Thanks for the kind response Cole.
I definitely love autobiographies and well-written biographies. Jefferson Himself edited by Bernard Mayo turned my view of early America upside-down. Very interesting to read the words of someone like Jefferson when he was still an 18-year-old pining over women. Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs was amazing and has so much more to offer than the Jobs’ story. An obscure but interesting one is Henry Ford’s Own Story by Rose Wilder Lane. It’s clearly based solely on Ford’s perspective, but as it was written in 1915 it focuses on early years and events that are often skipped. (Weird side note — Rose Wilder Lane was the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and some suggest she could have contributed or even outright ghost written the Little House on the Prairie series.)
I don’t think I could ever choose one most influential book, but one recent contender is Tube of Plenty by Erik Barnouw. It’s his mainstream compilation of three more scholarly volumes on the evolution of television. Clearly out of date (published in 1975), it is very eye opening in terms of how most of business — beyond radio and television — has impacted our culture.
I love walking into a used bookstore or thrift shop and finding gems that have been forgotten. If everyone else has read a book I might enjoy it if it’s good, but it’s usually the ones that no one else has read that give me information that is unique.
Best,
Kevin