I know this is an old thread, but it deserves a bump into the limelight.SwayMe said:
Anyways, to answer this question, read Greene's books and he constantly refers to the older books where he got his research. Follow the breadcrumbs.
What book changed your life?
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Anyways, to answer this question, read Greene's books and he constantly refers to the older books where he got his research. Follow the breadcrumbs.
I've seen a lot of mentions of "Think and Grow Rich". I've read it several times over the years, and listened to the audiobook I picked up of it. I get the concepts in it, but it never "clicked" for me. The author states early in the book that it will only hit you when you're ready, but that just seems frustrating. I think it should be required reading at some point in life, but I can't put it on my "changed my life" list of books.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was the book that opened me, as a teenager, up to what a book could be -- more than a story, but a thought-provoking journey of discovery about the world and myself. I looked at the world in a different, more mature light after digesting that book.
No Exit by Sartre was another book that opened me up to a deeper, more philosophical understanding of life and other people. The concept that "Hell is other people" really struck a chord with me, and pushed me to read a lot of other books that I don't think I would have otherwise read.
No Exit by Sartre was another book that opened me up to a deeper, more philosophical understanding of life and other people. The concept that "Hell is other people" really struck a chord with me, and pushed me to read a lot of other books that I don't think I would have otherwise read.
Rules of the Game by Neil Strauss was what introduced me to the concept of Game in the first place. I'd be in a very different place in my life right now if not for chancing upon that book.
Between silk and cyanide - One of the most extraordinary books I have ever read. Leo Marks was a young genius of 23, sent to SOE (Special Operations Executive) in WWII. He was involved in training agents to encrypt their reports, and in deciphering some of the 'uncrackable' codes. It is an extraordinary, true, account of raw humanity, and it is Mark's personal memoir of his time in SOE, during which agents were often knowingly and unavoidably sent to their deaths.
If you're a crypto geek you'll love it, obviously, as all the codes are presented for you to try to crack(not a necessary part of enjoying the book). But beyond that, it is an extraordinary and beautiful illustration of the work of SOE in training and deploying agents, and the ingenuity, danger and intrigue it involved.
The most famous poem, which was also a cipher, was this one, given to Violette Szabo, shortly before she was arrested, tortured, and executed by the Nazis:
The life that I have
Is all that I have
And the life that I have
Is yours.
The love that I have
Of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours.
A sleep I shall have
A rest I shall have
Yet death will be but a pause.
For the peace of my years
In the long green grass
Will be yours and yours and yours.
Warning: however tough you think you are, you may well be reduced to tears by this book. It is extraordinarily compelling.
If you're a crypto geek you'll love it, obviously, as all the codes are presented for you to try to crack(not a necessary part of enjoying the book). But beyond that, it is an extraordinary and beautiful illustration of the work of SOE in training and deploying agents, and the ingenuity, danger and intrigue it involved.
The most famous poem, which was also a cipher, was this one, given to Violette Szabo, shortly before she was arrested, tortured, and executed by the Nazis:
The life that I have
Is all that I have
And the life that I have
Is yours.
The love that I have
Of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours.
A sleep I shall have
A rest I shall have
Yet death will be but a pause.
For the peace of my years
In the long green grass
Will be yours and yours and yours.
Warning: however tough you think you are, you may well be reduced to tears by this book. It is extraordinarily compelling.
Lion of Judah
Robin
how about Blood Meridian by Cormac Mccarthy
LeeEnfield303
Pelican
Churchill: The Last Lion (William Manchester)
Truth Teller
Ostrich
I really can't just name one. In no particular order:
The Bible (particularly the NT)
The Sun Also Rises (Hemingway)
The Game (Neil Strauss)
Summa Theologica (St.Thomas Aquinas)
Heartiste's blog (not technically a book, but who cares) really showed me what the dark side of game is. While reading one day, I came across his post on love, and I was floored. I spent the rest of the day thinking about how Roissy/Heartiste was a more embittered version of me, just 10 or 15 years down the road. Suddenly, a lot of my life started to make sense.
The Bible (particularly the NT)
The Sun Also Rises (Hemingway)
The Game (Neil Strauss)
Summa Theologica (St.Thomas Aquinas)
Heartiste's blog (not technically a book, but who cares) really showed me what the dark side of game is. While reading one day, I came across his post on love, and I was floored. I spent the rest of the day thinking about how Roissy/Heartiste was a more embittered version of me, just 10 or 15 years down the road. Suddenly, a lot of my life started to make sense.
Honorable Man
Woodpecker
Bukowski's Women.
I don't think that any one specific book has decisively changed my life, but rather my worldview has undergone various paradigm shifts throughout the years based on many diverse fragments of information gleaned from many different books and written materials.
I remember that my worldview took its first radical turn when I became acquainted with the writings of Ayn Rand several years ago. Prior to that period of my intellectual evolution, I had been a pathological altruist for most of my life and so as you can expect I really tended to get the shit end of the deal.
Ayn Rand's philosophical ideas on ethics and morality were my first encounter with Red Pill thought. I had previously imbided Blue Pill society's strange ideal that altruism is equated with good while self-interest is associated with evil, but thanks to Ayn Rand's insight I realized that human action can be divided into not two but three moral categories, namely 'altruistic', 'rationally selfish' and 'irrationally selfish', and that rational selfishness/self-interest, a moral perspective of cooperation based on mutual interest without self-sacrifice on one extreme and without trampling other people's rights for irrational self-interest on the other extreme, is the most natural posture to take. I also learned about how certain groups within society use shaming tactics against those who refuse to conform to their own altruistic ideals.
Since then, I have become more individualistic and have made a conscious effort to put my own interests before those of unrelated others. This all started with Ayn Rand and recently has culminated with my discovery of the Manosphere and its Red Pill philosophy.
I remember that my worldview took its first radical turn when I became acquainted with the writings of Ayn Rand several years ago. Prior to that period of my intellectual evolution, I had been a pathological altruist for most of my life and so as you can expect I really tended to get the shit end of the deal.
Ayn Rand's philosophical ideas on ethics and morality were my first encounter with Red Pill thought. I had previously imbided Blue Pill society's strange ideal that altruism is equated with good while self-interest is associated with evil, but thanks to Ayn Rand's insight I realized that human action can be divided into not two but three moral categories, namely 'altruistic', 'rationally selfish' and 'irrationally selfish', and that rational selfishness/self-interest, a moral perspective of cooperation based on mutual interest without self-sacrifice on one extreme and without trampling other people's rights for irrational self-interest on the other extreme, is the most natural posture to take. I also learned about how certain groups within society use shaming tactics against those who refuse to conform to their own altruistic ideals.
Since then, I have become more individualistic and have made a conscious effort to put my own interests before those of unrelated others. This all started with Ayn Rand and recently has culminated with my discovery of the Manosphere and its Red Pill philosophy.
"The No Limit Person" - Wayne Dyer. An audio book, out of print, of like 8 or 9 cassettes. One of his earliest works, recorded from a live appearance in Detroit in the early 80's. It came at one of the most pivotal points in my life, given to me by my GF's dad who was an Amway guy that had bookshelves full of that stuff. I listened to it for years, and still do on occasion as I ripped it to digital.
Coincidentally the GF's dad just passed away and his wife wrote to me and told me on July 4th. I was on a roof top drinking and it instantly brought me to tears, and I pretty much had to leave a party. If you ever read Rich Dad/Poor Dad, this was my Rich Dad, my first mentor and there for me at a time in my life when I most needed it. He gave me one of the best examples I have ever had in my life.
Coincidentally the GF's dad just passed away and his wife wrote to me and told me on July 4th. I was on a roof top drinking and it instantly brought me to tears, and I pretty much had to leave a party. If you ever read Rich Dad/Poor Dad, this was my Rich Dad, my first mentor and there for me at a time in my life when I most needed it. He gave me one of the best examples I have ever had in my life.
48 Laws of Power Taught me to understand how people use manipulation to gain influence.
The Art of War Taught me to how to employ strategy and how to override my emotional response.
The Rational Male[/b] Taught me the true nature of women.
What the Buddha taught Taught me that attachment leads to suffering.
Mastery Taught me that with sustained practice, any goal is achievable.
The Art of War Taught me to how to employ strategy and how to override my emotional response.
The Rational Male[/b] Taught me the true nature of women.
What the Buddha taught Taught me that attachment leads to suffering.
Mastery Taught me that with sustained practice, any goal is achievable.
One book that really affected when I was 20 is The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler.
I think Richler is my favourite novelist and while this isn't my personal favourite of his (check out Solomon Gursky Was Here), the main character's struggles were easy to empathize with and I've always had a soft spot for the bildungsroman. Full of interesting perspectives on life and some lessons on how to have a good one.
The novels centers on Duddy Kravitz, a poor Jewish kid growing up in Montreal in the 50s. The main plot is about Duddy trying to build something in this world to become a "somebody", basically doing all he can to hustle his way out of poverty. Follows his many entrepreneurial pursuits; from selling porn and stolen hockey sticks to making Bar Mitzvah movies to real estate. Often genuinely hilarious, had me laughing aloud regularly, I've always thought Richler was under-appreciated, he's one of the funniest and most honest writers I've ever read.
There's one quote that really shook me when I first read it, its when Duddy's rich uncle is doling out some advice to him. He tells him "You're two people. The scheming little bastard I saw so easily, and the fine, intelligent boy underneath that your grandfather, bless him, saw. But, you're coming of age soon and you'll have to choose. A boy can be two, three, four potential people, but a man is only one. He murders the others."
It really solidified the idea for me that with all of the options modern life can present to you, you just need to make a choice sometimes. I used to have issues with being decisive and waffling between the direction I should take. This book, and that quote especially, really made me reevaluate that part of myself, which ultimately stemmed from being afraid of choosing wrong. Now I have goals that I'm working towards consistently about where I want to be in life and more importantly who I want to be. Books can really impart some of life's most impactful lessons.
I think Richler is my favourite novelist and while this isn't my personal favourite of his (check out Solomon Gursky Was Here), the main character's struggles were easy to empathize with and I've always had a soft spot for the bildungsroman. Full of interesting perspectives on life and some lessons on how to have a good one.
The novels centers on Duddy Kravitz, a poor Jewish kid growing up in Montreal in the 50s. The main plot is about Duddy trying to build something in this world to become a "somebody", basically doing all he can to hustle his way out of poverty. Follows his many entrepreneurial pursuits; from selling porn and stolen hockey sticks to making Bar Mitzvah movies to real estate. Often genuinely hilarious, had me laughing aloud regularly, I've always thought Richler was under-appreciated, he's one of the funniest and most honest writers I've ever read.
There's one quote that really shook me when I first read it, its when Duddy's rich uncle is doling out some advice to him. He tells him "You're two people. The scheming little bastard I saw so easily, and the fine, intelligent boy underneath that your grandfather, bless him, saw. But, you're coming of age soon and you'll have to choose. A boy can be two, three, four potential people, but a man is only one. He murders the others."
It really solidified the idea for me that with all of the options modern life can present to you, you just need to make a choice sometimes. I used to have issues with being decisive and waffling between the direction I should take. This book, and that quote especially, really made me reevaluate that part of myself, which ultimately stemmed from being afraid of choosing wrong. Now I have goals that I'm working towards consistently about where I want to be in life and more importantly who I want to be. Books can really impart some of life's most impactful lessons.
Any book worth reading is worth re-reading. Why? Because each time you revisit a book, or any other work of art, you'll take something new away from it. You'll likely have a much different interpretation of a book you read at eighteen if you were to read it again at twenty-seven, or thirty-six, or fifty-two, etc.
It's too difficult for me to choose a single book that's changed my life, so here are several:
"The System" by Doc Love, AKA Thomas Hodges
Although much of the advice shared in the book may seem antiquated now (e.g. getting a girl's HOME phone number), at the time I read it in 2002, it made for a nice introduction to red pill philosophy. Doc Love's theory on "interest level" still holds up. Essentially, it doesn't matter how interested you are in a girl, but how interested she is in you. If you want to attract female attention, you're much more likely to get it by being a "challenge" than by making grand overtures.
"The Mystery Method" by Erik Von Markovik, AKA "Mystery"
Without a doubt, this is one of the best pick-up guides ever written. I first learned of Mystery from reading another book, "The Game" by Neil Strauss. I didn't hate Strauss' book, but I found it to be a bit disappointing at the time, as it didn't contain nearly as much "how-to" practical knowledge as I'd hoped. Fortunately, Mystery ended up writing his own book, which more than made up for anything left out in "The Game".
"Bang" and other articles written by Roosh V.
Before reading Roosh's work, I may have known what it took to be a player, but through reading his work, I discovered what it meant to truly have game. For a long time, I made the mistake of making women my whole life instead of just a part of it. But Roosh's articles stressed the importance of becoming well-rounded by educating your mind, strengthening your body and developing seduction skills -- to not just be a player, but to have real game. Through him, I also discovered the Chateau Heartiste blog, another awesome resource for red pill wisdom.
Other books I've greatly benefitted from:
"The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli
Any book by Robert Greene
"The Art of the Deal" by Donald J. Trump
"The Manipulated Man" by Esther Vilar
I'm currently working on reading several other books, which I've really enjoyed reading so far and will surely add to a list of future recommendations once I've finished them.
It's too difficult for me to choose a single book that's changed my life, so here are several:
"The System" by Doc Love, AKA Thomas Hodges
Although much of the advice shared in the book may seem antiquated now (e.g. getting a girl's HOME phone number), at the time I read it in 2002, it made for a nice introduction to red pill philosophy. Doc Love's theory on "interest level" still holds up. Essentially, it doesn't matter how interested you are in a girl, but how interested she is in you. If you want to attract female attention, you're much more likely to get it by being a "challenge" than by making grand overtures.
"The Mystery Method" by Erik Von Markovik, AKA "Mystery"
Without a doubt, this is one of the best pick-up guides ever written. I first learned of Mystery from reading another book, "The Game" by Neil Strauss. I didn't hate Strauss' book, but I found it to be a bit disappointing at the time, as it didn't contain nearly as much "how-to" practical knowledge as I'd hoped. Fortunately, Mystery ended up writing his own book, which more than made up for anything left out in "The Game".
"Bang" and other articles written by Roosh V.
Before reading Roosh's work, I may have known what it took to be a player, but through reading his work, I discovered what it meant to truly have game. For a long time, I made the mistake of making women my whole life instead of just a part of it. But Roosh's articles stressed the importance of becoming well-rounded by educating your mind, strengthening your body and developing seduction skills -- to not just be a player, but to have real game. Through him, I also discovered the Chateau Heartiste blog, another awesome resource for red pill wisdom.
Other books I've greatly benefitted from:
"The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli
Any book by Robert Greene
"The Art of the Deal" by Donald J. Trump
"The Manipulated Man" by Esther Vilar
I'm currently working on reading several other books, which I've really enjoyed reading so far and will surely add to a list of future recommendations once I've finished them.
Pride male
Hummingbird
Mystery Method and Jesus Never Existed.
The game by Neil Strauss
Mystery method by Erik Von Markovic, aka Mystery.
The first book was an excellent eye opener for me in the sense of the possibility of learning game.
The second book is a very analytical deconstruction of the interactions between men and women in the sexual sense. The openers, routines and the peacock theory are very cheesy but the book is very worth in my opinion.
Thanks to those books later I discovered Roosh and Roissy (now heartiste) blogs and this forum.
Mystery method by Erik Von Markovic, aka Mystery.
The first book was an excellent eye opener for me in the sense of the possibility of learning game.
The second book is a very analytical deconstruction of the interactions between men and women in the sexual sense. The openers, routines and the peacock theory are very cheesy but the book is very worth in my opinion.
Thanks to those books later I discovered Roosh and Roissy (now heartiste) blogs and this forum.
The Dangerous Passion by David Buss - A really interesting look at why jealousy exists