An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

The Bible (Old and New Testaments), An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, The Constitution of the United States of America and Jonathan Livingstone Seagull.

In no particular order, and some of these being more "highly underrated" as opposed to "unknown", with the notable exception of Smith's Wealth of Nations which is disturbingly un- and mis-read: 1. Grammatical Man, by Jeremy Campbell (1982) https://www.worldcat.org/title/grammatical-man-information-e... (https://www.worldcat.org/title/grammatical-man-information-entropy-language-and-life/oclc/856698430) My introduction to information theory and its diverse set of interrelated applications and phenomena. 2. Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity, by William Ophuls (1977) https://www.worldcat.org/title/ecology-and-the-politics-of-s... (https://www.worldcat.org/title/ecology-and-the-politics-of-scarcity-revisited-the-unraveling-of-the-american-dream/oclc/872523631) Distills the Limits to Growth issue to its essence, and looks at the political implications, with a set of estimates of political developments which have played out closely. 3. An Inquiry to the Nature and Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith (1776) https://www.worldcat.org/title/inquiry-into-the-nature-and-c... (https://www.worldcat.org/title/inquiry-into-the-nature-and-causes-of-the-wealth-of-nations/oclc/1083940513)…

From a recent HN comment, a list, some authors, and some guidelines, largely based on books which radically changed my thinking. Currently: Vaclav Smil, Energy in World History (1994), and Manfred Weissenbacher, Sources of Power (2009). Both detail the role and impact of energy through world history. The latter draws strongly on the first, both are exceedingly well documented. TL;DR: coal changed much, oil changed everything. http://www.worldcat.org/title/energy-in-world-history/oclc/3... (http://www.worldcat.org/title/energy-in-world-history/oclc/30398523&referer=brief_results) http://www.worldcat.org/title/before-oil-the-ages-of-foragin... (http://www.worldcat.org/title/before-oil-the-ages-of-foraging-agriculture-and-coal/oclc/837625798&referer=brief_results) http://www.worldcat.org/title/oil-age-and-beyond/oclc/837625... (http://www.worldcat.org/title/oil-age-and-beyond/oclc/837625970&referer=brief_results) James Burke's books Connections and The Day the Universe Changed, and their accompanying television series, were a profound introduction to the history of technology, science, ideas, and philosophy. Though 30+ years old, they remain highly current and relevant.…