Apology / Plato

Title: Apology (The Death of Socrates) 

Author: Plato 

Translator: Benjamin Jowett

Subjects: Classic; Philosophy

Apology of Socrates is the dialogue that depicts the trial, and is one of four Socratic dialogues, along with Euthyphro, Phaedo, and Crito, through which Plato details the final days of the philosopher Socrates. Socrates defence against the charges of "corrupting the youth" and "not believing in the gods in whom the city believes.

Utopia / Thomas More

Title: Utopia 

Author: Thomas More

Subjects: Classic; Non-Fiction; Political Science; Philosophy

The book is about a fictional island society and its religious, social, and political customs. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries. Utopia was the book that invented a new genre of fiction and made up world, a “Utopia” in its framing. More wrote this story to make a point about collectivism, whether in defense or as a criticism. Must read for every Political Science student. 

The Analysis of Mind / Bertrand Russell

Title: The Analysis of Mind 

Author: Bertrand Russell

Subjects: Psychology; Philosophy

One of his most influential and exciting books, Russell presents an intriguing reconciliation of the materialism of psychology with the anti-materialism of physics. This book established a new conception of the mind and provided one of the most original and interesting externalist accounts of knowledge.

Tao Teh King / Lao-Tze

Title: Tao Teh King 

Author: Lao-Tze

Translater: James Legge

Subjects: Atheism; Philosophy; Religion; Dharma; Taoism

It is very short book, but very powerful. You can be lost in english translation but not in original. Read it slowly is necessary to appreciate and understand it. One of the greatest work of all time. 

The Kingdom of God Is Within You / Leo Tolstoy

Title: The Kingdom of God Is Within You (Christianity Not as a Mystic Religion but as a New Theory of Life)

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Translator: Constance Garnett 

Subjects: Non-Fiction; Philosophy; Religion; Christianity

It was banned in Tolstoy's home country Russia. It lays out a new organization for society based on an interpretation of Christianity focusing on universal love. is a key text for Tolstoyan proponents of nonviolence, of nonviolent resistance, and of the Christian anarchist movement.

Utilitarianism / John Stuart Mill

Title: Utilitarianism 

Author: John Stuart Mill

Subjects: Non-Fiction; Philosophy; Psychological; Religion

Mill's aim in the book is to explain what utilitarianism is, to show why it is the best theory of ethics, and to defend it against a wide range of criticisms and misunderstandings. It is heavily criticized. But the book did a great deal to popularize utilitarian ethics. Many elements of utilitarianism took from Jeremy Bentham. 

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience / Henry David Thoreau

Title: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (Resistance to Civil Government)

Author: Henry David Thoreau

Subjects: Essay; Philosophy; Political; Social

Thoreau argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and they have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. It influence: Mohandas Gandhi,

Walden / Henry David Thoreau

Title: Walden 

Author: Henry David Thoreau

Subjects: Autobiography; Philosophy; Social 

It is about simple living in natural surroundings. It is also a kind of personal declaration of independence by Thoreau. It is also a social experiment. Actually Thoreau hoped to gain a more objective understanding of society through personal introspection by living alone in Walden self dependently. Thoreau inspires.

Siddhartha / Herman Hesse

Title: Siddhartha- An Indian Tale

Author: Herman Hesse Translator: Gunther Olesch, Anke Dreher, Amy Coulter, Stefan Langer and Semyon Chaichenets

Subjects: Fiction; Classic; Philosophy; Religion; Buddhism 

It is a spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man (Siddhartha) during the time of the Gautama Buddha. Siddhartha means siddha (achieved) + artha (what was searched for), which together means "he who has found meaning (of existence)". The Buddha is referred as "Gotama".

Beyond Good and Evil / Friedrich Nietzsche

Title: Beyond Good and Evil 

Author: Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche 

Translator: Helen Zimmern

Subjects: Classic; Non-Fiction; Philosophy; Psychology; Religion

The book is expanding the ideas of Nietzsche's work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Nietzsche accuses past philosophers for blindly accepting dogmatic morality. He offers the "will to power" as an explanation of all behavior; this ties into his "perspective of life", which he regards as "beyond good and evil".

The Prince / Nicolo Machiavelli

Title: The Prince 

Author: Nicolo Machiavelli 

Translator: W. K. Marriott

Subjects: Classic; Political; Philosophical 

The Prince was written as if it were a traditional work. It was especially innovative, written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin. The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern political philosophy, concerning politics and ethics. Must read for political students and interested in political science.  

Meditations / Marcus Aurelius

Title: Meditations 

Author: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (The Roman Emperor)

Subjects: Classic; Philosophy; Religion, Ethics 

Personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. It is a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. These writings take the form of quotations varying in length from one sentence to long paragraphs.

The Republic / Plato

Title: The Republic 

Author: Plato 

Translator: B. Jowett

Subjects: Classic; Political; Utopian 

The Republic has been the most important, famous and widely read dialogue and work of political writing. It contains Socratic dialogue about the meaning of justice and whether the just man is happier than the unjust man. Must read political work of all time.