“There’s no room for facts when our minds are occupied by fear.”
Books have the potential of transforming how we think, live and understand the world around us. While fiction often enthrals us with its stories and characters, non-fiction offers something just as remarkable: a chance to change your perspective and challenge preconceptions. From exploring the hidden systems shaping society to diving into the intricacies of human behaviour, the right read can leave you seeing the world in an entirely new light. Whether it’s provoking new thoughts or offering fresh insights, we here at What We Reading thought we would bring together the best books that change your perspective on the world. From better understanding society, rethinking values or simply learning something extraordinary, these titles all promise to shift how you view the world!
Man’s Search For Meaning – Viktor E. Frankl
First up on our list of books that change your perspective is Viktor Frankl’s acclaimed memoir, Man’s Search for Meaning. Based on his own personal experiences and the stories of his patients from inside the Nazi death camps of the Second World War, Frankl makes the case that suffering is inevitable; yet, we are able to choose how we cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with a renewed sense of purpose.
At the centre of Frankl’s theories, known as logotherapy, is a resolute conviction that at the epicentre of human drive isn’t pleasure necessarily, but instead the pursuit of what we find meaningful. Man’s Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential self-help books in the world and is sure to inspire a new way of thinking and living.
The Undercover Economist (The Undercover Economist #1) – Tim Harford
Having sold over a million copies, Tim Harford’s The Undercover Economist has long been considered one of the best books for understanding the essential principles of economics. In it, Harford covers a sweeping array of economic concepts including scarce resources, market power, efficiency, price gouging, market failure, inside information and game theory.
What’s more, Harford promises to change the way in which you see the world and how money works within it, illuminating the ways in which our daily lives are affected by it often without our knowledge. Through the lens of an economist, The Undercover Economist reveals how everyday events are intricate games of negotiations, strength contests and battles of wit.
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The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics And Religion – Jonathan Haidt
In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of the biggest divisions in the world and charts a path forward based on mutual understanding. He centres this argument around moral intuition – the innate perceptions we form about other people and the things they do. Haidt explains how these intuitions feel like self-evident truths, making us righteously certain that those who see things differently from us are always wrong.
Blending his own findings with those of other acclaimed anthropologists, historians, and psychologists, Haidts’s work is one of the best books for changing your perspective on morality and the notion that evolution has made us all selfish creatures. Haidt demonstrates how recognising our intuitions can make us more aware of others, and how, through the insights of others, we can all flourish.
Why We Sleep: Unlocking The Power Of Sleep And Dreams – Matthew Walker
Neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker provides a revolutionary analysis of sleep, chronicling how it affects every aspect of our physical and mental condition. Through the most cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs and his decades’ worth of research and clinical experiences, Walker explores the ways in which we can utilise sleep to improve learning, and mood, prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s and diabetes, regulate hormones and energy levels, slow the effects of ageing and improve our longevity.
Why We Sleep also provides easy and actionable steps towards getting a better night’s sleep every night, making it one of the best books for changing the way in which you view the world of sleeping and dreaming.
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Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge And The Teaching Of Plants – Robin Wall Kimmerer
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been taught how to ask questions of nature through the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she also embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest and wisest teachers.
Braiding Sweetgrass offers a poignant blend of Indigenous traditions with scientific understanding. Through her lyrical prose, Robin Wall Kimmerer invites readers to rethink their role in the natural world, placing a firm emphasis on gratitude, reciprocity and respect for the Earth. From lessons learned from Sweetgrass to meditations on contemporary environmental challenges, Kimmerer’s work is one of the best books for changing how we view the world, encouraging a deeper connection to the land and its gifts.
The Bottom Billion: Why The Poorest Countries Are Failing And What Can Be Done About It – Paul Collier
In the globally acclaimed and award-winning The Bottom Billion, Paul Collier reveals that fifty failed states – home to the poorest billion people on the planet – represent the greatest challenge facing the developing world.
The book sheds light on this group of small nations, mostly ignored by the wider world, demonstrating how they fall further and further behind in even the most basic living standards. Collier analyses the causes of failure and condenses them into a set of traps that ensnare all of these nations. He also offers a groundbreaking and convincing argument for a roadmap on how to help these nations and peoples, offering real hope for solving one of the world’s greatest humanitarian crises.
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About The World – And Why Things Are Better Than You Think – Hans Rosling
In Factfulness, Professor of International Health Hans Rosling offers a compelling new explanation as to why we are consistently way off the mark when it comes to understanding basic global trends. With his long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, he reveals ten instincts that distort our perspectives ranging from the way we digest media, and perceive progress to our tendency to divide the world into two (us vs. them).
Factfulness argues that, for all its imperfections, the world is in a much healthier place than we think. Inspiring and revelatory, brimming with lively anecdotes and touching stories, Rosling’s work is a timely and essential book that promises to change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
