Eight books Neil DeGrasse Tyson says every intelligent person should read

Want to know why we use fossil fuels to power our buildings and cars? How the US came to be the “leader of the free world”? How we transitioned from floating single-celled organisms to walking, talking humans? Then you should read eight books, says Hayden Planetarium director, Cosmos narrator, StarTalk host, and author Neil deGrasse Tyson. Here are Tyson’s eight selections, along with a one-liner he gave during his AMA on the importance of each book

1. The Bible, “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”

2. The System of the World, by Isaac Newton, “to learn that the universe is a knowable place.”

3. On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin, “to learn that we have a kinship with all other life on Earth.”

4. Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift, “to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos.”

5. The Age of Reason, by Thomas Paine, “to learn that the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world.”

6. The Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith, “to learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself.”

7. The Art of War, by Sun Tsu, “to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.”

8. The Prince, by Machiavelli, “to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it.”