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1. The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin
Together with Darwin's The Origin of Species - and a better read - this book ushered in the modern understanding of what we are, and our relationship to other animals.
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
If this is not the best novel ever written, I don't know what surpasses it for fine observation of manners, character and passions, all told with the most delightfully delicate sense of humour.
3. The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick
After 100 years, this remains the most careful, thorough and accurate study of ethics I know.
4. On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
Mill's defence of individual liberty and freedom of expression is a model of political argument, and a pleasure to read.
5. Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit
Parfit's penetrating thought and spare prose make this one of the most exciting, if challenging, works by a contemporary philosopher.
6. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
A highly readable theory about how we came to be as we are. Dawkins is always stimulating and full of ideas, even if he needs to be read in a questioning frame of mind.
7. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Probably the most important book on the environment ever written, and once you read it, it is easy to see why.
8. In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall
The classic study of our closest relative, the chimpanzee.
9. Humanity by Jonathan Glover
A philosopher's look at the moral history of the 20th century, full of remarkable information and wise reflections.
10. Final Exit by Derek Humphrey
Unlike all the other books on this list, this is one that I hope you'll never want to read. But if the day comes when you need to be in control of how your life ends, and you can't find a doctor who will help, this is the book to get.
Henry Spira