Master and Commander

Yeah, I third the Master and Commander series. Besides extraordinary historical detail, his characters show a deep understanding of the human personality (at least to a socially inept geek). That being said, I'm only on my second one so far.

Among all books since the printing press? Can you be more specific? Actually, I take that back. I do know some great ones that you ought to read no matter what your situation. The Little Schemer http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/BTLS/ Master and Commander http://books.google.com/books?id=rx_yw5iMtnIC&dq=&pg... (http://books.google.com/books?id=rx_yw5iMtnIC&dq=&pg=PP1&ots=quZSkX-66f&sig=4rmlsrtPNSRNEfB8Zg6BmXiA0us&prev=http://www.google.com/search%3Fhl%3Den%26q%3Dmaster%2Band%2Bcommander%26btnG%3DGoogle%2BSearch&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title) Lord of the Rings (you can find this one yourself) and probably a lot more, but I've got to run. Good luck!