WRITER’S READS
Tom Oliver is a professor of ecology and a systems thinker advising the UK government. His latest book The Self Delusion is out now
The Ancestor’s Tale
by Richard Dawkins (2005)
A beautifully illustrated book showing how we are deeply connected across the web of life. Our bodies are built from materials scavenged from the environment using DNA instructions borrowed from our ancestors that we too will pass on.
Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind
by Guy Claxton (1997)
A book that combines evidence from cognitive psychology with insights from ancient eastern religions, in particular Zen and Buddhism.
A Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde (1890)
A man’s conscience is transferred to a painting leaving him to live with wild abandon. I love this tale for the warning against hedonism and how it points towards a deeper sense of contentment from living in alignment with our moral compass.
We
by Yevgeny Zamyatin (1988)
A short, imaginative novel by a Russian writer on the dangers of collectivism. It highlights how we need a balance between a communal self-identity versus self-serving individualism.
The Road
by Cormac McCarthy (2006)
Paints a bleak post-apocalyptic landscape that could be our destiny if we carry on the way we are, where urgent problems are not properly addressed.
The Hidden Connections
by Fritjof Capra (2002)
One of a series of excellent books by a worldleading systems thinker showing the limits of siloed thinking and the need to embrace holistic approaches to solve wicked problems.
How to be Idle
by Tom Hodgkinson (2007)
Not every suggestion in this playful book is practical but at its core is a key insight: many of us work too hard trying to solve problems by brute force, when some strategic idling can by hugely productive (and joyful) in the longer term.
Being a Beast
by Charles Foster (2016)
A description of an experiment finely balanced between insanity and genius. The author contorts his mind and body into the habitats of animals, providing lessons into the limits of self-perception.