Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered

Walden, by Thoreau The Myth of the Machine, by Lewis Mumford Cloud Hidden, by Alan Watts Computer Lib/Dream Machines, by Ted Nelson (Technology purpose and arrow) The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William L. Shirer Small is Beautiful, by E. F. Schumacher

Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy by Joseph Schumpeteer and Small is Beautiful by Schumacher are two classic, heterodox economic works. People outside the field rarely read them, which is a shame. Both have very high S/N ratios, and will make any reader more thoughtful about the world.