Name a book that has changed your life (cover)

[DeplorablePopulist]

Secrets of an Economic Hitman was SHOCKING to me and changed how I look at the US government and actions around the world and in the past.

[photobuff42]

Originally Posted by jerbear30

Johnny Cash's Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words

Not a life changer for me but I loved that book.

[Niftybergin]

The Hobbit, because it turned me into a recreational reader when I was 12. Before that, I had hated reading.

[NCN]

Living on the Ragged Edge by Charles Swindoll.
https://www.amazon.com/Living-Ragged.../dp/0849945402

The Street Lawyer by John Grisham
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/..._Street_Lawyer

So many people live their lives trying to impress others but only the truth counts. And it doesn't really matter if others know how good you are or not. To thine own self be true. Solomon was the wisest man in the world but he almost lost his kingdom because he did not obey God. The only thing that saved him was being the son of David.

"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." Harry S Truman, 33rd president of US (1884 - 1972)

A similar quote is credited to Bob Woodruff, Coca Cola CEO 1926 -1954. "There is no limit to what a man can achieve as long as he doesn't care who get's the credit"

[Niftybergin]

Also, I don't know that I would say it "changed my life," but a book that really stuck with me is Civility: Morals, Manners, and the Etiquette of Democracy by Stephen Carter. After reading that book I became more aware of those certain little behaviors that are not unethical or immoral, necessarily...not wrong or illegal...but uncivil. Like (and this is maybe a silly example), leaving the grocery store cart in the parking lot rather than returning it to a corral or to the store. Left in the lot, it can impede or inconvenience another shopper, or it can roll and crash into a car and cause property damage, or the store staff has to spend time rounding up the cart (which means they're not inside assisting customers by bagging groceries or whatever). My mom used to say, "My rights leave off where another person's rights begin." So you may have "the right" to leave your cart in the empty parking space next to your car, but not if that means someone else isn't going to be able to park in that spot because the cart is in the way. Anyway, the book really made me recognize the importance of personal responsibility as a means of getting along in and contributing to the smooth running of a society.

[PJSaturn]

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

by Ishmael Beah

http://www.ishmaelbeah.com/

I read this book last year. It's the true story of a 12-year old boy (Beah), who was captured by terrorist soldiers during the civil war in Sierra Leone. Beah and his young friends were drugged, brainwashed and trained to terrorize and slaughter innocent people during the war. The first-hand accounts are graphic, horrifying and gut-wrenching. Beah was eventually rescued and escaped the army. The story continues through his intensive therapy, which finally led to a breakthrough and his return to a life of trust and compassion.

.

[slingshot]

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.

[ClaraC]

Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. (It was also made into a movie).

The basic message that resonated so strongly with me is, get out and have an adventure. You can do it. Just put one foot in front of the other. And on and on.

And then, Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed. Based on an advice column she wrote. Honestly, the kindest, most empathic book ever written.

What a really powerful thread, OP.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Mircea Eliade's The Myth of the Eternal Return, a small book with a grand vision of the roots of religion. I read it in high school, and it set me on a path of critical thinking and cultural studies. If I had read Joseph Campbell first, he probably would have had the same effect on me.

[C24L]

The Holy Bible,Dave Ramsey books."Claytie:The Roller-Coaster Life of a Texas wildcatter" inspired me to try to become a oilman.