As a fan of the more poetic/intellectual side of Tupac, stumbling upon the following information felt like discovering a treasure chest. These literary sources which helped to shape and influence his mind are worth checking out if you're a fan, too.I came across the list on this website, and all I did was rearrange it in alphabetical order by title.
The website states:
"This is a list of books read by Tupac during his lifetime including while he was at the Baltimore School of Arts and in prison... The topics include black history, the afterlife, religion including Zen, war, women's liberation, music, and poetry. Reading these books, it is clear how they molded 2Pac's thinking and language..."
The list is apparently taken from the 'Thug Angel' documentary. So once again, big thanks to AllEyezOnMe.com as well as ThugLifeArmy.com for the information.
Books Read by Tupac Shakur
Written by: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
The Boskett Family and the American Tradition of Violence
Written by: Fox Butterfield
Written by: Donald Passman
Written by: Maya Angelou
Written by: Sun Tzu
Written by: Assata Shakur
Written by: Jamaica Kincaid
As told to: Alex Haley
Written by: A.C. Bhaktive-danta Swami Prabhupada
Written by: John Howard Griffin
Poetry by Black American Women, 1746 to 1980
Edited by Earlene Stetson
Written by: Amiri Baraka
Written by: J.D. Salinger
Written by: Walter B. Gibson and Litzka R. Gibson
Written by: William Styron
Written by: Alice A. Bailey
Edited and with a Preface by: Gunther Stuhlmann
Written by: E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, James Trefil
Written by: John Steinbeck
Slavery, Emancipation and Changing Racial Attitudes
Written by: Jack Gratus
Black Workers Since the Civil War
Written by: William H. Harris
Written by: Ruth Montgomery
Written by: Maya Angelou
Written by: Maya Angelou
Written by: Thomas a Kempis
Written by: Alice Walker
Written by: Elisabeth Haich
Black American History Makers
Written by: George L. Lee
Edited by: Quincy Troupe
Written by: Gersham Scholem
Written by: Ira Peck
Written by: Joan Grant
Written by: Linda Goodman
Written by: Nathan McCall
Written by: W.L. Wilmshurst
Written by: Herman Melville
The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member
Written by: Sanyika Shakur
Written by: Eileen Southern
Written by: Evelyn Underhill
Written by: Richard Wright
Written by: Alan W. Watts
Written by: George Orwell
Written by: Thomas Merton
Written by: Peter Lorie
Written by: Teilhard de Chardin
From the Writings of: Alice A Bailey & the Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul
Written by: Mark Bricklin
Written by: Niccolo Machiavelli
A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead
Written by: Timothy Leary, Ph.D, Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., Richard Alpert, Ph.D.
Written by: Naomi A. Hintze and J. Gaither Pratt, Ph.D.
Written by: Lorraine Hansberry
Written by: Alex Haley
Written by: Jonathan Kozol
Written by: Charles Essert
From the writings of: Alice A. Bailey
Written by: Robin Morgan
Written by: Michael Kidron and Ronald Segal
Written by: LeRoi Jones
Written by:W.E. Burghardt DuBois
Written by: Jack Kornfield
Written by: Alice A Bailey
Written by: W.Y. Evans-Wentz
Written by: Kahlil Gibran
Written by: Henry Miller
Written by: Paul Portuges
Written by: A.N. Watts
Written by: Robert M. Pirsig
Hey Ivan what going on with all the audio??? Or is that just me?
ReplyDelete^Divshare's down....should be up soon....damn shame, cuz Im currently showing a friend who just got back from outta town my site and....poof....audio gone.....like i sed, hopefully back soon
ReplyDeleteHe was a reader and it shows...this has inspired me to read more and harder.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone had any sort of ambition and payed attention in high school they would have read most of the books on this list.
ReplyDeleteEven a C average student that went to a community college or state college would have read the rest of those books.
This dood was of slightly above average intelligence.
He's dead...
he was very intelligent he achieved more in 25 years than what 99% of people will achieve in there entire life
Deleteyour a fucking idiot you dont know tupac? slightly above average intelligence... huh dumbass your a disrespectful peice of shit 2pac was killed because he was soo smart the illuminati (if ur dumbass knows what that is) killed him because he had 2 much power and because he was going to change the world soo no he was not average... dumbass
DeleteHaha what a fucking idiot , you speak on what you do not know.
Deletewhat the hell are you talking about, im an english major(actually done with that, working on second) and i haven't read alot of this stuff,
ReplyDeleteheard about some of them but havent gotten around to them, ur an idiot, high school? that's a joke, all you read in highschool is catcher in the rye(overrated by the way) and some shakespeare(which isnt read enough), ive been looking for some things to read and im gonna work on this list
I can tell how u act u aint read shit
DeleteMybad that was meant 4 Tha dude above u
Deletelol yeah, I WISH I had been made to read books such as Teachings of the Buddha and the such. That woulda been cool.
ReplyDeleteregend: Many of these books may in fact have been from his high school curriculum (keep in mind he passed away in his mid-twenties)...
1
Illie:
ReplyDeleteI'm glad this list could help. When I found it, I was impressed by many of the titles, and am now interested in checking some out. Notably the Assata Autobiography.
I hope this list encourages people to check out some of the titles.
I
2pac said he will spark d brain that will change d world...ppl watch out
ReplyDeleteprops to the last comment.....i think this list is incredible. he wasnt just some thug on tv, he was an intellectual, a human being searching for purpose and meaning, like the rest of us. im reading watts' wisdom of insecurity---its wonderful. i mean that literally...full of wonder. my respect for tupac has gone up immensely after seein the canon he read. props on the find...do yourself a favor and check these books out (at least google them!!!!)
ReplyDeletehe was ahead of our time and anything he did was to reveal the truth for us all he ain't dead just press play and he will speak to you trust me since now adays you cant trust someones words but he said it all and done it all what more do u want
ReplyDeleteTOTALLY AGREE
DeleteThe truth to all of the comments that post! A number of these books i have also had the opportunity to read myself. As a child my parents the best education in the world is the one of self! It hurt so much loosing a gifted artist such as 2 Pac & to touch on one of the statements made 2Pac was once that thug but after his on going experience of prison it gave him the opportunity to self educate his self by means of reading a number of books that will have soon inhance is education into the real world. If you noticed 2Pac music did a dramatic change from the thug to almost being a teacher. At 1 time his message was to put away the guns the drugs the hustle and etc. he went on to the illiumanti and begining to question the goverments authority and so on.. Thats when he became so much of a problem in our Goverments is. 2 Pacs message was deep even deeper than some may think and he exposed the Goverment. Being that we all have the freedom of speech he became a major threat because of his following and the millions of people that would listen to him. Its deep man
ReplyDeleteU right about that
Deletetupac didnt read these in high school he had a choice to read these and he did and if u listen to the lyrics of his music reading these realy payed off
ReplyDeletepac did not read most of these at school, the ones he read at school were probaly 1984
ReplyDeleteWritten by: George Orwell, roots, and malcom x, but 95% he read after, come on man what school teaches Bhagavad-Gita As It Is???????
tupac wat could i say about this man was he good or was he evil , did he really wanna help the world or did he really wanna expose for wat it was and bring it down to its lowest level..
ReplyDeleteabove average intellige ? yes maybe soo anyone can be above average if they hav it in them , but my point is , these books he read are clearly military mind set sum of them he fought the system and that's why he's dead , good!!!
ReplyDeleteYOUR NORMAL PROBABLY TRENDY TOO HERES MY POINT ANYONE WHO MAKES A LOW COMMENT LIKE THAT IS LOW THEMSELVES. HOPE U HAVE A LONG LIFE !!!
Deleteget tortured.
DeleteHow are you happy because he is dead you're a straight HATER and the maya angelou books, imitation of Christ etc are military minded alright sounds like you're under average and ignorant (comment above ^)
ReplyDeletethat aint complete list...start watching from around 11:40
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIFmTSCAlMA&list=PL04EB42BC434BCDB5&index=3&feature=plpp_video
all i gotta say about pac is that he sparked my mind
ReplyDeletePac is more than they think he is..they think him to be just a thug..he is far more than that....with all the knowledge he got from reading all these books..he became more intellectual and spiritualy built...
ReplyDeletei started reading books out of curiousity how he faked his so called dead. after reading the prince in 2002 i found out that readin is way more important and cheaper than listening and buying music (it depends what you read or listen).to me it is important what tupac left for us especialy the havenots and what you took from him, not really if he is alive or deceased. people are waiting 2012 years for christ (he will come sooner tahn you think) but what kind of sense does it make watining for pac instead of investing in your own life!! i am now 38 books deep after machiavelli, alce a bailey, malcolm x, george orwell and maya angelou... i got my own booklist including robert greene, dr gabriel oyibo, marcus garvey and the book of balance and harmony. and allso advised litrature by chuck d from public enimy. i understood not only tupac better but the whole world and myself way better by readig good books. i thank myself, pac and JAH the creator..
ReplyDeletepac's hope aawas to leave this place better than when he first entered it. that he xould make a positive impact, to make a positive difference to peoples lives, to see a change for the better. (changes)-(better days). he didnt create this world he was givin it.(keep ya head up). a product of his environment prehaps(rose that grew..) yes he will say he's a thug, but at the end of the day he was still gonna be our child. at 25 pac was ahead of his time.(until the end of time). thankyou noble for when i asked "what was it like to have known pac" , his reply - he was a good person man he really was. those that were close to pac like kastro, edi, big syke, napolean, fatal, etc almost feel guilty just being overwhelmed by his teachings to them, that those who were not as fortunant to have met him missed out because he had so much love to offer for everyone, big frank sayin he had a big heart. napolean- i knew the brotha meant good from the moment he walked through the door. i just qish pac had of lived longer to visit us down under here in australia-word up outlawrecordz australia. oh well you dont know what youve got until its gone. and yes you are appreciated(dear mamma).
ReplyDeletepac martial art of reading the book, Machiavelli belonged to.
ReplyDeleteWhat about "The Prince" by Machiavelli?
ReplyDeleteYEAH WHAT ABOUT MACHIAVELLI !!! I KNOW FOR A FACT HE READ THAT .... OBVIOUSLY... SHOCKING ALOT OF SITES MISSED THAT ONE. THATS NORAMAL THO
ReplyDeletePretty sure he read much more than that, but we will never know now since his mother's death
ReplyDelete