
Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago? - marceee0901
For example, &quot;On The Shortness of Life&quot; by Seneca (c. 4 BC – AD 65)
======
ComputerGuru
_The Count of Monte Cristo_ , hands down. Published 1844 by Alexandre Dumas,
one of the greatest writers to have ever lived.

I’m an avid reader and I always laughed at the idea of having a “favorite”
book.. until I found mine. I loved the book so much, I resolved to learn
French (et je l’ai fait!) just so I could someday read it in the original
French.

~~~
henrikeh
This is going to sound weird, but...

I remember your comment from four years ago (!) [0] and it really stuck with
me. However, I could never find the thread, so when I saw this thread, I
simply had to check if you wrote a comment again; and here we are! I recently
began reading it and is really enjoying it. Thanks for the recommendation!

[0]:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12245036](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12245036)

~~~
test1235
Ha ... not as weird as you might think, 'cos I also thought the same, unless
there're a few others on this site dedicated enough to learn French to read
this book ...

~~~
waiquoo
ha, I also began learning French because of Count. Maybe we should start a
club.

Also, the only book I have found close/equal to Count of Monte Cristo is Les
Miserables. The book is amazing, no idea about the musical. There are so many
parts of the book (Waterloo) that just blow my mind. Also served as a
motivation to learn French.

~~~
samtechie
Curious about how you undertook learning French. What is the best way.

~~~
waiquoo
Not sure about the best way, there are definitely better ways to do it than my
route. I used Duolingo for vocabulary and the Coffee Break French podcast
along with reading and listening to as much material as I could find (french
movies and shows, french wikipedia, french news sites)

------
DoctorOetker
Maxwell's book on electromagnetism, it shows his hindsight perspective on
interpreting the phenomena. One can look at the papers and works he wrote that
led up to it, but they are full of detours and unbalanced attention with small
dead ends. When he writes his book he tries to convince the audience of his
time in one comprehensive work.

What I love especially, is that he is very careful and systematic about his
conclusions, splitting up in cases, instead of simply producing the solution
and then proving it is _a_ valid solution.

For example he does not assume that every point in space has a single value
for total potential. First he describes how it is at least theoretically
conceivable to follow a path and observe the total potential to vary
continuously, and arrive back at the point of departure but end up with a
different value of the total potential. He is effectively describing the
possibility of wormholes (which didn't bear the name "wormhole" yet back
then), or "charge without charge" (think Wheeler). But after this part of the
book he assumes that the total potential is singlevalued (not because he
proved so, but because describing physics in spaces with complicated
topologies is far from straightforward, even today).

~~~
rramadass
Which book is this? I believe reading the original masters who came up with
the discoveries is the way to understanding. It is said that when the Great
Mathematician Gauss was asked as to how he made his discoveries, replied; "By
studying the Masters and not their Students". There is something about the
process of trial and error, testing various hypothesis', going down dead ends
and then doubling back and finally lighting upon the answer which clarifies
and provides intuitive understanding that can only be conveyed by the person
who went through the experience i.e. The Discoverer himself. Everybody else is
just parroting the end results without understanding (there are always a few
exceptions of course).

~~~
severine
I'm guessing this:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Treatise_on_Electricity_and_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Treatise_on_Electricity_and_Magnetism)

~~~
rramadass
I am thinking this:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dynamical_Theory_of_the_Elec...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dynamical_Theory_of_the_Electromagnetic_Field)
:-)

------
achilleslinux
I really like books written by Jules Verne. Those books were really ahead of
its time. He was a prolific and best Sci-fi writer. I would like to mention
few of his works like 20,000 leagues under the sea, journey to the center of
earth and Around the World in Eighty Days.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne)

~~~
idoubtit
When I was a child, I loved Jules Vernes' novels. My favorite were "L'île
mystérieuse" et "Michel Strogoff". I've read them again after a few decades,
and I enjoyed them both.

"L'île mystérieuse" is the survival adventure of a small and disparate group,
but the main theme is how science can dominate nature. The mystery part is
better enjoyed if the reader knows a bit of Jules Verne' other books.

"Michel Strogoff" is a pure and romantic adventure in Russia, at the time of
the Tatar invasions. It was sometimes brutal for a child reader, but I could
still remember many scenes thirty years later.

Other good novels are "Voyage au centre de la terre", "Vingt-mille lieues sous
les mers", "Cinq semaines en ballon", "Le tour du monde en 80 jours", "Les
indes noires". I've a few others which I enjoyed at a lesser point.

------
rsync
I second the votes for War and Peace, Anna Karenina and Brothers Karamazov ...
but I think I can add a unique (and very special to me) entry with:

Chesterfield's Letters to His Son:

"Begun in the 1737 and continued until the death of his son in 1768,
Chesterfield wrote mostly instructive communications about geography, history,
and classical literature, – with later letters focusing on politics and
diplomacy – and the letters themselves were written in French, English, and
Latin, in order to refine his son's grasp of the languages."[1]

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Stanhope,_4th_Earl_of_C...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Stanhope,_4th_Earl_of_Chesterfield#Letters_to_His_Son)

------
ChrisSD
Since many other people have mentioned ancient essays I like, I'll go for
something more "modern". Some of Bertrand Russell's earlier works are well
worth a read even though they're obviously dated.

* The Problems of Philosophy (1912) gives a short introduction to philosophy that he at the time considered "positive and constructive". [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5827/5827-h/5827-h.htm](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5827/5827-h/5827-h.htm)

* Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays (1901 to 1915) is an anthology of his ideas that were still evolving even then. [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25447/25447-h/25447-h.htm](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25447/25447-h/25447-h.htm)

~~~
wazoox
His History of Western Philosophy is really great, too.

~~~
claudiawerner
That book has a large number of criticisms for its (in the opinions of the
views it criticizes) misguided polemics; if it's worth reading, it's also
worth reading its criticisms.

~~~
ChrisSD
In philosophy this is the rule not the exception. And reading the sources is
also valuable, as he himself pointed out. Especially now that we have the web
so you don't even need to visit a well stocked library to see how accurately
he represents a philosopher's writings (his views on those views not
withstanding).

~~~
claudiawerner
Sure, I agree, but there are different standards for books which claim to
expose a history than there are for books which are replies and polemics to
other points of view. A history book shouldn't be the place to argue a point
of view, and if it is, it shouldn't be so blatant as to be sourced as one of
the main places where Russell does make his polemics. I don't intend to get
into a discussion about how everything written carries with it a point of view
and bias, but with a book like that, you can come away with the impression you
have an accurate picture of Western philosophy when really you've just got one
philosopher's view, and from a book written by someone with such esteem as
Russell you come out parroting objections to Hegelianism that were refuted
sixty years ago. And for the record, I wouldn't recommend Hegel's _History of
Philosophy_ lectures for the same reason.

------
ioman
Candide by Voltaire

It was the first book I read for school that made me laugh out loud and
realize that some of these old boring books were actually pretty awesome
(which is why people are still reading them centuries later)

~~~
kinow
Loved it when I read the first time. Still have the first copy I read, lent to
some friends, and every now and then I browse it a bit. Really fun!

------
kthejoker2
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Essays by Michel de Montaigne

Self Reliance by Emerson

Theory of Moral Sentiment by Adam Smith

A Treatise of Human Nature by Hume

And the memoir of my vote for the most interesting man who ever lived, Humphry
Davy's Consolations in Travel

~~~
cryptozeus
Second Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

------
biztos
Both have been mentioned a bunch of times, but I also find that the _Tao Te
Ching_ [0] and _The Prince_ [1] both pop into my head, in fragments, from time
to time when I'm thinking about the modern world and the humans in it.

Also, if you're wondering where things like genome editing lead us, they lead
us to _The Island of Dr. Moreau_ [2] (H.G. Wells, 1896).

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching)

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau)

------
altharaz
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius => A lot of wisdom on how to lead and live

On The Shortness of Life, Seneca => An essay about how to handle life and how
to see what is really important

On War, Clausewitz => An important essay about strategy and war, politics and
management

The Prince, Machiavelli => A little bit cynical but quite realistic about the
nature of power in the hands of humans

Thirty-Six Stratagems, multiple authors => A list of strategies that can be
used in any situation, whether when winning or losing

~~~
blaser-waffle
Clausewitz and Machiavelli... but no Sun Tzu?

------
m_t
Some links from Project Gutenberg:

 _Essays, by Michel de Montaigne_

In English (Vol. 1),
[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3581](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3581)

In French (Vol. 1),
[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48529](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48529)

 _Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius_

English translation by George W. Chrystal, 1902
[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55317](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55317)

English translation by George Long, 1957
[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15877](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15877)

 _Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo_

In English (Full),
[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/135](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/135)

In French (Vol. 1),
[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17489](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17489)

 _20000 leagues under the sea, by Jules Vernes_

In English (slightly abridged),
[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/164](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/164)

In French (with illustration),
[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54873](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54873)

------
brlewis
It's been a long time since I was acquainted with Uncle Tom's Cabin. I
remember clearly how the opening presented an idyllic scene that could have
been written by a proponent of slavery, but things went quickly downhill
precisely because the slaves were not free. I was struck by how this was a
judo-like persuasion technique. I don't remember the rest of the book well,
but my curiosity is piqued by controversy surrounding the book that I found
trying to verify a quote. I wish I had time to pick it up again.
[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0030.104/\--lincoln...](https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0030.104/--lincoln-
stowe-and-the-little-womangreat-war-story-the-making?rgn=main;view=fulltext)

------
khazhou
Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Nietzsche (esp. Walter Kaufmann preface edition).
It's an energetic, angry, poetic, and often rambling tour de force on mankind
overcoming its smallness. Halfway through you'll start wondering if Nietzsche
is a genius or a lunatic, and the answer is Yes.

------
jmts
On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin. It's pretty dense, dry, and can
require a bit of a commitment, but there's some pretty interesting bits and
pieces in there aside from just proposing evolution.

~~~
bmmayer1
I would also highly recommend the sequel, the Descent of Man. That's where
Darwin _actually_ discusses the evolution of humans, a topic he gingerly
avoided in TOOS

------
gjango
I've seen Meditations being mentioned a lot on this thread but for me,
'letters from a stoic' (or 'moral letters to lucillius' ) by Seneca has been
more approachable than Meditations.

~~~
soldeace
'Letters from a Stoic' is indeed a masterpiece, and I've found that the
Penguin Book's translation is fantastic. It made me feel like I was reading my
own grandpa's letters with warm-hearted instructions on how to be a good
person when I become a grown-up.

------
powersnail
Les Misérables. First read it when I was in elementary school. It was a
beautiful, touching piece. Not only did it tell a story, but also it presented
the whole cultural background upon which the story occurred. Every time I read
the book, I learn something new. In elementary school, I was mostly moved by
Jean Valjean's resilience, calmness, and competency. Later on, I started to
appreciate the humanity shown in other characters as well. Then, I read into
the culture. It was most interesting to compare this book to A Tale of Two
Cities.

~~~
wazoox
Notre-Dame de Paris is great too, and similarly deep in historical and
cultural reconstruction.

------
vo2maxer
I’m intrigued by the scarce mention of Spanish authors, particularly those
from the Golden Age. Other than Cervantes, I haven’t seen any of his coevals
listed: Lope de Vega, Francisco Gómez de Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, Calderón de
la Barca and many others.

What are the reasons for this phenomenon, which is not unique to HN? Are the
the works too archaic for modern taste? Are the translations just not good
enough to convey the virtuosity of the originals? Lack of exposure? I’m truly
curious to hear from this audience of why this phenomenon.

~~~
danesparza
I'm convinced it's just lack of exposure.

Amazon or Barnes and Noble don't feature their books, librarians don't mention
their works, and most folks have probably just never been exposed to them
(even in college).

------
jeffdavis
On Being the Right Size:

[https://irl.cs.ucla.edu/papers/right-
size.html](https://irl.cs.ucla.edu/papers/right-size.html)

Only 90 years old, but it came to mind and it was close enough that I needed
to check the date.

------
m0xte
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884) by Edwin Abbott Abbott

------
jedberg
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

Basically the first science fiction, and the warnings of the perils of
technology are still just as relevant today.

------
a-saleh
I would almost considered quoting the great ancient literature a cheat-code
but I still do really like the Ecclesiastes.

From the other end of the spectrum, "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" is the
book/story that inspired my interest in cryptography. In the end I never
worked in infromation-security but I did enjoy it from my 10 years til I left
college, and I still do enjoy going for puzzle-hunts with some of my friends
:)

------
52-6F-62
Essay: _A Modest Proposal_ by Jonathan Swift. First read it in high school. A
revolutionary piece of sardonic wit—especially for a young person after so
many literature classes of pure gravitas.

Book(?): And I’m not sure it qualifies but a collection of Rimbaud’s poems and
lyrical prose is a sure winner as well. I have difficult time wrapping my mind
around the fact that he was so young.

------
steerpike
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a pretty obvious one for this demographic.

------
1ark
Crime and Punishment (1866) by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

------
nindalf
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius has been mentioned 5 times in this thread so
far. I endorse it as well. This book is the private diary of the Roman
Emperor. He doesn’t say anything about politics or much about other people,
just exhorting himself to do better and be better. This man walked the walk.

~~~
TheGallopedHigh
To follow up your recommendation: he was more than a Roman emperor, he was
arguably one of, if not the most powerful people on the planet. Some might
argue that any Roman Empror was, but his reign I believe was near the zenith
of Rome’s Empire in terms of territory (please correct me if I’m wrong).

Therefore you’re reading his diary, realizing his own worries, all the while
being this person.

~~~
nindalf
In terms of territory, the Empire reached it's zenith under Trajan.

~~~
TheGallopedHigh
Was Trajan later or earlier? Thanks for the clarification in any case

~~~
nindalf
Earlier. After Marcus Aurelius it was a steady downward trend.

------
mandelbrott
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea- Jules Verne (1870). Also many other
novels by the same author.

------
deepandmeaning
Kahlil Gibran - The Prophet.

 _Timeless themes written in beautiful prose_ :

It's out of copyright (first published in 1923, so almost 100 years), someone
has put a website together of each theme, here is one on work:

[http://www.katsandogz.com/onwork.html](http://www.katsandogz.com/onwork.html)

I've probably moved on from this book a little now - but it's still beautiful
and sometimes gives much needed perspective.

------
cbailes
The Hacker Classics - [https://jsomers.net/hn/](https://jsomers.net/hn/)

------
cik
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

Second Treatise on Government, John Locke

~~~
brobdingnagians
Second, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, lucid and
understandable essay

------
markussss
I am currently listening to Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and it is by far the
most interesting book I've read/listened to. I have been moved to tears again
and again by this book.

Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun (1917) just turned 100, and it is also one
of my most favorite books of all time, it too was moving me to tears again and
again.

~~~
Jwarder
I just finished Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within You. His writing about
the plight of the workers and peasants was striking. It was also creepy to
read his fears in 1890 about the threat of a senseless Europe-wide conflict.
His criticism of governments, the church, and military service all seem valid
to me. However, his advice to improve humanity is based on the assumption that
the reader is a hard-core christian who wants to follow the literal words of
Christ.

[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43302/43302-h/43302-h.htm](http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43302/43302-h/43302-h.htm)

------
fergie
The poetry of Rabbie (Robert) Burns.

He led a life of grind, hustle and debauchery, and his poetry is remarkable
for its thematic breadth- Burns talks of love, solidarity, nationalism,
drinking and everything else that concerns an intelligent young man of
ambition and low birth.

Its sort of a mix of Trainspotting (the book) and rap set 250 years ago in
Scotland.

------
iBelieve
The Bible.

Mysterious Island (1874), Around the World in Eighty Days (1873), and other
books by Jules Verne.

Books by James Fenimore Cooper.

The Sea-Wolf (1904) by Jack London.

The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) by Alexandre Dumas.

Oliver Twist (1839) by Charles Dickens.

~~~
eitland
We share some favorites.

20000 leagues under the sea by Jules Verne was my introduction to science
fiction and I also enjoyed Mysterious Island (which overlaps, but is less
science fiction).

I had forgotten James Fenimore Cooper, and I have forgotten almost everything
about the books, but yes, these were in the school library too and I read
them.

(we had no TV when I grew up so I read a lot, mostly books in the styles
mentioned above but also historical books and fiction from the WWII, but
obviously none of these are over 100 years old.)

Also the Bible, it might not be highly regarded here, and I'm obviously
biased, but as someone who reads other texts as well I think a number of
people here could find parts of it interesting, especially contrasting it to
what school and others might have told you. (Spoiler: besides the endless
listings of who was who that most people will learn to skip, the full version
is also a lot messier than what anyone working in school or wanting your money
will tell you ; )

------
hristov
Victory - Joseph Conrad

Notes from the Underground - Dostoyevsky

Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky (there is a bunch of other brilliant
Dostoyevsky books)

------
cbanek
The Prince by Machiavelli, 1532

Chuang-tzu, 4th century BC

The Art of War by Sun Tzu, 5th century BC

Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, 14th century AD

~~~
leemailll
So you are in management position?

~~~
cbanek
Lol, no, although I think these are valuable lessons that anyone needs, not
just managers or princes. I'm omitting a lot of the great books I would
suggest but others have suggested as well.

------
noufalibrahim
"The lost tools of learning" by Dorothy Sayers
[https://classicalchristian.org/the-lost-tools-of-learning-
do...](https://classicalchristian.org/the-lost-tools-of-learning-dorothy-
sayers/)

------
jesterson
Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu. Short, concise and applicable to modern world.

Not an essay per se or book though.

~~~
gHosts
Agreed...

..also "Zen Flash, Zen Bones"
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Flesh,_Zen_Bones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Flesh,_Zen_Bones)

[http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-
index.pl](http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-index.pl)
[https://terebess.hu/zen/101ZenStones.pdf](https://terebess.hu/zen/101ZenStones.pdf)

~~~
jesterson
Never got across this one, but it does look quite interesting. Thank you!

------
eitland
I share many favorites with iBelieve
([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20914527](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20914527))
and others but here are some I also enjoy that I don't see mentioned yet:

\- a lot of the viking stories (Soga om Eigil Skallagrimson etc)

\- viking poetry, particularly Håvamål: a kind of a viking version of the
Proverbs.

\- old Norwegian fairytales (a number of them can be read in more than one way
besides the obvious bed time stories for kids and others aren't for kids, but
you'll recognize the topics from modern films as well.)

------
wazoox
A clear winner for me: The Odyssey by Homer.

------
pinewurst
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

North of Boston by Robert Frost

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (+ the other Sherlock Holmes')

Candide by Voltaire (was reminded by other posting - this is great!)

~~~
jeffdavis
I read a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court when I was around 12. It
was fun and fantastical, but perhaps I didn't absorb any deeper meaning
because I was too young. I'm curious what makes it top your list?

~~~
pinewurst
It came to mind as I recently finished a new Twain biography. As an old and
very jaded tech person, I appreciate the idea of technology proving not a
panacea.

In order, I'd put it under North of Boston for sure.

------
avinassh
For me, its The Sorrows of Young Werther. Published in 1779. It is a short
read and quite beautifully written.

~~~
bakuninsbart
Goethe's later work Faust (I+II) is my absolute favorite. The first book
(play) is quite short and extremely well written in the german original. The
second book is much thicker and extremely convoluted.

After a long journey through human abysses, it ends on the note "Who ever
strives with all his might, that man we can redeem." which has always stuck
with me and is one of the core ideals of my morality.

------
gordon_freeman
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster (Written in 1909)

Enchiridion of Epictetus

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

~~~
mirceal
+1 for the machine stops. it’s happening right now

------
fernly
Some of the speeches of Robert G. Ingersoll. Great oratory from an age when
oratory was prized.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_G._Ingersoll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_G._Ingersoll)

[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2662](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2662)

Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason. Not intended as oratory, but like
Ingersoll's lectures, great fun to read aloud.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine)

[http://thomaspaine.org/major-works/the-age-of-reason-
part-1....](http://thomaspaine.org/major-works/the-age-of-reason-part-1.html)

> But some, perhaps, will say: Are we to have no word of God—no revelation? I
> answer, Yes; there is a word of God; there is a revelation. THE WORD OF GOD
> IS THE CREATION WE BEHOLD and it is in this word, which no human invention
> can counterfeit or alter, that God speaketh universally to man... The
> Creation speaketh an universal language, independently of human speech or
> human language, multiplied and various as they may be. It is an ever-
> existing original, which every man can read. It cannot be forged; it cannot
> be counterfeited; it cannot be lost; it cannot be altered; it cannot be
> suppressed....

------
chris5745
The Secret Doctrine [0]

[0]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Doctrine](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Doctrine)

------
austincheney
Nicomachean Ethics -
[http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.html](http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.html)

On Liberty -
[https://www.utilitarianism.com/ol/one.html](https://www.utilitarianism.com/ol/one.html)

Reading those allows a masterful foundation for understanding ethics, which is
crucial for a deeper understanding of utility as a primitive concept.

------
whycombagator
The Revolt of the Masses by José Ortega y Gasset

Edit: Not quite 100 years but will leave it here for posterity

------
void_nill
Here a short list \- The Edda \- Lots of Latvian Dainas[1] \- Groundwork of
the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant, (1785) and Critique of Pure Reason
(second edition 1787) \- Goethe's Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, (1828–29
edition \- Divina Commedia, Dante Alighieri, (1320)

[1]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daina_(Latvia)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daina_\(Latvia\))

------
stevedis
Tons of good stuff already here. I love lists like this.

Two short b-sides: \- The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest
Hemingway \- The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

------
pjc50
"Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds" : stock bubbles!
Politics of beards! Ancient memes! History of fiat currency! Tulip mania! All
very relevant to our times.

Ancient novels may require some leeway on the part of the reader. Dumas' Three
Musketeers certainly stands up well. Ivanhoe is mostly good fun with some
horrific antisemitism.

Brits will enjoy "1066 and all that", although not strictly 100 years old.

~~~
PaulAJ
"Madness of Crowds" is an entertaining read, but its not really solid history.
His account of tulip mania in particular seems to have depended largely on
stories in religious pamphlets about the dangers of greed.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania#Mackay's_Madness_o...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania#Mackay's_Madness_of_Crowds)

------
otalp
The Conquest of Bread, Peter Kropotkin

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conquest_of_Bread](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conquest_of_Bread)

It was written in the backdrop of massive industrialisation.

Many argue that it predicted both:

(1) the problems with capitalism and massive state protection of private
property that go along with it, as well as

(2) the atrocities that would occur if most production was centralised, as in
the USSR.

Anarchism, Libertarian Socialism and the anti-authoritarian left is definitely
an overlooked branch of the political spectrum

~~~
clydethefrog
See also Anarchism and Other Essays (1910) by Emma Goldman. It reads like it
was written yesterday.

------
mr3martinis
Walden by Thoreau - on self reliance and nature

De architectura By Vitruvius - classical construction and architecture

Song of Myself by Whitman - poetry

Hound of the Baskervilles by Doyle - thriller

------
AngeloAnolin
I'd like to chime in, although may be a bit late.

One book I will never get tired of reading over and over again is:

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

There's just something magical on that book which even to this day brings a
lot of essence on how I understand and value life.

This book traverses generations, and is always a good read regardless whether
you are at a schooling age or even close to retirement.

------
senjindarashiva
It's been mentioned before but meditations is great, but I would also like to
add "How to live on 24 hours a day" by Arnold Bennett
[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2274](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2274)

In fiction Sherlock Holmes and the Three Musketeers is some of my favorites.

~~~
onion2k
_Sherlock Holmes and the Three Musketeers_

I wish that was one book.

~~~
severine
It was a wicked quote:

> _In his poem “Each June I Made a Promise Sober,” Ogden Nash voiced the
> common cry of those who work in bookstores or libraries or live otherwise
> surrounded: so many books, so little time! Always the guilt-inducing pile of
> unread books, eyeing us like neglected pets. He lists some of the classics
> he hasn’t read—my own list includes, I blush to say, Moby Dick, War and
> Peace, The Brothers Karamazov, The Faerie Queen, etc. etc. etc. etc.—and
> concludes:_

“So every summer I truly intend / My intellectual sloth to end / And every
summer for years and years / I’ve read Sherlock Holmes and The Three
Musketeers.”

Sources: [https://www.bookbarnniantic.com/single-
post/2014/05/24/74-RE...](https://www.bookbarnniantic.com/single-
post/2014/05/24/74-REREADING-SHERLOCK-HOLMES-AND-THE-THREE-MUSKETEERS)

Nash, Ogden. "Each June I Made a Promise Sober," The New York Times Book
Review (June 7, 1953), 1.

------
ryacko
[https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Bestsellers,_American,_1895-1...](https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Bestsellers,_American,_1895-1923_\(Bookshelf\))

From that, I’ve recently decided to start reading The Inside of the Cup by
Winston Churchill, and Psychology and Industrial Efficiency by Hugo
Münsterberg

------
tgv
The first 19th century book to impress me was Nicholas Nickelby by Dickens.
It's a British sort of "Les Miserables", A Christmas Carol style. And my wife
reads Pride and Prejudice at least once a year. It's a surprisingly modern
book, very much worth reading if you don't mind the romance.

------
cpound
In the 'travel essay' genre, Xavier de Maistre's "A Journey Round My Room"

[https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/a-journey-
round-m...](https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/a-journey-round-my-
room-1794-1871/)

------
lucas_membrane
On the Sensations of Tone by Hermann von Helmholtz

The Road by Jack London

all of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum

The Scottish Students' Song Book

Heart Songs

The Age of Reason

The Art of Money Getting by Barnum

------
michele_f
The Confessions by Augustine of Hippo.

------
dudul
The entire _Arsene Lupin_ series by Maurice Leblanc, been reading them again
and again since I was 12.

------
jrauser
Starry Messenger - Galileo

Very fun and readable. He's so excited to tell the world about what he's
learned.

------
033803throwaway
Progress & Poverty (1879) by Henry George

Orthodoxy (1908) by G.K. Chesterton

The Brothers Karamazov (1880) by Fyodor Dostoevsky

------
mtts
Between - very roughly - 100 and 200 years ago books (some containing essays)
were where the intellectual life of the west happened. Since we are not in any
meaningful way different - or smarter - than people from the 19th and early
20th century a lot of what they concerned themselves with is still relevant
for us, especially the stuff that managed to get itself canonized.

The novels that managed to become classics became so for a reason (and if
you've ever read some second rate 19th century material you'll appreciate the
the distinction).

The art form of the fiction as moral treatise probably hasn't been surpassed
since then. So just pick up a few big 19th century novels and start reading
:-)

------
yesenadam
All the essays of Emerson, GK Chesterton, Hazlitt, Oscar Wilde, RL Stevenson,
William James

Every book by Nietzsche (except _Zarathustra_ ).

La Bruyere - _Characters_

Charles Mackay - _Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness
of Crowds_

Ambrose Bierce - _The Devil 's Dictionary_

------
elcomet
Anna Karenina, by Tolstoy

~~~
mtts
A solid contender for the title "best book of the 19th century".

Together with Madame Bovary.

Which wins, IMHO. But still: great book.

------
bmmayer1
Economics:

\- The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith

\- Das Kapital, Karl Marx

\- That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen, Frederic Bastiat

Philosophy / Politics:

\- The Republic, Plato

\- Second Treatise on Government, John Locke

\- The Law, Frederic Bastiat

\- Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes

\- Meditations, Marcus Aurelius

\- Democracy in America, Alexis de Toqueville

\- On Liberty, John Stuart Mill

Fiction:

\- The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Mark Twain

\- The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin

\- Metamorphoses, Franz Kafka

\- Candide, Voltaire

\- The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

~~~
protomyth
If you are going to read Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, then you should
probably read _The Theory of Moral Sentiments_ first. It helps with the
understanding.

------
vo2maxer
I’m intrigued by the scarce mention of Spanish authors and their work,
particularly those from the Spanish Golden Age. Other than Cervantes, I didn’t
find any other coeval authors: Francisco Gómez de Quevedo, Luis de Góngora,
Calderón de la Barca, Lope de Vega, and many others.

What are the reasons for this oversight? Is their work too archaic for modern
taste? Are translations too poor to convey some of the originals’ virtuosity?
Lack of exposure? I’m truly curious as to why this phenomenon happens, and HN
is not the only forum where I’ve observed it.

------
shrinathna
The John Carter of Mars books have traveled remarkably well through time.

~~~
wazoox
And the Pellucidar series too.

------
carusooneliner
Panchatantra -- more than 1000yr old collection of fables from India. It's a
kind of self help book that uses vivid storytelling with animal characters, to
impart practical life lessons.

~~~
suchoudh
I would suggest to read the one with the sanskrit verses being translated into
hindi/english/others as the conversation between the characters is very
illuminating.

------
pimmen
The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

It might be a bit of a cliche but it really is profound and is actually more
useful than I first thought. Especially "show strength at your weakest, show
weakness at your strongest" is something that I've used during negotations and
presentations. It sounds like common sense when you read it, because you've
seen a lot of this stuff work out ahead of reading it, but it's only once you
read it that it becomes abstract and defined enough for me to apply it.

------
zawerf
The Count of Monte Cristo

~~~
v-erne
I second that.

There's also a lot of movie and tv adaptations of this book out there(Alan
Badel was probably the best Count) and I really enjoy compering them to the
book.

------
watwut
L'Ancien Régime et la Révolution (1856) by Alexis de Tocqueville. In English
it is either The Old Regime and the Revolution or The Old Regime and the
French Revolution.

------
cjwillcock
The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James (1902).

------
yomansat
"Beginning Of Guidance By Imam Ghazali"

Written by the popular 11th century philosopher and jurist on topics around
the purification of the heart.

This book was written towards the end of his life, where he didn't care much
for what influential rulers might say.

[https://archive.org/details/BeginningOfGuidance](https://archive.org/details/BeginningOfGuidance)

------
gadders
A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard from 1899.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Message_to_Garcia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Message_to_Garcia)

[https://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.803/pdf/hubbard1899.pdf](https://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.803/pdf/hubbard1899.pdf)

~~~
gadders
For books, I'd say Herodotus and also Plutarchs Lives of the Great Greeks and
Romans.

------
NeedMoreTea
The Phantom Rickshaw and other Eerie Tales, Rudyard Kipling. This is the one
that includes "The Man Who Would be King" that's a fairly well known film with
Sean Connery and Michael Caine.

His other short story books, such as The Jungle Book and Just So Stories - so
much better than the Disney.

The Time Machine and other Stories, H G Wells.

------
glial
Spinoza's Ethics

Euclid's Elements

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

------
lukewrites
Anna Karenina

For a lighter, but still interesting read, anything by Saki is good - Sredni
Vashtar was the first story of his I read and I still come back to it decades
later.

[http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/vashtar.html](http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/vashtar.html)

------
tarboreus
_Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel
Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships_ (1726)

This book is filthy, funny, misanthropic, insightful, and ridiculous in all
the right ways.

> I was complaining of a small fit of the colic, upon which my conductor led
> me into a room where a great physician resided, who was famous for curing
> that disease, by contrary operations from the same instrument. He had a
> large pair of bellows, with a long slender muzzle of ivory: this he conveyed
> eight inches up the anus, and drawing in the wind, he affirmed he could make
> the guts as lank as a dried bladder. But when the disease was more stubborn
> and violent, he let in the muzzle while the bellows were full of wind, which
> he discharged into the body of the patient; then withdrew the instrument to
> replenish it, clapping his thumb strongly against the orifice of then
> fundament; and this being repeated three or four times, the adventitious
> wind would rush out, bringing the noxious along with it, (like water put
> into a pump), and the patient recovered. I saw him try both experiments upon
> a dog, but could not discern any effect from the former. After the latter
> the animal was ready to burst, and made so violent a discharge as was very
> offensive to me and my companion. The dog died on the spot, and we left the
> doctor endeavouring to recover him, by the same operation.

Yes, this is a passage about trying to inflate a dog with a bellows. This is
why this book is in the Western canon.

 _The Beetle: A Mystery_ by Richard Marsh (1897)

This novel is bizarre... _to the max!_ (I'm bringing it back.)

This shit came out in the same year as Dracula (1897) and outsold it. That
tells you that this is a boss novel that you should read immediately.

The plot is that a shapeshifting beetle person with mesmeric powers is trying
to revenge themselves on a member of Parliament. After reading the first
section of this book, in which a tramp is mesmerized, given spooky powers, and
sent to steal some letters, you'll want to start shouting _THE BEETLE!_ just
like the characters in the novel. Keep an eye out for Sydney Atherton, a
scientist who uses the mysterious fluid known as Electricity to fight our
antagonist, and who randomly kills a cat with sarin gas to make a point in a
conversation.

 _Dracula_ by Bram Stoker (1897)

Not as good as _The Beetle_ , obviously, but holds up shockingly well. In this
rollicking novel, Victorian organizational technology (gramophones,
stenography, typewriters) triumphs over the undead. But read _The Beetle_
first, it's way better.

 _Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady 's Entrance into the World_ (1778)

This is another awesomely messed-up book that's a great beach read in 2019.
People are constantly getting kicked out of carriages and rolling down hills,
falling down stairs, etc. It's like Jane Austen but with violence.
Incidentally, Frances Burney was Austen's fav writer. There's an old person
race in this novel, so enjoy that.

------
atlacatl_sv
i enjoyed reading this one:A History of Freedom of Thought
[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10684/10684-h/10684-h.htm](http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10684/10684-h/10684-h.htm)

------
brandonlc
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. Not an easy read, but one well
worth the effort.

------
h13g
A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder, 1888 [1]

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Strange_Manuscript_Found_in_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Strange_Manuscript_Found_in_a_Copper_Cylinder)

------
xchip
Ars amatoria - Ovid (a book on picking up women, TL;DR: things have not
changed much since back in the ancient Rome)

On speeches - Cicero (the only book that breaks down a speech is such a
detail, same thing as above)

Gorgias - A Socrates dialog with a Gorgias, a sophist (men that were very well
versed in the art or persuading but without having real knowledge), hard as it
was (and it still is nowadays ) Socrates debunks this guy claims with elegance
and class.

------
louhike
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, my favorite book of all time.

I loved the characters, how they evolved and their relations with them. A weak
character will through years become successful while another character they
admired will fail miserably.

~~~
vturner
Ah yes! Thomas Hardy, Far From The Madding Crowd.

------
koopuluri
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satipatthana_Sutta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satipatthana_Sutta)
\- Establishing Mindfulness, ~500 BC, by supposedly Siddhartha Gautama.

------
benstox
The Confessions of St Augustine

------
perl4ever
What is Man? And Other Essays by Mark Twain

[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/70/70-h/70-h.htm](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/70/70-h/70-h.htm)

------
elihu
Phantastes, George MacDonald.

~~~
brobdingnagians
My favourite fiction book, well worth the read, and the author was hugely
influential on a lot of later well known-English writers including, Lewis
Carroll, and according to Wikipedia, a major influence on "W. H. Auden, J. M.
Barrie, Lord Dunsany, Hope Mirrlees, Robert E. Howard, L. Frank Baum, T.H.
White, Lloyd Alexander, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Walter de la Mare, E.
Nesbit, Peter S. Beagle, Neil Gaiman and Madeleine L'Engle."

------
MLij
Since no one has mentioned them I just wanted to add "The Canterbury Tales" by
Chaucer and "Beowulf" to the list. I've both read them in high school and
liked them very much.

~~~
vturner
I remember reading the Canterbury Tales in high school. Was just recently
talking with my girlfriend how studying history and people's lives of the past
puts our struggles we have in some context. The Canterbury Tales is a good
example of that.

------
wodenokoto
Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite books, but I wouldn't be surprised
if it was also the most read > 100 year old book (well, not counting any
religious writing!)

------
zwischenzug
Anything by Oscar Wilde.

------
Gibbon1
Ambrose Bierce, Tales of Soldiers and Civilians

O'Henry, the Gentle Grafter.

------
tanseydavid
I recently came across a really great quote / piece-of-advice and it applies
nicely to this thread:

"If you want to learn something NEW -- read an OLD book."

------
mrbonner
For novels, I love Shogun, by James Clavell, The Terror by Dan Simmons. For
science book: QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter by Richard Feynman.

------
interfixus
The War of The Worlds, H.G. Wells, 1898

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens, 1861

Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper ("On the Electrodynamics of Moving
Bodies"), A. Einstein, 1905

------
Jivatman
Bhagavad Gita

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita)

------
mkovach
Michel de Montaigne, his Essays are awesome and touch a wide range of
subjects. The 100+ chapters in three books require an investment that will
payoff.

------
strikelaserclaw
Don Quixote

------
prepend
Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Sloacum.

------
gempir
The Art of War by Sun Tzu, 5th century BC

------
RobertKerans
_Traffic_ by Ruskin I reread quite a lot. For background, it's a lecture he
gave when invited to speak, as the eminent architectural critic of the day, to
dignitaries on the opening of a new exchange building. Was expected to talk
about the architecture, but he talked about capitalism instead

> You shall have thousands of gold pieces; - thousands of thousands - millions
> - mountains of gold: where will you keep them?

More technical, but I constantly use Ruskin's _Modern Painters_ as art
reference. Each volume has detailed chapelters on natural forms (trees,
mountains, etc). The attempts at geometric drawings of the structures of cloud
patterns are particularly beautiful imo. He's a phenomenal writer, anyway.

Mentioned by others elsewhere in the comments, but _Candide_ and _The Count of
Monte Cristo_ are possibly my two favourite books. The first one feels
incredibly modern, which is quite impressive given that it's basically the
first European novel. Second one I've always thought is like an exceptionally
good airport novel (and the sci-fi version is also one of my favourite books,
and one of the best sci-fi novels ever written). Very difficult to put down.

Also, anything by Swift, Hazlitt, Twain I can read and reread endlessly. I
read a lot of opder stuff, but I've noticed I'm often quite quick to discard
it if it doesn't scan as contemporary writing -- those three I find in
particular have quite modern styles

~~~
kareemm
What is The sci fi version of the Count of Monte Cristo?

~~~
RobertKerans
_The Stars My Destination_ (or _Tiger! Tiger!_ depending on when and where it
was published) by Alfred Bester

------
lbj
Atlas Shrugged had the most profound impact on me. Ishmael was a funny, short
and enlightening read.

~~~
tom_mellior
The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged also had a profound impact on me, but not
in the way Ayn Rand had intended :-)

It's strange, reading Rand; I liked her use of language but didn't like her
"heroes", nor the points she was trying to make. And after The Fountainhead,
Atlas Shrugged reads like a twice-as-long, twice-as-over-the-top rework of the
same material, just with a female heroine. So it's safe to skip it if you're
pressed for time.

~~~
lbj
I was fortunate enough to start with Atlas Shrugged and read Fountainhead
after. It does feel like Fountainhead was her runway into Atlas, her way of
getting a clearer picture of the story she wanted to tell. Although I like Ayn
and her philosophy I think its safe to skip Fountainhead.

------
ioseph
The World Set Free - HG Wells

(I wanted to put in the Shape of Things to Come but it doesn't quite make the
cut)

------
abhiyerra
“Civilization and its Discontents” by Freud

“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly

“Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde

------
awat
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

~~~
jeffdavis
A disturbing, compelling, and influential book. But do you still see it as
relevant today, aside from understanding history?

~~~
awat
I do, I don’t know that I would categorize this at the top of what’s been
listed but I still think it’s worth reading.

------
zhoujianfu
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

------
AnimalMuppet
Einstein's "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".

------
antoniorosado
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy is a tremendous book.

------
sebastianconcpt
Everything Dostoievski

------
HNLurker2
Moral Letters (Seneca)

------
dantodor
Plato's Dialogues

------
oh-moses
As a kid I really enjoyed the Winnetou stories by Karl May

------
zacky777
A clear winner for me: 'The Odyssey by Homer"

------
perilunar
_My Airships_ , by Alberto Santos-Dumont, 1904

------
detcader
I'd recommend My Ántonia by Willa Cather

------
BenGosub
Dostoyevski, Nietzsche, Seneca, Montaigne...

------
techload
The Book of Lies, by Aleister Crowley.

------
bag531
Reform or Revolution? by Rosa Luxembourg.

------
totaldude87
Does "Mahabharata" count?

~~~
suchoudh
... and the various - interpretations "teekas" of Bhagvata Gita that came up
subsequently.

Mahabharat has everything in it. However west has not yet warmed up to it.

------
momentmaker
Tao Te Ching

------
halfofstellar
“451 Fahrenheit” by Ray Bradbury

------
erikerikson
Growth of the Soil, Knut Hamsun

------
hailk
Return to Tipasa - Albert Camus

------
ReD_CoDE
Darwin's Dangerous Idea

------
hanoz
That's quite a broad category. _At least 100 years ago_ was a good period for
books and essays.

------
pmcjones
Euclid's _Elements_.

------
claudiawerner
Karl Marx's _Capital: A Critique of Political Economy_ , Volume I: The
Production Process of Capital.

------
sohodlers
Dao De Jing of LaoTzu

------
timbit42
Anne of Green Gables

------
thiago_fm
Also sprach Zarathustra.

What a book.

------
halfofstellar
Ray Bradbury

------
voldacar
The Odyssey

The Iliad

Moby-Dick

Anything by Dostoevsky

------
knorker
In no particular order:

Moby Dick

Les Miserables

Crime and punishment

Alice in wonderland

The Prince

------
RosyM83
poetry from jalaludin rumi

------
qazpot
The Art of War - Sun Tzu

~~~
qazpot
Is having Art of War as favorite book an unpopular opinion ?

------
rammy1234
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Art of war

------
Sag0Sag0
The State and Revolution - Lenin

------
DickieStarshine
Dune series by Frank Herbert, not much comes close.

~~~
bdibs
Dune was released in 1965.

~~~
DickieStarshine
Dammit, I skipped the "at least" part... I read "during the last 100 years".

------
dominotw
Pro Spring 5: An In-Depth Guide to the Spring Framework and Its Tools 5th
Edition

