Polymath's Library

The Polymath's Library is a list of the best non-fiction books that explain a specific topic area (e.g., geography, history, law, biology, physics).

Please suggest and rank books, from any publication date, that you think are world class in distilling a topic area (e.g., Geography = Guns, Germs and Steel; History = The Lessons of History; Military Strategy = On War)

To guide your thinking - imagine your bright young (grand)daughter is about to go on a long and isolated journey (e.g., colonizing Mars, sailing around the world, starting a prison sentence). If her entire education had to come from the library you provided….what books would you recommend so she would return with a world class understanding of the core knowledge areas.

Please share suggestions in the following categories: Archaeology, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Geography, History, Law, Mathematics, Music, Philosophy, Physics, Psychology, Statistics.

Thanks,
Dylan

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All Votes Add Books To This List

200	From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present by Jacques Barzun 4.13 avg rating — 4,616 ratings score: 56, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
202	Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely 4.12 avg rating — 129,892 ratings score: 55, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
202	The Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun (Goodreads Author) 3.85 avg rating — 4,611 ratings score: 55, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
204	The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World by Daniel Yergin 4.14 avg rating — 5,118 ratings score: 54, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
205	A History of Warfare by John Keegan 3.98 avg rating — 4,531 ratings score: 53, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
206	Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters by Donald R. Prothero 4.12 avg rating — 3,164 ratings score: 52, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
207	The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham 4.24 avg rating — 147,459 ratings score: 51, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
207	Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris (Goodreads Author) 4.16 avg rating — 3,107 ratings score: 51, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
209	Campbell Biology by Urry Lisa A. 4.15 avg rating — 4,112 ratings score: 50, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
210	A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J. Bernstein 4.16 avg rating — 3,331 ratings score: 49, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
211	The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination by Daniel J. Boorstin 4.18 avg rating — 2,618 ratings score: 48, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
212	Paradox: The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Physics by Jim Al-Khalili really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3,002 ratings score: 47, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
213	The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne 3.77 avg rating — 2,757 ratings score: 46, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
214	Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age by W. Bernard Carlson 3.87 avg rating — 2,415 ratings score: 45, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
215	The Upright Thinkers: The Human Journey from Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos by Leonard Mlodinow 4.13 avg rating — 2,147 ratings score: 44, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
216	The Penguin History of the World by J.M. Roberts 4.08 avg rating — 2,499 ratings score: 43, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
217	Fundamentals of Physics by Robert Resnick 4.13 avg rating — 2,184 ratings score: 42, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
218	The Princeton Companion to Mathematics by Timothy Gowers (Editor) 4.41 avg rating — 1,657 ratings score: 40, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
219	The Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and Our Futures by Christine Kenneally 3.81 avg rating — 1,639 ratings score: 39, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
220	The Lives of the Great Composers by Harold C. Schonberg 4.28 avg rating — 1,604 ratings score: 38, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
221	Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated by Steve Jones 3.87 avg rating — 1,510 ratings score: 37, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
222	One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon by Charles Fishman 4.14 avg rating — 1,992 ratings score: 36, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
223	University Physics with Modern Physics by Hugh D. Young 4.12 avg rating — 1,475 ratings score: 35, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
224	Energy: A Human History by Richard Rhodes 3.75 avg rating — 1,841 ratings score: 34, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
225	Your Money and Your Brain by Jason Zweig 3.97 avg rating — 1,611 ratings score: 33, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
226	Entanglement by Amir D. Aczel 4.01 avg rating — 1,258 ratings score: 32, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
227	If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens ... WHERE IS EVERYBODY?: Fifty Solutions to the Fermi Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life by Stephen Webb 4.20 avg rating — 1,443 ratings score: 31, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
228	Art History by Marilyn Stokstad 4.23 avg rating — 1,100 ratings score: 30, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
229	The Seekers: The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World by Daniel J. Boorstin 3.94 avg rating — 953 ratings score: 29, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
230	Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance—and Why They Fall by Amy Chua (Goodreads Author) 3.78 avg rating — 982 ratings score: 28, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
231	Big History: From the Big Bang to the Present by Cynthia Stokes Brown 3.86 avg rating — 991 ratings score: 27, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
232	Human Anatomy & Physiology by Elaine N. Marieb 4.04 avg rating — 1,287 ratings score: 26, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
233	Darwin by Adrian J. Desmond 4.27 avg rating — 780 ratings score: 25, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
234	The Birth of Plenty : How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created by William J. Bernstein 4.19 avg rating — 832 ratings score: 24, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
235	The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution by David Wootton 3.88 avg rating — 895 ratings score: 23, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
236	Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century by Howard Bloom (Goodreads Author) 3.98 avg rating — 698 ratings score: 22, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
237	Mathematics From The Birth Of Numbers by Jan Gullberg 4.19 avg rating — 591 ratings score: 21, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
238	Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, And Symbolic Variation in the History of Life (Life And Mind: Philosophical Issues in Biology And Philosophy Series) by Eva Jablonka 4.19 avg rating — 638 ratings score: 20, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
239	The Physics Book: From the Big Bang to Quantum Resurrection, 250 Milestones in the History of Physics by Clifford A. Pickover 4.08 avg rating — 596 ratings score: 19, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
240	Zoom: How Everything Moves: From Atoms and Galaxies to Blizzards and Bees by Bob Berman 3.99 avg rating — 416 ratings score: 18, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
241	Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World by Deirdre Nansen McCloskey 4.13 avg rating — 403 ratings score: 17, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
242	Civilizations: Culture, Ambition, and the Transformation of Nature by Felipe Fernández-Armesto 3.90 avg rating — 379 ratings score: 16, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
243	Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium by Ronald Findlay 4.15 avg rating — 351 ratings score: 15, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
244	The Periodic Table: A Field Guide to the Elements by Paul Parsons (Goodreads Author) 4.11 avg rating — 363 ratings score: 14, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
245	Masters of the Word: How Media Shaped History by William J. Bernstein 3.92 avg rating — 286 ratings score: 13, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
246	Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels: How Human Values Evolve (The University Center for Human Values Series) by Ian Morris 3.69 avg rating — 327 ratings score: 12, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
247	Bones, Rocks and Stars: The Science of When Things Happened by Chris Turney (Goodreads Author) 4.05 avg rating — 221 ratings score: 11, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
248	Art Through the Ages by Fred S. Kleiner 3.82 avg rating — 44,449 ratings score: 10, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
249	Lives of the Poets by Michael Schmidt 4.16 avg rating — 162 ratings score: 9, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
250	Energy in Nature and Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems by Vaclav Smil 4.19 avg rating — 70 ratings score: 8, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
251	Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan 4.34 avg rating — 38,888 ratings score: 7, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
252	The Art of War: War and Military Thought by Martin van Creveld 3.81 avg rating — 170 ratings score: 6, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
253	Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin 4.28 avg rating — 197,369 ratings score: 5, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
254	Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport 4.16 avg rating — 183,067 ratings score: 4, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
255	The Essential Canon of Classical Music by David Dubal 4.18 avg rating — 152 ratings score: 3, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
256	The Human Past: World History & the Development of Human Societies by Chris Scarre 3.83 avg rating — 276 ratings score: 2, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
257	An Ocean of Air: a Natural History of the Atmosphere [Hardcover] [Jan 01, 2007] Gabrielle Walker by Gabrielle Walker (Goodreads Author) 4.16 avg rating — 572 ratings score: 1, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars