The Art of War - Sun Tzu - for its insights into war, strategy, leadership, and human civilization. The Tao of Jeet Kune Do - Bruce Lee - for its insights into martial art and self defense. The Origin of Species - Charles Darwin - for its insights into life in general and how time and evolution change how life lives. Gray's Anatomy - for its detailed photos and explanations of how the human body works ... so that we may better know ourselves. The Way of the Tao - Lao Tzu - for its insights into combining the knowledge of the universe in general, human physiology, morality and ethics, with human civilization, in a way to live our lives well.

None except one.

The Dictionary. Only by establishing what the words you are using actually mean can you ever write anything with conviction!

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Adam Douglas. All the fishes thank you.

I gotta go with, in no particular order: The Origin of Species by Darwin... The Interpretation of Dreams, by Freud... Relativity: the Special and the General Theory, by Einstein... Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences, by Galileo... The Republic, by Plato... ...and if I could pick a sixth, it's a toss up between The Clue in the Clock (a Nancy Drew Mystery, by Carolyn Keene) and Silverado, by Danielle Steele.

Man and His Symbols by C.G. Jung Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche The Origin Of The Species by Charles Darwin Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant I can't think of a 5th..

More than five Plato's dialogues, Critique of pure reason (that was a slog!), Wealth of nations, Das Kapital, the Principia (Newton's) I could go on for ever... Every book (bar Jackie Collins) is important

Well, since the bible is not an option, and everyone else has covered a lot of those most important to humanity as a whole, I will go with the book that is most important to me. It is Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. I had heard of it, but knew nothing about the story. My husband David developed ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) last year. We married in April and he was diagnosed and the hospitalized locally in July. In August he became totally unresponsive and was sent to a bigger university hospital. I took leave from work and stayed with him. The next day I was wandering around the gift shop for something to read, because he still unconscious. I saw Tuesdays With Morrie and picked it up, didn't even read the jacket. I sat by my husband, holding his hand and reading. I was stunned. Morrie was a college preofessor, so was my husband. He was diagnosed with ALS, as was my husband. He was adored by generations of students, as was my husband. The book helped me to make peace with David's situation, made be better prepared to help him through the last part of his life. He did wake up later that day. He said that me holding his hand was the only thing that kept him fighting to come out of it. We were at that hospital for 3 months. He passed away in November. That book really helped me prepare, and put David's needs first, and make it easier for him to let go when it was time.