Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I should post something serious huh?

The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler
Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy
Don't Worry Make Money by Richard Carlson (he passed away too young)
Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children by John Wood

In terms of what tipped me over the vegan scale was "The Ethics of What we Eat: Why our Food Choices matter" by Peter Singer.
I read tons to I can't narrow it down so much but in terms of influential... I read "The Alchemist" by Paolo Coehlo when I was about 13 and it so vindicated the positive life I was trying to lead.

Interesting, abolitionists hate Singer's views and claim that he is retarding the spread of veganism.

Meh, his Animal Liberation is what got me to switch, even though I am no longer a utilitarian vegan...

Hm, really? Why would they make such a claim? (not trying to be argumentative, I actually want to know )

I think he puts forward a really rational and compelling argument as to why people should lessen if not stop their meat consumption. I think what's attractive about it, especially to your every day omnivore, is that it's not preachy, which is an infamous vegan trait that tends to get on most people's nerves! He just lays out facts and says do what you want with this, but the facts hit you so hard, all you CAN do is convert! That's my take on it anyway...

BabyVegan;

You aren't being argumentative. I can't speak for abolitionists so I can't give you a good explanation. My apologies to any abolitionists who think this is way off.

Abolitionists focus on settling for no less than turning people vegan, shutting down all forms of animal exploitation and giving animals legal rights. They see anything short of that, like getting bigger cages or banning some cruel practices as being a cop-out that is ineffective. They call those things, derisively "welfarism".

Abolitionists have many problems with Dr. Singer's ideas, but in general they see his ideas as justifying "welfarism" which in turn weakens the motivation for people to do abolitionist things.

I agree with you. I don't agree with everything Dr. Singer has to say, but he has chains of reasoning backed up with facts for his positions.

The Count of Monte Cristo, The World According to Garp, The Master and Margarita, Les Miserables, Anna Karenina, Gone with the Wind, Daughter of Fortune, Pride and Prejudice.......

I think I might have just listed my favorite books, and not necessarily the ones that have influenced me. I fail!

Take 2:
Becoming Vegan was HUGE for me because of one simple chapter that completely changed my life. It took me from a potential life of misery and illness and into the arms of vegan health.
Vegan with a Vengeance was the first vegan cookbook I got, right after going vegan. It helped me learn to cook and introduced me to a world of yummy vegan food. It kept me from starving, it taught me how to cook...plus, it has a recipe for fucking pumpkin oatmeal cookies. PUMPKIN OATMEAL, PEOPLE.

I have always wanted to read The Sexual Politics of Meat, but have yet to get my hands on it. I wonder if it's in the library....

Carlos Castaneda's books
Chogyam Trungpa's "Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior"

It wasn't until I'd read this list that I realised I've never read a single book on veganism or on animal rights or on spirituality. All my thoughts on these issues come from personal experiences, expanded and altered by conversations and debates. Whaddya know?

Probably the biggest influence on my life was 'Catch 22' - mainly because I read it at fifteen and it blew the doors off my mind. So many things made sense after that. (How's that for irony?)

The work I relate to best would be 'Walden'. Opened the book one day and closed it the next and just kind of nodded and thought to myself, "Yeah, that's just what I was thinking. But... longer and better referenced."

"Eat to Live" by Dr. Furhman...totally changed how I view food

When I was first contemplating veganism, the first cookbook I bought was "Vegan with a Vengeance"...that book has so many great recipes that soon I was hooked and saw how delicious veganism can be. Since then my vegan cookbook collection has grown exponentially, but I still use that one quite a bit.

not the most infuential for me but it definitely changed my attitude towards training and bodybuilding:

Dinosaur Training by Brooks Kubik

uhm i think it is Ishmael by Daniel Quinn... and as far as i can see, it is pretty much recommended by most vegan

Don't Eat This Book written by Morgan Spurlock influenced me the most. This book opened my eyes to the corporate evils of the fast food industry and the history of it. I was not bored while reading it because it doesn't read like a text book. What amazes me is how much of a threat people like Spurlock are to the fast food industry. There was even a counter doc released after "Super Size Me" came out. Great book, I read it 3 years ago and I think I might read it again.

FYI a major fast food company would like to remind everyone that Morgan Spurlock is not a licensed physician lulz

Animals and the Afterlife bu Kim Sheridan

I'm sure the books that will influence me a lot I've not read them yet. I'm sure some books could have a great impact on my life and I will look for some of the books listed in this thread. I've read many books when I was around 18 but then I stopped I don't know why. Many books that I liked but I wouldn't say they changed my life drastically. Books about life, I liked some books by Henry Miller, and "Martin Eden" by Jack London is probably my favorite novel yet. Concerning nutrition and health I liked Herbert Shelton stuff like "Superior Nutrition" and also Douglas Graham's "the 81/10/10 Diet" both these books for the way it criticizes society and medecine and offering a new conception and new standards for health and nutrition.