In future I plan a short (or not-so-short) commendation for each
book. These mini-essays will appear sporadically.
Essential
The Ego and Its Own, Max Stirner (1844)
Human Action, Ludwig von Mises (1950)
The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins (1976, 2nd. ed: 1989)
The Extended Phenotype, Richard Dawkins (1982)
The Retreat to Commitment, W. W. Bartley, III (2nd ed: 1984)
Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Daniel C. Dennett (1995)
Excellent
The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James (1902)
The Miracle of Language, Charlton Laird (1953)
The Machinery of Freedom, David Friedman (1973, 1978, 2nd ed:
1989)
Minds, Brains and Science, John Searle (1984)
Who Wrote the Bible?, Richard Elliot Friedman (1987)
A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism, Hans-Hermann Hoppe (1989)
Bright Air, Brilliant Fire, Gerald M. Edelman (1992)
The Rediscovery of the Mind, John Searle (1992)
Out of Control, Kevin Kelly (1994)
The same day I began to install my home page, back in the mid 90's,
I stumbled across another's list of books quite similar to mine.
If my list intrigues you, check out David's Top 10 also.