---
title: "Suppose you wanted to create a top ten reading list of non-fiction…"
date: 2018-09-27
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships updated his status.
---

# Suppose you wanted to create a top ten reading list of non-fiction…

*September 27, 2018 · Facebook*

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Suppose you wanted to create a top ten reading list of non-fiction for a 12 year old boy. What would you put on it? Assume that he\'s of above average intelligence.\
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Here\'s my picks, in no particular order.\
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1. Man\'s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl\
[https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429X](https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429X){target="_blank"}\
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2. Models by Mark Manson\
[https://www.amazon.com/Models-Attract-Women-Through-Honesty/dp/1463750358](https://www.amazon.com/Models-Attract-Women-Through-Honesty/dp/1463750358){target="_blank"}\
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3. Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder by Arnold Schwarzenegger\
[https://www.amazon.com/Arnold-Education-Bodybuilder-Schwarzenegger/dp/0671797484](https://www.amazon.com/Arnold-Education-Bodybuilder-Schwarzenegger/dp/0671797484){target="_blank"}\
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4. Surely You\'re Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character\
[https://www.amazon.com/Surely-Youre-Joking-Mr-Feynman/dp/0393355624](https://www.amazon.com/Surely-Youre-Joking-Mr-Feynman/dp/0393355624){target="_blank"}\
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5. Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewellyn\
[https://www.amazon.com/Teenage-Liberation-Handbook-School-Education/dp/0962959170](https://www.amazon.com/Teenage-Liberation-Handbook-School-Education/dp/0962959170){target="_blank"}\
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6. How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan\
[https://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Mind-Consciousness-Transcendence/dp/1594204225](https://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Mind-Consciousness-Transcendence/dp/1594204225){target="_blank"}\
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7. Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World\'s Most Unusual Workplace by Ricardo Semler\
[https://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Success-Behind-Unusual-Workplace/dp/0446670553](https://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Success-Behind-Unusual-Workplace/dp/0446670553){target="_blank"}\
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8. Impro by Keith Johnstone\
[https://www.amazon.com/Impro-Improvisation-Theatre-Keith-Johnstone/dp/0878301178](https://www.amazon.com/Impro-Improvisation-Theatre-Keith-Johnstone/dp/0878301178){target="_blank"}\
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9. The Undercover Economist by Tim Hartford\
[https://www.amazon.com/Undercover-Economist-Revised-Updated-Exposing/dp/0199926514/](https://www.amazon.com/Undercover-Economist-Revised-Updated-Exposing/dp/0199926514/){target="_blank"}\
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10. Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins\
[https://www.amazon.com/Selfish-Gene-Anniversary-Landmark-Science/dp/0198788606](https://www.amazon.com/Selfish-Gene-Anniversary-Landmark-Science/dp/0198788606){target="_blank"}\
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My personal guidelines for choosing. Yours need not follow these.\
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1. Pick books that combine inspiration with some pragmatic information.\
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2. Pick books across a variety of fields (science, economics, entrepreneurship, theater). If I had more space, I\'d add some books on art, politics, music, history, etc.\
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3. Pick books that are fairly gripping to read. There are books with more complete information from a pedagogic perspective. But they tend to be more dry, and I figure they will be more approachable, once he\'s more excited about the \"why\".
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