Essential reading for understanding the modern world

[doctor_aquinas]

Edgar Poe, "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt."
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (pay especial attention to Laputa and the Academy).
José Ortega y Gasset, The Revolt of the Masses.
Edmund Burke, "Reflections on The Revolution in France."
C. S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength.
Jacques Barzun, From Dawn to Decadence.