Responding to a reading list request at World Changing, here are 5 books that have been significant in shaping my worldview ("and how we can change it to be more sustainably prosperous, fair and free"), in no order:

• Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (facing up to life's challenges stoically, bravely, without regard for one's size, power, cunning, etc.)
• Guns, Germs, and Steel, J. Diamond (for the strength of his analysis as well as his conclusions)
• Web of Life, F. Capra (understanding the non-linearity / connectedness of the world)
• Hidden Words, Bahá'u'lláh (aphorisms that teach us how to be in relation to the Divine, to ourselves, and to the external world
• Sand County Almanac, A. Leopold (recognizing the simple beauty, diversity, and relationships suffusing all aspects of life).

The last was a tossup between Sand County Almanac and a book called Laboratory Earth, but I decided that Sand County is more important for others to read than Laboratory, so Leopold wins — even though I'm only half way through the book. Also nearly making my list, but not quite fitting the specific request ("sustainably prosperous" part), was Bahá'u'llá's Kitáb'i'Aqdas.

What books would you choose? Post them in a comment below! And don't worry about the "sustainable" part, just focus on the books significant in shaping your worldview...