When someone reads the right book at the right time in their life, it can have a profound effect. Such is the case for the people on this list, who come from all walks of life. These people have singled out a book that they read which had a life-changing effect on them. They, in turn, affected the worlds of popular culture, science, technology, and politics.
人的一生中，如果能在对的时间邂逅一本对的书，就会深深地被其影响。就如榜单上即将列举出来的这些人，他们虽来自各行各业，但都有一个共同点--他们都读过那么一本改变了自己生命轨迹的书籍。而他们转而又影响着全球的大众文化、科学、技术和政治。
10.Competing Against Time--Tim Cook
10.《与时间赛跑》与蒂姆·库克
After graduating from college, Tim Cook got into computers when he landed his first job with IBM in 1982. In 1996, he started to work for Apple when they were at the lowest point in their company's history, having lost $1 billion the previous fiscal year. Cook is credited with reorganizing the company's manufacturing operations. He simplified the network of manufacturers and distributors, and he improved Apple's systems to keep better track of inventory. When Apple became one of the most successful companies of all time, Cook was hailed as a brilliant manager with an amazing ability to communicate. After the death of Steve Jobs in 2011, Cook took over as CEO of Apple.
1982年，大学刚毕业的蒂姆·库克在IBM公司开始了他人生中第一份工作，并从此进入计算机行业。1996年，他开始为苹果公司工作，那时，该公司上一财年的损失已达十亿美元，经营情况跌至谷底。库克整改苹果公司的制造业务有功，他简化了制造商和经销商网络，改进了公司的工作机制，以便时时掌握库存情况。当苹果公司成为有史以来最成功的企业时，库克也被誉为具有惊人沟通能力的出色管理者。2011年，史蒂夫·乔布斯逝世，库克便接任了苹果公司首席执行官。
The book that had the greatest effect on Cook, which he is known to hand out to colleagues, is Competing Against Time, by George Stalk Jr. and Thomas M. Hout. The book is about how time management is one of the most important aspects of a company. When a company organizes their time, it cuts down on costs and makes customers happier. Based on ideas from the book, Cook tried to impress upon his employees that it is important to give your customers what they want, when they want it, because if you don't, your competitor will. Cook is described here as opposed to Jobs himself, because Jobs had a lot of books that influenced him, and there isn't a single one to point out. One notable book that Jobs liked was Be Here Now, by Ram Dass. The book was very influential in the hippie movement, and it is about meditation, yoga, and spirituality.
这本对库克产生过巨大影响的书，他曾向同事们分发，那就是由乔治·斯托尔克·Jr和托马斯·M·豪特合著的《与时间赛跑》。这本书说的是时间管理对企业的重要性。一个公司能管理好它的时间，就能降低成本，使顾客更觉愉悦。基于书中的观点，库克试图让其员工牢记这样一种理念：想顾客之所想，急顾客之所急，解顾客之所需是最重要的，因为倘若我们不这样做，我们的对手就会这样做了。在读书这方面，库克和乔布斯迥然不同。因为对乔布斯而言，很多本书都影响到了他，很难挑出对其影响特别巨大的一本。但他喜欢的书中也有一本值得一提，那就是拉姆·达斯 的《活在当下》。这本书的内容有关于冥想、瑜伽和灵修，在嬉皮士运动中很有影响力。
9.The Little Prince--James Dean
9.《小王子》与詹姆斯·迪恩
During James Dean's short life, he made just three films. All of them are considered classics, and he was posthumously nominated for two Academy Awards. His brief flash of stardom still shines today, 60 years after dying in a tragic car accident at the age of 24, on September 30, 1955.
詹姆斯·迪恩在其短暂的一生中，仅仅拍摄了三部电影。可这三部电影都被誉为经典之作，他死后两次被提名奥斯卡奖。1955年9月30日，他死于一场悲惨的车祸，即便六十年后的今天，他那转瞬即逝的明星光华仍然绚烂夺目。
Dean's favorite book was one that he read in high school, which was the classic and beloved novella The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Published in 1943, The Little Prince is narrated by a pilot who crashes in the Sahara Desert. As he is fixing his plane, a little blond boy, the titular little prince, approaches him and asks for help with drawing a sheep. After they become friends, the prince tells the pilot that he came from a tiny planet called Asteroid 325. He left his planet because he got lonely. As he talks to the pilot, he explains that on his journey, he encountered grown-ups for the first time, and he was not impressed with the attitudes of the people he met. The Little Prince, which the author said is "a book for children that is written for adults," is about disillusionment with adult life and the dangers of being narrow-minded. One of the main messages is that it is important to keep an open mind and always be curious. Dean deeply identified with the book and took it with him any time he moved. The book was so important to Dean that his good friend, biographer, and possible lover, William Bast, wrote about it in an inscription on Dean's memorial near his crash site. The inscription starts off with Dean's favorite line from the book, "What is essential is invisible to the eye." It is then followed by Bast's explanation, "This quotation from Jean Antoine de Saint Exupery's 'The Little Prince' was probably James Dean's favorite. It seemed to hold a deep and private significance for him, and he read it often especially with those he loved."
迪恩最深爱的书是他高中时看的一本很流行的经典短篇小说--安东尼·德·圣·埃克苏佩里所著的《小王子》。这本书于1943年出版，一位在撒哈拉沙漠坠机的飞行员将这故事娓娓道来。他在修理飞机的时，一个金发小男孩，也就是小王子，向他走来，并请他帮自己画一只羊。他们俩成为朋友后，小王子告诉飞行员他来自325号 小行星。因为孤单，他离开了家。小王子告诉飞行员说，这次旅途中，他第一次遇见大人，但之前遇见的人都以何种态度处世，他都已经印象淡漠了。《小王子》一书折射出作者对成人世界的失望以及对心胸变得狭隘的警惕，他说"这是一本儿童读物，但它为成人而写"。本书的主旨之一就是强调不抱成见和永葆好奇十分重要。迪恩非常喜欢这本书，并将它随身携带。这本书对迪恩如此重要，以至于他的好友，即迪恩的传记作者、他传说中的爱人--威廉·巴斯特将它刻在了他车祸现场附近的纪念碑上。碑文以此书中迪恩最喜欢的句子开头："眼睛看不见事物的本质，用心去看才看得清楚。"紧跟其后的便是巴斯特的解释："这句话取自迪恩生前最爱、圣埃克苏佩里所著的《小王子》一书。它对迪恩似乎有着深沉而隐秘的含义，他经常读这句话，特别是在那些他爱的人面前。"
8.The Remains Of The Day--Jeff Bezos
8.《长日留痕》与杰夫·贝佐斯
Amazon got its start in 1995 when its founder, Jeff Bezos, left his job as vice president of a Wall Street firm and moved to Seattle to focus on building the business. Originally, Amazon started as an online bookseller and has since grown to be the biggest marketplace on the Internet.
亚马逊创办于1995年。那时，它的创始人杰夫·贝佐斯辞去华尔街一家公司的副总裁职务，搬到西雅图全心全意打造自己的事业。起初，亚马逊只是一家网上书店，而今却发展成为最大的网上商城。
Bezos obviously saw the value in books, so he was asked what was the most influential book he's ever read. Perhaps, because of Amazon's success and corporate culture, one might think that it would be some business book. Instead, it is the Man Booker Award–winning Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro. The 1989 novel is told from the point of view of an English butler named Mr. Stevens, who tells the story though his diary and everyday events. The plot revolves around his work and his undying love for a housekeeper who used to work at the manor with him. Bezos said he loved the book because he thought it was impossibly perfect. He did not know someone could actually write something like that. When he was asked if he saw any parallels between his work with Amazon and the book, he said, "What we're doing here is unusual but nowhere in the same league as impossible."
显然，贝佐斯看到了书的价值，而他也曾被问到读过的对自身最有影响力的书是哪一本。也许，由于亚马逊的成功和企业文化，有人可能会认为那一定是某本商业书籍。然而，它是布克奖的获奖作品--石黑一雄所著的《长日留痕》。这本于1989年获奖的小说从一位英国管家--史蒂文斯先生的视角来写，他向我们讲述自己日记和日常事务中的故事。剧情围绕着他的工作以及他对曾一起共事的女管家不朽的爱展开。贝佐斯说，他喜欢这本书就因为它完美到不可想象，他从不曾想过一个人居然可以写出这样精彩的故事。有人问他，他是否看到了这本书与自己为亚马逊所做努力之间的相似之处，他说，"我们正在做的事情非同寻常，但在行业内却绝对可以实现"。
7.The Alchemist--Will Smith, Madonna, And Pharrell Williams
7.《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》与威尔·史密斯、麦当娜和法瑞尔·威廉姆斯
Besides being some of the highest-charting musicians of the past three decades, Will Smith, Madonna, and Pharrell Williams all share a deep love for the same book, and they all credit it with changing their lives. That book is the beloved novel The Alchemist, by Brazilian-born Paulo Coelho.
威尔·史密斯、麦当娜和法瑞尔·威廉姆斯三位不仅都是过去三十年专辑销量最高的歌手，他们还都深爱着同一本书，并相信它改变他们的生活。这本书就是倍受青睐的小说--巴西作家保罗·科埃略所著的《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》。
The mega-bestselling novel follows a young Spanish boy named Santiago. Santiago has a prophetic dream and feels that he needs to travel to Egypt. Before he leaves, he learns about something called the Personal Legend. The Personal Legend is what a person has always wanted to do with their life. It is an innate feeling and children talk openly about it. In the book, it also says that when you try to follow your Personal Legend, the universe will actually work in your favor and rise up to meet you. If you follow your Personal Legend, you can even achieve the impossible, like alchemy, which is turning lead into gold. In an interview, Will Smith talked passionately about the book and how he dedicates his life to show people that the impossible is possible if you just try. He wants his life to represent possibilities, and he even considers himself a metaphorical alchemist. As for Pharrell Williams, he said the book was like an epiphany to him. He was able to look back at his life, and he realized that he was so thankful for everyone who helped him get to that point in his Personal Legend. Oprah, who is also a fan of the book, said that Madonna told her about it in 1996, and Madonna said it changed her life.
这本超级畅销的小说讲述的是年轻的西班牙男孩圣地亚哥的故事。圣地亚哥做了一个梦，梦中预言金字塔附近藏有宝藏，他便心怀触动，觉得自己需要前往埃及。离开之前，他终于懂得了"个人传奇"的真谛。"个人传奇"是一种心灵的召唤，是一个人一生中一直想去做的事情。这是一种与生俱来的感觉，孩子们总是大大方方谈论它。这本书还说你在努力追寻属于自己的传奇时，整个宇宙的力量都会为你所用，并最终帮助你实现愿望。你甚至可以变不可能为可能，就像炼金术，能将铅炼化为黄金。在一次采访中，威尔·史密斯满怀激情地谈论这本书以及他如何努力过好自己的生活，他想向人们传达这样一种理念：只要你勇于尝试，所谓的不可能就会成为可能。他希望自己的生命有着无限可能，他甚至自喻为炼金术士。对法瑞尔·威廉姆斯来说，这本书醍醐灌顶，让他灵台清明，让他能够回顾自己的生活，并意识到他应对那些帮助他书写自己传奇的人心怀感激。奥普拉也是这本书的粉丝，她说这是麦当娜1996年时推荐给她的，麦当娜还说这本书改变了她的生活。
6.《艾玛》与J.K.罗琳
In the modern era of technological advance, J.K. Rowling did the impossible and got millions of children to read books. Even more amazingly, in addition to getting many kids to read something, her books have also transcended the borders of children's literature and are beloved by people of all ages.
在科技如此发达的今天，J.K.罗琳能让数百万儿童重新拿起纸质书阅读，她简直逆天了。更令人惊讶的是，她的作品更越过了儿童文学的边界，获得各年龄段人们的青睐。
The book that influenced Rowling the most is her favorite book by her favorite author: Emma, by Jane Austen. Emma, which was published in 1815, is a comedy of manners about a young, pretty, rich, and clever woman named Emma Woodhouse. Emma is single and has no desire to marry but likes to get involved with other people's love lives. Rowling said that what always impressed her is the mystery at the heart of the novel involving two of the characters, Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax, who have been secretly engaged for the whole story. Rowling said that no matter what she wrote, she would never be able to write a mystery as good as the one in Emma. She also said that she loved the book because of how well-developed the character of Emma is and how much she identifies with her.
对罗琳影响最大的一本书，是她最喜欢的作家--简·奥斯汀所著的《爱玛》。这本书出版于1815年，是一部风尚喜剧，讲述的是一位年轻、漂亮、富有又聪明的女子的故事。她名叫爱玛·伍德豪斯，是一位单身女性，没有结婚的欲望，却喜欢参与别人的感情生活。罗琳说这本小说令她印象深刻的是有关其中心主题的一个秘密，这一秘密涉及到弗兰克·丘吉尔和简·费尔法克斯两个角色，故事中的他们秘密订婚了。罗琳说，无论她怎么努力，永远也无法写出像《爱玛》中的那个秘密一样精彩又悬念迭起的剧情。她还表示，她喜欢这本书是因为爱玛的角色十分丰满，自己也十分认同这一角色。
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