25 Books Every man should read

Enchiridion of Epictetus

The Enchiridion or Manual of Epictetus is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice compiled by Arrian, a 2nd-century disciple of the Greek philosopher Epictetus.

 

As a Man Thinketh

Thoughts are things. We are what we repeatedly think about.  Learn to first create in your mind the life that you want, then manifest its reality through your hard work and actions.  A classic – short simple and powerful.

 

Obstacle is the Way

We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn’t be this way. There is a formula for success that’s been followed by the icons of history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities.

 

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Does this book really need any explaining? It follows the life of a reformed convict, Jean Valjean, and illustrates the power and beauty of redemption. From the book: “To love another person is to see the face of God.”

 

The Way Of The Superior Man

This book is more applicable to men but worth reading by anyone. Get leverage over yourself.  This book helps you to understand various emotional challenges that many men experience and how to gain mastery over one of the most difficult opponents: yourself.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha dreamed the bird died in the cage, which symbolizes what will happen to him if he continues his path of samsara. When he leaves, a real bird is released by Kamala. Therefore, the bird represents Siddhartha leaving the prison of samsara and choosing a life outside of the cage, rather than a life of pleasure and comfort inside the cage.

 

Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl

Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later

Crime and Punishment

Through the story of the brilliant but conflicted young Raskolnikov and the murder he commits, Fyodor Dostoevsky explores the theme of redemption through suffering. Crime and Punishment put Dostoevsky at the forefront of Russian writers when it appeared in 1866 and is now one of the most famous and influential novels in world literature.

The Great Gatsby

Set among New York City elites in the roaring ‘20s, this book is considered one of America’s great literary products for a reason. Narrator Nick Carraway is befriended by his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and proves to be a crucial link in Jay’s quixotic obsession with Nick’s cousin, Daisy. The metaphors, the beautiful writing, and the lessons one can garner about reliving the past all make The Great Gatsby worth reading, again and again. Our interview with NPR’s Maureen Corrigan is worth a listen.

 

1984 by George Orwell

Set in a future dystopian world of perpetual war and constant government surveillance, our protagonist, Winston, is a quintessential everyman who works for the Ministry of Truth rewriting history to the government’s party lines rhetoric. He comes upon a secret organization which seeks to destroy the state, and together with a mysterious woman, joins the cause to fight against Big Brother. Although published in the late 1940s, it resonates today more strongly than ever. Will you be a lemming? Or will you be an independent thinker and actor?

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Malcolm X is one of the most controversial public figures from the Civil Rights Movement. His autobiography shows what a complex man he was. In it, we see his transformation from ignorance and despair to knowledge and spiritual awakening. His emphasis on the principle of self-reliance and taking a stand for your rights can resonate with every man, especially in turbulent political and social times.

The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

The fundamental work on free-market policies: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.” Want an education in economics? This book is a great start.

 

Ulysses by James Joyce

This notoriously hard-to-read novel chronicles the wandering appointments and encounters of main character Leopold Bloom in Dublin during the course of an ordinary day, June 16, 1904. Ulysses is the Latinized version of Odysseus, the famed Homeric hero, and Joyce establishes a connection between the characters and experiences of the two. Using stream-of-consciousness writing, and plenty of puns and allusions, it’s just about guaranteed you won’t fully get it on the first read. Just do your best and make it through.

 

Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

God is dead. The Übermensch. Eternal recurrence. A will to power. Many of Friedrich Nietzsche’s most well-known and controversial ideas are explored in this philosophical novel that follows a fictional wandering prophet named Zarathustra. Through Zarathustra, Nietzsche attacks modern philosophy and morality and provides a philosophical framework for approaching life in a post-religious world. Whether you’re a believer or non-believer, if you want to understand today’s cultural milieu, this is a must-read.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe is the “autobiography” of a castaway who spent 30 years on a remote tropical island. He encounters difficult terrain, less-than-friendly natives, and a variety of other obstacles. It was described and written so realistically — the name Robinson Crusoe was even listed as the author — that many people thought it was about actual events rather than being a novel from the mind of Daniel Defoe. Almost 300 years later, it still holds up.

 

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.

It is impossible to describe this book and do it justice. But if you plan on living life on your terms, climbing as high as you’d like to go, and avoid being controlled by others, then you need to read this book. Robert is an amazing researcher and storyteller — he has a profound ability to explain timeless truths through story and example.

 

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Ryan Holiday’s description of the Meditations in his list of 36 books every young and ambitious man should read, can’t much be improved upon: “I would call this the greatest book ever written. It is the definitive text on self-discipline, personal ethics, humility, self-actualization, and strength. Bill Clinton reads it every year, and so have countless other leaders, statesmen, and soldiers. It is a book written by one of the most powerful men who ever lived on the lessons that power, responsibility, and philosophy teach us. This book will make you a better person and better able to manage the success you desire.”

 

The Code of Man by Waller Newell

What does it mean to be a man, not just biologically, but philosophically? Waller Newell lays out one of the most compelling answers to the question of how a man should live in this book. He argues that many modern men have lost touch with the values and virtues that defined manliness for thousands of years, and consequently feel lost, confused, and angry. Newell believes that the road to recovery is taken along the five paths to manliness: love, courage, pride, family, and country. Using Western writers and thinkers like Aristotle and Hemingway, among others, Newell offers important guidance on the path to achieving a “manly heart.”

 

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Often called the masterpiece of Spanish literature, One Hundred Years of Solitude is an epic family story which tells the tale of the fall, birth, and death of the town of Macondo. Marquez introduces us to seven generations of Buendia’s, whose patriarch founded the town. The family is unable to escape their regular misfortunes, though. Is history bound to repeat itself, or can the Buendia’s free themselves from their family’s history?

Oil! by Upton Sinclair

Upton Sinclair’s novel of the 1920s oil industry should be read if for no other reason than that it served as the inspiration for one of the greatest movies of this century, There Will Be Blood. The book is told through the eyes of Bunny, an oil tycoon’s son. His sympathies towards oil field workers and socialist leanings create a lot of discord with dear old dad. What Sinclair’s The Jungle did for the meatpacking industry, this book did for oil.

Asura: Tale Of The Vanquished

The epic tale of victory and defeat… The story of the Ramayana had been told innumerable times. The enthralling story of Rama, the incarnation of God, who slew Ravana, the evil demon of darkness, is known to every Indian. And in the pages of history, as always, it is the version told by the victors that lives on. The voice of the vanquished remains lost in silence.

 

Barry Lyndon

Set in late 18th century Europe the adventures and misadventures of a minor member of the Irish gentry trying to better himself. Redmond Barry of Bally Barry is a clever young man, who learns the manners of a gentleman. This serves him well, for the next few decades he meanders through Europe, as a soldier, mercenary, gambler, and vagabond.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

A defining novel of the Beat generation, On the Road, is fictional, but a semi-autobiographical account of two friends’ road trips across America, against the backdrop of a counter-culture of jazz, poetry, drug use, and the drunken revelry of back-alley bars. Along with their travels, they’re searching for what many young men are: freedom, ambition, hope, and authenticity.

The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey

The Motorcycle Diaries is a 2004 biopic about the journey and written memoir of the 23-year-old Ernesto Guevara, who would several years later become internationally known as the iconic Marxist guerrilla commander and revolutionary Che Guevara.