[nickster]

In Computers? The Mythical Man Month Fred Brooks

In Management? Turn the Ship Around David Marquet

In literature? Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad

In Philosophy? The Republic Plato

In Religion? The Confessions St. Augustine

In Mathematics? The Elements Euclid

In History? Parallel lives Plutarch

In Physics? Principia Isaac Newton

[philipwhiuk]

I'm skeptical about the maths and physics ones.

[ironlake]

Why would anyone pretend to read Heart of Darkness? At 40k words it's one of the shortest novels ever written. The writing absolutely slaps. Anyone with any interest and experience in literature would find their first encounter with this book to be pleasant (except for the racism and colonialism).

And it's falling out of favor because of the racism and colonialism, so it's perfectly acceptable (in most literature circles) to say that you just didn't want to read that kind of crap and leave it at that.

I'm re-reading Heart of Darkness now and not likely to mention it to anyone because it's so regressive.

[thorin]

Heart of darkness is very short and fits into those great books like L'Etranger and the Old Man and the Sea that can be usefully read in an afternoon and give back way more than they demand from you.

Republic is quite long but very approachable and I really enjoyed it.

Again the mythical man month still holds true and it very readable. It's interesting for anyone interested in computing history as well as for it's key points on management.

[usgroup]

I read Plato's Republic -- even as a youth. It is very readable and free from fancy prose. It is also dramatic in parts and written in dialogue form.

[philomath_mn]

I haven't met too many people in Math or Physics who care to signal that they've read foundational texts. Usually they flex by talking about the latest research or something difficult and just beyond the level of their peers.

Edit: I also love how all the discussion of this list is happening in response to the well-formatted quote rather than the original comment.

[hnfong]

Not my fields, but

- English Law: Treitel on The Law of Contract

- Economics: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith)

[dwd]

Literature: Brothers Karamozov

Constantly recommended on Twitter and I really wonder how many of those recommending it have actually read it.

Heart of Darkness is a short easy read in comparison. Moby Dick was another hard read and a real slog with only the occasional memorable passage to reward enduring the tedium.

[defrost]

Moby Dick is enhanced by perspective, it's sublime when dwindled to a 3.5 minute LitRap clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al5-bU8DUAg

[vmilner]

Do physicists really pretend to have read the Principia?