American media legend Ted Turner about his favorite books
“Life Is What You MakeIt” by Peter Buffett
Ted Turner
Also recommended by Bill Clinton, Jamie Dimon
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Though the author bears such famous last name, Buffet, he claims that he hasn´t inherited much from his parents, concerning materialistic issues. He was gifted with a family philosophy: “Everybody must find his own way in this life”. This warm, mind broadening, and inspirational book asks every reader, what will he choose: the way of least resistance or the way greatest satisfaction? In some sense this is the life story of Peter Buffet himself.
“The Odyssey” by Homer
–from interview to achievement.org
Any classical scholar or schoolchild should know the basics of this work, especially as it appears on every book list from Trojan War history to Top 100 Must-Reads. The great Ithacan warrior Odysseus has spent ten years attempting to return to his homeland, after winning the war against Troy, enmeshed in struggles against nature and mythical creatures alike. His wife Penelope is besieged in waves after waves of suitors, not unlike her husband’s continual near-deaths at sea. His son Telemachus is considered a threat to the suitors, and there are plans to have him removed as an unwelcome obstacle. While gods debate and a nymph swoons over the imprisoned hero, his one thought is of home.
“The Iliad” by Homer
–from interview to achievement.org
Equally well-known on college reading lists, this book covers a similar timeframe as the Odyssey – nine years after the Trojan War has begun. An Apollo priestess is under lock and key, which is the reason for a continual plague on the Greek armies. Two representatives of Greece and Troy are chosen to do battle: Paris and Menelaus. After Paris flees, many battles rage in Mount Olympus and on earth, by land and by sea. After refusing to fight due to a deadly insult, Achilles does a body-armor swap with a friend that ends disastrously, but he gets a new purpose and set of armor that helps him accomplish a temporary truce.
“Gone With the Wind” byMargaret Mitchell
“I enjoyed “Gone With the Wind” and history books of all types.”
–from interview to achievement.org
Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable sizzled on screen, but the real Southern magic and comfort was woven by Mitchell. The character development of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler, along with the remainder of the Southern aristocracy, provides a fascinating historical background into the not-so Civil War. Romance readers will enjoy the romantic tension and triangle between Scarlett, Ashley, and the piratical Rhett. Drama enthusiasts will welcome the personality clashes between Scarlett and anyone who stands in the way of her survival or business plans, while relishing the emergence of frail Melanie and bustling Pittypat as symbols of quiet loyalty and classic Southern virtues.
“The Aeneid” by Virgil
–from interview to achievement.org
Also recommended by Mark Zuckerberg
Most schoolchildren know the basics of the Trojan horse, but Virgil outlines all of the intriguing details of myth and legend. Tension between the gods of the heavens and the underworld, true love, flaming pyres, shipwreck, political intrigue, revenge – no drama is left out or neglected. Aeneas recounts tales of strange beasts, the goddess Juno plots a settling of scores with Troy (for their future role in the destruction of noble Carthage), and battles erupt. While Virgil is no longer around to rejoice at his work’s placement on numerous book lists, this unfinished epic poem is still worth a read after nearly 2,000 years of translations.
