Colin Wilson fascinates me. From "Mind Parasites" to "The Outsider" and now this, he seems to be a modern day renaissance man. This book is pretty much what the title says, recommendations of books that have significantly affected him in some way or another. I rank it near Stephen King's "On Writing" for giving a welcome glimpse into the brilliant mind of a very engaging writer. ( )

So many think that they can write such a book. Mostly its a boring old fart like Melvyn Bragg who wants to show you how erudite he is,yet has the common touch. Wilson's book is more like a story of his childhood with book excerpts. Its patchy and like a lot of Wilson's book a bit vague at times but it is the best of thhis genre I have read ( )