Which non-technical and technical book had changed or influenced you
 

Which non-technical and technical book had changed or influenced you ...

i mean not really "seeing" the enlightment or what , at least changed or influenced the course in what you are persueing during that period or moment , in a different way perhaps ...

as for the non-technical book and english , there are some , but i would mention gogol , read one of his novel long time ago and brought me all the way to now which are mostly non-fiction stuffs ...

as for the technical book is a book about pascal , the toy language in the programming world , but never the less , this book really "pushed" me to persue more deeper into things computer as a hobby

Well for non-technical, I would have to say The Art of Happiness and The Art of War.

For technical I really liked Hacking: The Art of Exploitation and Learning the Bash Shell.

erh ?? The Art of Happiness and The Art of War ??
no conflict ?? you must be wise :D
great ...

No, I am not wise. There is always conflict. I just believe that one should know both extremes in order to find a peaceful medium. I trully believe in "moderation in all things".

hmm ... the middle path ??
will heed your advice ... :)

Well, one of only a few novels I have read but a real good book: John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"

"Modern Welding" This book I read at 12 and started me on my path to my Welding/Machinist carrier... Don't know if that was a good or bad thing... but I can't complain...

KC

Non-Technical: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Technical: Running Linux & Linux in a Nutshell both published by O'Reily (Great references when I can't remember something).

For some reason I am compelled to answer!!

"The man who planted trees" by Jean Giono - Masterful book that shows what you can do with a little effort everyday.

"The Impractical Cabinet Maker" by James Krenov - If you love wood, this is a must

"The Art Of Peace" by Morihei Ueshiba - The philosophy behind Aikido

"the 4 greek historians"

It's a collection of 4 greek historians(duh). To see the immense capability of writing, detail, and intelligence in work that is several millenia old, kind of gives you a fresh look on what we consider history. Once you get past the awe of "those guys way back when", and realize that it was no different than today, only we have more technology and production....you see the world in a different way.

"Atlas Shrugged" - Ayn Rand

Sitting quietly
Doing nothing
The grass grows
and the flowers bloom
All by themselves

wondering ...
we who saw the moon first
or the moon saw us first
plates and waves shrugge ...

Have you tried fountainhead?

Non technical : "Flanagan's version - a spectator's guide to science at the end of the 20 century".
For it's informative approach and searching questions.

Technical : The Unix programming language by Kernighan and Pike.

End

Non technical? - Blood and Gold - Anne Rice

Interesting note - I hate Anne Rice...and I'm not a big vampire/horror buff either - but the story that is woven, coupled with amazing historical information (takes place from Roman times up until recently...) - it's maybe the best book i have ever read.....

Technical - O'Reilly's "Learning Perl"

For non-technical, "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond. His second book, "Collapse" is a mighty fine read as well, particularly if you ever think about how the environment can affect entire civilizations.