Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth

Operating Manual For Spaceship Earth By Buckminster Fuller I first read it when I was ~25 and it made me think about the way the world is, the historical reasons it is this way and how we can nudge it towards being better. It frustrates me that Fuller wrote the book nearly 50 years ago and all the same stupid crap continues to happen and humanity doesn't seem to be getting its collective shit together. But then I remember the lessons from the book on why the world is like it is and how we can only nudge it slowly.... You can read it here: http://designsciencelab.com/resources/OperatingManual_BF.pdf Edit to also mention; Small Gods by Terry Pratchett (as well as basically every other book he ever wrote).

Marshall McLuhan's "Gutenberg Galaxy" and "Understanding Media". Buckminster Fuller's "Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth" (and other books and essays of his).