Ours list of books every man should read is original material. What is being touted these days on other list as collections of the best books for men are most likely to reflect the amount of sales of the individual books. It’s common to find a list of books that are supposed to be for males listed in magazines, on websites and newspapers. What we discovered about what winds up on these types of list are books that publishers spent huge amounts of money to publicize rather than books that may have had an impact on the lives of readers.
Ours list of books we recommend for men is based on our keen observations of what we have seen men are reading as we traveled around. We observed dozens of men reading novels so there are one or two on our list. Men are overwhelmingly readers of non-fiction and the vast majority of the books on our list of books for men are from that genre.
We avoided repeating the same old nonfiction stalwarts and macho novels you find on list by Esquire NY Times and other mainstream publications. We sought out the bright literary works that can empower, engage and engross the masculine cyber-centric minds of the 21st Century males. We didn’t want to use an old list just warmed over. So with post-haste we want to add our two cents to the bulging stack of book list.
Davinci code - Dan Brown. The fact or fiction novel explores an alternate religious history. It spawned a new generation of conspiracy theories, renewed interest in ancient mysteries and historical artifacts.
R.L.Stine often referred to as the "Stephen King of children's literature. He authored hundreds of horror fiction novels, including Fear Street, Goosebumps, and a Space Cadets trilogy. The value in these are not necessarily for the reader, but they are good for men to read and share with their children.
Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman.. This book is an eye-opening treatise about political systems, the media, and other crucial resources controlling the flow of information we consume.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Indispensable reading for men who want to learn how to focus on the important things and become more effective in work and in life.
The Civil War Shelby Foote. - Southern born and bred Foote is lauded for the way he painstakingly labored to maintain his objectivity in the narrative. He deliberately avoided mythologizing the characters and idioms in this American vs American conflict, in his work.
Malcolm Gladwell - (anything by the author) Gladwell's penchant for research studies, attractive writing style and content have some calling him a minor genius. He makes mundane scholarly data digestible so that we commoners can relate to the incredible findings he documents in his books.
In Search of Excellence - Tom Peters. One of the most widely read business books of all time. It was once the officially listed amongst the most widely held library books in the United States from 1989 to 2006. His lectures and books have shaped how we do business and several generations of businessmen in America
.
Black Theology and Black Power - James Hal Cone. This book spawned the contemporary thought embraced by civil rights leaders and African American theologians that led the Black Church in the 60’s and 70’s. The book articulated what many Black ministers in those decades felt, but were unable or reluctant to express and laid the foundation for what is now referred to as Black Theology.
Power Of Intention - Dr Wayne Dyer. Dyer’s books are not the kind literary works that you will find on required reading list for schools. However they should be because of their ability to empower men to change and be able to get in touch with their true feelings. His writings can provide them with a mantra for inspiration and success.
Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell. A book that gave man a look into a not so distant future and fueled a generation of science fiction writers, fans and films . Many of the terms and concepts, from the book such as Big Brother, doublethink and Orwellian are now words accepted into common usage.
A People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn. His work provides a 360 degree perspective on American history that is not found in most historical publications . Zinn addresses contributions by various ethnic groups that many history text take for granted or fail to mention.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family - Alex Haley. A wave of self discovery by Americans of every nationality was launched by the movie from this memorable book. It legitimized cultural pride, heritage and traditions.
Dress for Success - John T. Molloy We learned from Molloy what we always suspected about the effects of our appearance in business situations. It popularized the concept of "power dressing." and is responsible for a chain of Dress For Success outlets. They provide clothing, confidence boosts, and career development to low-income women in over 75 cities worldwide
The Power of Positive Thinking - Norman Vincent Peal. First published in 1952, it stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks, and according to the publisher, Simon and Schuster, the book has sold around 5 million copies
Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft. Known as the Lovecraft Mythos. It is about a shared fictional universe created in the 1920s. The American born horror writer is credited with influencing scores of modern day science fiction and horror writers.
These books and authors on our list of
Books Every Man Should Read were chosen because they demonstrated an ability to create change, dialogue and have an impact on 21st Century society. Many of the works are not generally ones that most people would consider for a best sellers list, because they did not achieve monumental sales.
However, they are books that can be identified as literary works that have shaped various aspects of modern thought, ideas and beliefs. We feel that men who read these recommended books will experience positive benefits from these notable publications.
has grown beyond those included in Bertrand Russell’s famous quotation “There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.”
There are few if any books that speak real-talk to young men, from Generation Y (1980-2000) that relates to the challenges they face daily.
