition manly.
Teddy four times and Shakespeare once? Fuck Teddy, I never disliked the Neanderthal, but now, I have reason to. Also, Ayn Rand is too ‘emo’ to be manly. Selfishness isn’t manly, it’s childish and weak. Her protagonists are pathetic, I nearly thought Atlas Shrugged was a satire. When I think of manly, money doesn’t come to mind. In fact, where economics is involved, I believe material possessions cloak deep rooted repression of inadequacy.
I’d have to agree with the prancing narrative of Louis up there, the books presented reflect more the stereotype than the reality or even opinion of the definition of masculinity.
Socialism doesn’t need parentheses, neither does sarcasm.
Otherwise, a fairly decent list of acceptable literature, although again, I must stress, some sort of voting should be made. I could see nearly have of these books falling straight of this list in favor of better works by less culturally biased authors and critics.
The list seems fluffed. Couldn’t think of any other titles or what? Many of the books listed, especially those of authors already on the list, are uninspired choices. Teddy? Seriously? Politicians aren’t manly unless their dictators or plain crazy. Dancing for the masses is by far the least manliest thing one can do. Unless of course you are taking the ‘Prince’ very literally and trying to cause catastrophic social change.
Caligula was manly.
Not kidding.
But sarcasm does no need a marker.
But his list still does suck.
Interesting list and very good photos of the book jackets and covers! (By the way – the author of Robinson Crusoe is Daniel Defoe, not Daniel Dafoe.)
1. Bible
2. Dante’s Divine Comedy
3. King Lear
4.- 100. – Everything else
nice to know men actually read books! keep it on!
Who in there right minds would put Grapes of Wrath on even a top 1000 book list? That was the worst book i’ve ever read.
Nice idea to include some oriental flavour with Sunzi (Sun Tzu), but I must say it feels a little like a cursory nod to multi-culturalism.
I’d argue that Sunzi is more a collection of obsolete (and often obvious) aphorisms and I’m sceptical about publishers claims that it timelessly applies boardroom strategy. I’d also say the title is better translated simply as “Strategy” than the more poetic (and marketable) “Art of War” that’s often used, and the book is really not great literature either in Chinese or English.
Three more worthy Chinese masterpieces immediately spring to mind:
“Three Kingdoms” (San Guo Yan Yi) by Luo Guanzhong – Ming dynasty classic in which swashbuckling heroes and devious strategists spit memorable one-liners as they battle for control of China (and invade Vietnam almost as an afterthought). A sort of Chinese “Iliad”.
“Water Margin” (Shui Hu Zhuan), also attributed to Luo Guanzhong – a motely assortment of stalwart outlaws band together to defy the corrupt and tyrannical empire. A sort of Chinese “Robin Hood” (with more torture and cannibalism).
“Analects” by Confucius – The master’s pithy and truly timeless advice on the conduct of a gentleman. (”All good men are brave, but not all brave men are good” etc.)
Regarding the Essential Man’s Library: some of these works are included not so that you can agree with them, but so that you can understand how they have influenced you, whether you have read them or not. And tradition is nothing less than the democracy of the dead. This site is conservative, in that they believe that what is good ought to be preserved, and that what is new is not automatically good, particularly when it contradicts what is known to be good from the past.
The Bible is one such work. To deny that it has broadly shaped Western civilization is delusional. To deny that it has broadly shaped English-language literature is delusional. I seem to recall an estimate that 60% of literary references — that is 3/5 of all references to other writings, that are made in the English language — are references to the Bible.
Regarding H. P. Lovecraft, and how important it is to realize that we are nothing before the vastness of the universe, as his characters are: that is entirely contradictory to the mindset that the site creators are trying to create. Here, we are encouraged to take responsibility for our situations and actions, to do things to improve them, to “man up.” Belief in your complete and utter insignificance is contrary to that.
Regarding Douglas Adams: his writing emphasizes how both we, and the universe, are completely absurd. This is nearly as contrary to the exhortation that we “man up” as belief that we are insignificant.
Regarding Hunter S. Thompson: I have only read one of his books, a collections of essays and semi- to pseudo-autobiographical short stories. They all reflect his famous quote, “While I can’t recommend drugs and violence to everyone, they’ve always worked for me.” Compare that to manning up as advocated by the site creators, and you will see why they did not include him.
As for Heinlien: “Starship Troopers” is a cracking good manly read. It discusses the relationship between morality, society, and politics, and emphasizes the need for leaders to be men of sacrifice and service. I can see it being on this list. “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” both share a very grave flaw: the protagonists presume that human nature regarding sexuality can be changed, and when it is, human societies will adapt. The premise is wrong, and when we try to live as though it isn’t, human societies self-destruct.
As for Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” series: Read “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” by Gibbons. Different setting, and mostly the same story, except for Asimov’s presumption that individual efforts, inventions, and creations rarely change anything. Psychohistory HAS to presume that any invention or other idea that changes society can be anticipated, which is pure buncombe.
“Regarding the Bible. Considering that most of the environmental destruction, war, and disasterous economic policies of “Machavaellianâ€? elitists, have come from western “Christianâ€? societies….” — Jim Foreman on May 15th, 2008 2:38 pm
Actually, they have come from societies which denigrated or even sought to destroy Christianity, e.g. Communist societies, which slew at least 100,000,000 people in a mere 90 years, and turned much of Eastern Europe into a toxic waste dump.
Some great reading ideas here. Here’s a few more from my bookshelf that don’t seem to have been mentioned as possibilities, but epitomise manliness (if not classic literature, they’re at least all gripping).
It’s Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong. It might be written in a grating style, but this guy has one helluva story.
Endurance by Alfred Lansing. The account of Shackleton’s survival in the Arctic. Even though you know they make it, the fact they do is scarcely believable. Astonishing resourcefulness in the face of overwhelming odds.
The Silent World by Jacques Cousteau. He invented the aqualung and discovered a new world; glorious adventure ensues.
Shogun by James Clavell. Highly fictionalised account of William Adams’ exploits in Japan – a pilot, he was the first Briton to reach that country. Samurai, ninja, seppuku, high intrigue; all good stuff.
Longitude by Dava Sobel. Wonderful story of the eccentric who solved the greatest problem in seafaring with a beautifully elegant technological solution.
The Double Helix by James Watson. A ripping yarn of scientific discovery – skulduggery in the race to the greatest prize in academia of the 20th century.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. Crime fighting genius stalks the foggy streets of London.
The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R R Martin. So good all other fantasy writing seems lame in comparison.
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brien. Aubrey and Maturin are a classic pairing; if you like this, O’Brien wrote another 20 books of similar quality.
Great list. I would have all those in my library and War and Peace. But I’ve read like 6 of the books so i’ll talk further when im done reading.
great list, although there are some that aren’t manly whatsoever…just plain stupid…then again, maybe that makes up a man.
Well done! Very nice illustrated and written.
Fantastic list, friends, although I feel the omission of Dostoevsky’s “Notes From the Underground” is tragic. Although there is an agreeable share of Dostoevsky on the list as-is, “Notes” is a classic meditation on the bitter introvert at the heart of all men, with the Underground Man forming the basis for all of literature’s great antiheroes.
I would say: read Feynman lectures from physics and you’ll become wondered with world around youn all the time.
Fate is the Hunter -Ernest Gann
I definitely agree that Invisible Man should have been on the list, but otherwise think it’s a pretty solid group. There’s a few here I haven’t thought of in years that I’m definitely going to add to my library!
Okay – read the full list (not all of the books – only about 10 so far) and I think I have a list of the 10 best books for a true Renaissance man – not one clouded by one opinion but one who opens their mind to new things and also enjoys the odd treat!
1. Casino Royale – Ian Fleming – how can you not include the original Bond novel?
2. Flashman – George Macdonald Fraser – the ULTIMATE rogue! All 12 in the series are worth reading for the caddish behaviour and historical education
3. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy – Douglas Adams – comedy genius
4. The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins – read this before the Bible (or after, you’ll get the same reaction)
5. A Short History of Everything – Bill Bryson – the best modern American writer of his generation
6. Carter Beats The Devil – Glen David Gold – a genuinely brilliant novel
7. Commando – Deneys Reitz – life fighting during the Boer War, real survivalism
8. Freakonomics – Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt – the world revealed!
9. CB Fry; King of Sport – Ian Wilton – played cricket, football and rugby, a journalist, a statesman and so good at everything he was offered the crown of Albania – the ultimate polymath
10. Viz’s Profanisaurus – I dare you to read it and not cry with laughter (very, very dark and very, very wrong!)
I don’t profess these to be right for everyone but my life has genuinely been enhanced by reading these books…
awesome list! but why isnt The Old Man And The Sea on here?! every man should read this…
Excellent list! Obviously everyone will have there own opinions about books that have been “left off”, but I think this list was very well thought out and put together. Many of my favorites made the list (Catch-22, Confederacy of Dunces, Count of Monte Cristo), and I was pleased my favorite author, Cormac McCarthy, made the cut also. Any of his works could have made the list based on manliness. Each book from the Border Trilogy, and The Road is a great example of what a father would do for his son/family.
That is a good list, however I would have replaced Plato with Aristotle
Ben Koshkin
Little, if any, science fiction.
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
That’s got to qualify for your list.
“Sometimes a Great Notion” is one of the manliest books I have ever read. Other than that, not enough Hemingway(never enough), too much Shakespeare, and Marquez is awesome.
Also, Smedley Butler wrote a book that should be worth reading. That guy is as manly as it gets.
I recommend Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson
Brisk, to the point, and invaluable economic wisdom.
No Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? I guess it really isn’t for everyone.
I may be alone here, but I believe that this list is sorely lacking Zane Grey. He was one of the original authors of westerns, who firmly believed that every man should have a bit of frontier in him, yet “Riders of the Purple Sage” (a decidedly unmanly title, to be sure, a manly book through and through) missed the list?
I just read Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins. I LOVED it. Another Roadside Attraction is my next book I want to read! I can’t wait to get it.
I guess every List is created from a specific standpoint. A book you might not know but would truley make your list is the chinese epos “musashi”. 1200 pages of samurai manliness. Also, whats your excuse to exclude Sherlock Holmes?!
Wonderful list. Perhaps there are some books (and authors more appealing to men); Steinbeck and Hemningway come to mind.
I can think of a few serious omissions:
Death in the Afternoon – Hemingway (must read by any man)
Log from the Sea of Cortez – Steinbeck (ditto)
Lord of the Rings – Tolkien (although if I had to choose, the Hobbit would win out, but it was better when I was little)
All 21 of Patrick O’Brians Captain Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin series
Many, many more.
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Just a couple of Runner-Ups that I would like to include.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin – great for teaching the atrocities of what man can do to another human being
The (Auto?)Biography of Frederick Douglas – understanding what it means to be free in a world where others are oppressed
The Stand by Stephen King – understanding the logics of pure evil and pure good and how easy mankind can fall
Just a note: “Crime and Punishment” was NOT written to fulfill Dostoevsky’s contract… “The Gambler” was. He wrote The Gambler in three weeks as a side project while he was at work on C.and P.
Thought I’d mention, there is a service that lets you read books by RSS or Email. These are works in the public domain but it is an interesting way to nibble a way at classics. Blogged about it here: http://is.gd/p9P
Great to see the Wealth of Nations high on the list.
Having read it not long ago… it is extremely thick and gets painfully detailed about halfway. An excellent alternative EVERY man should read is New Ideas from Dead Economists. Great book for sharpening your mind.
Want manliess, then read Plutarch’s “Sayings of Spartan’s.” Would you #$%& with King Leonidas?
“What you said at the beginning I do not remember; for that reason I do not comprehend the middle part; and the conclusion I do not approve.”
Wouldn’t you love to say that at the end of your next long, pointless, boring meeting. Leave it to a Spartan.
Come and take them…
A good list until I got to Undaunted Courage….easily the worst history book I have ever read. It is very poor pop history, adds nothing to the historiography and is in fact, very poorly written, poorly researched, and like many of Ambroses works, plagiarized. You should change this entry to the Journals of Lewis and Clark edited by Bernard Devoto. This is simply the best and the first read for those interesting in the expedition of ‘discovery’ .
plus, if this is about manlinesses, you have to have Dune.
Great selection, but I would add two more : Aristotle’s Nichomachea and Kazantzaki’s Zorba the Greek .
Keep up the good work !
As I was reading your list, I realized I had only read a few of these, but my husband’s read nearly all of them. Truly a “Man’s Library.” Thanks for including HATCHET; I made our then-13 year old nephew read it, and it was the first book he ever enjoyed.
Surely you couldn’t have forgotten William Faulkner amidst all of the Hemingway and Steinbeck? The Sound and the Fury is, itself, a meditation on what makes a man a man. It’s almost obscene that you forgot it.
Oh, and Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon is a good book for a manly man as well.
A gr8 collection of books I must say, especially the novels..
Thank you for an enjoyable list.
A few more on how to be a good man (some of which were already mentioned by other posters):
Plato: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo (each is more accessible than the Republic; all of them together give an account of the trial and death of Socrates)
Aristotle: Nichomachean Ethics
Dickens: A Christmas Carol
Lewis: The Screwtape Letters
On manliness in general (but not necessarily good manliness):
Puzo: The Goodfather (I can’t believe no one mentioned this!)
Thomas Ellis: The Rantings of a Single Male: Losing Patience with Feminism, Political Correctness… and Basically Everything (little known but hilarious work; it should be noted that it is rather explicit)
My apologies: I meant THE GODFATHER
No Hunter S. Thompson….shocking!
http://totallygonzo.wordpress.com
Wonderful selection of books! I’m very impressed to know that I have read most of them. The Catcher in the Rye is by far the greatest novel I have ever read in my entire life.
“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everyone.”
Gotta agree with the person above who suggested Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting as an addition. I’m sure there’s a million other inclusions we could argue over – but great list nonetheless!
If you ever read lists like these and disagree though, the new Poll The People is the first global evolving poll where you can have your say to create the definitive list of greatest albums, books and films.
It doesn’t end there, though. You can create your own Top 5 category – your Top 5 cartoon characters, your Top 5 beaches, your Top 5 mineral waters… or anything else you can think of, from the sublime to the ridiculous! Check out and rate other people’s Top 5s and hook up with people of similar tastes.
There is also a growing number of celebrity Top 5s on the site which offer a great insight into their influences, so if you’d like to know which albums Paul Weller rates, Nick Hornby’s favourite books, or James King’s top films, look no further.
http://www.pollthepeople.com
I find it amazing that some people actually recommended deleting the Bible from the list! How could someone recommend removing one of the most well-read and most influential books in the history of mankind, and actually be serious? Are these people basing their decision on their own personal religious bias, or on the facts of whether a book meets the criteria of influence, importance, etc., which is the real basis for such a list? To leave the Bible off the list would be utter nonsense. How many other books on the list caused people to actually not only disagree with it’s inclusion, but recommend its deletion from the list? The mere fact that the Bible sparks such an impact on these people is evidence enough that it is rightfully included on the list!
theres some good articles on this site, and until reading this one, i was impressed ; while some of these listed probably should be read, and are indeed individually excellent in some instances; as a list: distinctly average is a phase that comes to mind, sure you can cobble together a list of the so called “greats” and popular books that are often read and studied by the majority, taught in schools and universities, but where are the books that give a man a real advantage and insight in to what will elevate oneself past the mediocre? where are the books that the 5% read, and the 95% do not read, that are the keys to understanding the true reality , rather than simply pop culture? – sure a man can read catcher in the rye, or lord of the flies ; but you should have read those when you were 12, and a boy, and they hold little significance in setting you apart from the herd and giving you something other than what the elite controlled standardised education system and the popular culture would like your reality to be shaped by. The other articles on this site i found gave something of substance, decent information on being and becoming a better man of more understanding, better equipped, and more successful. By contrast this list is a disappointment, containing books that may well be decent and a pleasure to read, but will get you no further toward success and understanding than the rest of the “great unwashed” that read them, which is, precisely why these are the books touted to the masses on such lists in other publications, while those which have insight of real significance remain only in the hands of the elite, and unheard of by the majority.
I admire Nietzsche’s “Beyond Good and Evil”. But Kierkegaard founded the existentialist movement many years before Nietzsche critiqued previous philosophy. Read Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and you’ll find that they are incredibly similar in method while coming to quite opposite conclusions. Pretty interesting.
Kierkegaard, by the way, should make this list.
@JJ- Ok. Fine. You don’t like the list, but you didn’t even suggest any of the books that the “5% read” that will make men go beyond “mediocrity.”
And I don’t buy the argument that just because lots of people read something, that means it’s some how dumb downed fodder for the masses. Seriously, you’re telling me that 95% of the people in the world have read Plato, Aristotle, or even Fitzgerald?
And your argument that these books are simply pop culture is completely bunk. Just because something is not “indie” and “avant garde” does not mean that it has been relegated to “pop culture.” Homer, Dostoevsky, and the like write about timeless and universal themes in humanity. It’s sad that they simply get brushed over as “pop culture” just because they’re widely read. The prevalent idea these days that something must be “underground” or undiscovered to be worthwhile is utter baloney. Sure, some music and books that get really popular get that way because they are pushed relentlessly by corporations. But a lot of stuff gets popular because…..wait for it…..it’s really good.
a good read.
@Rob Davidson & Dirk: I was very surprised not to see Pride and Prejudice, as I think it is a great example of good romance I think both genders, or “teams”, can take a great deal from this work, and not just to learn about the others’ strategy. I agree with Rob that “Real men read Jane Austen.”
I am about to graduate from Penn State with a degree in engineering and after years of technical dry reading, I cannot wait to get back into reading for my pleasure and development. I am curious if someone would recommend an order to reading this list. After reading a few books, I often wish I would have read them in a different order. I am currently reading The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and the Dale Carnegie book then possibly 48 laws of power or perhaps Fight Club–I like to add in a variety of subject, style, and genre.
Since I am young I like reading things that enlighten me on many levels, aid in my development personally and professionally, as well as open my eyes. So if someone would be so kind as to prescribe an order to these books or some recommendations I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks
Entonces… ¿la biblioteca esencial para el hombre está escrita por autores angloparlantes? ¡cuánto egocentrismo muchachos!
Sólo por mencionar otros dos idiomas, les cuento que más de 420 millones de personas en el mundo hablan castellano y más de mil millones, chino.
(I dont expect you to understand my message… of course. Here is an aprox translation: “So…Is The Essential Man’s Library written in english? Isnt that egocentric guys?!!
Just to mention two other languages, let me tell you that over 420 million people all over the world speak spanish and over a thouthand million, chinese”)
J- Le entiendo claramente. (Vivi en Mexico por dos anos.) Bueno, la verdad es que soy de los estados unidos y el sitio se enfoca por los hombres que viven alli. No hay muchos chinos que leen el sitio ni tampaco personas espanohablantes. Quizas si se crezcan el numero de personas que leen el sitio que hablan otros idiomas, escribemos por ellos.
I might suggest that the inclusion of the Bible is an error. You can be a man without being a Christian, without reading folk tales about Jesus. Real men do read, but under no circumstance is a badly translated, badly written religious text essential reading. I’m sorry. It’s true.
Ditto for Ayn Rand.
Includable: A M Homes’ “This Book Will Save Your Life.”
To ML Harris:
Maybe you should go back and read the entry on the Bible again. No one suggested you had to be a Christian to be manly, but since many of the other books on this list allude to or directly quote the Bible, it would be a good idea to read it, even if you don’t agree with it.
The “Ditto on Ayn Rand” is a bit confusing the Bible and Ayn Rand are on opposite ends of the spectrum in many ways.
I guess ML Harris also thinks you don’t have to make sense to be a man.
Where can i find these books?
@J Blake: Start at the beginning: Homer, Plato, Aristotle.
Homer is actually very enjoyable on audiobook, as his poems were developed to be heard, not read. Barnes & Noble has a very good reading of the Illiad (though its reading of the Odyssey is just okay).
As I recommended elsewhere, it may be easier for beginners to start with the Platonic dialogues dealing with the trial and death of Socrates (usually packaged as the Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo) than the Republic, which is also certainly worth reading but contains much more material to analyze.
I have never read Aristotle’s Politics (which I am ashamed of, since I am a philosophy graduate student), though his Nicomachean Ethics will help you to lead the good life.
These several books alone could keep you busy for some time. Happy reading!
As an agnostic living in the US, I suggest the Bible be left on the list and the Koran and Talmud be added. Not because I believe that any of these are the word of God, but because they have helped shape the way Americans think. If I lived outside the US I might include the literature of other religions, as they pertain to the culture of people surrounding you.
You must understand the way people think about issues, even if it is foreign to you. Without it you are an “ugly American” or the equivalent.
I would also add some of the writings of John Shelby Spong, this retired Episcopal Bishop (Newark?) has some amazing writings on Christianity, that I find insightful.
All in all this is a good list, I will recommend it to my son.
to J on June 8,
they were not all written in English… Look back at the list, there were books written in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic…. the translations are in English. Likely because the complier of the list writes and READS in English.
Comprende?
to J Blake on June 8
Don’t let someone else prescribe an order or a even a list; use this list as a springboard to learn to THINK critically about the world around you. As a Penn State Eng grad you likely can think critically about technical topics, now dive into philosophy, literature….
Congratulations on your attempt at compiling the 100 books a man should have in his library. I’m female, and I’ve read 13 of the 100, mainly in high school and college.
To Karl Fergins, who wrote that most women authors are awful, I’d say: First, take the three listed in the top 100–Harper Lee, Ayn Rand, and May Wolstonecraft Shelley. Add to those Jane Austen (thanks to Rob Davidson!), Margaret Mead, Virginia Woolf, Willa Cather, Pearl S. Buck, and Joyce Carol Oates, just to name a few.
There are a number of items I would add:
First, to Shakespeaere’s entry I would add Macbeth, King Lear, Richard III, Henry V, and Julius Caesar.
Authors I would add: Dickens, Poe, C.S. Lewis, Robert Frost, Robert Bly, and Dr. Seuss.
Books I would add: Stranger in a Strange Land, 100 Years of Solitude, Leaves of Grass, Pride and Prejudice, The Little Prince (in French, if possible), Les Misearables, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
I agree with everyone else who questioned the need for four books on Teddy Roosevelt!
As for Fight Club and Trainspotting, I thought the movies were brilliant! I have not read either book, but they have not yet stood the test of time. They should be ready to add to the list in 25 years or so.
Awesome list. If I ever hit the lottery, my slovenly ass will finally be able to consume these. Thank you!
Ayn Rand?
Give me a break
Wow…I’m still in high school and I’m amazed at how many of these I either own and intend to read or have already read. There are a few key omissions here that could improve the list:
The DaVinci Code – Dan Brown: Probably the best example of a thriller novel and not to mention the second best selling book in the world. Right behind the Bible.
Godel, Escher, Bach – Douglas R. Hofstadter: A thick, Pulitzer-prise winning book that my friends and I summarize by saying “it’s about approximately everything.” The book’s central thesis is trying to deduce how we think, but it covers so many other things on the way there that it deserves a broader characterization.
A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving: A great novel with hints of English humor.
So should we just skip reading the ones where you spoiled the endings?
What were you thinking?
Thank you for this post! I’ve read quite a few, but I’ve got alot of catching up to do. I appreciate that the Bible is on here – I would submit that much of what is covered on this blog is in one way or another reiterated from Biblical wisdom. Anyhow, I’m in the middle of ‘For Whom The Bells Tolls’ right now, so… happy reading!
you must read of human bondage
W. Somerset Maugham
“Hi, I really liked your post so I submitted it to yearblook.com. Yearblook is a competition to find the best blog posts, and they print the winners in a book. Good luck!”
loved it. you have added about 20 books to my must read list…
how about kesey’s “one flew over the cuckoo’s nest”
or
o’briens “the things they carried”??
Awesome jobs guys.
I have a couple to add:
The Game by Neil Strauss- helped me tremendously with women.
The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida- This is a must read for anyone with a penis.
Thank you, I don’t know how many times I have gone to the used book store or the library and drawn a blank. Now I have THE LIST.
i’m not sure if anyone said this but A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens?
come on sydney carton is that ultimate man in that book and its a great story
Very impressive list and I have saved it. Two collections of books I loved as a young man are the Hardy Boys and Sherlock Holmes.
nice database.
what about fight club?
Comment on 100 must[read books:
One glaring omission: ZORBA THE GREEK, by Kazantzakis. How could you leave out Zorba, a man’s hero who devoured the marrow of Life?!!
Apart from a eclectic and fab list of books (maybe not as comprehensive) what i loved in the presentation of the titles…..almost a visual treat. Thanks
I have read about half of these books, I am really pleased with the list. The comments (aside from the pretentious assholes) also provided a lot of fine recommendations.
I am going to nominate Ender’s Game again because it was really such an excellent read.
Also, @ Michael on May 22nd, 2008 2:45 pm
Your list is extreme right wing neoconservative, not to say it is not worth value, but you should warn your readers. Also, I see you included:
The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama
Instead, why not recommend his more recent work, America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy where one of the founding intellectuals of neoconservatism basically disowns the movement! Just sayin’ !
And, for all the anti fundamentalists out there, you could not ask for a better read than Sam Harris’s book, “The End of Faith”
It is much more respectful and logical than the title implies.
Cheers to this list!
I think you have an excellent list! Most of these books I have enjoyed and some sound very interesting. However adding some other playwrights or plays might be worthwhile. Here are two that I was thinking of:
Tennesse Williams in particular
“A Streetcar Named Desire” or “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”
The play “Our Town”
Thanks.
Very interesting list. Gratified somewhat that I’ve read at least half. But I think you might have left out the manliest of the manliest. . .and by an American too. Ken Kesey’s ‘Sometimes A Great Notion’ is a greatly underated masterpiece. Great story, wonderful writing. . . I re-read it every few years just to wallow in the way he puts words together.
The Wealth of Nations?! While I certainly agree that the world would be a better place if people read that book, few people ever do!
actually i also agree with the fact that bible should be deleted from the list…and yes also that a lot of books have not been included in the list…
“The World Is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman – should be required reading, especially for a young person deciding on a career choice.
Great list but its too western
Real men use proper grammar and do not discount ANY book.
no Les misérables by Victor Hugo. That is my favorite book of all time.
Good List. A good chunk is familiar but would not have known about the rest.
A not to all those who say “Great list, ….. I will START reading this summer”
1) You are just a procrastinator.
2) If you already not have read many of these books, sorry to say but you really cannot count yourself as literate.
3) If you have poor reading habits, its very unlikely you will start reading all of a sudden. It takes a real commitment (like exercise).
4) Don’t just keep praising the author for the GREAT LIST, just read them, that’s the best favor you can do to the author.
5) You can barely manage a conversation outside sports/presidential debates.
Now if you really want to start reading books (even if your reading speed is very low)
1) Get a library membership tomorrow
2) Start with a small book (simple language and small content length)
3) Carry the book everywhere.
4) Finish the book over lunches, commute etc. etc
5) Repeat steps 1…4 for more recondite, longer books.
Survivor -Chuck Palahniuk
Isn’t altruism manly? I’d like to think so, I abhor Rand. I did read Atlas as a testament to my dedication to understanding all people.
The Four Agreements -Don Miguel Ruiz
Rules of Golf -USGA/R&A
Thank you Irep on the previous comment for those words of wisdom. I have rarely come across a greater fool than Irep on the internet. “A ‘not’ to all those…” Thank you for that ‘not’ Irep. “2) If you already not have read….” It is difficult to take someone seriously who has such awful grammar or terrible proofreading skills, whichever it happens to be. Irep’s entire comment is a condescending assumption that no one is as intelligent or literate as he/she is and that he/she must tell us our flaws and educate us on how to read. The irony is that leaving such as comment reveals what an utter moron Irep really is.
Great list!
Irepisanidiot
This list is the owner’s opinion of which books all men should read. It is not meant to be an all inclusive list for everyone and their opinons. If you don’t like it, go start your own website and list.
For those bitching and whining about America – this website is written by an American in America and while for all men, is geared towards men of the United States who are becoming as pussified as the European men. YOU get over it.
If you don’t like America, be sure to write your government(s) to refuse all protection, monies, foods, etc. from America. Until the rest of the world stops being protected, supported and fed by the US, you have absolutely no right whatsoever to bitch about us.
I’ll give you the benefit of a doubt or two and go along with 99 of them — although 4 bios of TR seems excessive and Ayn Rand is a moron — but “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” really belongs on the list of 100 worst books, or maybe 10 most overrated. I’ve tried to plow through it three times and it’s so ridiculous and poorly-written that one of the great joys of my life is knowing that I will never have to try and read that thing ever again.
Good list, boyo’s! but I have a few MANDITORY additions:
The old man and the Sea – Hemmingway
Farenheir 451 – Ray Bradburry
White Fang – Jack London
The Dog who wouldnt Be – Farley Mowatt
The Moon is Down – John Steinbeck
***NIGHT – ELIE WIESEL***
I can be reached on my website ( my email adress is there)
good list…very glad to see The Killer Angels up their. but one correction. In the Killer Angels caption you said it speaks the minds of General Lee (CSA) and Colonel Longstreet (CSA)…when you should have General Longstreet(CSA) or Colonel Chamberlain (USA)
Add:
Suttree Cormac McCarthy
Invisible Man Ralph Ellison
Hard Times Charles Dickens
The Mill on the Floss George Eliot
A Good Man is Hard to Find Flannery O’Conner
Colonel Chabert Gustave Flaubert
Any or all Dostoevsky, Faulkner, and repeat
Two women, for those who discount such, and technically two short stories. I agree with many of the blog suggestions that I did not repeat here, but felt compelled to repeat Ellison’s best work, best American novel had to be by a black man, didn’t it? I can’t fathom why Steinbeck and Hemingway are so revered; they are blathering egotists, their simplistic structure is so boring… might as well read the bible if you like that sort of trash (even for edification).
This is Worthless.
There is not a single Mario Puzo book here, and you dare to put a book of streaming thought up. Who are men to deny the mafia!! or the omerta!!!
Seriously TOP 100 I would at least think. Also maybe its just me. But before I would own a history of Herodous. I think thats the correct spelling Id rather own a full copy of Euclid’s Elements.
The Bible is a must, but lets be realistic, if a man needs a library The first edition boy scout handbook need not be a part of his collection. He should have it memorized able to draw the pictures at a whims notice by only having been told a page number and edition.
I am shocked I thought this was the Man’s Library not the sissy collection.
Just Joking I was suprised that so many were not mentioned. I would add several autobiographies before Ben Franklin and not include the fedralist papers at least in the top 100
I was amazed and reminded of some books I need to pick up for my library.
Thanks Again
Taylor
Interesting selection, but I was frustrated by some of the commentators who clearly mistake machismo for true manliness, character and inner strength, and who seem to believe that manliness is something you subscribe to and fall into line with, rather than fight for and define on your own terms.
For this reason, I suggest that “The Naked Civil Servant” by Quentin Crisp should be on any such list.
This self confessed “Stately Homo of England” lived a flamboyant and unapologetic life as an effeminate homosexual when such behaviour was effectively criminal in the UK, and his memoir describes his willingness to stand alone and be true to himself in the face of violence, hostility and social annihilation.
Without shedding an ounce of grace, charm and his typically English stiff upper lip, he went from being a pariah to a demi-god both in the UK and in the Upper East Side in NYC where he spend his later years, simply by refusing to submit to what the world expected of him.
There were two great icons of manhood in the twentieth century: Mohammed Ali was one, and Quentin Crisp was the other.
can we afford not to mention in this list of the “great books”, one of the phenomenal products ever written- “oh jerusalem”
A great list, but what about Gabriel Garcia Marquez? One of the greatest writers I have read. Further, the only writer I know of that can routinely craft a sentence of as many as one hundred words, AND be coherent.
I recently returned from a month of traveling throughout Europe.
The scooter was a necessity. TravelScoot served me well.
many folk have asked me about it and I tell them your website address.
http://www.travelscoot.com
… and the video
http://www.travelscoot.com/demonstration.htm
Sincerely yours,
Paul
Great list, but I’m honestly a little disappointed that Fear and Loathing,
Notes of a Dirty Old Man (that or any Bukowski), or Les Miserables weren’t on here.
Oh well – just finished On The Road, and this’ll make picking the next book easier.
Excellent list. As with any, it’s going to be incomplete and have a host of must-reads that were left off. The good thing about any “Best of” list is it sparks reasonable (for the most part) discussion that contributes to the list at hand. A few to add:
-100 Years of Solitude
-The Fountainhead
-The Lord of the Rings
-War and Peace
-Anna Karenina
-A Tale of Two Cities
-Augustine’s Confessions
I have read a few of thoughts, and enjoyed them. For this reason I will defiantly have to write some of these down and find some time to read them. Looks like a solid list.
48 Laws of Power, by Robert Greene. Easily as good a guide to gaining and weilding power as all the others. Read it and than add it as the 101st book.
This is a great list, if I could have one wish it would be that if it was downloadable as a pdf so it could be easily saved and printed.
So, 50/50 on the Bible haters/Bible lovers.
As in life, take what you will from what you read and leave the rest. You must ask yourselves,” Why are some folks so butt-hurt about certain books?” If something draws such strong emotion should you not experience it for your self (for better or worse)? I LIKE “The Bible”. I LOVE The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I am an agnostic, I don’t fault those who need/want the structure their faith brings them. I just do not, myself, require religion.
The author is not requiring you to read the entire list nor to pile all these books on your shelf. Stop acting like teenagers whining about an assignment they don’t like.
As for the “anti-American” comments, I don’t care about what you think of us.
You wouldn’t even have an internet or be free to express your opinions if ” we hadn’t saved your butts in WWII” ( tongue in cheek, for you hard-cases). America leads the way. We also lead the way with our arrogance and lack of understanding of other cultures. So let’s call it a “push”?
I wish the world was a happy place where we didn’t have to go out and kick @ss,
but hey….. Love us or hate us we kill a lot of people to keep you safe.
Here are some books I like, not TELLING you to read them. Not saying they should be on this list either.
“IT” – S.K.
“High Fidelity” – Hornsby ( Brit )(as with “IT”,don’t judge it by the movie)-
“The Fifth Profession” – Morrell (Canadian)
“Boot” – non-fiction about U.S.M.C. boot camp in the ’80’s
“Mona Lisa Overdrive”- Gibson
“The Chronic-what?-cals of Narnia”
“Infidel” – Ayaan Hirsi Ali
The entire Douglas Adams Catalog
DON’T PANIC-(it’s just a list)
To those of you that actually liked Dan Brown’s abomination: wtf?
You could try and argue that I’m just another ticked Christian, but you’d be wrong.
That book was just poorly written. The only reason it sold so well was a) the controversy (and remember if it burns it earns), and b) the release of the movie (which was even worse than the book).
The story was also very predictable.
If I could add any one book to the list it would be “The Creep” though I can not recall the author’s name.
-=jF
Overall a great list, I have read around a dozen of the books on this list so I still have a lot to go. I do think you could drop one of the T.R. books for Anthem or The Fountainhead. Other than that, superb!
Great list–though the omission of the manliest book ever, “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius is a deal-breaker. Also i bit short on humor and poetry; may I suggest “Portnoy’s Complaint” by Phillip Roth, and Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass”
If you liked the Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, “The River of Doubt” is a great book to follow it with. It tells of the story after Roosevelt lost the 1912 election and journeyed through the uncharted Amazon jungle. Pretty serious adventure, very manly.
Douglas Adams? Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy?
Interesting that your 100 Must Read appeared shortly after my forthcoming book ‘100 Must Read Books For Men’ was announced online. Coincidence or can I claim an inspirational role here?
You’ve picked some different books to me – and in some cases the same ones -and overall I laud your judgement, you’ve selected some great stuff here.
My book isn’t published in the States until April 2009 (but it comes out in September 2008 in the UK and much of the rest of the world) and naturally has a more British take on things – we have plenty of great writers in the UK who are very strong on manly themes. Incidentally, my book was conceived and pitched at my publishers in April 2005, so I’ve been thinking about it for a long time – the idea came to me while I was standing behind the counter of the bookshop I used to manage then and decided I wanted to recommend more books to men, who are somewhat neglected by the British literary establishment in my view.
I’ve included non-fiction as well in my selection. Many of the books you;ve covered here are included in other titles in the ‘Must Read’ series I’ve been contributing to for some years. I hope some of you will pick my book up in future, as it will make an interesting comparison with your selection here. The debate on the greatest books for men truly has begun !
Best wishes, Stephen E. Andrews, author ‘100 Must Read Science Fiction Novels’, ‘100 Must Read Books For Men’
This is a very good and broad list. There is a little something for every type of reader. Since it is named ‘100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man’s Library’ and I am not a man but have read many of these books couldn’t the list just be called ‘100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Library’ ? and if not then what are the 100 must read books for a woman’s library? If there is a list i just hope its not filled with crap.
I have to agree with Daniel that the following should also be on this list
-100 Years of Solitude
-Anna Karenina
-A Tale of Two Cities
-War and Peace
Someone actually suggested Douglas Adams Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy? Really?
That can’t be part of any essential mans library.
Good job! One must mention:
The Story of My Experiments with Truth – M.K. Gandhi
This book gives a penetrating insight into the quality of truthfulness in spirit and purpose
Great list… I have read some on the list, but not all. I am currently reading “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt”. It is great.
As great a list as this is, there are a few books I am wondering why you did not include on the list. Most importantly is “The Sun Also Rises”, “Old Man in the Sea”, and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Hemingway. One book about bull fighting, another about fishing, and the last about an Africa Safari. On top of which, each deals with issues of being a man. When ever I think of books for men, these are the first books I think of. Those two books and “On the Road” which you included.
For a more modern read, I suggest “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk. One of the better examinations of being a man in today’s society,
For the business or military professions, along with “Art of War” and “The Prince”, another must read is “On War” by Clausewitz.
Finally, I would also recommend “Gates of Fire” by Steven Pressfield. Not historically accurate and, yes, Sparta is not a model society; however, the book does portray great examples of duty and honor and doing something greater than oneself.
Very good list of books to read. You have some incredible classics listed here. Everyone reading this post, if you havent read these books yet you should!
I do believe you have both a Teddy Roosevelt and a Boy Scout fetish.
@ Ashley- Yes. Yes we do.
way to ruin the end of A Farewell To Arms
I’d like to add two more: Democracy In America and The Road To Serfdom. I bit academic maybe but necessary to form your manly mind.
Read “Sometimes a Great Notion” by Ken Kesey, the author of “One Flew Over the Cookoos Nest”.
Estranged second son Lee returns home to his logging family to revenge himself on his brother. And that is just one of the plots.
The descriptions are out of this world; you really feel as though you are in the old growth forests of Oregon.
Give it one hundred pages and you will not be able to stop!
Your list is excellent, and for those works which I have not yet had the pleasure to read, I thank you very much for bringing them to my attention; however, I consider it a great oversight that you did not include the Iliad or the Odyssey, two of the crowning literary achievements on the deeds of great men. They should both be on every man’s reading list.
Great list, but one thing that really got me was that The Federalist Papers are on here, but not the Anti-Federalist Papers.
It is always important to have both sides of an argument presented. That includes these two books. They go hand in hand. To have one and not the other is a disgrace!
Lewis B. Puller Jr. – Fortunate Son
Ken Follett – Pillars of the Earth & World Without End
Dalton Trumbo – Johnny Got His Gun
Frank Herbert – Dune
J.R.R. Tolkien – The Silmarillian (read that then go read L.O.T.R.)
Robert Jordan – Wheel of Time Series
With the Old Breed by E.B. Sledge – I assigned it as summer reading to my U.S. history class and Sea Wolf by Jack London both deserve places on this list.
Thanks for compiling a great list., but how can you make a list of 10 manly books, much less 100 without including Rudyard Kipling(particularly when you plug Steinbeck 4-5 times)?
I Saw your list with envy for those who actualy got the chance to read them.
I HATE fucking Jack Kerouac!!
I’ve read a few of the books on this list; Animal Farm, Beyond Good and Evil, Frankenstein, Hamlet, A Confederacy of Dunces, Fear and Trembling and Paradise Lost.
Mostly I agree that they belong on the list… except for Paradise Lost. I suffered through that book and I’m someone who loves to read and loves the English language. But mostly what made it so difficult to like was Milton’s premise for writing it, ie. to absolve God of any blame for the fall. So… God needed absolving?
“I did not trick that woman into picking that apple!”
Eh?
From my own reading list I would add Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Talk about good use of the English language! And it’s particularly impressive since English was not his first language but his third.
Also Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods because it’s very funny and about the “manly” pursuit of hiking in the woods.
Finally I would add The Picture of Dorian Gray because Oscar Wilde is a fantastic wit and should have written more novels.
I found it interesting that there was very little from the sciences. I see a lot of classical works, a few of the “most recommended” books from english, a bit of fetishism concerning Rossevelt, some religious works, and a number on war. There are some good ones there, but the subject areas seem somewhat limited.
I might suggest a few for those of us with more than just an interest in the liberal arts (after all, it is manly to understand the underpinnings of the physical world):
The Feynman Lectures, GEB, The Principia, and something by Hawking perhaps?
This really is a collection of fabulous books. Many of these books have been the influential in my life. However, i was disappointed not to see my favorite fahrenheit 451
Take this to heart, as I am a woman and an author commenting here. Men are pussies if they have not read Henry Miller. Duh.
“Education of A Wandering Man” by Louis L’amour was very influential to me. I read it when I was sixteen or seventeen. “In Search Of The Warrior Spirit” by Richard Strozzi-Heckler is one of my newfound personal favorites. It is how the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program came to exsist. “The Marines Of Autumn” by James Brady is Korean War from an officer and family man. “The Great Santini” by Pat Conroy was an inspiration for me and funny.
I would like some recommendations for exceptional works on boxing, music, martial arts (practiced and meditations) and dogs. I’m working on getting Jake LaMottas book as a start for boxing. Musicians I enjoy are Steve Earle among many others. Generally, some books that would be considered “Lowdown, rough, and folkish”.
The list itself pointed me in a direction but these comments and recommendations showed me the way. Thank you. Anyone interested in getting an online club of sorts amassed my address is maxrdenny@yahoo.com
P.S. If anyone can tell me where to find or acquire to sell me copies of “A Rifleman Went To War”; ” The Short-Timers” by Gustav Hasford please give me a shout or offer at maxrdenny@yahoo.com
Thanks again.
“In Search Of The Warrior Spirit” is excellent.
“The Mosquito Coast” by Paul Theroux
you’ve got some good ones on that list but one book you failed to mention (and it is by far the most important) is the Holy Bible. The Bible is the roadmap to salvation, and if it is the only book you ever read, than you are much better off than having read plato or steinbeck.
I think Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” is incredible. In a post-apocalyptic setting, a man tries to make his boy safe. My boy is about the same age as the child in the book. I cried when I finished reading it.
Excellent list indeed.
But..I believe “My Bondage My Freedom” the autobiography of Frederick Douglass should be near the top of your list.
amazing, i’ve jsut reaf a couple for each page…
You forgot the Inkheart series! It may be a fantasy book, but it’s rich with beautiful sayings, people, and things! It’s very, very interesting. Inkeart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath are wonderful books. They’re appropriate enough for a child, but interesting and sophisticated enough for an adult!
As Bukowski’s fiction elevates the misguided modern ideal of a man’s-man as boorish, inebriated, slobby, anti-social, mysoginist, I cannot recommend inclusion on this list.
And as the Bible is largely a byzantine hodge-podge of often contradictory advice and dubious myths, I cannot recommend it either. A most tedious and puerile read. It could use a good editor.
Wow. Guy’s these all look like really good books; granted they are a little old, for my age. Seeing as how im much younger than everybody else that reads. Heh. I’m getting back into books, so yeah. Thanks for the suggjestions.
PLUS!
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If you’re reading this, im only 13
Great selections.
I find all the classics listed here (and not the modern books, no misunderstandings please) are collected already in my website WebLiterature.Net – readers are welcome to enjoy them.
@Anonymous – I just read this book – unabridged – this summer and am wondering who are the “Two innocent people died because of his attempt at revenge” you refer to?
I don’t know if anyone will see this comment since the thread is quite long, but here it goes:
Anyone wanting a good book on manliness can put this one in front of all the others ones listed in this posting (though I must say I am a fan of the classics and advocate reading them all): Atlas, by Teddy Atlas. Teddy was a one time trainer for Mike Tyson and the trainer for heavyweight champion Michael Moorer. The book follows his upbringing and the struggles he had with his father to his run-ins with the law and how boxing set him on his life’s course. TRUST ME, GO GET IT!!!
http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Streets-Ring-Struggle-Become/dp/0060542411/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224109075&sr=1-1
So if I read these books, I become more manly?
I found this website looking for a hat and can’t believe what I stumbled upon. Since feminism, men HAVE become unsure of our role in society and in relationships. I discuss this often with my fellow peers and sometimes it is like beating my head against a wall. I applaud the creator and contributors of this website for an honest, intelligent and candid exploration of what a man is and should become.
This is a great list of books and I have read quite a few of them. I would also recommend
“Papillon” by Henri Charrière, and
“Warriors of the Way” by Harry Harrison
They are pretty bad ass books!