Summer is the time when most get caught up on their reading. And most are reading novels during this time, but what if you did something a little differently from the rest. Gene Waddell, an architectural historian and College Archivist at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, pulled together an extensive list of rare books that inspire learning. I have taken 10 books from his list, and as you will note, they are from a variety genres to build your general knowledge and increase your ability to strategize and solve problems. Here is your summer reading list.
- Anthropology: Race, Language, Culture, Psychology, Pre-history
, Kroeber - The Antiquities of Athens; and Other Monuments of Greece: As Measured and Delineated by the authors by James Stuart; Nicholas Revett
- The Tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen: Discovered by the Late Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter (Cambridge Library Collection – Archaeology) and Howard Carter, Howard Carter
- Roughing It, Mark Twain
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Dover Thrift Editions), Frederick Douglas
- Diary of Samuel Pepys, ed. Richard Griffin Baybrook
- New System of Chemical Philosophy, John Dalton
- Emerson: Essays, Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa, Mungo Park
- The Wright Brothers Aëroplane, by Orville and Wilbur Wright Century Magazine, September 1908
, Kroeber
by James Stuart; Nicholas Revett
and 
, Frederick DouglasOver the summer, try to read a couple of the above, and I will do the same. What do you have to add to the conversation? Let's keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Some of the links to the books are for free downloads and some are Amazon affiliate links.
Photo Credit: Flickr via Apture
