Quite a disappointing list, no "On the Origin of Species," no Bible?
"The Art of War?"
"The Communist Manifesto?"
"A Million Little Fibers?"

What? No Finnegans Wake?

That book has done more damage to society than Islam, Hitler, the devil and PJ O'Rourke

Meh. I own three of these books and I haven't committed unspeakable acts of violence.

Bible
Tankakh
Quran
are missing

calbert: "The Communist Manifesto?"

I can tell you didn't RTFA. The Communist Manifesto is #2 on the list.

As for those who want to bash religion, the Koran belong on the list far more than the Bible.

'The Prince' is on the list because, quote; 'it was the inspiration for a long list of tyrannies (Stalin had it on his nightstand)'

What a pile of shiat. It's the same moronic thinking as blaming the Holocaust on Nietzsche and Darwin.

PC LOAD LETTER: Bible
Tankakh
Quran
are missing

Exactly what I came here to suggest. :\

I'm going to name "Sex and the City" for spawning that truly ghastly literary genre known as "Chick lit".

Though I suppose if you trace the roots back far enough, "Sense and Sensibility" is probably to blame.

I'd have to add (from a purely aesthetic standpoint), everything by Hunter S. Thompson.

Reason: It fooled people into believing that drug-addled ranting could be considered "literature".

It builds unnecessary expectations.

I'd say "The Fountainhead" Ayn Rand. Which I love and aspire to. It forces me to recognize mediocrity in all its forms and how I actually have very little sway over it in my own life and business, and that is a problem.

Crosshair: calbert: "The Communist Manifesto?"

I can tell you didn't RTFA. The Communist Manifesto is #2 on the list.

As for those who want to bash religion, the Koran belong on the list far more than the Bible.

my bad, I skimmed it and was unimpressed. Didn't think to go back and check thoroughly. Pity the inability to edit comments.

meekychuppet: 'The Prince' is on the list because, quote; 'it was the inspiration for a long list of tyrannies (Stalin had it on his nightstand)'

What a pile of shiat. It's the same moronic thinking as blaming the Holocaust on Nietzsche and Darwin.

On the other hand, if more cube dwellers read and understood Machivelli there wouldn't be anymore idiots up at corporate afraid of someone hacking their gibsons during their lunch break.

BlankReg: I'd have to add (from a purely aesthetic standpoint), everything by Hunter S. Thompson.

Reason: It fooled people into believing that drug-addled ranting could be considered "literature".

Uh.. Hunter S. Thompson's drug-filled rants are better literature than most sober rants.

Ayn Rand is missing from the list. As is "Dianetics" by L. Ron Hubbard.

No matter what you think of Rand's philosophy, it's virtually certain you'll agree that that book was, at best, a major chore to read.

On a personal note, I'd like to dig up John Steinbeck, take a shiat in his mouth, bury him upside down and piss on his grave for The Grapes of Wrath. That book sucks balls. The only good part is the end where that chick lets the starving guy suck on her booby for sustenance.

Mein Bush.

I would prefer if the article came with links allowing the reader to buy the books.

Abrahamic religious texts are mysteriously missing from the list.

The play Death of a Salesman.

I mean seriously, what a downer.

/joking

No mention of...

Because People in power are Stupid: It builds unnecessary expectations.

What, that apples poop?

My history teacher claimed that before Machiavelli came up with The Prince, he mainly wrote love stories and happy fiction.

any one know if that's true?

If it is, I guess one day he said "Screw this. I'm going to be a mean bastard and teach everyone else how to be mean bastards".

Machiavelli has a pedo smile in the cover illustration in TFA

The Grinch: No matter what you think of Rand's philosophy, it's virtually certain you'll agree that that book was, at best, a major chore to read listen to.

/1 pic=1k wds

calbert

"The Art of War?"

Why would that appear on his list? If everyone followed the principles embodied in that work, there would have been almost no wars for all of history after it, and those that did would have been pretty short.

The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities... It is best to win without fighting.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

It is best to keep one's own state intact; to crush the enemy's state is only second best.

The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.

No Beloved? List fails.

Although I found the story behind number 9 quite amusing.

calbert: "The Art of War?"

If a certain people had read The Art of War, we wouldn't be in Iraq now (either we'd have never gone, or it would have been over).

Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone is saying the Bible is one of the missing books. But haven't you ever noticed that people who use the Bible as means to do harm usually have only read bits and parts of it and not the whole thing. They only pick and choose what suits them.

Like they use the Old Testament as way to prove that God hates gays but completely ignore the New Testament where Jesus says do unto others as you would have them do unto you and love your brother no matter if he is different from you as in the Good Samaritan parable.

The same can be said for The Quran and all other religious texts.

This list is for books that have been thoroughly read and digested and then used to do harm.

Just in case it breaks later:

10. Malleus Maleficarum
On the list because: It inflamed witch hunts across Europe

Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witchraft) was a manual for witch hunters and judges to catch witches and stamp them out. It came out just prior to the protestant reformation and it was one of the most popular books amongst the reformers who were wanting to smash "evil" out of their countries. Between 1487 and 1520, twenty editions of the Malleus were published, and another sixteen editions were published between 1574 to 1669. This book single-handedly launched centuries of witch hunts.

9. Coming of Age in Samoa
On the list because: it turned out to be a creation of her own sexual confusions and aspirations

Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist who traveled to Samoa to answer the questions on sexuality posed in America in the 1920s (particularly with reference to women). Unfortunately for Mead, the youths she interviewed in Samoa told her wild tales of sexual promiscuity and Mead reported it all as fact. One of the girls later said: "She must have taken it seriously, but I was only joking. As you know, Samoan girls are terrific liars when it comes to joking. But Margaret accepted our trumped up stories as though they were true." If challenged by Mead, the girls would not have hesitated to tell the truth, but Mead never questioned their stories. According to Wikipedia: "The use of cross-cultural comparison to highlight issues within Western society was highly influential, and contributed greatly to the heightened awareness of Anthropology and Ethnographic study in the USA." Interestingly, Mead was a highly regarded academic and had a large part in the formulation of the 1979 American Book of Common Prayer (Church of England).

8. The Prince
n the list because: it was the inspiration for a long list of tyrannies (Stalin had it on his nightstand)

The Prince is a treatise meant for rulers who had shed all scruples - to a point that they might see evil as potentially more beneficial to society than good. Machiavelli hoped to start a revolution in the hearts of his readers, and he certainly achieved that. He proudly stated things that others before him had only dared to whisper, and he whispered things that had not even been considered. According to Machiavelli "it is not necessary for a prince to have all the above-mentioned qualities [merciful, faithful, humane, honest, and religious], but it is indeed necessary to appear to have them. Nay, I dare say this, that by having them and always observing them, they are harmful; and by appearing to have them they are useful." Some of the people inspired by this book are Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Napoleon I of France.

7. Mein Kampf
On the list because: it helped spread Hitler's genocidal anti-Semitism

In Mein Kampf, Hitler outlined his racist plan for a new Germany which included mass murder of Jews, and a war against France and Russia to make living space for Germans. At the time of publication the book was largely ignored, but once Hitler rose to power that changed. It is believed that over 10 million copies were in circulation in 1945. The book is largely influenced by The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by Gustave Le Bon (1895) which suggested propaganda as a means to controlling the irrational behavior of crowds. In addition, Hitler drew on the fabricated Protocols of the Elders of Zion to give support for the need for his anti-semitic plans. Hitler speaks of "The Jewish Peril" which he believed was a conspiracy by Jews to take over the world. The book outlines the racial worldview in which people are classified by race as superior or inferior. In 2003 the sequel to Mein Kampf, Zweites Buch, was published in English for the first time. Zweites Buch (Second Book) expands on the original ideas of Mein Kampf and outlines further plans for a war with the United States and the British Empire for entire world domination by Germany.

6. The Pivot of Civilization
Margaret Sanger, 1922

On the list because: it preaches eugenics
Margaret Sanger is the mother of modern contraception and the founder of Planned Parenthood. In her 1922 book, The Pivot of Civilization, she outlined her theories of eugenics (control of the human race by selective breeding) and racial purity (3 years before Hitler did the same in Mein Kampf). The basis of her support of contraception was entirely due to her belief that inferior humans should be killed to enable a superior race to appear over time. Sanger did not just entertain popular ideas of her time - she was the champion of the cause. In her book she says: "the most urgent problem of to-day is how to limit and discourage the over-fertility of the mentally and physically defective." She goes on to say: "possibly drastic and Spartan methods may be forced upon American society if it continues complacently to encourage the chance and chaotic breeding that has resulted from our stupid, cruel sentimentalism." Birth control was, in her mind, "the greatest and most truly eugenic method." Needless to say, Planned Parenthood today have tried very hard to distance themselves from their founder.

5. Democracy and Education
John Dewey, 1916

On the list because: it convinced the world that education is not about facts
In Democracy and Education, Dewey disparages schooling that focuses on traditional character development and endowing children with hard knowledge, and encourages the teaching of thinking "skills" instead. His views have had great influence on the direction of American education-particularly in public schools. This book could be considered to be the anti-classical education manifesto. And the consequence? A generation of youths with an inferior education which lacks a founding in solid facts and knowledge. Dewey was one of the three founders of the philosophical school of Pragmatism - a school of thought which proposes that "truth" is made and can change. The current curriculum in New Zealand is one which would please Dewey immensely as it is largely founded on his principles.

jake_lex: I'm going to name "Sex and the City" for spawning that truly ghastly literary genre known as "Chick lit".

Though I suppose if you trace the roots back far enough, "Sense and Sensibility" is probably to blame.

It's only truly evil to women, as it sets unrealistic expectations about what men should be like. This is turn causes women to become miserable spinsters, destined to die alone in a room full of cats, because no man "measures up" to their unrealistic standards.

/now excuse me while I scratch myself and fart

Misericordia2008-05-17 03:02:10 PM
My history teacher claimed that before Machiavelli came up with The Prince, he mainly wrote love stories and happy fiction.

any one know if that's true?

If it is, I guess one day he said "Screw this. I'm going to be a mean bastard and teach everyone else how to be mean bastards".


It's my understanding that Machiavelli wrote The Prince with a satirical slant and that he expected no one to take it seriously. What a fool.

calbert: Quite a disappointing list, no "On the Origin of Species,"

What exactly was incorrect in The Origin of the Species?

4. Baby and Childcare
Benjamin Spock, 1946
On the list because: it caused deaths through bad advice

Regardless of whether you agree with the methodology of Spock, no one can deny that many children probably died of cot death as a result of his advice to put babies to sleep on their stomachs. This advice was extremely influential on health-care providers, with nearly unanimous support through to the 1990s. Spock believed that babies on their back can choke on their own vomit - leading to death. Scientists eventually found that Spock's advice actually lead to more deaths by suffocation. Estimates of the number of deaths caused by this bad advice are as many as 50,000. Spock also advocated a method of child raring that moved away from discipline based methods. Previously, experts had told parents that babies needed to learn to sleep on a regular schedule, and that picking them up and holding them whenever they cried would only teach them to cry more and not to sleep through the night. Spock taught the exact opposite.
3.
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Unknown


On the list because: it was a propaganda book designed to incite racial hatred

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a booklet that purports to describe a plot by world Jewry and Masonry to take over the world. Despite the fact that the booklet is a hoax, it was spread wide and far and believed by most Europeans to be true. Many people today still consider it be factual. It was instrumental to Hitler's anti-Jewish efforts in Germany and it was used after the Russian Revolution to perpetrate hatred and violence against Jews. The booklet continues to be published and disseminated in many Middle Eastern states which are political enemies of Israel.

2.
The Manifesto of the Communist Party
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 1848

200Px-Communist-Manifesto

On the list because: it could win the award for the most malicious book ever written

This book has inspired some of the most brutal regimes in man's history. Regardless of whether there has been a state which is a true Marxist state, this book has inspired so many evil actions that it can not be left off a list of this nature. Some of the principles found in the manifesto are the abolition of private ownership of land, confiscation of property of emigrants, heavy taxes, and the abolition of inheritance.

1. Darwin's Black Box
Michael Behe, 1996



On the list because: It fuels fundamentalist attacks on Science

This book has helped to fuel (through pseudo-science and untruths) the idea that evolution is false and that a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis is the only possible manner in which the earth was created. Despite much refutation from the Scientific community, many fundamentalists still use this as a "source" for proof that evolution is not true. The book itself was not peer reviewed as Behe claimed under oath, and the Science community has overwhelming rejected it.

Doctor Funkenstein: On a personal note, I'd like to dig up John Steinbeck, take a shiat in his mouth, bury him upside down and piss on his grave for The Grapes of Wrath. That book sucks balls. The only good part is the end where that chick lets the starving guy suck on her booby for sustenance.

The Moon is Down was really good. Then again I've never read The Grapes of Wrath. If we're ripping on American Classics then I want to voice my dissent towards Huck Finn. That book just sucked pure and simple.

This article just reminded me that I need to go on a book run.
I am thinking some Huxley.
Any other suggestions?

The list is also missing "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish" by Douglas Adams, because it sucked so hard it nearly ruined the whole series for me. I've almost convinced myself that, like that one scene in "Macbeth", it must've been written by someone else.

Doctor Funkenstein: On a personal note, I'd like to dig up John Steinbeck, take a shiat in his mouth, bury him upside down and piss on his grave for The Grapes of Wrath. That book sucks balls. The only good part is the end where that chick lets the starving guy suck on her booby for sustenance.

I've been here a long time and this is the dumbest comment I've ever read. Well played, sir.

4 - Baby and Childcare - Benjamin Spock, 1946

I think this is one of the major reasons that the United States, as a society, has degraded. It all comes back to Spock's "spare the rod, spoil the child" philosophy.

Now, you can raise perfectly healthy and well adjusted children without resorting to smacking them. However, when your children are misbehaving, you still need to show a dominate will over them. You need to be consistent and you always need to follow through.

I'd tend to agree with most of this list (with the disclaimer that I have actually only read one of them), except for Dewey. The article mischaracterized Dewey's work (not to mention the history of education)--but then perhaps that could also be said of Machiavelli's work.

Metaluna Mutant: /1 pic=1k wds

an engineer can learn to cook ...
but can a cook learn to create new alloys?

/ rand 1, critics 0

The Grinch: No matter what you think of Rand's philosophy, it's virtually certain you'll agree that that book was, at best, a major chore to read.

Not to mention a total cop out at the end. Sure, some guy made a magically device that fixes everything! Look it runs on static electricity and is a perpetual motion machine!!

Bah, Ayn Rand was a hack.

The Grinch

The list is also missing "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish" by Douglas Adams, because it sucked so hard it nearly ruined the whole series for me. I've almost convinced myself that, like that one scene in "Macbeth", it must've been written by someone else.

Probably every scene in Macbeth was written by "someone else".

/SLATFATF was the weakest one but it was far from bad

I sell books on Amazon so I'm really getting a kick...

/Rather tame list compared to the sacred texts of theologies all throughout history.

//If asked to add to the articles tame list I'd perhaps add the Satanic Verses, Darwin's Origin of Species, and Uncle Tom's Cabin.

farkeruk Quote 2008-05-17 03:06:31 PM
calbert: "The Art of War?"

If a certain people had read The Art of War, we wouldn't be in Iraq now (either we'd have never gone, or it would have been over).

xria Quote 2008-05-17 03:05:25 PM
calbert

"The Art of War?"

Why would that appear on his list? If everyone followed the principles embodied in that work, there would have been almost no wars for all of history after it, and those that did would have been pretty short.

The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities... It is best to win without fighting.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

It is best to keep one's own state intact; to crush the enemy's state is only second best.

The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.

Bush broke all the basic rules and look at the mess we are in... its a book all national leaders should read...

Mugato: calbert: Quite a disappointing list, no "On the Origin of Species,"

What exactly was incorrect in The Origin of the Species?

The list isn't about books that are correct or incorrect. The list is about books that "screwed up the world". You could argue that that The Origin of the Species "screwed up the world" as it challenged long standing, established beliefs.

And before you get all clever-atheist on me, you could also argue that the world was already screwed up and that The Origin of the Species made it far less so.