Life changing books?

[John Fenna]

Sad and predictable concidering my life -
Survival for Young People - Anthony Greenbank Pub - Piccolo 1975
Path of the Paddle - Bill Mason. Pub - Cordee 1st Pubin Canada 1980

John

 

[drstrange]

Life changing books, is in inverted commas. It is a bit strong, but some books do change some people's lives, for better or worse (the Bible, Mein Kamph, Ragged Trousered Philanthropist, Catcher in the Rye). Sometimes a book can change someones life simply by providing conformation, and sometimes people can be so terrified by what they read that they can go insane. So take it in the catalytic, or transmissive sense whichever you prefer.

Just decent reads can go in the list too

I must admit that I am tempted by Tengus' suggestion:
Cammile Flammarions `Lumen` and `Urania` but then again I am a bit strange.

 

[Rebel]

Seeing as this is not "Desert Island Books" I'll have to say it's the Bible.

After that there's been plenty of others that have changed different facets of my life and continue to do so but one in particular that comes to mind is:

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. I opened it with some trepidation when I first read it thinking that it was about how to con people into agreeing with you and sell them stuff (and perhaps it might be possible to read it with that perspective), but it goes much deeper than that.

I mention this book because prior to reading it I didn't give much consideration to what other people want and need. After reading it helped me to start listening to others without always pushing across my own ideas. Through this I started to learn greater understanding and tolerance of views that were contrary to my own. That doesn't mean I don't have strong opinions of my own, at times they are needed, I just started to express them in a more palatable format.

A lot of what we read changes us for better or worse. I guess it's how we assimilate and use the information that is important. For example I've read "The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli. I read it out of interest and it didn't turn me into a ruthless dictator but it did give me an insight into a certain way of thinking. From what I understand of history it was used for evil In the hands of some other men.

 

[rich59]

I could second the bible entry, but I must point out it is a not so much a book as a small library. The bible does have quite a few bushcraft bits though. Ever wondered how Jesus lit a fire, caught, and cooked fish for the disciples after the resurrection?

It's a hard question. A life changing book? It has to be books I have read more than once- including reference books that I come back to again and again, having more effect on me each time and a few formative novels, (oh, and the bible).

House Plants and Cacti

Readers digest Gardenning Encyclopedia

Black Beauty

 

[drstrange]

The bible does have quite a few bushcraft bits though. Ever wondered how Jesus lit a fire, caught, and cooked fish for the disciples after the resurrection?

I wonder if Paul used a damascus blade

 

[Rebel]

I wonder if Paul used a damascus blade

Good one.

From what I've read though it wasn't until the around 900AD that the steel was first developed and was used in sword making. The crusaders came across it during their travels and it became legendary thereafter.

Apparently the knowledge of how to make this steel became lost in the 1700sfor some reason. It seems that nobody has managed to recreate a Damascus steel with the same properties as the original since then and what we have today isn't the real thing. I'm no expert on the subject and somebody might come along with some extra knowledge. A little off topic but interesting nonetheless.

 

[Ben_Hillwalker]

Gosh, well there are plenty of books I have thoroughly enjoyed and gone back to read again, but a LIFE-CHANGING book! Lets have a go.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense and The Rights Of Man - I read this on the day of the Queen Mother's funeral which is a fine irony. Its a treatise from the C18 about the lack of justification in the Monarchy. The book and Paine himself influenced the formation of the USA and the French republic.

John Stuart Mill's essay on Liberty - a somewhat rambling piece, but the take home lesson is that absolutely everything (Islam, Christianity, Democracy, whatever) has to be questioned and challenged or it has no validity. It becomes dead knowledge.

Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton - a scathing polemic against Victorian politics and social attitudes that makes Dickens look like a simpering liberal. The odd thing is that Gaskell's other books are rather Jane Austen-like.

Nothing really bushcrafty I'm afraid, but I have enjoyed some rather good travelography. The best of which was Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Raban.

 

[OutBackP]

Hmmm, I think I would have to say that my first books were Enid Blyton. They probably were life changing. They tought me to read. (not write though), and gave me a form of escape from my childhood. They also gave me a desire for adventure. I think one of my favourites was "five run away together" and " secret island". About moving out of their lives and living on the land.
After that it was the Hardy Boy's. My first survival book was in the series. Can't remeber the name though. But it stayed with me for years.

There have been so many books since then that have had an influence. But think the early books had the most influence.

Currantly I'm reading a series by the readers digest of classics of the wild west. A great collection about the forming and settling of the states.

Great thread has bought back some memories. Thanks

 

[rik_uk3]

Ladybird edition of "Robin Hood", for the first time I understood punctuation, I could now read anything

 

[spamel]

I loved the Griffin Pirate stories, Gregory the Green Pirate, Roderick the Red, and the Blue Pirate probably called Bernard or something! Great books though, in fact I was looking at getting them for my kids but they seem to be very expensive to buy these days. Life changing, dunno, but I learnt to read with these books and enjoyed every minute of it.

 

[OutBackP]

Loving the list of books, just been on amazon and bought some of these books.

 

[Tengu]

Which ones??

We would love to see your response to them

 

[spamel]

If it's one of those pirate books, give us a loan after you finish!!!

 

[OutBackP]

Well I've been having a bit of a tough time of late and thought I might try "Overcoming Depression by Paul Gilbert. "
Then I thought I might get "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche" as I've been curious about buddism for a while.

While I was there I also got Mor's book and "woodcraft" by nessmuk.

 

[spamel]

I can vouch for the Nessmuk and Kochanski books, very good additions to your library.

 

[OutBackP]

Yeah I seem to be getting a bit of a library on survival and bushcraft books. Especially when I'm gonna have to send them to Oz in a years time.

 

[Freelander]

On that basis it should be a compulsory read please.

First title then to kick-off a “Bushcraft UK Book Club”?

Cheers

You must have "Brendon Chase" by BB

It may be a childrens book but the interest in the outdoors has to start some where. Its a good story anyhow.

Also

"Scouting for Boys" by Baden-Powell, however, I think the title needs to be changed for todays society