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.