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"We are all dying to read; the only question is what."
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Every serious seeker arrives at the same question, usually after they have already read the wrong things in the wrong order. This is the answer. Not a syllabus you have to finish, and not a ranking of what is good, but a map of what the work is built on, sorted by how much weight each book carries. The curation is the point. Anyone can find these titles. What matters is knowing which translation does not butcher the source, which author to read before which other, and what to hold in mind going in. Start at the top and work down, or follow the thread that called you here. The links go to Bookshop.org, which routes a share to independent bookstores, and to Amazon. Choose whichever you prefer. Some links here are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. |
The Manifesto Series | |
The five volumes. The arc the rest of this list serves. | |
| Read it » | A Manifesto for Curiosity Book I · Nigredo (Black) |
| The series » | A Manifesto for Gnosis Book II · Albedo (White) |
| The series » | A Manifesto for Catharsis Book III · Citrinitas (Yellow) |
| The series » | A Manifesto for Sovereignty Book IV · Rubedo (Red) |
| The series » | A Manifesto for Kenosis Book V · Quintessence (Gold) |
Featured | |
The core of the canon. If you read nothing else, read these. | |
  | The Hero with a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell |
| The Master and His Emissary Iain McGilchrist |
| Man and His Symbols Carl Jung |
| The Perennial Philosophy Aldous Huxley |
| The Secret Teachings of All Ages Manly P. Hall |
| The Science Delusion Rupert Sheldrake US title: Science Set Free |
| Awakening from the Meaning Crisis John Vervaeke |
| The Denial of Death Ernest Becker |
| Man's Search for Meaning Viktor Frankl |
| Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy Mircea Eliade |
| Thus Spoke Zarathustra Friedrich Nietzsche |
| The Holographic Universe Michael Talbot |
| The Power of Now Eckhart Tolle |
| The Chalice and the Blade Riane Eisler |
| Know Thyself: Using the Symbols of Freemasonry to Improve Your Life Michael Schiavello |
| Time Management for System Administrators Thomas A. Limoncelli |
| I and Thou Martin Buber |
| The Wisdom of Insecurity Alan Watts |
| Gravity and Grace Simone Weil |
| The Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt |
| Wholeness and the Implicate Order David Bohm |
| The Holotropic Mind Stanislav Grof |
| Selected Poems Rumi Coleman Barks, translator |
| Tao Te Ching Lao Tzu |
| The Odyssey Homer |
| A Secular Age Charles Taylor |
| A History of God Karen Armstrong |
| The Age of Surveillance Capitalism Shoshana Zuboff |
| The Technological Society Jacques Ellul |
| The Seven Storey Mountain Thomas Merton |
| The Soul's Code James Hillman |
| The Universe in a Single Atom Dalai Lama |
| The Lessons of History Will and Ariel Durant |
| Attention Span Gloria Mark |
| Feeling Is the Secret Neville Goddard |
| Fingerprints of the Gods Graham Hancock |
| Data and Goliath Bruce Schneier |
| Enshittification Cory Doctorow |
| Reader, Come Home Maryanne Wolf |
| The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Max Weber |
| The Book of Tea Kakuzo Okakura |
| The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Thomas Kuhn |
| Against Method Paul Feyerabend |
| Permanent Record Edward Snowden |
| Life After Life Raymond Moody |
| The Republic Plato |
| I, Me, Mine George Harrison |
| Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound Guy L. Beck |
| The Middle Pillar Israel Regardie |
| High Magick Damien Echols |
| Ritual: An Essential Grimoire Damien Echols and Lorri Davis |
| Liquid Luck Joseph Gallenberger |
| Journeys Out of the Body Robert A. Monroe |
The Rest — A to Z | |
Everything else the work draws on, in full. | |
| Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology Jane Roberts |
| Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge Paul Feyerabend |
| The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory Pierre Duhem |
| Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self Carl Gustav Jung |
| Anatomy of the Psyche: Alchemical Symbolism in Psychotherapy Edward F Edinger |
| The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness Jonathan Haidt |
| The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious Carl Gustav Jung |
| Arendt and Heidegger: The Fate of the Political Dana Villa |
| The Art of Invisibility Kevin Mitnick |
| At Home in the Universe: The Search for Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity Stuart Kauffman |
| The Ayahuasca Experience: A Sourcebook on the Sacred Vine of Spirits Ralph Metzner |
| Becoming Eichmann David Cesarani |
| Between Past and Future: Eight Exercises in Political Thought Hannah Arendt |
| Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World Bruce Schneier |
| The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences P.M.H Atwater |
| Body and Soul: A Sympathetic History of American Spiritualism Robert S Cox |
| The Cathedral and the Bazaar Eric S Raymond |
| Cave and Cosmos: Shamanic Encounters with Another Reality Michael Harner |
| Celtic Myth and Religion: A Study of Traditional Belief Sharon Paice MacLeod |
| Citizenfour Laura Poitras |
| Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge Karl R Popper |
| Contesting Psychiatry: Social Movements in Mental Health Nick Crossley |
| The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge Jeremy Narby |
| Crises of the Republic Hannah Arendt |
| The Critical Theory of Jürgen Habermas Thomas McCarthy |
| Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine Norbert Wiener |
| Dancing Past the Dark: Distressing Near-Death Experiences Nancy Evans Bush |
| Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion Gary Webb |
| The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection Between Darkness and Spiritual Growth Gerald G May |
| Deathbed Visions Sir William Barrett |
| Democracy and Political Theory Claude Lefort |
| Democracy and the Politics of the Extraordinary Andreas Kalyvas |
| Depth Psychology and a New Ethic Erich Neumann |
| Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World Cal Newport |
| Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison Michel Foucault |
| A Discourse on Property: John Locke and His Adversaries James Tully |
| The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness R.D Laing |
| The Doctor and the Soul: From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy Viktor E Frankl |
| The Druidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth John Michael Greer |
| Eichmann Before Jerusalem Bettina Stangneth |
| The Emerald Tablet |
| Emergence: From Chaos to Order John H Holland |
| The Emotional Lives of Animals Marc Bekoff |
| The End of Certainty: Time, Chaos, and the New Laws of Nature Ilya Prigogine |
| Enuma Elish |
| Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud Herbert Marcuse |
| Escape from Evil Ernest Becker |
| Escape from Freedom Erich Fromm |
| An Essay on Liberation Herbert Marcuse |
| The Essential Jung Anthony Storr |
| The Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change Thomas S Kuhn |
| Existential Psychotherapy Irvin D Yalom |
| Existentialism Is a Humanism Jean-Paul Sartre |
| Family Therapy in Clinical Practice Murray Bowen |
| Feyerabend: Philosophy, Science and Society John Preston |
| Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life James Hollis |
| Firewalls and Internet Security William et al Cheswick |
| The Frankfurt School: Its History, Theories and Political Significance Rolf Wiggershaus |
| Free Software, Free Society Richard Stallman |
| From Being to Becoming: Time and Complexity in the Physical Sciences Ilya Prigogine |
| From Ritual to Romance Jessie L. Weston |
| The Future of Foreign Intelligence: Privacy and Surveillance in a Digital Age Laura Donohue |
| The Future of the Internet Jonathan Zittrain |
| The Future of the Internet — And How to Stop It Jonathan Zittrain |
| Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity Judith Butler |
| The Golden Bough James George Frazer |
| The Golden Thread: The Ageless Wisdom of the Western Mystery Traditions Joscelyn Godwin |
| Green Man: The Archetype of Our Oneness with the Earth William Anderson |
| Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes Irving L Janis |
| Hacking and Securing iOS Applications Jonathan Zdziarski |
| Hannah Arendt: A Reinterpretation of Her Political Thought Margaret Canovan |
| Hannah Arendt: For Love of the World Elisabeth Young-Bruehl |
| Heading Toward Omega: In Search of the Meaning of the Near-Death Experience Kenneth Ring |
| Heart Sutra |
| Herbert Marcuse and the Crisis of Marxism Douglas Kellner |
| Hobbesian Moral and Political Theory Gregory S Kavka |
| Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life Giorgio Agamben |
| Honeypots: Tracking Hackers Lance Spitzner |
| How to Change Your Mind Michael Pollan |
| How to Win Friends and Influence People Dale Carnegie |
| The Human Condition Hannah Arendt |
| Human Groups and Social Categories Henri Tajfel |
| iGen Jean M Twenge |
| Imagery in Healing: Shamanism and Modern Medicine Jeanne Achterberg |
| Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter Terrence W Deacon |
| Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion Robert Cialdini |
| Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy Ken Wilber |
| The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation Cory Doctorow |
| John of the Cross: Doctor of Light and Love Kieran Kavanaugh |
| Killing Time: The Autobiography of Paul Feyerabend Paul Feyerabend |
| Knots R.D Laing |
| Knowledge and the Sacred Seyyed Hossein Nasr |
| The Law and the Promise Neville Goddard |
| Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust That Society Needs to Thrive Bruce Schneier |
| The Life of the Mind Hannah Arendt |
| Linked: The New Science of Networks Albert-László Barabási |
| The Living Gita Sri Swami Satchidananda |
| The Logic of Scientific Discovery Karl R Popper |
| The Lost Keys of Freemasonry Manly P Hall |
| The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil Philip Zimbardo |
| Madness and Civilization Michel Foucault |
| Madness and Modernism Louis A Sass |
| The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World Iain McGilchrist |
| The Matter With Things Iain McGilchrist |
| The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World Iain McGilchrist |
| Meaningful Living: A Logotherapy Guide to Health Elisabeth Lukas |
| Meanings of Life Roy F Baumeister |
| Medical correspondence contesting the Hutton findings Keith et al Hawton |
| The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes: Philosophical Papers Volume 1 Imre Lakatos |
| Mill on Liberty: A Defence John Gray |
| Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity Gregory Bateson |
| Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind Evan Thompson |
| Mysterium Coniunctionis Carl Jung |
| Mysticism and Philosophy W.T Stace |
| Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness Evelyn Underhill |
| The Nature of Personal Reality: A Seth Book Jane Roberts |
| The New Children and Near-Death Experiences P.M.H Atwater |
| New Seeds of Contemplation Thomas Merton |
| New Ways of Ontology Nicolai Hartmann |
| Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Science of Networks Mark Buchanan |
| No Place to Hide Glenn Greenwald |
| The Nones Ryan Burge |
| Nothing to Hide: The False Tradeoff Between Privacy and Security Daniel Solove |
| Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View Stanley Milgram |
| The Old Straight Track Alfred Watkins |
| On Liberty and Liberalism: The Case of John Stuart Mill Gertrude Himmelfarb |
| On Revolution Hannah Arendt |
| On Violence Hannah Arendt |
| One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society Herbert Marcuse |
| The Open Society and Its Enemies Karl R Popper |
| The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics Eric D Beinhocker |
| The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution Stuart Kauffman |
| The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View Richard Tarnas |
| Pay Any Price: Greed, Power, and Endless War James Risen |
| Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking Georgia Weidman |
| Phishing Dark Waters: The Offensive and Defensive Sides of Malicious Emails Christopher Hadnagy |
| The Political Philosophy of Hobbes Leo Strauss |
| The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism C.B Macpherson |
| The Politics of Experience R.D Laing |
| The Power of Awareness Neville Goddard |
| Practical Packet Analysis Chris Sanders |
| The Practice of Network Security Monitoring Richard Bejtlich |
| Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade Robert Cialdini |
| Preface to The Wretched of the Earth Jean-Paul Sartre |
| Privacy and Freedom Alan Westin |
| Privacy in Context: Technology, Policy, and the Integrity of Social Life Helen Nissenbaum |
| Proofs and Refutations Imre Lakatos |
| Psychology and Alchemy Carl Gustav Jung |
| Psychotherapy and Existentialism Viktor E Frankl |
| Punishment and Modern Society: A Study in Social Theory David Garland |
| The Puzzle Palace James Bamford |
| The Quest for the Green Man John Matthews |
| Ramayana |
| Re-Visioning Psychology James Hillman |
| Reconstructing Scientific Revolutions Paul Hoyningen-Huene |
| Reinventing the Sacred: A New View of Science, Reason, and Religion Stuart Kauffman |
| Religions, Values, and Peak-Experiences Abraham H Maslow |
| The Reluctant Modernism of Hannah Arendt Seyla Benhabib |
| René Guénon and the Future of the West Robin Waterfield |
| A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion Catherine L Albanese |
| Resurrection Neville Goddard |
| Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birth and Rebirth Mircea Eliade |
| The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure Victor Turner |
| Romance of the Grail Joseph Campbell |
| The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception Max Heindel |
| The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion Mircea Eliade |
| |
| Sacred Nature Karen Armstrong |
| Saint Foucault: Towards a Gay Hagiography David M Halperin |
| The Scapegoat René Girard |
| Science in a Free Society Paul Feyerabend |
| Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World Bruce Schneier |
| Security Engineering Ross Anderson |
| Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems Anderson Ross |
| Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed James C Scott |
| Self and Others R.D Laing |
| Senate floor statement on the PATRIOT Act Russ Feingold |
| Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul Jane Roberts |
| The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton Michael Mott |
| The Shadow Factory James Bamford |
| Shaman: The Wounded Healer Joan Halifax |
| Shamanism as a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life Tom Cowan |
| Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing Michael Winkelman |
| Shamans and Religion: An Anthropological Exploration in Critical Thinking Alice Beck Kehoe |
| Shamans/Neo-Shamans: Ecstasy, Alternative Archaeologies and Contemporary Pagans Robert J Wallis |
| The Sickness Unto Death Soren Kierkegaard |
| Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age Duncan J Watts |
| Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking Christopher Hadnagy |
| Social Influence and Social Change Serge Moscovici |
| Social Psychology Solomon E Asch |
| Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self Sandra Ingerman |
| The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess Starhawk |
| The Spirit of Shamanism Roger Walsh |
| Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain Ronald Hutton |
| Steps to an Ecology of Mind Gregory Bateson |
| The Tacit Dimension Michael Polanyi |
| Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism Barbara Weisberg |
| A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance Leon Festinger |
| The Theosophical Enlightenment Joscelyn Godwin |
| Thresholds of Initiation Joseph L Henderson |
| Toward a Psychology of Being Abraham Maslow |
| Traditionalism: Religion in the Light of the Perennial Philosophy Harry Oldmeadow |
| The Transformation of Nature in Art Ananda K Coomaraswamy |
| The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft Ronald Hutton |
| The Unconscious God: Psychotherapy and Theology Viktor E Frankl |
| Understanding Privacy Daniel Solove |
| The Unheard Cry for Meaning Viktor E Frankl |
| Users and Abusers of Psychiatry: A Critical Look at Psychiatric Practice Lucy Johnstone |
| Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill |
| Vegetalismo: Shamanism among the Mestizo Population of the Peruvian Amazon Luis Eduardo Luna |
| Victims of Groupthink Irving L Janis |
| Walter Benjamin: An Aesthetic of Redemption Richard Wolin |
| The Waste Land T. S. Eliot |
| The Way of the Shaman Michael Harner |
| What Every Body Is Saying Joe Navarro |
| Why Good People Do Bad Things: Understanding Our Darker Selves James Hollis |
| The Wild Places Robert Macfarlane |
| Will Therapy and Truth and Reality Otto Rank |
| The Will to Meaning Viktor E Frankl |
| The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy Viktor E Frankl |
| The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences Penny Sartori |
| Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache Keith H Basso |
| A World Beyond Physics: The Emergence and Evolution of Life Stuart Kauffman |
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