Reading multiple books about a topic is important. Multiple books – and multiple authors – keeps us off of hobby horses: both our own, and those of other writers and thinkers

(Of course, some thinkers are a class to themselves, in the judgement of history. We can safely read Aristotle or St Paul or Shakespeare and not worry about hobby horses. But that’s obviously not who we’re talking about).

A way to find the best books in a given field is to ask. Google “what are the best books about x?” Look for recommended reading lists. Go over a dozen such lists and distill it to 10 books that recur.

Now go to Amazon. Find those books in their Kindle editions. Download a sample to your Kindle. A sample is usually around 10% of the book and in most cases, that’s enough to get a feel for the book. If you resonate with the author’s style, if the book speaks to you, if the writer’s arguments make the topic more understandable, you’ve probably got a winner. Buy the full book, and if you read 5 books on a given topic, you’ll know more about it than 90% of the population.

Take advantage of this sample, and take advantage of Amazon. I’m not that company’s biggest fan, but in the book area, they’re the best game in town. It’s an education in your hand. Use it.