All books influence their readers to a greater or lesser extent, but some books stand out as having not just an effect on individuals but on society as a whole. Every discipline and every walk of life will have books that are relevant to them and have created change, and thus it is no easy task to pick just ten books that have had more influence than others.
To achieve some balance, this selection samples texts from philosophy, politics, religion and science and is a mixture of fictional and factual works. They have not been chosen for the quality of their writing but by the fact that they have in some way had a major influence on the world around us.
There are, of course, other books to which this description could be applied, and some of those are listed at the end, and readers are free and encouraged to use the comments box to add their own suggestions.
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley (1932)
Aldous Huxley’s vision of a future society has proved both an inspiration and a warning for many campaigning for an ideal society. His picture of a flawed utopia where there is no violence and everyone is provided for has the flip side of a shallow existence for the population.
The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (1848)
Sill an inspiration for socialists today, this short book (which also goes under the name Manifesto of the Communist Party) analyses capitalist society and illustrates how within such a society are the seeds of its own downfall. The authors predict that, through class struggle, capitalism can be replaced by socialism and then communism.
The Female Eunuch, by Germaine Greer (1970)
Germaine Greer’s analysis of society became almost a manifesto for the feminist movement in the 1970s. She argued that it would take revolution rather than evolution to eliminate sexism from society. Though a little dated today, it has served to change the face of the women’s liberation movement forever.
Holy Bible
Arguably the most significant religious work ever, the book is a collection of scriptures and spilt into two testaments. The Old Testament serves as a base for both Judaism and Christianity and contains the thirty-nine books of Hebrew scriptures. The New Testament tells the story of Jesus Christ and forms the basis of Christianity. Different religions disagree over which parts of both testaments are relevant but together it forms the world’s best ever selling book.
Nineteen Eight-Four, by George Orwell (1949)
A dystopian futuristic society is painted by George Orwell in which the public is subject to constant surveillance and control and in which the news is managed and manipulated and history altered to suit current thinking. The book tells the story of Winston Smith, who tries in his own way to rebel against the society. It brought words and phrases such as “Big Brother” and “doublespeak” into the English language. This also appears in the list of the ten best science fiction books of all time.
Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin (1859)
This book proposed that humans – and other species – evolved by the process of natural selection from older species. Though slow to be adopted by the scientific community, and under strong opposition from religious groups, it survived to form the base of today’s dominant scientific theory.
Qur’an
The main religious text of Islam, the book is believed by Muslims to form the basis of mankind’s moral development and its text to be the literal word of God. The book is thought to have been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over the course of two decades. There are 114 chapters written in an old Arabic dialect. It has been translated into at least forty languages.
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, by Robert Tressell (1914)
Frank Owen shares the frustration of socialists before him and after him as he tries to convince his fellow workers of the underlying problems in society that cause them to have an unfair share of the pie. The result, in this book published after the author’s death, is a series of lectures by Owen to his fellow workers. As such, it is regarded as required by reading by many working class socialists.
Relativity: The Special and General Theory, by Albert Einstein (1916)
This was the author’s introduction to his theory of relativity that shook up a scientific world dominated by Newtonian physics. Special relativity deals with time and space and general relativity looks at gravitation. One of the shocking elements of special relativity was that time travels more slowly if an object is moving than if it is stationary.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M Pirsig (1974)
The author takes his son Chris on a seventeen-day journey on his motorbike across the USA and the adventure is punctuated by philosophical discussions. This work of fiction has become one of the classical philosophical texts and has sold more then four million copies.
Other Influential Books
One of the hardest tasks in compiling this list was deciding which books to leave out as there have been many works that have influenced society to greater or lesser degrees. Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language has undoubtedly influenced all that has been written since.
Sir Isaac Newton’s Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, it can be argued, deserves its place among the science books. And George Orwell’s Animal Farm is regarded by many as just as influential as Nineteen Eighty-Four, if not more so. Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 changed the language and Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf changed the world. And should Quotations from Chairman Mao (The Little Red Book) be among the political texts?
Feel free to disagree with the above list and put your own suggestions in the comments box below.
Steve Rogerson - Steve Rogerson is a UK-based writer specialising in television, technology, sports and beer.
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