Kevin Kelly’s Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization
Kevin Kelly gave us a tour of his personal library as he made his choices for the Manual for Civilization. Among his many accomplishments, Kevin has ridden a bike or walked across several continents, has written for the Whole Earth Catalog, was founding editor of Wired, and has himself written several books–most recently the New York Times acclaimed Cool Tools.
Kevin has a knack for finding the most useful books in the world. In fact, he gave us the largest list of suggestions yet: nearly 200 in all. Pulled directly from the shelves of his own library, he gave us books that document practical skills, how to make useful things, and that teach and improve those who read them. Many of these books have also appeared as tools on his and Mark Frauenfelder’s Cool Tools blog.
[Commentary in italics by Kevin Kelly]
Practical Bamboos:The 50 Best Plants for Screens, Containers and More by Paul Whittaker:
“I own a lot of bamboo books, but Practical Bamboos is by far the most useful of all. Other bamboo books are more encyclopedic; this one focuses on “only” the 50 most useful bamboo species, spelling out what types are good for fence rows, which are drought resistant, which work well in containers, and how to identify those variants from lookalikes. There’s very specific growing tips for each variety and solid advice about the principles of growing bamboo plants in general.”
A Museum of Early American Tools by Eric Sloane:
“A story is told by each tool archived in this paper museum. The tool reveals the amazing things that can be done with your own body’s power, regulated by your eye and mind. Listening to the tool, you can understand how things are made. Not only do these tools run without electricity, they can be made with other hand tools. There’s enough information in Sloane’s packed drawings to enable you to make them yourself, to use to make other things. It’s kind of magical.”
Storey’s Guide to Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett:
“For nearly 40 years this guide has introduced boy scouts, 4H-ers, homesteaders, survivalists, and pet keepers to the practicalities of raising rabbits. Now in a new edition, it’s still the best manual for getting started with rabbits for food or show.”
Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources by M. Kat Anderson
Civilizations: Ten Thousand Years of Ancient History by Jane McIntosh and Clint Twist
Mirror Worlds by David Gelernter
Systemantics: The Underground Text of Systems Lore by John Gall
Libraries in the Ancient World by Lionel Casson
The Structure of Evolutionary Theory by Stephen Jay Gould
The Past From Above by Georg Gerster
Grand Design: The Earth From Above by Georg Gerster
Infinite Worlds: The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction Art by Vincent Di Fate
Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth (3rd Edition) by Lynn Margulis and Karlene V. Schwartz
A Synoptic Classification of Living Organisms edited by R.S.K. Barnes
The Ultimate Resource 2 by Julian Lincoln Simon
Biospheres: Metamorphosis of Planet Earth by Dorion Sagan
Biosphere 2: The Human Experiment by John L. Allen
Limited Wants, Unlimited Means: A Reader On Hunter-Gatherer Economics and the Environment edited by John Gowdy
The Complete Works of William R. Corliss
Dowsing: A Journey Beyond Our Five Senses by Hamish Miller
The Stars by H.A. Rey
The Millennial Project: Colonizing the Galaxy in Eight Easy Steps by Marshall Savage
Powers of Ten: About the Relative Size of Things in the Universe by Phylis Morrison and Phillip Morrison
Mathematics from the Birth of Numbers by Jan Gullberg
The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (3rd Edition) by Thomas S. Kuhn
RE/Search: Pranks! & Pranks 2 edited by V. Vale and Andrea Juno
The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey
The Discoverers: Volumes I and II Deluxe Illustrated Set by Daniel J. Boorstin
Civilizations of the World, Single Volume Edition: The Human Adventure (3rd Edition) by Richard L. Greaves, Robert Zaller, Philip V. Cannistraro and Rhoads Murphey
The Heritage of World Civilizations: Brief Edition, Combined Volume (5th Edition) by Albert M. Craig, William A. Graham, Donald Kagan, Steven Ozment and Frank M. Turner
Atlas of the Year 1000 by John Man
The Cartoon History of the Modern World (& p2, p3) by Larry Gonick
Third Views, Second Sights: A Rephotographic Survey of the American West by Mark Klett, Kyle Bajakian and William L. Fox
The Year 2000: A Framework for Speculation on the Next Thirty-Three Years by Herman Kahn and Anthony J. Wiener
A History of Technology and Invention: Progress Through the Ages, Volume I: The Origins of Tech (and Volume II) by Maurice Daumas
Future Shock by Alvin Toffler
Secret Museum of Mankind by David Stiffler
Today Then: America’s Best Minds Look 100 Years into the Future on the Occasion of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition compiled by David Walter
Yesterday’s Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future by Joseph J. Corn and Brian Horrigan
Future Perfect: Vintage Futuristic Graphics by Jim Heimann
The Wonderful Future that Never Was: Flying cars, mail delivery by parachute and other predictions from the past by Gregory Benford and the Editors of Popular Mechanics
People’s Almanac Presents: The Book of Predictions by David Wallechinsky, Amy Wallace and Irving Wallace
Century’s End: An Orientation Manual Toward the Year 2000 by Hillel Schwartz
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by John Clute and Peter Nicholls
The Faber Book of Utopias edited by John Carey
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
The Story of Writing: Alphabets, Hieroglyphs & Pictograms by Andrew Robinson
Writing Systems of the World: Alphabets, Syllabaries, Pictograms by Akira Nakanishi
The Traditional Crafts of Persia: Their Development, Technology and Influence on Eastern and Western Civilizations by Hans E. Wulff
The Traditional Bowyer’s Bible, Volume 1 , Volume 2, Volume 3 edited by Jim Hamm
American Flintknappers: Stone Age Art in the Age of Computers by John C. Whittaker
A Short History of Technology: From the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900 by T. K. Derry and Trevor I. Williams
The Foraging Spectrum: Diversity in Hunter-Gatherer Lifeways by Robert L. Kelly
The Universe Story: From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era: A Celebration of the Unfolding of the Cosmos by Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry
Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences by Edward Tenne
Wheels, Clocks, and Rockets: A History of Technology by Donald Cardwell
The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments: How to set up a home laboratory: Over 200 simple experiments by Robert Brent
Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture by Robert Bruce Thompson
How to Make a Miniature Zoo by Vinson Brown
40 Principles: TRIZ Keys to Technical Innovation, Volume 1 by Genrich Altshuller, Lev Shulyak and Steven Rodman
Manual of Formulas: Recipes, Methods & Secret Processes by Raymond B. Wailes
The Boy Electrician by Alfred Morgan
The Complete Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold in Hardware Stores and Garden Centers (Except the Plants) by Steve Ettlinger
Atlas of Human Anatomy (5thEdition) by Frank H. Netter MD
How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to World Literature, Revised and Expanded by Clifton Fadiman and John S. Major
Infrastructure: A Field Guide to the Industrial Landscape by Brian Hayes
We Came in Peace for All Mankind: The Untold Story of the Apollo 11 Silicon Disc by Tahir Rahman
Letter Fountain by Joep Pohlen
Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It by Kenneth L. Higbee Ph.D
The Memory Book: The Classic Guide to Improving Your Memory at Work, at School and at Play by Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas
The Lost Art of Towel Origami by Alison Jenkins
The Lore of Still Building by Kathleen Howard
The Ashley Book of Knots by Clifford W. Ashley
Country Wisdom & Know-How by the Editors of Storey Publishing’s Country Wisdom Boards
Materials, Structures, and Standards: All the Details Architects Need to Know but can Never Find by Julia McMorrough
Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game by John J. Mettler
The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing: Traditional Recipes for Modern Use by J.N. Liles
Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables by Mike Bubel
Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens, 3rd Edition by Gail Damerow
Language Acquisition Made Practical: Field Methods for Language Learners by E. Thomas Brewster and Elizabeth S. Brewster
A Reverence for Wood by Eric Sloane
Hawke’s Special Forces Survival Handbook by Mykel Hawke
Understanding Wood: A Craftsman’s Guide to Wood Technology by R. Bruce Hoadley
Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook by David Werner and Jane Maxwell
Where There is No Dentist by Murray Dickson
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
The History of Science and Technology: A Browser’s Guide to the Great Discoveries, Inventions, and the People Who Made Them from the Dawn of Time to Today edited by Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Cross-Sections by Richard Platt
Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Explosions: Exploded Views of Astonishing Things by Richard Platt
Mosque by David Macaulay
The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer by Georges Ifrah
Listening to Stone by Dan Snow
The Penguin Companion to Food by Alan Davidson
Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables: A Commonsense Guide by Elizabeth Schneider
The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure (2nd Edition) by Joseph Jenkins
The Septic System Owner’s Manual by Lloyd Kahn
The New Create an Oasis with Greywater: Choosing, Building and Using Greywater Systems: Includes Branched Drains by Art Ludwig
Water Storage: Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers, and Ponds for Domestic Supply, Fire and Emergency Use by Art Ludwig
The Reef Set: Reef Fish, Reef Creature and Reef Coral (3 Volumes) by Paul Humann and Ned Deloach
Primitive Technology: Volumes 1–2 edited by David Wescott
The Barefoot Architect by Johan van Lengen
Mammal Tracks & Sign: A Guide to North American Species by Mark Elbroch
Sailmaker’s Apprentice by Emiliano Marino
Sailboats You Can Build by Peter Stevenson
Building the Six-Hour Canoe by Richard Butz
How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built by Stewart Brand
Living on an Acre: A Practical Guide to the Self-Reliant Life by U.S. Department. of Agriculture
Nature’s Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants by Samuel Thayer
The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Wild Edible Plants by Samuel Thayer
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
Lightly on the Land: The SCA Trail Building And Maintenance Manual (2nd Edition) by Robert C. Birkby
The Book of Bamboo: A Comprehensive Guide to This Remarkable Plant, Its Uses, and Its History by David Farrelly
The Scientific American Book of Projects for the Amateur Scientist by Clair L Stong
The New Horse-Powered Farm: Tools and Systems for the Small-Scale, Sustainable Market Grower by Stephen Leslie
Seeds: The Definitive Guide to Growing, History, and Lore by Peter Loewer
The Merck Manual by Robert S. Porter
On Growth and Form: The Complete Revised Edition by D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson
Backyard Sugarin’: A Complete How-To Guide (3rd Edition) by Rink Mann
How-to” Build This Log Cabin for $3,000 by John McPherson
The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Alexander Weygers
The Compleat Meadmaker : Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award-winning Fruit and Herb Variations by Ken Schramm
The Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home by Sheridan Warrick
Basketry: A World Guide to Traditional Techniques by Bryan Sentance
Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System by Mary Appelhof
The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from Around the World by Sandor Ellix Katz
Origins of Futuristic Fiction by Paul K. Alkon
Crystal Set Projects: 15 Radio Projects You Can Build by Philip Anderson
Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe by Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volumes 1–11 (Original texts)
Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora
Sky Atlas 2000.0 Companion (most recent edition) by Robert Strong and Roger Sinnott
Mushrooming without Fear: The Beginner’s Guide to Collecting Safe and Delicious Mushrooms by Alexander Schwab
The Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1–4A by Donald E. Knuth
This list is an excerpt of the 3,500 book crowd-curated Manual For Civilization library which we are compiling to back up the essential knowledge of civilization. More than 800 titles are already available online at The Internet Archive.
Originally published at blog.longnow.org on March 18, 02014.
