AP Euro Books/Writings that Changed History
THE POWER OF THE PRINTED WORD
Some books and pamphlets published throughout modern European history have had a tremendous impact on society and have even spurred individuals to take political or social stands against the 'status quo' in society. The list provided below is not all inclusive; you may choose to add other books [including works of fiction] to the list. However, this is my list . . .
You should know the significance of each of these books:
- Francis Bacon, Novum Organum, 1620.
- Mikhail Bakunin, "What is Property?", 1867.
- Cesare Beccaria, Essay on Crimes and Punishments, 1764.
- John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, first issued in 1536 and the reissued in 1559.
- Nicholaus Copernicus, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, 1543.
- Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species by the Means of Natural Selection, 1859.
- Olympe de Gouges, The Rights of Woman, 1791.
- Denis Diderot, The Encyclopedie [Methodical Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts and Trades], 1751-1772.
- Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, 1900.
- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, written during Hitler's imprisonment and published later.
- Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, 1657.
- John Maynard Kenes, General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, 1936.
- John Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 1690.
- John Locke, Second Treatise on Civil Government, 1690.
- Martin Luther, Ninety-Five Theses, 1517.
- Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, 1532.
- Alfred Mahan, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783, 1890.
- Thomas Malthus, Essay on the Principle of Population, 1798.
- Karl Marx and Friedreich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, 1848.
- John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859.
- Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws, 1748.
- Sir Thomas More, Utopia, 1516.
- Issac Newton, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy or Principia, 1687.
- Thomas Paine, "Common Sense," 1776.
- Pope Paul IV, Index of Prohibited Books, 1559.
- Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762.
- Jean Jacques Rousseau, Social Contract, 1762.
- Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776.
- Geroges Sorel, Reflections on Violence, 1908.
- Herbert Spencer, Man Versus the State, 1884.
- Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1792.