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The Most Influential Works Ever Written


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I posted a list several years ago on the old board of the most influential written works in history.  Here are the rules for consideration:  (1) no religious texts to preclude the obvious and to prevent incendiary statements (2) the work most either be written as single document or intended to be a unified collection by the author(s) (i.e. no saying  "the collected works of this person" or giving compilations organized by others after the authors are gone) and (3) we are judging by total sum of influence, whether positive or negative.  

So what is the most influential written work (or works) in the history of humanity?  Here's my list.  

1.     Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Isaac Newton
The Principia is the foundation of modern mathematical physics. Newton added more to mathematical thought and knowledge of the natural world than did the summation of all his predecessors.
2.    The Republic, Plato
Cornerstone text for philosophy, political science, theology, and law.
3.    The Art of War, Sun Tzu
Has guided military tactics and political philosophy in Asia and elsewhere for over two millennia.
4.    United States Constitution, James Madison et al.
The foundational legal code of the most powerful empire ever to reign. Other than the Bible, no other document has had as much scrutiny over the meaning, subtext, and interpretations of its content.
5.    Elements, Euclid
The fountainhead for the synthetic (axiomatic) method, plane and solid geometry, and construction of mathematical & logical arguments. 
6.    Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
Has influenced more novels & authors than any other.
7.    De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, Nicolaus Copernicus
Published theory of heliocentrism that is now viewed as the starting point of the scientific revolution. 
8.    The Kingdom of God Is Within You, Leo Tolstoy
Strongly influenced the nonviolent resistance movements of the 20th century. Inspired both Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
9.    Organon, Aristotle
Collection of the logic works of Aristotle. Still used as the basis for logic, 23 centuries after it was written.
10.    Introductio in analysin infinitorum, Leonard Euler
The most influential math text book written since The Elements. 
11.    Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
Second only to Don Quixote in influence on literature.
12.    De humani corporis fabrica libri septem, Andreas Vesalius
Landmark in human anatomy and medicine. One of the first publications to analyze the human body as a machine as opposed to a sacrosanct enigma.
13.    On the Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin
The birth of modern evolutionary theory.
14.    The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels
Has greatly shaped the global political landscape since its publication.
15.    The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, John Maynard Keynes
Marked the beginning of modern macroeconomics. Has greatly impacted global economics and politics. 
16.    The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Has had a significant impact on literature, morality, and philosophy.

For some additional considerations, here is a link to the proposed 100 greatest works by Martin Seymour-Smith:

http://thegreatestbooks.org/lists/45

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Is Dianetics a religious text? How about Harry Potter?

But seriously, no Augustine, Boethius, or Aquinas? The medieval era was more than digging in the mud with sticks. I wouldn't call their works religious texts in the same manner as the Bible or the Quran.

So I'll go with:

Augustine, Confessions

Boethius, Consolidation of Philosophy

Aquinas, Summa Theologiae - although this might run afoul of the no religious texts dictate

Edited by Mole
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24 minutes ago, HouTex said:

The Wealth of Nations belongs in there.

Could not agree more.

 

And is it really an influential work if most of it was wrong?  (Based on my previous sentence, determining whom I'm talking about is left as an exercise to the reader.)

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I'm going to add:

Fux, Gradus ad Parnassuma hugely influential music text that codified the counterpoint of Palestrina. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven all studied out of and were deeply influenced by it. 

Rameau, Treatise on Harmony codified the system that we still use to explain and understand western harmony.

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Guest Lobo

Whether we like to admit it or not, the works of Calvin dictate more of our daily routine than almost any other work.  Christians may not like to admit it, but his philosophy controls more of your weekly schedule than any priest or pastor or minister you've ever known.  

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Meditationes de Prima Philosophia - Descartes

as influential as Communist Manifesto is, you could argue that:

The Road to Serfdom- Hayek 

Capitalism & Freedom-  Friedman

The Commanding Heights- Yergin/Stanislaw

are equally influential in the political/economic arena for their contributions of both analysis and philosophy 

 

Popol Vuh- various/unknown

The Analects of Confucius- 

I put Popol Vuh in there solely for the fact that it contains so many revelations of the Mayan relationship between their religious and astronomical processes.   It’s fascinating.

Meditations is a rather incredible work by Descartes in my opinion and I thought was one of the first works, post da Vinci/Copernicus that truly tried to meld the world of science/philosophy and religion.  Rather, one does not have to be anti-science to be religious and vice-versa    

 

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25 minutes ago, Mole said:

Milton, Paradise Lost - does this qualify as a religious text? Hugely influential as both literature and theology. Also extraordinarily dense with literary references.

Long is the way and hard, that out of hell leads up to light. —Satan, Paradise Lost

That influenced me, anyway. 

How important is it to be practical, given that we’re on the verge of more people being currently alive than all who have died previously? As such, anything that is written recently can have a truly global impact in ways some of the most important shit from 2,000 years ago simply can not.

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2 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Long is the way and hard, that out of hell leads up to light. —Satan, Paradise Lost

That influenced me, anyway. 

How important is it to be practical, given that we’re on the verge of more people being currently alive than all who have died previously? As such, anything that is written recently can have a truly global impact in ways some of the most important shit from 2,000 years ago simply can not.

If it helps, to these thoughts, Money In the 21st Century by Picketty, The Black Swan by Taleb, and Zero to One by Thiel are all playing massive roles in the ways leadership of one sort or another thinks about the future, right now. Anyone involved with policy and government anywhere is accounting for Capital; economics and business is on the Black Swan Trilogy; and you can’t fucking talk about start-ups without the principles of Zero To One playing a role, and that’s where true innovation is happening globally. 

I don’t know, maybe it’s all too current, regardless. I could also be in a bubble and overestimating the impact of any of those books, which highlights the problems with recency in a discussion like this, I guess. 

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1 hour ago, Lobo said:

thales of miletus doesn't get enough love, due to  his lack of scribes.  

He was certainly influential, along with several other early philosophers such as Socrates.  But as you say, their influence doesn't seem to be tied to any particular document.

 

1 hour ago, Mole said:

Is Dianetics a religious text? How about Harry Potter?

But seriously, no Augustine, Boethius, or Aquinas? The medieval era was more than digging in the mud with sticks. I wouldn't call their works religious texts in the same manner as the Bible or the Quran.

So I'll go with:

Augustine, Confessions

Boethius, Consolidation of Philosophy

Aquinas, Summa Theologiae - although this might run afoul of the no religious texts dictate

These are all strong candidates.  Consolidation of Philosophy in particular.  The others are more influential, but also more overtly religious.

 

52 minutes ago, HouTex said:

The Wealth of Nations belongs in there.

Good entry.  If I were to make the list longer I would include it.  

 

23 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

On the Nature of Things by Lucretius is largely responsible for the Enlightenment, and was so insanely ahead of its time it's mind bottling.

I actually had On the Nature of Things in one of my earlier lists.  I removed it from the top because I tend to think Epicurus was more prescient than he was influential.  For example,  On the Nature of Things was lost for centuries and its influence seemed to wax and wane.  I'm inclined to think that it would gain popularity when the general thought shifted rather than the poem causing thought to shift.  I could be wrong about this, though.  

 

9 minutes ago, Mole said:

Milton, Paradise Lost - does this qualify as a religious text? Hugely influential as both literature and theology. Also extraordinarily dense with literary references.

What I originally intended for the religious texts exclusion were those that are believed by certain groups to be directly divinely inspired, such as the Bible, the Quran, the Vedas, etc.  So with that guideline Paradise Lost is open as well as Summa Theologiae and Confessions.  I figure that is a good guideline to use; to add to it I would also like to exclude religious devotional books such as The Imitation of Christ.  But I guess its better to open it to philosophical examinations of religious beliefs, otherwise it will become arbitrary on how to separate as for many centuries theology and philosophy were discussed interchangeably.  

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Maybe going in a different direction here,  but hasn’t every American that made it through 10th grade read Frankenstein and to kill a mockingbird?

maybe the odyssey has an even more global, and certainly longer, history of readership. 

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Good stuff, though I'm curious as to how/what Don Quixote influenced. Fabulist literature? Unreliable narrator's? I'm genuinely curious because I didn't get much out of it, though it probably whooshed above my head.

When we say influential, I think of influencing massive changes in action/behavior or changing the way people think. In that sense, you could add the abolitionist literature like Uncle Tom's Cabin and I think satire is woefully underrepresented in it's power to socially move (Antiquity/Plays-causing-exile-making-fun-of-royalty/Voltaire/A Modest Proposal). Things like Common Sense that became, whether fair or not, associated with the catalyst for revolution.

 

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To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World:

Fellow citizens & compatriots—I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna—I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken—I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch—The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country—Victory or Death.

William Barret Travis

Lt. Col. comdt

P.S. The Lord is on our side—When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn—We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.

Travis

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The Influence of Sea Power Upon History by Alfred Thayer Mahan

Caused a global rethinking of the purpose and importance of navies.  In the United States, it led directly to the reconstruction of the United States Navy, which had been neglected after the Civil War.  It caused the Kaiser to conclude that Germany needed to be a major sea power, which led to an arms race with Britain that caused Britain's rapprochement with France before World War I.  The Kaiser thought it so important that he ordered every German navy ship to have a copy on board.

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31 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History by Alfred Thayer Mahan

Caused a global rethinking of the purpose and importance of navies.  In the United States, it led directly to the reconstruction of the United States Navy, which had been neglected after the Civil War.  It caused the Kaiser to conclude that Germany needed to be a major sea power, which led to an arms race with Britain that caused Britain's rapprochement with France before World War I.  The Kaiser thought it so important that he ordered every German navy ship to have a copy on board.

This would be the book that handed the hammer and nails for the coffin of The British empire to the United States, and all the other wanna be world powers.

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UNTITLED WORK...

 

A chronology of events for Saturday, December 4, 1999, and the early morning hours of Sunday, December 5, 1999:

6:00 Arise, play the Eyes of Texas and Texas Fight at full-freaking blast

6:20 Get in car, drive to New Braunfels

7:30 Tee off (me and a buddy were the FIRST tee-time of the morning)

8:50 Turn 9 (crack open first beer)

8:53 Crack open second beer

8:58 Crack open...(you get the idea)

10:30 Finish 18 (holes, as well as beers), sign scorecard for smoooooth 95

10:35 Headed for San Antonio (Alamodome - Nebraska vs Texas)

10:50 Buy three 18-packs for pre- and post-game festivities

11:10 We decide we don't have enough booze, so we double-back to a liquor store and buy the good ol' 750 ml plastic bottle "Traveler" Jim Beam

11:50 Arrive at the tailgate spot. Awesome day. Not a single cloud in the sky. About 70 degrees.

11:55 I decide that we're going to kick the shit out of Nebraska.

11:56 I tell my first Nebraska fan to go f!!k himself.

12:15 The UT band walks by on the way to the Alamodome. We're on the second floor of a two-story parking garage on the corner (a couple hundred of us). We're hooting and hollering like wildmen. The band doubles back to the street right below us and serenades us with Texas Fight and The Eyes of Texas. AWESOME MOMENT.

12:25 In the post-serenade serendipity, 50-100 grown men are bumping chests with one another, each and every one of them now secure and certain of the fact that we are going to kick the shit out of Nebraska.

11:00 The Nebraska band walks by on the way to the Alamodome. Again, we hoot and holler like wildmen. Again, the band doubles back and stops right below us to serenade us, this time, however, with the Nebraska fight songs. Although somewhat impressed by their spirit and verve, we remain convinced that we are going to kick the shit out of Nebraska.

1:30 I begin the walk to the Alamodome, somehow managing to stuff the "Traveler" and 11 cans of beer into my pants.

1:47 I am in line surrounded by Nebraska fans. They are taunting me. I am taunting back, still certain that we are going to kick the shit out of Nebraska. I decide to challenge a particularly vocal Nebraska fan to play what I now call and will forever be remembered as "Cell-Phone Flop Out." Remember flop out for a dollar? The rules are similar. I tell this Nebraska jackass that if he's so confident in his team, he should "flop out" his cell phone RIGHT NOW and make plane reservations to Phoenix for the Fiesta Bowl. And then I spoke these memorable words: "And not those damn refundable tickets, either! You request those non-refundable, non-transferrable sons-of-b!tches!" He backs down. He is unworthy. I call Southwest Airlines and buy two tickets to Phoenix, non-refundable and non-transferrable. Price: $712. He is humbled. He lowers his head in shame. I raise my cell phone in triumph to the cheers of hundreds of Texas fans. I am KING and these are my subjects. I distribute the 11 beers in my pants to the cheering masses. I RULE the pre-game kingdom.

2:34 Kickoff. Brimming with confidence, I open the Traveler and pour my first stiffy.

2:45 I notice something troubling: Nebraska is big. Nebraska is fast. Nebraska is very pissed off at Texas.

3:01 The first quarter mercifully ends. 9 yards total offense for Texas. Zero first downs for Texas. I'm still talking shit . I pour another stiffy from the Traveler.

3:36 Four minutes to go in the first half: the Traveler is a dead soldier. I buy my first $5 beer from the Alamodome merchants. While I am standing in line, a center snap nearly decapitates Major Applewhite and rolls out of the end zone. Safety.

3:56 Halftime score: Nebraska 15, Texas 0. I wish I had another Traveler.

4:11 While urinating next to a Nebraska fan in the bathroom at halftime, I attempt to revive the classic Brice- ism from the South Bend bathroom: "Hey, buddy, niiiiiiiiice cock." He is unamused.

4:21 I buy my 2nd and 3rd $5 beer from the Alamodome merchants. I share my beer with two high school girls sitting behind me. Surprisingly, they are equipped with a flask full of vodka. I send them off to purchase Sprites, so that we may consume their vodka. I have not lost faith. Nebraska is a bunch of pu$$ies.

4:51 No more vodka. The girls sitting behind me have fled for their lives. I purchase two more $5 beers from the Alamodome merchants.

5:18 Score is Nebraska 22, Texas 0. I am beginning to lose faith. This normally would trouble me, but I am too drunk to see the football field.

5:27 I call Southwest Airlines: "I'm sorry, sir. Those tickets have been confirmed and are non-refundable and non-transferrable."

5:37 I try to start a fight with every person behind the concession counter. As it turns out, the Alamodome has a policy that no beer can be sold when there is less than 10 minutes on the game clock. I am enraged by this policy. I ask loudly: "Why the fuck didn't you announce last call over the fucking PA system??!!"

5:49 Back in my seats, I am slumped in my chair in defeat. All of a sudden, the Texas crowd goes absolutely nuts. "Whazzis?," I mutter, awaking from my coma, "Iz we winnig? Did wez scort?" Alas, the answer is > > >>no, we were not winning and we did not score. The largest (by far) cheer of the day from the Texas faithful occurred when the handlers were walking back to the tunnel and Bevo (the Texas mascot) stopped to take a gargantuan shit all over the letters "S", "K",and "A" in the "Nebraska" spelled out in their end zone. I cheer wildly. I pick up the empty Traveler bottle and stick my tongue in it. I am thirsty.

6:16 Nebraska fans are going berserk as I walk back to the truck. I would taunt them with some off-color remarks about their parentage, but I am too drunk to form complete sentences. With my last cognitive thought of the evening, I take solace in the fact that if we had not beaten them in October, they would be playing Florida State for the national championship.

6:30 Back in the car. On the way back to Austin for the basketball game.

8:00 Texas-Arizona tip off. We can still salvage the day! I crack open a beer. It is warm. I don't care.

7:12 We have stopped for gas. I am hungry. I go inside the store. I walk past the beer frig. I notice a Zima. I've never had a Zima. I wonder if it's any good. I pull a Zima from the frig. I twist the top off and drink the Zima in three swallows. Zima sucks. I replace the empty bottle in the frig.

7:17 There is a Blimpie Subs in the store. I walk to where the ingredients are, where the person usually makes the sub. There is no one there. I lean over the counter and scoop out half a bucket of black olives. I eat them. I am still hungry. I lean further over the counter and grab approximately two pounds of Pastrami. I walk out of the store grunting and eating Pastrami. The patrons in the store fear me. I don't care.

8:01 We are in South Austin. I have been drinking warm beer and singing Brooks and Dunn tunes for over an hour. My truck-mate is tired of my singing. He suggests that perhaps Brooks and Dunn have written other good songs besides "You're Going to Miss Me When I'm Gone" and "Neon Moon" and that maybe listening to only those two songs, ten times each was a bit excessive. Perhaps, he suggests, Icould just let the CD play on its own. I tell him to fuck off and restart "Neon Moon."

8:30 We arrive at the Erwin Center. My truckmate, against my loud and profane protestations, parks on the top floor of a nearby parking garage. I tell him he's an idiot. I tell him we will never get out. I tell him we may as well pitch a f**king tent here. He ignores me. I think he's still pissed about the Brooks and Dunn tunes. I whistle "Neon Moon" loudly.

8:47 I am rallying. I have 4 warm beers stuffed in my pants. We're going to kick the shit out of Arizona.

9:11 Halftime score: Texas 31, Arizona 29. I am pleased. I go to the bathroom to pee for the 67th time today. I giggle to myself because of the new opportunity to do "the bathroom Brice." There are no Arizona fans in the bathroom. I am disappointed. I tell myself (out loud) that I have a "Niiiiiice cock." No one is amused but me.

9:41 I walk to the bathroom while drinking Bud Light out of a can. Needless to say, they do not sell beer at the Erwin Center,much less Bud Light out of a can. I am stopped by an usher: "Where did you get that, sir?" I tell him (no shit 😞 "Oh, the cheerleaders were throwing them up with those little plastic footballs. Would you mind throwing this away for me?" I take the last swig and hand it to him. He is confused. I pretend I'm going to the bathroom, but I run away giggling instead. I duck into some entrance to avoid the usher, who is now pursuing me. I sneak into a large group of people and sit down. The usher walks by harmlessly. I am giggling like a little girl. I crack open another can of Bud Light.

9:52 I am lost. In my haste to avoid the usher, I have lost my bearings. I have no ticket stub. I cannot find my seats. Texas is losing.

10:09 Texas is being screwed by the refs. I am enraged. I have cleared out the seats around me because I keep removing my hat and beating the surrounding chairs with it. A concerned fan asks if I'm OK and perhaps I shouldn't take it so seriously. I tell him to fuck off.

10:15 After the fourth consecutive "worst f**king call I have EVER seen, " I attempt to remove my hat again to begin beating inanimate objects. However, on this occasion I miscalculate and I thumbnail myself in my left eyelid, leaving a one-quarter inch gash over my eye. I am now bleeding into my left eye and all over my shirt. "Perhaps," I think to myself, I'm taking this a bit seriously."

10:22 I am standing in the bathroom peeing. I'm so drunk I am swaying and grunting. I have a bloody napkin pressed on my left eye. My pants are bloody. I have my (formerly) white shirt wrapped around my waist. I look like I should be in an episode of Cops.

10:43 Texas has lost. I put my bloody white shirt back on my body and make my way for the exits. I am stopped every 20 seconds by a good samaritan/cop/security guard to ask me why I am covered in blood, but I merely grunt incoherently and keep moving.

10:59 With my one good eye, I have located the parking garage. I walk up six flights of stairs, promise that when I see my friend I will punch him in the face for making me walk up six flights of stairs, find the truck, and collapse in a heap in the bed of the truck. I look around and notice that traffic is lined up all the way around the garage, six whole flights, and no one is moving. I take a nap.

11:17 I awake from my nap. I see my friend in the driver's seat. I lift my head to look out the bed of the truck and notice that traffic is lined up all the way around the garage, six whole flights, and no one is moving. I am too tired to punch my friend. I call my friend a "Stupid cocksucker."

11:31 I lift my head to look out the bed of the truck and notice that traffic is lined up all the way around the garage, six whole flights, and no one is moving. I call my friend a "Stupid cocksucker."

11:38 I lift my head to look out the bed of the truck and notice that traffic is lined up all the way around the garage, six whole flights, and no one is moving. I call my friend a "Stupid cocksucker"

11:47 I lift my head to look out the bed of the truck and notice that traffic is lined up all the way around the garage, six whole flights, and no one is moving. I call my friend a "Stupid cocksucker."

11:58 I am jostled. The truck is moving. I lift my head to look out the bed of the truck and notice that traffic is beginning to move on the second floor. I jump out of the truck, walk to the edge of the parking facility, and pee off the sixth floor onto the street below. My friend looks at me like I just anally violated his minor sister. I turn around pee on the front of his truck while singing the lyrics to "Neon Moon."

12:11 We are moving. We are out of beer. I jump from the truck and go from vehicle to vehicle until someone gives me two beers. I am happy. I return to my vehicle

12:26 We have emerged from the parking facility. We make our way to my apartment and find Ed sitting on the couch with a freshly opened bottle of Glenlivet on the coffee table in front of him. We are all going to die tonight.

12:59 We have finished three-quarters of the bottle of Glenlivet. We decide it would be a wonderful idea to go dancing at PollyEsther's. Ed has to pee. He walks down the hall to our apartment and directly into the full length mirror at the end of the hall, smashing it into hundreds of pieces. We giggle uncontrollably and leave for PollyEsther's.

1:17 The PollyEsther's doorman laughs uncontrollably at our efforts to enter his club. "Fellas," he says in between his fits of spastic laughter, "I've been working this door for almost a year. I've been working doors in this town for almost 5 years. And I can honestly say that I ain't never seen three drunker mother f**kers than you three. Sorry, can't let you in." We attempt to reason with him. He laughs harder.

1:44 We find a bar that lets us in. We take two steps in the door and hear "Last call for alcohol!" I turn to the group and mutter: "See, dat wasn't that fuckin' hard. Day don't fuckin' do that at the Awamo...the awaom...the alab...fuck it, that stadium we was at today..." We order 6shots of tequila and three beers.

2:15 Back on the street. We need food. We hail cab to take us the two and one half blocks to Denny's. The cab fare is $1.60. We give him $10 and tell him to keep it.

2:17 There is a 20 minute wait. We give the hostess $50. We are seated immediately.

2:25 We order two orders of fried pickles, a Cobb salad, a bowl of soup, two orders of Blueberry blintzes, two Reuben sandwiches, a hamburger, two cheese stuffed potatoes, an order of fries, and an order of onion rings.

2:39 The food arrives. We are all asleep with our heads on the table. The waiter wakes us up. We eat every fucking bit of our food. Most of the restaurant patrons around us are disgusted. We don't give a fuck. The tab is $112 with tip.

2:46 I'm sleepy.

9:12 I wake up next to a strange woman. She is a waitress at Denny's. She is not pretty.

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8 hours ago, Parliament said:

Mein Kampf

 

And should the Constitution be replaced by the Declaration of Independence?

Last time we had this discussion, Ghost of LL gave an argument for why Mein Kampf was not directly influential itself, but rather it became widely distributed by mandate after Hitler came to power.  But Mein Kampf was not instrumental in Hitler's rise to power or the influence & control of the Nazi party.

I think the constitution clearly has more lasting influence than the declaration of independence.  It still directly effects the lives of Americans to this day; other nations have used it as a conceptual basis for their constitution.  

 

7 hours ago, Anastasis said:

I know you said no collections, but the corpus of Hippocrates deserves mention.  If you want to restrict collections, than the Hippocratic oath. Basically the foundation of many of the principles of modern medical ethics. 

That's a good nomination.  Was the corpus of Hippocrates intended to be read as a collection by the author?  I don't know that much about it.  A family member recently graduated from med school and I think every speaker at the commencement referenced the Hippocratic oath.  This may seem like an obvious fact to those in the medical field, but I didn't realize it was still considered fundamental.   I figured it would be viewed as archaic these days.  

 

4 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History by Alfred Thayer Mahan

Caused a global rethinking of the purpose and importance of navies.  In the United States, it led directly to the reconstruction of the United States Navy, which had been neglected after the Civil War.  It caused the Kaiser to conclude that Germany needed to be a major sea power, which led to an arms race with Britain that caused Britain's rapprochement with France before World War I.  The Kaiser thought it so important that he ordered every German navy ship to have a copy on board.

I'm going to have to give this one a read.  I was not familiar with it and its impact on global military strategy.  

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54 minutes ago, Aphelion said:

Last time we had this discussion, Ghost of LL gave an argument for why Mein Kampf was not directly influential itself, but rather it became widely distributed by mandate after Hitler came to power.  But Mein Kampf was not instrumental in Hitler's rise to power or the influence & control of the Nazi party.

I think the constitution clearly has more lasting influence than the declaration of independence.  It still directly effects the lives of Americans to this day; other nations have used it as a conceptual basis for their constitution.    

I have absolutely no memory of that discussion.  I mean, my conclusions were right (unlike Ryan's conclusions about Halsey, who did act foolishly).  But it's still funny to have someone recount an opinion I wrote and having absolutely no recollection of having written that opinion.

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Mr. Wizard's Star Wars vs. Star Track fanfiction deserves a mention, but no more than a mention.

Hitler and Nazism isn't a subject that I know all that much about. Were there any writings that served as the intellectual or strategic foundation? The Protocols of the Elders of Zion maybe?

And it's a bit different than the others mentioned, but how about the Oxford English Dictionary?

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