The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, Leviathan

Greatest thing I've ever read. It even changed the way I see the world... Though I was pretty young, when I read this for the first time. The hardest part is to finish first half of the first book - it's really hard to follow the story. But once you're in - there is no way to stop reading it. Just keep in mind, that this trilogy is far away from the regular fiction.

This trilogy changed everything about how I view the world. The premise, essentially, is that every conspiracy you've ever heard of - from the Rothschilds to the man on the grassy knoll - are true. The lesson I took away from the books is that since there is no way any of us can personally vet, for trustworthiness, all the governmental agents who wield power over us, we must insist on a government as small and weak as possible.

The first time I read it, I thought someone had slipped me something in my drink. The second time I read it, I thought it was a different book. Everytime I've read it sence then, it's something different. It literally changed the way I perceive the world (along with a bunch of other R.A.W. books). It introduced the Great Doubt. I still come across many things from the book that I previously beleived to be purely fictional constructs. It's not a light read. It's not a short read. But it is an excellent read.