A History of Warfare

What It is Like to Go to War

Karl Marlantes2011

A Vietnam veteran analyzes the psychological and spiritual toll of combat. He uses personal history and classical literature to explain the cost.

Same meditative register, still military history

pace0·prose0·bleak0

Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

Michel Foucault

A philosophical history examines the shift from public torture to modern prison surveillance. It analyzes how power controls the body.

meditative → clinical, still history

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

The Gulag Archipeligo 1918-1956: An Experiment In Literary Investigation I - Ii.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

A history of the Soviet forced labor camp system based on survivor reports and the author's own imprisonment. It documents state-run repression.

meditative → bleak, still history

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides

A contemporary account of the 5th-century BC conflict between Athens and Sparta. It focuses on military strategy and political speeches.

meditative → clinical, still military history

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

Wielding a Red Sword

Piers Anthony1986

An Indian prince avoids an arranged marriage by accepting the supernatural office of War. He wields a sword that draws him into a conflict in Hell.

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Redshirts

John Scalzi2012

Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown2003

A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

meditative → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

meditative → playful

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Steal Like an Artist

Austin Kleon2012

A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

meditative → playful

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Poke the Box

Seth Godin2011

A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

meditative → earnest

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Confessions

Augustine of Hippo

A 4th-century bishop writes a spiritual autobiography addressed to God. He recounts his sinful youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

Same meditative register

pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

How to Read a Book

Mortimer J. Adler1940

This is a guide to active reading techniques for different genres. It outlines levels of reading from basic literacy to syntopical analysis.

meditative → mysterious

pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

The Red Book: Liber Novus

C.G. Jung2009

A psychologist records his visions and internal dialogues in an illuminated manuscript created during a period of intense self-exploration.

meditative → dreamlike

pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Auschwitz

Laurence Rees2005

A chronological history of the camp's evolution from a Polish barracks to a site of mass industrial murder, based on archival research.

meditative → clinical, still history

pace0·prose-1·bleak+1

Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942–1943

Antony Beevor

A chronological account of the battle for Stalingrad using primary sources. It details the military strategy and the starvation of soldiers.

meditative → bleak, still military history

pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

By Hands Now Known

Margaret A. Burnham2022

An investigation into racial violence and legal failures in the Jim Crow South using previously unexamined archives.

pace0·prose0·bleak+1