Book Recomendations

[Transcix]

- The Bhagavad Gita, by a certain hindu wise man, or several of them (albeit you will probably need a commentary for this one, since it's complex and may be uncomprehensible for you - on that, check the "ANUS book list" topic)

Eh, I would definitely stay away form the Gita, I mean sure it's a classic but so is The Bible, should we recommend Marcus that too?

For classics I would recommend:

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking - explains all sorts of science things like quantum physics and general relativity and it doesn't throw any equations at you (you can be science-illiterate and still understand it perfectly)

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tze - one of the perennial Taoist works

The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot - this is more of an underground classic, takes scientific theory and experiment (from Bohr, etc) and combines it with modern spirituality

some book by Alan Watts - I'd recommend The Wisdom of Insecurity by Watts; Watts was a classic of his time and the first to bring Eastern spirituality to the West

some book from the Carlos Castaneda series - I prefer the earlier writings up until The Power of Silence; a classic series discussing spirituality, left-hand-path paradigm, shamanism, etc

the Mulamadhyamakakarika by Nagarjuna - really dense writing but you could read a summary instead; one of the perennial Buddhist works

The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan - a short book with clever pictures, really busts mainstream memes and offers a nice look into the leading edge of thought of that time period

some books by Carl Jung - definitely read Jung over Freud!; I recommend The Undiscovered Self or a posthumous collection of works with a bit of new material too called Memories, Dreams, Reflections

[Archidamus]

- The Bhagavad Gita, by a certain hindu wise man, or several of them (albeit you will probably need a commentary for this one, since it's complex and may be uncomprehensible for you - on that, check the "ANUS book list" topic)

Eh, I would definitely stay away form the Gita, I mean sure it's a classic but so is The Bible, should we recommend Marcus that too?

I highly recommend the Old Testament for scholarly and philosophical research. That god had a 1000 pound ball sac not unwilling to crush his often disobedient and belligerent people....with that sac

[Conservationist]

I would definitely stay away form the Gita, I mean sure it's a classic but so is The Bible, should we recommend Marcus that too?

You're imposing a category not found in reality, there. They're from different religions!

[Trauco]

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking - explains all sorts of science things like quantum physics and general relativity and it doesn't throw any equations at you (you can be science-illiterate and still understand it perfectly)

Sorry to contradict you, but that book isn't good. The author's efforts to make everything on it as intelligible as possible are clearly seen but, like most academy nerds, he ended up writing mostly to himself and not to a general audience. Some of the concepts explained fall short and need to have commentaries attached in order to be understood *properly*, which, in my mind, defeats the purpose of a book of this kind. The writing style is inconsistent and sometimes unnerving (I can live without Hawking's dry anecdotes and attempts at being funny). Plus, it gets into some bogus statements nearing the end, nevermind the bloviation you have to put up every now and then. Really, one's better off learning astrophysics from Wikipedia. Or maybe from Carl Sagan. "Cosmos", now THAT is a good book that reads without any hobbling (wink wink, hehehe).

[Trauco]

- The Bhagavad Gita, by a certain hindu wise man, or several of them (albeit you will probably need a commentary for this one, since it's complex and may be uncomprehensible for you - on that, check the "ANUS book list" topic)

Eh, I would definitely stay away form the Gita, I mean sure it's a classic but so is The Bible, should we recommend Marcus that too?

I highly recommend the Old Testament for scholarly and philosophical research. That god had a 1000 pound ball sac not unwilling to crush his often disobedient and belligerent people....with that sac

The Ecclesiasticus by Jesus of Sirach is also a short and neat ethical work for the everyday life.

[indjaseemun]

Thanks for all the responses! I have been visiting the forum but not posting, but now I'm back. I will reply to all later, except one person, who said not to start with traditionalist texts. Why not? Is it because they use complex language and demand that the reader has read a lot of other books and knows history and other things? I'm asking because the way you said, made it look like some super esoteric knowledge. I have read a little of Savitri Devi The Lightning and the Sun and it uses a simple language. But I never read it all the way trought, just for curiosity, but I liked the parts I read a lot. Can you further elaborate on that please? I'm very interested in the subject, and on what you said.

By the way, I read on wikipedia Miguel Serrano belives there are hidden UFOs or something?

[BaronVonBrauer]

Julius Evola — The Mystery of the Grail: Initiation and Magic in the Quest for the Spirit

Aryeh Kaplan — Sefer Yetzirah In Theory and Practice
 
Henry Corbin — Swedenborg and Esoteric Islam
 
Suhrawardi— The Shape of Light (Hayakal al-Nur)

Joscelyn Godwin— Harmonies of Heaven and Earth: Mysticism in Music

[Trauco]

I will reply to all later, except one person, who said not to start with traditionalist texts. Why not? Is it because they use complex language and demand that the reader has read a lot of other books and knows history and other things? I'm asking because the way you said, made it look like some super esoteric knowledge.

First, I didn't say anything about books on the topic of Traditionalism. My gripe is with those dealing strictly with the NS theme, which is more specific. My point is that reading into that subject can be misleading and perjudicial, and that has nothing to do with being complex in language. Their biggest fault in that department is that they could be badly written.

What makes them, in my view, so damaging to the mind is that those books take a complicated process, depending on so many different variables, such as human history, and oversimplify it into a "good guys" vs. "bad guys" thousand-year-spanning cosmic spaguetti western ("bad guys" in this case are the jews). NS supporters in general, be it in literature, music or in a social sphere use conspiracy theorizing to explain the world and the course of events around them. And what would be wrong with that? Well, it's an imbecile take on history.

But, if you insist on it, I'd recommend that you approach the subject with extreme caution. The work of Savitri Devi you just mentioned is worth reading, I guess, as an enjoyably cute book, which is something which may be expected of a feminine author.

As for Serrano, if I'm to judge by the only book I've read by him, which would be "Manu", is that he has all of the defects of NS literature multiplied by 5, at least. His theories on nazi UFOs, the non-existence of nuclear weapons and jewish technologies of mind control...well, that list declares pretty much on its own how stupid it is, so I guess further elaboration won't be needed. On the other hand, I was willing to give him a bit of credit as I initially thought he was trying to expand the NS esoteric mythology into something more wide and far reaching. But maybe it was bias on my part, since we were both born in the same country.  Warning, this may be another bias: perhaps his fiction is worth perusing.

[radiant]

If you are just wading into Nietzsche, I too would recommend " The Anti-Christ" as a good place to start. Also, there are many, many books that offer various overviews and the like of Nietzsche's philosophy. I believe one of the oldest in the English language by H.L. Mencken is still one of the best, particularly for the reader who doesn't want a lot of santized, politically corrected editorial woven into the commentary. It is available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Friedrich-Nietzsche-H-Mencken/dp/1884365310
 

Definitely a brilliant book, but I don't think it's the best place to start reading Nietzsche. I think the more systematic works -- The Gay Science, Beyond Good & Evil, and the Genealogy of Morals -- are more encompassing and a better introduction to his  thought. The most important ideas in The Antichrist, in my view, are already stated the Genealogy. But yeah, it's difficult to go wrong with Nietzsche, he's absolutely one of the most brilliant writers I've ever read. The only book of his I'd recommend staying away from for now is The Birth of Tragedy, which I've tried to slog through on multiple occasions and given up on. But his other works should definitely be pretty accessible to someone just getting into them.

[Jim Necroslaughter]

Definitely a brilliant book, but I don't think it's the best place to start reading Nietzsche. I think the more systematic works -- The Gay Science, Beyond Good & Evil, and the Genealogy of Morals -- are more encompassing and a better introduction to his  thought.

I completely agree.  I would cite the exact same 3 books as his best, especially if you are new to N.  I cut my teeth on Beyond Good & Evil.  The Antichrist is somewhat beligerent in my opinion.  N's "middle period" is his best, if you ask me, although I really like Ecce Homo.

[Heydrich]

If you are just wading into Nietzsche, I too would recommend " The Anti-Christ" as a good place to start. Also, there are many, many books that offer various overviews and the like of Nietzsche's philosophy. I believe one of the oldest in the English language by H.L. Mencken is still one of the best, particularly for the reader who doesn't want a lot of santized, politically corrected editorial woven into the commentary. It is available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Friedrich-Nietzsche-H-Mencken/dp/1884365310
 

Definitely a brilliant book, but I don't think it's the best place to start reading Nietzsche. I think the more systematic works -- The Gay Science, Beyond Good & Evil, and the Genealogy of Morals -- are more encompassing and a better introduction to his  thought. The most important ideas in The Antichrist, in my view, are already stated the Genealogy. But yeah, it's difficult to go wrong with Nietzsche, he's absolutely one of the most brilliant writers I've ever read. The only book of his I'd recommend staying away from for now is The Birth of Tragedy, which I've tried to slog through on multiple occasions and given up on. But his other works should definitely be pretty accessible to someone just getting into them.

I don't disagree for the most part, but Geneology is much more involved on the whole as an introductory work than The AC, that was my line of thinking.  

[indjaseemun]

not mention Freud

Why not?

I'd suggest Mishima's the sea of fertililogy quadralogy (four books about four books)

Enormously beautiful prose entwined with nationalist thought.

Thanks, but it's fiction right? I've been curious about mishima's books for a long time. I was thinking about starting with confessions of a mask, or forbidden colors. Same response for libido itch

Read "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky if you haven't already, its technically fiction, but this is a must read nonetheless with elements of human psychology and philosophy.  For Non-Fiction, it just depends on your interests..

Noted.

"Walden" by Henry David Thoreau.

To all the people who gave away only the titles: Noted.

I do not know at all what you are interested in besides nonfiction, but I have just started rereading The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli.  It was written in 1513 to an Italian duke and contains great knowledge on how a government is to gain and maintain control. 

I sometimes refer back to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.  I prefer the copy from the publisher Shambhala(may be more than one), because the prose seems most fitting.  It is a personal philosophy that was the beginning of Taoism.

I really enjoy Nietzsche and would suggest Beyond Good and Evil and Thus Spake Zarathustra.

If you are at all interested in fiction work I highly suggest you read Crime and Punishment as the above poster mentioned.  I also really enjoyed Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov; I would even go so far as to call it fairly metal.

Some day I will read the prince, everyone talks about it everywhere. I will leave tao te ching for the future, since I am not too pacient with spiritual books written in the form of poetry unless I'm on acid or something. I will read nietszche as everyone suggested, I tried to read the anticrhrist when I was like, 13 or so, but abandoned it because I was an immature child.

Skullduggery

I'm only going to read your post carefully when I see this book exists in my language, but thanks

I would recommend "Language And Myth" by Ernst Cassirer and "Beyond The Mountain" by Steve House[/b]

OK. Maybe those works are not avaiable in portuguese. As you can see I read english but it's not so easy for me buying from amazon. But noted

Well about the other responses, thanks as well.

[BaronVonBrauer]

"Walden" by Henry David Thoreau.

To all the people who gave away only the titles: Noted

Yeah, sorry about that. I've got a broken arm and am typing with one hand, (the bad one). I would have liked to provide descriptions, but it's slow going for me to do so. I figured you could just look them up.

[indjaseemun]

"Walden" by Henry David Thoreau.

To all the people who gave away only the titles: Noted

Yeah, sorry about that. I've got a broken arm and am typing with one hand, (the bad one). I would have liked to provide descriptions, but it's slow going for me to do so. I figured you could just look them up.

Jus so you know, I was not complaining

[Barbarossa]

     I had to recommend a book that I finished re-reading recently called "Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi" by Jonathan D. Spencer.  It is a translation and transposition of the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty of China's own writings over the span of his life.  I make the assumption also that it is quite abridged, but as I have not done much research on this in a few years I am not sure.  K'ang-Hsi(emperor of China through 1661-1722) is what I might call the eastern Marcus Aurelius as far as his reign and what it meant to his state.  Also, as Marcus Aurelius did in his Meditations, he mentions little in the way of his inspirations as head of state and as a human.  Though the correlations are few and far between.

    I hadn't read this book in five years and am extremely glad to have come back upon it.  This book is K'ang Hsi's life summary basically.  He looks back on moments of his life that he is proud of and the things that he has learned going from youth to the end of his days as well as the things that he wishes he had known sooner.  He is very much a nationalist(through most of Chinese history the emperors were nationalists) and a pragmatist.  If you have read The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli before reading this you will consider him also a very great ruler.

   [Edit]  I wanted to add that this is also a very easy read.

   Postscript:  For the sake of prudence I wanted to note here that I hope it is okay that I posted in this seemingly long-dead thread.