10 books that have greatly influenced me

I just saw a post of @chhun on Facebook about the 10 benefits of reading and why we should read everyday. It prompted me to think for a moment what books have greatly influenced me. After long deliberation, I have finally come up with a list of 10, but could have easily expanded it to 20. ### 1. Friedrich Nietzsche - On the genealogy of Morality (moral philosophy) This book, in my opinion is a master piece in moral philosophy. It was the first book I read of Nietzsche. It initially made me feel uncomfortable, but I found no way to argue against the theses. The book crushed every intuitive feeling of ethics I had. https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386923909l/80449.jpg Several topics discussed in the book are master-slave morality, origins of the words good-evil, concept of 'ressentiment', and his critique of Judaism/Christianity. ### 2. Ludwig von Mises - Planning for Freedom (philosophy of economics) At the start of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, I was looking for answers of what had caused it. Doing so, I came across this wonderful bundle of essays that explained the superiority of free markets and the poverty of regulated economies. https://mises-media.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/slideshow/s3/static-page/img/Planning%20for%20Freedom_Mises.jpg?itok=1_qt-MNi In my opinion, Ludwig von Mises was the greatest economist in the 20th century together with Friedrich Hayek. ### 3. Friedrich Hayek - The Use of Knowledge in Society (economics) The idea that knowledge is decentralized and that it's therefore best to let every individual decide what to do with their lives has greatly influenced Serey. Serey has been built on the notion that every individual should have the freedom to contribute to the platform with their own particular knowledge and creativity. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1KUds6DDPb4/maxresdefault.jpg According to Hayek, who has won the nobel prize in economics, the role of economics is to > demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design. ### 4. Lao Tsu - Tao Te Ching (Daoist philosophy) This adorable little book on Daoism has taught me that whatever happens in life, nothing is entirely beneficial and nothing entirely detrimental. When I want some piece of mind, I love reading passages from this book. It's no surprise then that I have read this book more than 10 times. https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333578861l/67896.jpg ### 5. Dale Carnegie - How to win Friends and influence People (self-help) This book is a classic among self-help books. It discusses how to deal successfully with people and situations in an amicable way. https://timeentertainment.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people.jpg?w=260 I first heard about this book while watching a documentary on Warren Buffett who mentioned the book as one of his main influences. ### 6. Murray Rothbard - The Ethics of Liberty (moral philosophy) This book argues that a good and free society should fundamentally depend on natural rights. Rothbard also convincingly extends the position of natural rights to a great list of practical problems. https://mises-media.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/slideshow/s3/static-page/img/Ethics%20of%20Liberty_Rothbard_20160817_bookstore.jpg?itok=zIuwMMHx ### 7. Jose Ortega Y Gasset - Revolt of the Masses (philosophy of culture) This book analyzes, what the author calls, the "mass-man" and its features of brutality. He strongly argues against herd mentality and writes: > The mass crushes beneath it everything that is different, everything that is excellent, individual, qualified and select. Anybody who is not like everybody, who does not think like everybody, runs the risk of being eliminated. https://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780043230107-uk.jpg ### 8. Paul Vigna & Michael Casey - The Age of Cryptocurrency (technology) Before I first laid my hands on this book, I already knew and invested in Bitcoin. The book however, introduced me to many other crypto projects and neatly laid out the overall revolution that was about to come: the decentralization of money and data. https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445790892l/25664421.jpg ### 9. Hans-Hermann Hoppe - Democracy, the God that failed (political philosophy) Hoppe deals devastating blows to my belief that democracy is the best form of government. Using economic theories, he convincingly lays out the disadvantages of a democracy. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/98/Democracy%2C_the_God_that_Failed.jpg/220px-Democracy%2C_the_God_that_Failed.jpg ### 10. Henry Hazlitt - Thinking as a Science (self-help) Hazlitt was a brilliant journalist who was mostly self-taught. This book is like a manual that trains you how to fire up your intellect. He shows you the importance of learning how to think as opposed to simply taking in information and regurgitating it. https://mises-media.s3.amazonaws.com/styles/slideshow/s3/static-page/img/Thinking%20as%20a%20Science_Hazlitt.jpg?itok=bVGiiNPM What do you think of this list of books? Are you familiar with any of them? What books have greatly influenced you?