That's a very broad question, so I read your comments to get a feel from where you might be coming from and/or going to and where you and I might overlap:

* Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Antifragile, things that gain from disorder http://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Disorder-Incer...

* Jared Diamond. The World until yesterday, what can we learn from traditional societies http://www.amazon.com/World-Until-Yesterday-Traditional-Soci...

* Frans de Waal. The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates http://www.amazon.com/Bonobo-Atheist-Search-Humanism-Primate...

* John Higgs. The KLF: Chaos, Magic... http://www.amazon.com/KLF-Chaos-Magic-Music-Money-ebook/dp/B...

* Joseph Jaworski. Synchronicity, the inner Path of leadership http://www.amazon.com/Synchronicity-The-Inner-Path-Leadershi...

* Piero Ferrucci. Your Inner Will, finding personal strength in critical times http://www.amazon.com/Your-Inner-Will-Personal-Strength/dp/0...

* William Irvine. A Guide to the good life, the ancient art of stoic joy http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Good-Life-Ancient-Stoic/dp/01953...

* Chogyam Trungpa. Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior http://www.amazon.com/Shambhala-Sacred-Warrior-Chogyam-Trung...

* Tomas Malik. Patience with God: The Story of Zacchaeus Continuing In Us http://www.amazon.com/Patience-God-Story-Zacchaeus-Continuin...

* Nick Winter. The Motivation Hacker http://www.amazon.com/Motivation-Hacker-Nick-Winter/dp/09892...

* Chas Emerick, Brian Carper, Christophe Grad. Clojure Programming http://www.amazon.com/Clojure-Programming-Chas-Emerick/dp/14...

Fiction:

* Peter Hamilton - The Reality Dysfunction

* Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon (his other hit: Snow Crash is surprisingly more history then SF now...)

The one that has an O'reilly book with a bird on it?

http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920001416.do

http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920013754.do

"Amazon has been threatening publishers that if they choose no drm, their books won't benefit from text-to-speech, and various other possibilities of the kindle, including future compatility!"

Sorry, that is not correct.

I've got several indie books on Amazon, none with DRM, and Amazon has never "threatened" me with anything. It's a checkbox in the publishing portal. All of them have text to speech enabled.

Here's a link to an O'Reilly book (not one of mine). Check for yourself that "simultaneous device usage" is "unlimited" (i.e., no DRM) and that "text-to-speech" is "enabled".

http://www.amazon.com/Clojure-Programming-Chas-Emerick-ebook...

It's from Clojure Programming by Chas Emerick, Brian Carper, Christophe Grand - http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920013754.do

The "Clojure Programming"[1] book is good. Also "The Joy of Clojure"[2], to ease you into the philosophy/mindset of Clojure.

There's also http://www.braveclojure.com which is still a work in progress but it's good for diving in.

[1]: http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920013754.do [2]: http://joyofclojure.com

I suggest buying the books. They are excellent. If you have to pick two, I would suggest the O'Reilly book[0] and the Joy of Clojure[1]. The first is an excellent primer and the latter is really great at explaining the thinking behind the language. I also enjoyed Amit Rahore's Clojure in Action, as well as Programming Clojure by Stuart Halloway. I haven't read Practical Clojure.

The books are the best resources if you're trying to learn the language at a fast pace, but there is plenty of information to be found through Google as well. In the end the best way to learn is by doing.

Good luck and welcome to the Clojure community!

0: http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920013754.do

1: http://joyofclojure.com/

1. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, by James W. Loewen

http://www.amazon.com/Lies-My-Teacher-Told-Everything/dp/074...

2. Clojure Programming, by Chas Emerick

http://www.amazon.com/Clojure-Programming-Chas-Emerick/dp/14...

3. Zorba the Greek, by Nikos Kazantzakis

http://www.amazon.com/Zorba-Greek-Nikos-Kazantzakis/dp/06848...

Andrew mentioned The Joy of Clojure (http://www.amazon.com/The-Joy-Clojure-Thinking-Way/dp/193518...) and Clojure Programming (http://www.amazon.com/Clojure-Programming-Chas-Emerick/dp/14...). Both books are good, and each has its strong points.

The Joy of Clojure goes into to Clojure philosophy and explains the "Why?" of Clojure. Clojure Programming is divided into five parts, and parts III and IV provide a good overview of how to set up your environment and structure projects.

But the best book for learning the language is Programming Clojure (http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Clojure-Stuart-Halloway/dp...) by Stu Halloway. Stu works alongside Rich and understands Clojure at a deep level, but he's still in tune to the beginner's mind and is able to clearly explain concepts and provide the context you need for the ideas to resonate.

Seriously, another sale? My poor wallet... I'm going to pick up Clojure Programming (http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920013754.do) after hearing so many good things about it.