Gandhi

I read this in my early youth and it had tremendous influence on me. Back then I was far less a cynic then I am today, but I think that even reading this today I would be inspired. I like Gandhi's very plain, straight-forward approach to politics, and I do wish there were more like him - that is, wo-men of values - in my generation.
If read by an someone with some free time on their hands, I would probably recommend reading this alongside George Orwell's short essay on Gandhi's autobiography. It makes for a good (that is, leftist critical) reading companion.

This is quite a long drawn out book but an amazing one nonetheless. It gives insight into Gandhi's thinking that led to the so called gandhian characteristics. There are possibly 2 ways of reading this book - either to read this as a documentation of his eccentricities or otherwise to read it as how personal conviction trumps everything else (even everyone's individual quirks).

Hopefully when you finish reading this book you come away taking with you the ideals of perseverance, ahimsa, the spirit of satyagraha and truth instead of focusing on his experiments with dietetics or religiosity.