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    When someone reads the right book at the right time in his 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 science, technology and politics.

1). That Printer Of Udell's—Ronald Reagan

    One book that had a big effect on former President Ronald Reagan as a child was the Christian-book That Printer of Udell's, by Harold Bell Wright. The main character of the book, Dick Falkner, was born into a broken home with an alcoholic father. After losing both of his parents, Falkner moves to a bigger city, called Boyd City to make a living. However, everyone turns Dick down for a job, except for a printer. At the end of the book, Dick heads to Washington, D. C, to become a politician. It's said that the book showed him that good could defeat evil and that the good guys followed a code of morality, which can be seen as a driving factor in his presidency.

2). A Treatise Of Human Nature—Albert Einstein

    Albert Einstein was one of the greatest minds of all time. His name is synonymous with brilliance. So, what book had the biggest effect on such an important mind? It was A Treatise of Human Nature, by David Hume, which was published in 1738. Hume was a Scottish philosopher known for his contributions to philosophical skepticism(怀疑论). Einstein mentioned a few times that A Treatise of Human Nature had a large influence on him. He read the book just before coming up with his famous special relativity theory. In a letter, Einstein said that Treatise helped him formulate the ideas. It was like he already had the ideas in his brain, and Hume helped him to express them clearly.

3). The Aeneid—Mark Zuckerberg

    When Mark Zuckerberg first added his likes to his Facebook profile, he put the book Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, as a favorite book. Later, in an interview with The New Yorker, Zuckerberg clarified that the sci-fi classic was one he enjoyed, but it wasn't his favorite. He said that his favorite book is The Aeneid, by Virgil, a Latin epic poem that was written somewhere between 29 - 19 BC about a group of Trojan survivors. Zuckerberg said he first read the book when he was in high school while he was studying Latin and that one thing that stuck with him was Aeneas's drive to follow his fate to build a city that “knows no boundaries in time and greatness".

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    A famous study was done in a school by a professor from a university. At the start of the school year, the teachers were given the names of five children. They were told that these five were the most excellent students in the class. But the fact was that these students were only average, and they were not the best students at all. Well, guess what? At the end of the year, all the five average students scored among the highest in the class.

    What made these average students change so much to become top students? The only difference was the change in their teachers' attitude. Because the teachers believed that these five kids were the top students, they expected (期望) more from them. And so these five average students began to believe and expect more from themselves. So they worked harder to do as well as they could.

    Do you know why? If you expect the best from people, they'll usually want to give you their best. A great leader said, “Treat (对待) a person just how he appears to be on the outside, and you'll make him even worse. But treat a person like he's already a success, and you'll help make him the best he can be.”

    Like the true story of 7-year-old Johnny, his teacher got so angry with him that one day she said, “Johnny, you're the naughtiest (最顽皮的) boy in this class. I'm sure you'll never change.” The next year Johnny had a new teacher. And on the first day of class, she met with Johnny after school and said, “Johnny, I've heard a lot about you! But do you know that I don't believe a word of it.” And every day after that, this new teacher treated Johnny as if he was one of the smartest students even when Johnny did naughty things. Later on, Johnny became a school leader. Because that's the power of our belief and attitude toward children.

    The health of millions could be at risk because supplies of medicinal plants are being used up. These plants are used to make traditional medicine, including drugs to fight cancer. “The loss of medicinal plants is a quiet disaster,” says Sara Oldfield, secretary general of the NGO Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

    Most people worldwide rely on herbal (药草制的) medicines which are got mostly from wild plants. But some 15,000 of the 50,000 medicinal species are under threat of dying out, according to report from the international conservation group Plantlife. Shortages have been reported in China, India, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda.

    Over-harvesting does the most harm, though pollution and competition from invasive species (入侵物种) and habitat destruction all contribute. Businessmen generally harvest medicinal plants, not caring about sustainability (可持续性),” the Plantlife report says, “damage is serious partly because they have no idea about it, but it is mainly because such collection is unorganized”. Medicinal trees at risk include the Himalayan yew (紫衫) and the African cherry, which are used to treat some cancers.

    The solution, says the report's author, Alan Hamilton, is to encourage local people to protect these plants. Ten projects studied by Plantlife in India, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Uganda and Kenya showed this method can succeed. In Uganda, the project has kept a sustainable supply of low-cost cancer treatments, and in China a public-run medicinal plant project has been created for the first time.”

    “Improving health, earning an income and keeping cultural traditions are important in encouraging people to protect medicinal plants,” says Hamilton, “You have to pay attention to what people are interested in.”

Ghillean Prance, the former director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, agrees that medicinal plants are in need of protection. “Not nearly enough is being done,” he told New Scientist. “We are destroying the very plants that are of most use to us.”

    Four days after Dad's 67th birthday, he had a heart attack. Luckily, he survived. But something inside him had died. His enthusiasm for life was gone. He refused to follow doctor's orders, and his sour attitude made everyone upset when they visit him. Dad was left alone.

    So I asked Dad to come to live with me on my small farm, hoping the fresh air would help him adjust. Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated. Something had to be done.

    One day I read an article which said when given dogs, depressed patients would be better off. So I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. As soon as I got there, a pointer's eyes caught my attention. They watched me calmly.

    A staff member said: “He got here two weeks ago and we've heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow.”

    I turned to the man in horror. “You mean you're going to kill him?”

    “Ma'am,” he said gently. “We don't have room for every unclaimed dog.”

    The staff member's calm brown eyes awaited my decision. “I'll take him,” I said.

    I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. I was helping it out of the car when Dad walked onto the front porch. “Look what I got you!” I said excitedly.

    Dad wrinkled his face. “I don't want it,” he muttered, turning back towards the house. Then, suddenly, the dog pulled free from my grasp. He sat down in front of my Dad.

    Dad's anger melted, and soon he was hugging the dog.

    This was the beginning of a warm friendship. Dad named the dog Cheyenne. Together they spent long hours walking down dusty lanes and relaxing on the banks of streams.

    Dad's bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne went on to make many friends. Then, late one night two years later, I felt Cheyenne's cold nose burrowing(搜寻) through my bed covers. He had never before come into my bedroom at night. I ran into my father's room and found that he had passed away.

    Two days later, my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad's bed. As I buried him near their favorite stream, I silently thanked the dog for restoring Dad's peace of mind.

    Little black taxis, often run-down and falling apart from decades of use, have for a long time been a main feature of Cairo's chaotic urban landscape. But their days may be numbered, thanks to a new taxi replacement programme aimed at knocking out older, potentially unsafe vehicles.

    The government-sponsored action, launched earlier this year, allows drivers of taxis 20 years or older, mostly Fiats and Peugeots, to trade their cars for shiny new all-white ones at generous rates of financing. Drivers can choose between five different locally manufactured car models.

    According to officials, more than 11,000 brand new taxis, sporting trademark checked stripes on the sides, have already hit the streets of the capital, and they've been welcomed enthusiastically by passengers. Many people say that not only are the new taxis more comfortable, but they also make the streets of Cairo far more presentable. Furthermore, taxi fares have only increased by a small amount.

    The poor condition of most black and white taxis is almost legendary. Passengers often have to deal with windows and doors that do not open and close, and heavy, thick petrol gases. Air conditioning is unheard of. The new all-white taxis, meanwhile, are cleaner, more fuel-efficient and provide air conditioning on request. Furthermore, all the new taxis come equipped with functioning fare meters, which avoids arguments and sometimes fights with passengers!

    The government hopes to replace all of the capital's 40,000 elderly black cabs soon, but not everyone in Cairo will be happy to see them go. Hotel manager Ibrahim Al-Toukhy says that the old black cabs were weak and run-down, and maybe even a little dangerous, but they were part of the city, and part of Cairo's character.

    I became a magician by accident. When I was nine years old, I learned how to make a coin disappear. I'd read The Lord of the Rings and risked coming into the adult section of the library to search for a book of spells (魔法) — nine being that curious age at which you're old enough to work through more than 1, 200 pages of mysterious fantasy literature but young enough to still hold out hope that you might find a book of real, actual magic in the library. The book I found instead taught basic sleight-of-hand (戏法) technique, and I devoted the next months to practice.

    Initially, the magic wasn't any good. At first it wasn't even magic; it was just a trick — a bad trick. I spent hours each day in the bathroom running through the secret moves in front of the mirror. I dropped the coin over and over, a thousand times in a day, and after two weeks of this my mom got a carpet sample from the store and placed it under the mirror to eradicate the sound of the coin falling again and again.

    I had heard my dad work through passages of new music on the piano, so I knew how to practice — slowly, deliberately, going for precision rather than speed. And then I tried the illusion (错觉) in the mirror and an unbelievable scene took place. It did not look like a magic trick. It looked like a miracle. I knew that I had got what I wanted.

    One day I made the performance on the playground. We had been playing football and were standing by the backstop in the field behind the school. A dozen people were watching. I showed the coin to everyone. Then it disappeared. The kids screamed. They yelled, laughed, scrambled away. Everyone went crazy. This was brilliant.