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The Torchlight List: Around The World in 200 Books by Jim Flynn

Jim Flynn’s quest is to persuade more young people to read great works of literature and he doesn’t just mean classic epics like War and Peace. Flynn is emeritus professor of politics at Otago University and a leading world expert on intelligence and IQ. After 50 years of university teaching he has concluded that the best possible education is not gained by studying and sitting exams but by reading novels, histories, well-written non-fiction, poetry and plays for pleasure.

He says anyone wanting to raise the IQ of children in their care should not only encourage them to read widely from an early age but set an example by reading great books themselves. Despite this he has noticed that not only fewer and fewer students but also fellow professors read great works of literature outside of what their profession or studies require. This is what inspired him to create a torchlight list, a list of 200 great books that will interest readers, inform them and move them.

The Torchlight list is a breathtaking and entertaining romp through the history of civilisation through books. Whether the topic is the evolution of human language, the British Empire or exploring China, Japan, India and the Middle East, he suggest books that people will not only love reading but will come away from filled with a richness of knowledge effortlessly acquired.

Flynn has compiled his list by subject or country it relates to making it easier for readers to find something they might be interested in. Not all the books are historical classics as he has included some modern works and even some works in translation that you may never have heard of. There is something for everyone in this collection, but all will expand the mind. They take the reader beyond their day to day concerns into a magical realm of knowledge and imagination.

RRP $33.00
Published and distributed by Awa Press
 

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