David Von Drehle recommends 6 wise reads for deep thinkers
The veteran journalist suggests works by Dr. Seuss, Viktor Frankl, and more

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Veteran journalist David Von Drehle is a Washington Post columnist and author of "The Book of Charlie," a best-seller about the life wisdom he learned from a 109-year-old neighbor. Below, Von Drehle recommends books that help him "think like Charlie."
When you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission
Enchiridion by Epictetus (circa 125)
Mastering this short philosophy book is the work of a lifetime. Epictetus, the diamond cutter of Stoic philosophers, teaches that happiness depends on two radical assertions of freedom: total accountability for my choices, values, and actions, and letting go of concern about everything else. Buy it here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (1946)
The great stoic of the Holocaust asked how some of his fellow prisoners in the Nazi death camps retained their humanity under inhuman conditions, and he concluded that they embraced "the last of the human freedoms: to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way" of behaving. Buy it here.
Emerson: The Mind on Fire by Robert D. Richardson Jr. (1995)
This biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson is loaded with insights on life. Dig this: "Anything that has ever been possible to human beings is possible to most of us every time the clock says six in the morning. On a day no different from the one now breaking, Shakespeare sat down to begin Hamlet." Buy it here.
A Collection of Essays by George Orwell (1953)
Once a year, I reread Orwell's famous 1946 essay Politics and the English Language to remind myself what I am trying to do with my work. And what I am trying to avoid. "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable," Orwell wrote. I also read some of the other essays — take your pick — to remind myself what it sounds like when one gets it right. Buy it here.
Holy the Firm by Annie Dillard (1977)
This is a strange, wild little book that challenges a reader to engage completely — if only for a few pages — with the fierce miracle of life on Earth and the power of whatever it is that made this sublime, gorgeous, sometimes dangerous world. Buy it here.
Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss (1954)
Dr. Seuss' resolute and gentle elephant was the first moral teacher I found in a book and chose to follow, and he remains a favorite. Nothing could dissuade Horton from his commitment to equality and justice. "A person's a person," he said, "no matter how small." Buy it here.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Biden's first rodeo
cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biden's stumble
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
The daily gossip: Travis Kelce chats about Taylor Swift's Chiefs game visit, Hollywood writers thrilled with details of new contract as strike ends, and more
The daily gossip: September 27, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Etaf Rum recommends 6 empowering reads centered around women
Feature The author suggests works by Zora Neale Hurston, Sylvia Plath and more
By The Week Staff Published
-
Jeff Daniels suggests 6 books that informed his writing and acting
The star recommends works by Gabriel García Márquez, Shelby Foote and more
By The Week Staff Published
-
6 books to get cozy with this fall
The Week Recommends A cornucopia of literary greatness awaits this autumn
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Peter Heller recommends 6 poetic reads for prose lovers
feature The award-winning adventure writer suggests works by Beryl Markham, Ada Limón and more
By The Week Staff Published
-
5 illuminating books about the video game industry
Speed Read Cozy up with a few reads that dig into some of the most fascinating parts of video game history
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Andrew Lipstein's 6 favorite books that combine wealth and humanity
feature The author recommends works by Hernan Diaz, Charles Dickens and more
By The Week Staff Published
-
Tom Rachman chooses 6 books to read before you die
feature The author suggests works from George Orwell, Virginia Woolf and more
By The Week Staff Published
-
Patrick deWitt recommends 6 books that are both dark and funny
feature The author suggests works by Frank Conroy, Leonard Gardner and more
By The Week Staff Published