10 smartest books you can read this summer | Big Think

"Summer is a season for relaxation and folly but can also be a time to sharpen your brain against some stimulating literature" according to Paul Ratner, writer and filmmaker.

A women reads a book under the sun in the Luxembourg gardens in Paris.
Photo: MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images

These books may not be everyone’s idea of beach reading but they are sure to spark up your intelligence. While the list of the smartest books ever would likely be a Sisyphean and ultimately fruitless undertaking, here are some choices from books released within the past year:

Leonardo da Vinci

4. "Leonardo Da Vinci" by Walter Isaacson is recommended by none other than Bill Gates who called the Renaissance artist and inventor “one of the most fascinating people ever.” Gates found the book’s meticulous research into Da Vinci’s life remarkable, writing that "Isaacson does the best job I've seen of pulling together the different strands of Leonardo's life and explaining what made him so exceptional.”

 

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong
About the World--and Why Things Are
Better Than You Think

10. ”Factfulness" by Hans Rosling. Bill Gates called this book by the late professor of international health and TED talk superstar Rosling, “One of the most important books I’ve ever read―an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” The book looks at how and why we make cognitive mistakes that skew our perception of the world, serving as an indispensable wake-up call in the age poisoned by claims of “Fake News” and rampant misinformation.

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Source: Big Think