Few of these books are “great works” in their field, but all changed my understanding of their topic.
- How to Read a Book by Adler and Van Doren. I was in academia when I read this and it had a huge impact on how I read and thought about academic papers.
- Intuitive Biostatistics by Motulsky. First stats book that I enjoyed. Emphasises the practice of statistics, particularly the assumptions and mistakes people tend to make.
- World War II Map by Map, published by DK. Had never previously been interested in WW2 history, but something about this took my interest. While reading it, I finally appreciated the scale and complexity of WW2.
- Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. Working through this one meant I actually started getting better at chess!
- Common Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms by Wengrow. The book that helped me become interested in data structures and algorithms, rather than being something I “should” learn about.
>Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess
Ah, memories. Got this book as a kid soon after I started playing at 11-12. It's just a nice puzzle collection, progresses really nicely in complexity. No notation needed, so very kid friendly. The mating pattern with sacrificing a queen on f7 and forcing the king into the corner with the bishop to deliver backrank mate was my first realisation of the beauty and art of chess, and made a real impression on me. It's quite contrived though, so I've yet to get it over the board. But ever since I read it I look for it whenever it seems even remotely possible. Highly recommended for parents of young kids who have just started learning.
Here's some other chess recommendations:
Silman's 2 books on positional play and endgames: these are fantastic books. The chapters are broken up by rating, ranging from beginner level to master strength(2000 ELO).
Other than those two, puzzle collections are always helpful. And for intermediates, game collections from string players. My favourite is Tal - Botvinnik 1962, written by Tal himself. Tal in my opinion is the greatest genius chess has ever seen(held back by his terrible health), and he was a fantastic author as well. Other great collections include Kasparov's My Great Predecessors and Fischer's My 60 memorable games.
Skip opening books entirely. Pick an opening and find grandmasters who play it. Study their games, understand the ideas of the opening. Memorising theory isn't really helpful below expert level(1800 ELO).
Somehow forgot the two books that had the biggest influence on me. (And forgot for so long that I can’t edit the post.)
- The Population History of England, 1541-1871, by Wrigley and Schofield.
- English Population History from Family Reconstitution, 1580–1837, by Wrigley et al.
These books describe and analyse what was, for the time, an extraordinary amount of painstakingly pieced together historical data. Reading them changed my understanding of how history could be studied.
- How to Read a Book by Adler and Van Doren. I was in academia when I read this and it had a huge impact on how I read and thought about academic papers.
- Intuitive Biostatistics by Motulsky. First stats book that I enjoyed. Emphasises the practice of statistics, particularly the assumptions and mistakes people tend to make.
- World War II Map by Map, published by DK. Had never previously been interested in WW2 history, but something about this took my interest. While reading it, I finally appreciated the scale and complexity of WW2.
- Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. Working through this one meant I actually started getting better at chess!
- Common Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms by Wengrow. The book that helped me become interested in data structures and algorithms, rather than being something I “should” learn about.