The most recommended knowledge books

Who picked these books? Meet our 13 experts.

13 authors created a book list connected to knowledge, and here are their favorite knowledge books.
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Book cover of The Empty Canvas

Elisa Pezzotta Author Of The Prison of Time: Stanley Kubrick, Adrian Lyne, Michael Bay and Quentin Tarantino

From my list on timeless books about time.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a baby, I was fascinated by shadows, how they lengthened and shortened till they disappeared, and how they moved their position around me and objects. I used to play with Barbies; I invented stories that lasted for days, progressively postponing the main events in favor of their preparation. Progressively, I became accustomed to my relatives’s death and their funerals. I realized that time connected these observations and games as much as the novels and films that I loved. In my list, you can find stimulating books where Time shyly shows itself on a stage.         

Elisa's book list on timeless books about time

Elisa Pezzotta Why did Elisa love this book?

In this novel, time becomes almost a character. It is an empty time, although so heavy and thick, to fill in all the space around the protagonist Dino and to enter into him.

Art and sex, the only Dino’s activities, are not characterized by their distinctive passion and enthusiasm that sometimes destroy and sometimes raise a man. Art and sex become a dead pastime dominated by time alone.      

By Alberto Moravia,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Empty Canvas as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been…


Book cover of Let it All Burn: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel

Kate Moseman Author Of Silver Spells

From my list on finding magic at midlife.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved fantasy books with female main characters, but as I’ve grown older, it’s been difficult to find contemporary women’s fantasy with main characters over the age of thirty-five. So when I discovered paranormal women’s fiction, a new genre label for stories of midlife women with magic, I was instantly hooked. I read everything I could get my hands on. After that, I was so inspired that I decided to write a contemporary fantasy series of my own, one in which every protagonist was a woman over the age of forty.

Kate's book list on finding magic at midlife

Kate Moseman Why did Kate love this book?

Once you read the opening scene where a Tupperware party hilariously goes up in flames, you won't be able to stop reading. 

Author Denise Grover Swank is best known for her women's fiction, and her experience in crafting realistic characters and relationships shines in this book. This book is the whole package of fun and magic. 

Let It All Burn also helped inspire the elemental magic in my own book!

By Denise Grover Swank,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Let it All Burn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing

Linda T. Kaastra Author Of Grounding the Analysis of Cognitive Processes in Music Performance: Distributed Cognition in Musical Activity

From my list on meaningful engagement with objects and people.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an interdisciplinary scholar with professional musical training, I surveyed the literature in cognitive science for conceptual frameworks that would shed light on tacit processes in musical activity. I was tired of research that treats the musician either as a “lab rat” not quite capable of fully understanding what they do or as a “channel” for the mysterious and divine. I view musicians as human beings who engage in meaningful activity with instruments and with each other. Musicians are knowledgeable, skilled, and deeply creative. The authors on this list turn a scientific lens on human activity that further defines how we make ourselves through meaningful work and interactions.

Linda's book list on meaningful engagement with objects and people

Linda T. Kaastra Why did Linda love this book?

I love this book because it demonstrates the human value of being excellent in personal and professional contexts. Like many musicians, I strive for excellence and in this book Schwartz &  Sharpe draw a picture of excellence that includes “practical wisdom” – knowing how to do the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reasons. A lovely book that is sure to be a helpful guide for those of us seeking personal fulfillment through any kind of meaningful activity.

By Barry Schwartz, Kenneth Sharpe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Practical Wisdom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A reasoned yet urgent call to embrace and protect the essential, practical human quality that has been drummed out of our lives: wisdom.

It's in our nature to want to succeed. It's also human nature to want to do right. But we've lost how to balance the two. How do we get it back?

Practical Wisdom can help. "Practical wisdom" is the essential human quality that combines the fruits of our individual experiences with our empathy and intellect-an aim that Aristotle identified millennia ago. It's learning "the right way to do the right thing in a particular circumstance, with a…


Book cover of T A Today: A New Introduction to Transactional Analysis

Karen Meager Author Of Rest. Practise. Perform.: What elite sport can teach leaders about sustainable wellbeing and performance

From my list on helping you banish burnout forever.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I worked in clinical practice as a psychotherapist, I worked with many burnt-out clients and always found it frustrating that the conventional wisdom was to take time off or stop working, which is just not practical (or desirable) for many people. I was always looking for alternative things people could do to help themselves. Then I experienced burnout myself, and whilst it was dreadful, I learnt first hand how to put all of this into practice, hence my research on the topic. I now work with people and organisations in high pressured, innovative environments where the focus is on preventing burnout rather than recovering.

Karen's book list on helping you banish burnout forever

Karen Meager Why did Karen love this book?

For me, beating burnout involves knowing yourself well, and this book helps with a critical aspect of that: understanding my interactions with others.

The book is so easy to read and understand without being oversimplified. I’ve used the material to help teach people how to create and maintain healthy boundaries in life and work.

By Ian Stewart, Vann Joines,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked T A Today as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of Kendall's Advanced Theory of Statistics, Distribution Theory

David J. Hand Author Of The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day

From my list on statistics from a statistician.

Why am I passionate about this?

When people ask me why I became a statistician, and what its attraction is, I simply tell them that, using statistics, I have been on voyages of discovery and travelled to worlds they didn’t know existed. Using data and statistical methods instead of light and optics, I have seen things others could not imagine. Like an explorer of old, I have joined adventures peeling back the mysteries of the world around us. In my books on statistics, data science, data mining, and artificial intelligence, I have tried to convey some of this excitement, and to show the reader how they too can take part in this wonderful modern adventure.

David's book list on statistics from a statistician

David J. Hand Why did David love this book?

This is a wonderful book because it says it all. Of course, that’s an exaggeration because no book could possibly encompass the vast breadth of modern statistics, but anyone who read through this multi-volume work would have an enviable knowledge of the discipline. It’s an unsurpassed general source of information about the foundational concepts and tools of statistics, and a reference source I regularly turn to when I need to remind myself of the theory underlying a concept or method.

Book cover of A Day Like This

MJ Mumford Author Of TimeBlink

From MJ's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

MJ's 3 favorite reads in 2024

MJ Mumford Why did MJ love this book?

Like Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter, this novel explores alternate realities, but through an entirely different lens. While both feature protagonists awakening to drastically changed lives, McNeil takes us down a more introspective, metaphysical path.

Annie Beyers’ determination to uncover what happened to the life she remembered but no longer existed—her marriage, her home, and most heartbreakingly, her daughter—pulled at something raw and real inside me. McNeil proves that stories about parallel lives don't need complex science to explore the profound questions of identity and choice.

Incidentally, I discovered this book right here on the Shepherd site, illustrating the platform's knack for matching readers with their ideal books.

By Kelley McNeil,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Day Like This as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What if everything you've ever loved, ever known, ever believed to be true...just disappeared?

Annie Beyers has everything-a beautiful house, a loving husband, and an adorable daughter. It's a day like any other when she takes Hannah to the pediatrician...until she wakes hours later from a car accident. When she asks for her daughter, confused doctors tell Annie that Hannah never existed. In fact, nothing after waking from the crash is the same as Annie remembers. Five happy years of her life apparently never happened.

Annie's marriage is coming to an end. Now a successful artist living in Manhattan, she's…


Book cover of Microeconomic Theory

Felix Munoz-Garcia Author Of Advanced Microeconomic Theory: An Intuitive Approach with Examples

From my list on advanced microeconomic theory.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am Professor of Economics at Washington State University. My research focuses on applying Industrial Organization to polluting industries and other regulated markets. I analyze how firms strategically respond to environmental regulation, including their output and pricing decisions, their investments in clean technologies, and mergers decisions, both under complete and incomplete information contexts.

Felix's book list on advanced microeconomic theory

Felix Munoz-Garcia Why did Felix love this book?

This is still regarded as the Microeconomics “bible” among PhD students at top programs.

Most students often say they “had to suffer” this book (typically known as MWG) after being able to fully understand its details years later (hopefully before completing their PhD degrees!). While relatively technical in some chapters, it is extremely useful to get used to writing style of journal articles.

Detailed exposition of general equilibrium theory.

By Andreu Mas-Colell, Michael D. Whinston, Jerry R. Green

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Microeconomic Theory as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of A History of Knowledge: Past, Present, and Future

Mohamed Rabie Author Of The Global Debt Crisis and Its Socioeconomic Implications: Creating Conditions for a Sustainable, Peaceful, and Just World

From my list on serving humanity and revealing misleading secrets.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a retired professor, was raised in a refugee camp, one of a family of 9 living in one tent. studied in Palestine, Egypt, Germany, and America, have Ph.D. in economics; scholarships financed my education journey. I lived a life no human has lived or can live, because some of the times I lived had come and gone and cannot come back again. I taught at 11 universities on 4 continents, published 60 books in Arabic and English: books on economics, politics, culture, history, conflict resolution, philosophy, racism, novels, and poetry. True intellectuals cannot stay in one area because issues that shape mankind's history and man’s destiny are interconnected. 

Mohamed's book list on serving humanity and revealing misleading secrets

Mohamed Rabie Why did Mohamed love this book?

A History of Knowledge is a treasure that invites everyone to explore and enjoy. It recounts the history of human progress from primitive times to the 21st century. Van Doren covers the history of ideas, inventions, civilizations, ideologies, and issues of justice, war, and slavery. Almost no famous thinker, emperor, philosopher, inventor, or artist is not mentioned, and his contribution examined. These are two of my favorite quotations; “Our fathers started the revolution, and we are still living it. We could not stop it even if we wanted to.” “The rich are never rich enough... to have enough is simply to be content with what you have. When wanting comes first, you can never have enough. If contentment is placed first, it does not matter how much you have.”

By Charles Van Doren,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A History of Knowledge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A one-voume reference to the history of ideas that is a compendium of everything that humankind has thought, invented, created, considered, and perfected from the beginning of civilization into the twenty-first century. Massive in its scope, and yet totally accessible, A HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE covers not only all the great theories and discoveries of the human race, but also explores the social conditions, political climates, and individual men and women of genius that brought ideas to fruition throughout history. "Crystal clear and concise...Explains how humankind got to know what it knows." Clifton Fadiman Selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the…


Book cover of Alex Through the Looking-Glass

David Acheson Author Of The Wonder Book of Geometry: A Mathematical Story

From my list on mathematics for the general reader.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an applied mathematician at Oxford University, and author of the bestseller 1089 and All That, which has now been translated into 13 languages. In 1992 I discovered a strange mathematical theorem – loosely related to the Indian Rope Trick - which eventually featured on BBC television. My books and public lectures are now aimed at bringing mainstream mathematics to the general public in new and exciting ways.

David's book list on mathematics for the general reader

David Acheson Why did David love this book?

This is a sequel to Alex Bellos's bestseller Alex's Adventures in Numberland, but more focused on applications of mathematics to the real world, especially through physics. Many of these were known to me, particularly when they involved calculus, but I greatly enjoyed Alex's distinctive and novel way of putting across sophisticated ideas, in part by interspersing them with personal interviews with mathematicians of all kinds.  

By Alex Bellos,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Alex Through the Looking-Glass as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From triangles, rotations and power laws, to fractals, cones and curves, bestselling author Alex Bellos takes you on a journey of mathematical discovery with his signature wit, engaging stories and limitless enthusiasm. As he narrates a series of eye-opening encounters with lively personalities all over the world, Alex demonstrates how numbers have come to be our friends, are fascinating and extremely accessible, and how they have changed our world.

He turns even the dreaded calculus into an easy-to-grasp mathematical exposition, and sifts through over 30,000 survey submissions to reveal the world's favourite number. In Germany, he meets the engineer who…


Book cover of Techniques For Making You A Better Player Today Than You Were Yesterday

Alton Hardin Author Of Master Micro Stakes Poker: Learn to Master Online 6-Max No Limit Hold'em Micro Stakes Cash Games

From my list on poker for beginner and struggling poker players.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the founder and lead instructor at MicroGrinder Poker School, arguably, the most prominent micro stakes poker school, and I’m fascinated by poker. I started playing poker as a hobby, and it soon became an obsession. I delved into poker theory, seeking to understand the game’s nuances. And as my game improved, I wanted to share my success with others. I’ve always been passionate about teaching, so I started MicroGrinder Poker School. Between my best-selling poker books and 35+ courses, I’ve helped over 80,000 poker players improve their poker game drastically.

Alton's book list on poker for beginner and struggling poker players

Alton Hardin Why did Alton love this book?

Most poker books lack a precise and methodical methodology for studying poker—even my books. But at the same time, we all know we need to study to get better. Well, Sky Matsuhashi solved that dilemma with this How to Study Poker book series. He’s phenomenal at showing poker players how to study and learn the game simply and methodically. Whenever one of my students asks for a detailed resource on studying and improving their game, I recommend they read this book.   

By Sky Matsuhashi,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Techniques For Making You A Better Player Today Than You Were Yesterday as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Do you feel overwhelmed by all the poker content out there? Are you looking for a system of poker study that will help you master one skill at a time, while keeping you away from poker concept overload?

How To Study Poker is the first of it's kind: a poker book that teaches you how to work out poker strategies for yourself on and off the felt.

Inside you’ll find:
- Proven strategies for building all-important foundational skills into your game
- How to avoid lazy learning and to actively get the most from every piece of poker strategy content…


Book cover of The Empty Canvas
Book cover of Let it All Burn: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel
Book cover of Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing

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