Essential Books every Gentleman Should Have?

[Matt Crunk]

Esquire Magazine did an article on this subject many years ago (back when it was a worth-while read).

It posed the question: Given only 36" inches of shelf space, what would you consider to be essential reading/reference books for the cultured gentleman to own.

I forget what their original list contained, but I'd like to see what fellow Loungers would suggest . . .

 

[KeyGrip]

The Dangerous Book for Boys was the first that popped into my mind. The Art of Manliness has an article on 100 must read books for the "Essential Man's Library." I found it to be pretty comprehensive and a good place to start list-wise.

 

[MEDIUMMYND]

A good start would be the Oxford english dictionary.

 

[warbird]

The History of Knowledge by Charles van Doren

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. More than sword tactics, tactics for life, business, etc. Some sort of atlas should be included. I'm not sure if there is one definitive book with maps of the world, countries, etc, but that would be it. In fact, if there is such a book, I want it.

 

[Senator Jack]

A good start would be the Oxford english dictionary.

Bravo. And Fowler's.

 

[Foofoogal]

A good start would be the Oxford english dictionary.

that is funny!

 

[Bruce Wayne]

can we stack books on top of books?

 

[vintage68]

Homer. The Illiad and The Odyssey. Virgil, The Aeneid. Herodotus, The Histories. Shakespeare of course.

 

[Geesie]

A good start would be the Oxford english dictionary.

I don't think that it would fit in 36" of shelf space.

That said, Homer.

 

[thebadmamajama]

everyone will hate me and it's a half-joke, but "In Search of Lost Time" by Proust. although that really would be the whole darn shelf.

 

[DeaconKC]

"To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth" by Jeff Cooper

 

[poetman]

Poetry:

Homer, Virgil, Auden, Borges, Lorca, Stevens, Walcott

Prose:
Austen, Camus, Faulkner, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Sophocles, Shakespeare,

Non-Fiction:
Camus, Augustine, Emerson, Nietzsche, Plato, J.S. Mill

Of course there are countless others, but the emotional and intellectual variety presented here should do a true gentleman justice.

 

[thebadmamajama]

Wiesel, so we never forget. And the Bible.

 

[thunderw21]

"To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth" by Jeff Cooper

This.

 

[KY Gentleman]

Maybe not so "cultured gentleman" but every guy ought to have "On The Road" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".
Probably an atlas, too.

 

[Feraud]

I wonder how many people maintain a minimum of 36" of shelf space dedicated to books of any kind?

 

[Geesie]

I wonder how many people maintain a minimum of 36" of shelf space dedicated to books of any kind?

I don't know, but I do know that I silently judge people based on their bookshelves.

P.S. [brag] My wife and I both have BAs in English. Our combined library totals around 1000 volumes (including full version of the OED).

 

[captcouv]

Recommendations out of my Library (far from complete!)

*U. S. Constitution

-you have to know the rules​

*The Art of War - Sun Tzu

-applies to life, war, philosophy, business, etc.​

*Vietnam, A History - Karnow
*General Lee's Army - Glatthar

-many books more complete on WBtS, but this one is powerful about humans​

*Old Gimlet Eye - Thomas

-because there are some American heroes you have absolutely no clue about​

*Rising Tide - Barry

-The Mississippi is more important to the history of the US than any other factor
​

*In Search of Excellence - Peters/Waterman
*Cobb - Stump

-history of the US is in baseball​

*War Made New - Boot
-

a must for understanding​

*Black Cherry Blues - Burke
-

New Orleans, cops, characters, drama and a writing style that will actually have you smelling the Gulf salt breeze blowing through the azealias.​

*The Ten Thousand - Ford
*God is My Co-Pilot - Scott
*Confederacy of Dunces - O'toole

-because reading is fun​

*Hunt for the Red October - Clancy

-forget the movie, read the book​

*Dress for Success - Malloy

-please, please, please - look professional.​

*Poker Wisdom of a Champion - Brunson

-because no matter what you think, poker ain't easy and it's indespensible to being a man​

*The Prince - Machiavelli

-timeless on the effects and requirements of power​

*Common Sense - Paine
*Clash of Civilizations - Huntington

-this subject will affect our lives for the next 100 years​

*A Glorious Cause - Middlekauf

-absolutely the best, most entertaining, read about the birth of the US​

*The World is Flat - Friedman

-The world is smaller than you think​

*Ivanhoe - Scott

-chivalry ain't dead​

*Starship Trooper - Heinlen

-forget the movie, the book is required reading on individual responsibility​

*American Caeser - Manchester

-if you don't want to do a biography, alternatively read Goodbye Darkness by Manchester​

*Lucky You - Hiaasen

-again, reading is fun​

*Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - Gray

-first rule of warfare (read you Sun Tzu), know your enemy​

*How Things Work - Bloomfield

-you're a man, you're expected to know!​

*Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Gibbons

-history didn't start with the Romans, but our civilization is defined by them​

*Theodore Roosevelt, an Intimate Biography - Thayer

-In the top 5 of greatest Americans​

*The Dangerous Book for Boys - Iggulden

-because you're requried to pass on useful knowledge to young men​

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I don't think that it would fit in 36" of shelf space.

There is a two volume edition that has all the pages miniaturized. It contains everything that's in the full 20-whatever volume version. IIRC it has about 8 pages per side of a page, if you're with me. On the thinnest paper outside the Bible.

The Baroness found one (the pair) in a library sale for $1 per volume. A great enough deal to ship the buggers back to the UK. They take up about 8 or 10 inches total.

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