The Education of Henry Adams, by Henry Adams, appears on lists of the 100 books everyone should read, for a very good reason.

Henry Adams, while searching for his place in the world, recorded the places, people, and world-changing events he came to know. Throughout this book we are invited to reflect on our own journey and role in an unfolding present history, because his is not a history book but a human self-exploration, set in history. Henry Adams conveys to us a very deep wisdom, as he says in the book: “Under a very strong light human nature will always appear complex and full of contradictions.”