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Torchlight List #1
The Torchlight List: Around the World in 200 Books
A brilliant road map for discovering history, science, civilization, and the human condition, this engaging record recommends must-read books: those so revealing about times and places that they take the reader beyond day-to-day concerns into a magic realm of knowledge and imagination. From Arthur Koestler’s take on the universe and Barbara Tuchman’s view on 14th-century life to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s impressions of American morality and Robert Fisk’s analysis of the West’s history of intervention in the Middle East, this engaging account is an idiosyncratic and endlessly interesting tour of the world through literature.
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
23 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
James R. Flynn
26 books91 followersJames Robert Flynn, PhD, aka Jim Flynn, is Emeritus Professor of Political Studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, researches intelligence and is famous for his publications about the continued year-after-year increase of IQ scores throughout the world, which is now referred to as the Flynn effect. The Flynn Effect is the subject of a multiple author monograph published by the American Psychological Association in 1998. Originally from Washington DC and educated in Chicago, Flynn emigrated to New Zealand in 1963.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 11, 2011
This book thrills and frightens me in equal measure. I'm excited at the prospect of so many wonderful books to explore but also slightly daunted by the number I have yet to read. Those on the list which I have already read are among the ones I remember vividly and frequently recommend to others so I can't wait to get started on the rest.
I wonder if any bookstores or libraries will set up a "Torchlight List" shelf?
I wonder if any bookstores or libraries will set up a "Torchlight List" shelf?
March 20, 2013
An irritating and pompous piece of socialist humanist moralising, very much U.S-centric (two full chapters on American books plus a significant number of American authors scattered through the other chapters on literature from other parts of the world). The reader is in no doubt about the writer's political and philosophical stance and it appears that unless the book being discussed concentrates on the poor and down-trodden, it tends to be dismissed. In fact this is more a list of books that supports the author's own credo, than an introduction to great reading.
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October 9, 2017I found this very interesting and I've actually been struggling to make my own organised list of books to read so this is really helpful to me. Thanks F and V :-)
October 4, 2011
I was going to rate this book a three for enjoyment, but then I realised that I definitely plan to refer back to it, and its point really is being a reference book, so I gave it another star for that.
The book follows different parts of the world and maps out a path to read yourself around it. It has an interesting selection of books, chosen not just because they are good reads but because they are an engaging way to catch up on the worlds developments, history, politics and even science.
Someone else wrote on their review that this book reads like a very long blog post. I totally agree. I really enjoyed this conversational style of writing, but here also lies some of my problems with the book. It is not a complete list by any means. The author is the first to admit that he left out sections as much because he had never read in that area rather than other books being stand out more important. It feels like a book to listen to with a grain of salt.
But then writing off New Zealand and Australia as not important enough in the world really annoyed me. When you live in New Zealand, the country remains important to you, if not to the rest of the world. And as the book was published in New Zealand, by an adopted New Zealander, isn't it likely that many of its readers will be New Zealanders with a vested interest in New Zealand? And even if they aren't New Zealanders are they not likely to forgive a little 'chauvinism', as the author puts it, when he gives a little more than two lines to our dot of an island?
The book follows different parts of the world and maps out a path to read yourself around it. It has an interesting selection of books, chosen not just because they are good reads but because they are an engaging way to catch up on the worlds developments, history, politics and even science.
Someone else wrote on their review that this book reads like a very long blog post. I totally agree. I really enjoyed this conversational style of writing, but here also lies some of my problems with the book. It is not a complete list by any means. The author is the first to admit that he left out sections as much because he had never read in that area rather than other books being stand out more important. It feels like a book to listen to with a grain of salt.
But then writing off New Zealand and Australia as not important enough in the world really annoyed me. When you live in New Zealand, the country remains important to you, if not to the rest of the world. And as the book was published in New Zealand, by an adopted New Zealander, isn't it likely that many of its readers will be New Zealanders with a vested interest in New Zealand? And even if they aren't New Zealanders are they not likely to forgive a little 'chauvinism', as the author puts it, when he gives a little more than two lines to our dot of an island?
May 10, 2013
Eh. the book exposes James' bias towards authors and wisdom of Europe and the West. The recommended books are no doubt great reads - but I don't think they equal a global education that would substitute a university education. I think this would be a good list of books for folks living in the 1970s.
June 25, 2011
It's a nice, idiosyncratic, list of worthwhile books. Very much like an extremely long blog post.
December 16, 2014
More commentary and less description than I would have liked.
November 14, 2012
Insightful, has significantly increased the length of my to-read list.
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January 16, 2024although this books heavily suffers from “back in my day 🤠 gosh darn kids in their cellular devices 😡” there is valid merit to what the author himself is saying.
the book was given to me by the owner of the holiday house we’re staying at after i mentioned i enjoy reading, which honestly stole my heart!!!
the format in which this was written was actually really fun. it felt like i was just having an intellectualistic chat with the author about which books he likes and why he liked them.
the only disparity i have with this book is that it’s very easy to see which viewpoint this man holds in terms of which literature he wants to uphold. there’s HEAVY discussion on western and russian literature but when it comes to asia and africa literature, he mentions it and moves on. just wish there was more time spent on that discussion.
it’s also apparent that he values philosophy and academic books due to him being a professor himself. fiction matters too in the world of literature man!!!!!!! give it some credit goddamn!!!
the book was given to me by the owner of the holiday house we’re staying at after i mentioned i enjoy reading, which honestly stole my heart!!!
the format in which this was written was actually really fun. it felt like i was just having an intellectualistic chat with the author about which books he likes and why he liked them.
the only disparity i have with this book is that it’s very easy to see which viewpoint this man holds in terms of which literature he wants to uphold. there’s HEAVY discussion on western and russian literature but when it comes to asia and africa literature, he mentions it and moves on. just wish there was more time spent on that discussion.
it’s also apparent that he values philosophy and academic books due to him being a professor himself. fiction matters too in the world of literature man!!!!!!! give it some credit goddamn!!!
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December 1, 2021Fantastic read. I was too scared to take Professor Flynn's paper in second year (Justice, Race, and, Class) which would be my dream paper now. Great variety of recommendations; ditching Obama's to-read list for this (huge call).
July 15, 2023
Skim read. No where near as engaging as its successor due it it being less well organised. 1.5⭐️
February 6, 2025
Skimmed into ir. I want to increase my reading in history. I loved this professional theories. But I did not enjoy the book. I think it was to further up to my books history knowledge.
July 2, 2011
Because it made me giggle, I'm quoting a New Zealand friend, on hearing about this book (author: expat American living in NZ):
"Ugh, Americans. They always have to make everything into a list."
Anyway, I'm a little on the fence about this book (though probably leaning over to the positive side, seeing how cleverly I can balance). On the one hand, I like reading. A lot. I also like things that suggest new books to read. And I like lists (I must be part American! Hee.). So all of that is going in the Torchlight List's favour, as is the fact that I've liked Jim Flynn's recommendations before.
What I'm not really sure about, however, is the idea running through this that reading books makes you a better person (than other people). It's not an argument I like. I like reading, yes, and I like to read all sorts of things, partly because I like finding out new things, and getting some insight into other people, other times, and other psychologies (so far, on the same page as Flynn, I think, who definitely values books more as a humanist than a literary critic, and has some hilarious things to say about the latter). But the point is, reading is something that I do because I like to do it. I also like baseball. So far I haven't found anyone who'd countenance the claim that that makes me a better person (maybe Ken Burns?), though with a little bit of time, and tongue stuck reasonably firmly in cheek, I could probably come up with an argument about how it teaches us about values, statistics, morality and economics. Also, reading is not so firmly wedded with hot dogs and peanuts, so baseball definitely has that advantage.
So is reading different than baseball? Possibly, but reading with the explicit purpose of becoming a better person would take the fun out of it, not to mention make me a giant tool. Plus I'd probably have to give up comic books and romance novels, and then I do think I'd lose something.
But in the end, I do like this book, taken in the spirit of suggestions from one person who loves to read to another. The best thing to do with it is probably to skim through, try out some of the suggestions that pique your interest, read whatever the hell else you want, then get in touch with your inner 'American' and write your own list of the books that make you glad that you're a reader.
"Ugh, Americans. They always have to make everything into a list."
Anyway, I'm a little on the fence about this book (though probably leaning over to the positive side, seeing how cleverly I can balance). On the one hand, I like reading. A lot. I also like things that suggest new books to read. And I like lists (I must be part American! Hee.). So all of that is going in the Torchlight List's favour, as is the fact that I've liked Jim Flynn's recommendations before.
What I'm not really sure about, however, is the idea running through this that reading books makes you a better person (than other people). It's not an argument I like. I like reading, yes, and I like to read all sorts of things, partly because I like finding out new things, and getting some insight into other people, other times, and other psychologies (so far, on the same page as Flynn, I think, who definitely values books more as a humanist than a literary critic, and has some hilarious things to say about the latter). But the point is, reading is something that I do because I like to do it. I also like baseball. So far I haven't found anyone who'd countenance the claim that that makes me a better person (maybe Ken Burns?), though with a little bit of time, and tongue stuck reasonably firmly in cheek, I could probably come up with an argument about how it teaches us about values, statistics, morality and economics. Also, reading is not so firmly wedded with hot dogs and peanuts, so baseball definitely has that advantage.
So is reading different than baseball? Possibly, but reading with the explicit purpose of becoming a better person would take the fun out of it, not to mention make me a giant tool. Plus I'd probably have to give up comic books and romance novels, and then I do think I'd lose something.
But in the end, I do like this book, taken in the spirit of suggestions from one person who loves to read to another. The best thing to do with it is probably to skim through, try out some of the suggestions that pique your interest, read whatever the hell else you want, then get in touch with your inner 'American' and write your own list of the books that make you glad that you're a reader.
September 12, 2011
"If you want to know why Americans are so religious and conservative (the two often go together), reflect on the fact that many came from rural poverty into alien cities, found themselves losing their language and identity, and the only familiar institution they could carry with them was their church. They also wanted to get rich and to believe it was possible to get rich, and this did not make socialism attractive" (31).
January 17, 2016
I love books about books and list of favorite books...So why did I just NOT like this as well. I didn't quite feel he was as passionate as other authors who gave us list to read. Not sure why, I just couldn't feel that connection between the author and his list of must reads.
December 16, 2010
I'm a sucker for lists. Makes me sound cool, eh? Gives you plenty of left-field (and left wing....) ideas for reading, hence my bloated 'to-read' list.
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June 12, 2011this is one of my professors "to read" list. alot of it is really dated, and it's all very heavy literary stuff. much too narrow of an approach for me
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October 24, 2013Review for Library Journal
August 3, 2016
I like lists of books, this one less than some others, but that's because the author has been exposed much more broadly than I have. I added some books to my wishlist based on his recommendations.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews