Yes, it’s an interesting thread, but if I were asking it myself and had the benefit of what’s already been posted, I’d add a caveat:
Why do you consider the book(s) you listed to be indispensable in some way?

When I chose a few from my library, I considered the “lasting impact” part of the original question, but also the indispensable, or “required reading” aspect. What books would I want an offspring or someone I was mentoring on life to read? I have read countless books that were entertaining, inspiring, or even told me things I wasn’t aware of, but far fewer that changed or at least solidified my understanding and thinking about important things. Joseph Campbell’s writings made it clear where myths that persist to today originated, and I’d certainly add them to my list. Ordinary Men is different from countless books about Nazi Germany and the horrors committed by its members in that few have looked at how middle-aged Christian men from a civilized Western country could be induced to murder masses of helpless victims. The fact that millions were murdered by one of many despotic regimes throughout history is important, but not nearly as important as understanding how such a thing could happen within the lifetimes of many of us here.

The ones I recommend about Islam are intended to refute the inane claims of the apologists for Muslim terrorists, and there are aspects of recent history and social issues that all Americans should understand on bases other than the BS media’s coverage and cultural myth.

“Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” Sagan and Duryan. Description of evolution of life.

WWII
Ship of Ghosts (story of USS Houston)
Miracle at Midway
At Dawn We Slept
Last Stand/Tin Can Sailors
Downfall (details of planned invasions of Japan)
A Higher Call (story of a very courageous German fighter pilot)
Into That Darkness (story of a death camp commander)
Band of Brothers
The First Heroes (story of Doolittle Raid)
All The Brave Young Men (USS Arizona survivor)

These provide amazing insight into that war.

Other
This New Ocean (VERY comprehnsive story of first 50 years of space race)

Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon

Illustrates how vulnerable computer systems can be. Iran found out the hard way. An interesting look at the folks that unwound that virus. The US and Israel have some pretty smart cookies when it comes to geekishness.


Documentary On The Virus

Rather than a book, I will include a movie: Schindler's List.

Every adult should know the capacity of man's inhumanity toward other men.

Indispensable?
"The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon

Biography of Winston Churchill
the Churchill/Gilbert authored 8 volume set is fantastic but very lengthy.

Which ties nicely into Winston's own "A History of the English Speaking Peoples"

"The Admirals" by Walter Borneman

"The True Believer: Thoughts in the Nature of Mass Movements" by Eric Hofffer

The Autobiographies of both Ben Franklin and Ulysses S Grant.

That'll get you started.

quote:

Originally posted by AUTiger89:
Rather than a book, I will include a movie: Schindler's List.

Every adult should know the capacity of man's inhumanity toward other men.

I can agree that everyone should see SL for the evisceral imagery of the holocost.

I’m 8 hours into ibexsig’s recommendation from page one. The story of Stalin’s Russia is so far making the Germans look like saints. Stalin and his cronies were some sadistic bastards.

The most interesting point so far in the book is the observation that all communist revolutions follow the same path. Approximately 20 years after the Russian one, you had the political purges and starvation of 1937. In the 60’s, seventeen years after China’s communist revolution, you had the cultural revolution and starvation of 30 million people.

And now, years after the book was published, we see that approximately twenty years after Hugo Chavez moved Venezuela to heavy socialism, the Venezuelans are starving. Interesting. I wonder if something similar happened in Vietnam or Cuba, or were these countries different somehow. Perhaps the war changed Vietnam’s development.

Bottom line is that 20 years after socialism/communism, prepare to get out your skinny jeans.

You can add Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. 2 million starved and purged. But they got that all done in 5 years.

Great thread. I am getting some good ideas for fresh reading.

I can't think of any that i would say are indispensable aside from the Bible. But for favorites over the years not already mentioned, I'd include Connections, Thunder Below, We Seven, Cosmos, Dragons of Eden, Kon Tiki, The Great Escape, and The Arnheiter Affair.