11 Wise Books to Read Before You Die
What would you add?
More than 80 years ago, the poet T.S. Eliot wrote these lines, destined to become a maxim:
“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”
They’re questions that are more urgent than ever, as today’s digital landscape often feels further from wisdom — like we’re struggling just to find the information we have lost in mis-information. As a result, we risk losing not only information, but also knowledge, and, worst of all, wisdom. We risk living asleep.
Wise books wake us up.
Here are eleven worth reading, in no particular order.
[For more on this topic, also read “7 Qualities of Wisdom,” which I wrote for UpliftKids.org.]
1. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
When I was in high school, a guy in my neighborhood mentioned in passing that his favorite book was Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I’d never heard of it, but something about his description made me long to read it. I asked him if I could borrow his copy, and when he said yes, I took it home and devoured it.
I’ve since revisited the book again and again over the years in a variety of translations…
