What Books deserve preserving for posterity?

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What books, (other than of course, the Bible, and obvious survival how to books) would you like to have, read and see preserved for future generations in your own home library?

-- Ann Fisher (zyax55b@prodigy.com), December 01, 1998

Answers

anything by Michener, Especially "The Source"

-- Bill S. (arlene@inreach.com), December 01, 1998.

Anything by Robert Heinlein.

-- MVI (vtoc@aol.com), December 01, 1998.

Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Robert M Pirsig.

-- Bob Barbour (r.barbour@waikato.ac.nz), December 01, 1998.

The Way Things Work 1 and 2

The New Way Things Work

ANY High School Chem and Phys text

ANY Fresh Coll Phys, Chem, Math Texts

A GOOD History of the Western Civilization.

-- Chuck a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), December 01, 1998.


The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, collections of poetry, and beautifully-rinted museum collection art books.

When we're done fixing things, canning and storing our food, making bread, soap and candles, sprouting seeds, and re-inventing the industrial age, we will require some aesthetic sustenance to inspire us and to remind us of the grandeur contained within the human spirit.

I'll tuck my Rembrandt and Matisse books right there alongside "Cooking With Food Storage."

-- Sara Nealy (saran@ptd.net), December 01, 1998.



Sun-Tzu the art of war

Mongo

-- Ron (mongo@earthling.net), December 01, 1998.


Dear husband says, "the whole library!". LOL

"Handy Farm Devices and How to Make Them" by Rolfe Cobleigh "Manual of Formulas" by Popular Science Publishing Co. (Lindsay Books) "Putting Food By" by Janet Greene, Ruth Hertzberg & Beatrice Vaughan "Marks' Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers" by Eugene A. Avallone & Theodore Baumeister III "Perry's Chemical Engineer's Handbook" by Perry & Green

Anything by Larry Niven, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert John Brunner's "The Sheep Look Up" All of the "classics"

".....and the list goes on....." *sigh*

-- Bobbi (volfnat@northweb.com), December 01, 1998.


The library should include a full set of encyclopedias, an unabridged dictionary, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations and as many "classics" as can be gathered. Classics such as those offered by Easton Press and others. Funny, isn't it, that when we start thinking of things like this--and we're serious about it--how shallow and unimportant some publications seem? Playboy and Penthouse come to mind... not to mention comic books and others of that ilk.

-- Vic Parker (rdrunner@internetwork.net), December 01, 1998.

See also the "Favorite Post Y2K Books" thread up under Awareness/ general.

... all "How To" books.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 01, 1998.


"The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever" (as well as the Second Chronicles--a double trilogy), and "The Gap Series", both by Stephen R. Donaldson, the master of fantasy/sci-fi and my favorite author.

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), December 01, 1998.


Books by Scott and Helen Nearing.

"Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn, so we don't get ourselves into this mess again.

-- Ted Markow (tmarkow@agate.net), December 01, 1998.


Einstein's Dreams (Alan Lightman)
Et Tu, Babe (Mark Leyner)
Ishmael (Daniel Quinn)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)

Plus all the classics by Aristotle, Shakespeare, Newton, and so on. Read Carl Sagan's passage in Cosmos about all the knowledge that was lost when the library at Alexandria was burned a few thousand years ago... scott

-- Scott Johnson (scojo@yahoo.com), December 01, 1998.


Multiple age groups of math, science, geography, English literature school books from elementary to college level. Charlotte's Web, Tom Sawyer, Moby Dick.

-- Ellen (kjwood@worldnet.att.net), December 01, 1998.

Funny thing - about 30 years ago when I was a kid I started collecting books for the purpose of being able to restart technology from a limited base. Why? Don't know - just something to do I suppose. You all have described parts of my library - but might I diffidently reccommend that you try to pick up an 1890-1930 era set of encyclopedias - either World Book or Britanica. They used to give practical instructions on how to do stuff. Also try to get copies of Weingart's Pyrotechnics and his Explosives - how to make fireworks and low class explosives without much of anything.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), December 02, 1998.

Madeline L'Engle - any and all.

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), December 02, 1998.


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