Our American culture is a compilation of great thoughts and ideas that originated from the great thinkers of our times. Many visitors are often puzzled at the way the American culture functions. All societies around the world are in a
constant state of flux, often incorporating many thoughts and ideas that seem right for that time, the “zeitgeist”.
American society as with other societies are continually evolving and hopefully improving with time. We gain better insights and knowledge of ourselves through our experiences. The great thinkers of our times reflect on the experience
and record their thoughts. The works listed below have been time tested thus illustrating their enduring value. Yes, it is true; the pen is mightier than the sword.
It is a generally accepted fact that a well educated person should have at least a basic acquaintance with some of the more important authors, books, essays and ideas that have shaped our values.
If you want to gain a better understanding of why Americans think the way they do, it is important to know the roots of western thoughts. For those interested in knowing more about Western Culture, here is a list of those books and essays
that have influenced us.
The recommended book selection below was adapted from the Western Civilization course at the University of Kansas. This list is by no means a definitive list. Regardless, this list will get you started on gaining a better understanding
of Western Culture and America.
Epic of Gilgamesh – “The Story of the Flood”
“Song of Isis: from Egyptian tablets
The Hebrew Bible Genesis 1-25, Exodus 1-20.
Sophocles Antigonein the Three Theban Plays
Plato Apology, Crito, Phaedo and the Trial and Death of Socrates
Aristotle The Politics
Virgil Aeneid
Seneca Letters from a Stoic
The New Testament: The Gospel According to Mark; The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians
Augustine Confessions
The Koran: The Cow, Women, the Table, Thunder, Abraham, the Prophets, Man
Moses Maimonides The Guide for the Perplexed
St. Thomas Aquinas On Politics and Ethics
Geoffrey Chaucer “The Wife of Bath, Prologue & Tale” and “The Pardoner” from the Canterbury Tales.
Christine de Pizan The Treasury of the City of Ladies
Niccolo Machiavelli The Prince
Martin Luther “An Appeal to the Ruling Class of the German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate”
John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion
Galileo Galilei “The letter to the Grand Duchess Christina”
Rene Descartes Discourse of Method
Jean-Jacques Rousseau A Discourse on Inequality
John Locke Second Treatise of Government
Edmund Burke Reflections on the Revolution in France
Thomas Paine Rights of Man
Mary Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights of Women
John Stuart Mill On Liberty
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton The Federalist Papers
Charles Darwin The Origin of the Species and the Descent of Man
T.H. Huxley The Struggle for Existence in Human Society
Augusta Comte The Positive Philosophy
Albert Einstein Ideas and Opinions
Jacob Bronowski Science and Human Value
Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels The Communist Manifesto
Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations
Andrew Carnegie Wealth
Charlotte Perkins Gilman Women and Economics
W.E.B. Du Bois The Soul of Black Folk
Octavio Paz The Labyrinth of Solitude
John Neihardt Black Elk Speaks
Aldo Leopold The Land Ethic
Friedrich Nietzsche Twilight of Idols
Fyodor Dostoevsky “The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor” from the Brothers Karamazov
Sigmund Freud The Future of an Illusion
Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex
Virginia Woolf A Room of One’s Own
Elie Wiesel Night
Martin Luther King Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail
Gerda Weissman Klein All But My Life
Bob Chudy
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