Alan Kay's reading list
It seems I've missed the boat on this discussion, but I wanted to say that I appreciate the context in which the list was created and the choices in that light.  In other words, this list is a thoughtful attempt to educate people of a certain bent via "constrained breath" -- not the greatest term, but the best one that comes to mind.  I've been trying to put together a list in the same spirit for some time aimed at programmers, systems thinkers, etc. with varying degrees of success.  The current list can be described as "books for programming that are not about programming" containing such gems as <i>How Buildings Learn</i>, <i>Pattern Recognition</i>, <i>Living System</i>, <i>Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers</i>, and others.<p>I suspect Dr. kay would have a lot to say about (and perhaps add to) such a list.