Help a Saudi woman! Need a list of Great Books!

[Iman]

Hi, I love books have so all my life (inherited it from my father who actually has written a book!). Life changes us, and I am now in a stage of my life where I prefer non-fiction, would like to know more about the world and things that have happened and will happen. Science, political, culture, everything real.
I need help, because I am in the US now as a graduate student soon I will go home. I love my home, but unfortunately I will not have access to so many books in English. So I want help in buying the best books for my library before I leave.
I have already made a library for my children (bought boxes and boxes from ebay ) I am determined to encourage my kids to love reading like me!
Help me find the books of the best thinkers out there, I am now reading a book "Chinese lessons : five classmates and the story of the new China / by John Pomfret". It is great I think I might buy it, only on pg 25 now.
I appreciate your help

 

[Heteronym]

Language:
The Language Instinct, Steven Pinker
Science and Sanity, Alfred Korzybski
The Tyranny of Words, Stuart Chase

Neuroscience:
Descarte's Error, António Damásio
How the Mind Works, Steven Pinker
The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker

Politics:
Failed States, Noam Chomsky
Hegemony or Survival, Noam Chomsky
Mediated: Thomas de Zengotita

Religion:
The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins
Breaking the Spell, Dan Bennett
From Terrorism to World Peace, Charles Meister

Anthropology/Evolution:
Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond
Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Dan Bennett
The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins

Economics:
Banker to the Poor, Muhammad Yunus
Capitalism and Freedom, Milton Friedman

I also recommend anything by:
Bertrand Russell
Erich From
Hannah Arendt
Gore Vidal
Robert Anton Wilson
Mary Midgley

 

[Iman]

Thank you

I will check these books out, do you know of a good ebook website? I know ebay sells books at cheap rates, but I thought maybe an ebook website would be cheaper to get a large collection.
Thanks

 

[funes]

Some of the books that I would regard as essential non-fiction are:

PrairyErth - William Least-Heat Moon
The Making of the Atomic Bomb - Richard Rhodes
The Great Bridge - David McCullough
The Path Between the Seas - David McCullough
Endurance - Alfred Lansing
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
Genius - James Gleick
A Gentle Madness - Nicholas Basbanes

 

[Iman]

Thank you

I appreciate all the suggestions. I am making a list of all the suggestions I get. Then I can look a little closer and pick as many as I can afford.

 

[Heteronym]

William Least-Heat Moon has some interesting things to say about the USA, that aren't mentioned in the world media whenever they're news. Blue Highways is a must!

 

[funes]

I couldn't tell you anything about William Least-Heat Moon's politics or ideology. And, Blue Highways is a wonderful book. But, PrairyErth is unlike anything else I have ever read. He calls it a "deep map", and there is something deep, almost tidal, about the feel and pace of the book.

 

[Heteronym]

It's not Moon's ideology or politics; I mean his ability to unearth a USA that usually doesn't appear in movies, TV series and books, and that non-Americans who think the USA is New York and Los Angeles know nothing about. No one gives a damn about a little town in the middle of nowhere called Dime Box, but Moon does! And that's what makes him great.

 

[Iman]

Thanks again!

This is great! I love to read, but with school and kids I only have time to read textbooks!! But when I go home I will hopefully have more time to read.
My favorite place is the library (very nerdy I know), but back home we do not have public libraries in English that is one thing I wish we will gain in the coming years. For now I will have to make the best with what I can afford, and that is why these suggestions help me a lot. Instead of me investing in not so great books and finding out to late that I wasted my time and money.

 

[mel07]

i am reading The Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas at the moment. it's a brilliant introduction to western philosophy AND it's beautifully and lucidly written.

 

[lady.cordelia]

of course halfprice books (which is ebay related). do you live near a halfprice books store?

go to the pulitzer website and look up what won the award for nonfiction through the years. you will find great ideas there.

 

[funes]

It's not Moon's ideology or politics; I mean his ability to unearth a USA that usually doesn't appear in movies, TV series and books, and that non-Americans who think the USA is New York and Los Angeles know nothing about. No one gives a damn about a little town in the middle of nowhere called Dime Box, but Moon does! And that's what makes him great.

My apologies. I misunderstood what you were driving at.
At any rate, you're quite right. Blue Highways is like a tour of the US, while PrairyErth is like a tour of time as seem through the lens of rural America.

 

[Proofreader]

Try abebooks.com - wideranging, efficient, and you can search on keywords.