What’s in it
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24 books with the same feel
Include books by the same authorThe Art of War
Sun Tzu · 80 pages
The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period. The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu
Tao te Ching
老子, Yang Peng, Jordi Fibla · 120 pages
The I Ching or Book of Changes
Anonymous · 740 pages
A translation of the early document of Chinese philosophy with explanatory notes.
The Republic
Plato · 392 pages
The Republic is Plato's most famous work and one of the seminal texts of Western philosophy and politics. The characters in this Socratic dialogue - including Socrates himself - discuss whether the just or unjust man is happier. They are the philosopher-kings of imagined cities and they also discuss the nature of philosophy and the soul among other things.
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius · 186 pages
Meditations is a collection of personal reflections and notes by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161 to 180 AD), offering a profound look into the philosophy of Stoicism. It was never intended for publication, making it a raw and intimate self-help manual for the emperor during his campaigns and rule. The central theme revolves around living a good, rational, and virtuous life in harmon
The Chinese Classics
James Legge · 452 pages
On Christian Doctrine
Augustine of Hippo · 1,278 pages
Poetics
Aristotle · 144 pages
One of the first books written on what is now called aesthetics. Although parts are lost (e.g., comedy), it has been very influential in western thought, such as the part on tragedy.
The Dialogues of Plato
Plato, Benjamin Jowett · 208 pages
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion and The Natural History of Religion
David Hume · 256 pages
Conversations of Socrates
Xenophon · 366 pages
Xenophon is less speculative than Plato and applies Socratic principles more to everyday life: by reading his book, we not only learn about Socrates and his philosophy but also gain fascinating insights into the daily life of ancient Greece and into the religious, political and moral views of a certain type of Athenian.
Sophie's World
Jostein Gaarder · 456 pages
The protagonists are Sophie Amundsen, a 14-year-old girl, and Alberto Knox, her philosophy teacher. The novel chronicles their metaphysical relationship as they study Western philosophy from its beginnings to the present. A bestseller in Norway.
Theological-Political Treatise
Baruch Spinoza · 267 pages
On the Shortness of Life
Seneca · 112 pages
Timeless advice on the art of living well, from the celebrated Penguin Great Ideas series The writings of the ancient Roman philosopher Seneca offer powerful insights into stoicism, morality and the importance of reason, and continue to provide profound guidance to many through their eloquence, lucidity and wisdom. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the wa
Four Texts on Socrates: Euthyphro/Apology/Crito/Aristophanes' Clouds
Plato, Aristophanes · 186 pages
This book offers translations of four major works of ancient Greek literature which treat the life and thought of Socrates, focusing particularly on his trial and defense (the Platonic dialogues Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, and Crito) and on the charges against Socrates (Aristophanes' comedy the Clouds). This is the only collection of the three Platonic dialogues which also includes the Clouds
Fear and Trembling/Repetition
Soren Kierkegaard · 464 pages
The two books comprised in this volume are in greater demand than any other works of Kierkegaard. This preference is a credit to the public taste, for Kierkegaard himself called them "the most perfect books I have written," though in this commendation he included The Concept of Dread, and later stretched it to include Training in Christianity.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari · 456 pages
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What hap
The Great Transformation
Karen Armstrong · 496 pages
Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson
Jennifer Michael Hecht · 551 pages
A Letter Concerning Toleration: Humbly Submitted
John Locke, James Tully · 77 pages
*A Letter Concerning Toleration* by John Locke was originally published in 1689. Its initial publication was in Latin, and it was immediately translated into other languages. Locke's work appeared amidst a fear that Catholicism might be taking over England, and responds to the problem of religion and government by proposing religious toleration as the answer. This "letter" is addressed to an anony
Beyond Good and Evil
Friedrich Nietzsche · 168 pages
The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason
Charles Freeman · 470 pages
How the early Christian Church bent the intellectual climate of the Mediterranean world from one of active and questioning inquiry to an encouragement of the subordination of the mind to authority and acceptance of incomprehensibility as the will of God.