There are many such lists on the web, and more than a few with which I'd argue.  Here's my version, whether just favorites or enduring classics:

History of the English Speaking Peoples - Winston Churchill

       The statesman takes the reader from prehistoric Britain through the American Civil War to the mid-twentieth century. 

The Zimmerman Telegram - Barbara Tuchman

       From treaty obligations to bungling mistakes, many circumstances combined to create the disastrous World War One conflict.  Part spy story, part Keystone Cops farce, it's amazing that a movie hasn't been made from this author's perspective.   The closest thing to it yet realized would be the script from the excellent film "Tora Tora Tora".

History of the Decline And Fall of the Roman Empire - Edward Gibbon

       Later scholarship may quibble but the poetry and general accuracy of this work endure to the present.

The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster

       An allegory for adults as well as children, Milo helps rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason from the Mountains of Ignorance.

Don't Shoot, It's Only Me - Bob Hope

       Entertainer to the troops, Hope is the best man to ask about things like how to keep your performance suit from molding overnight in the tropics (put a dehumidifier in a sealed closet).

West With The Night - Beryl Markham

       The book Hemingway praised when he would praise no other, at least from a living author, this autobiography was written not long after Markham became famous as the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo from east to west.  This was an important aviation record since it required pilot and machine to fight the prevailing winds; she crashed in Newfoundland but made it.  The surprise is that the book also contains her earlier story as a champion horsebreeder in British East Africa, revealing accomplishments unknown to the public.

The Splendid Outcast - Beryl Markham

       A collection of magazine articles by Markham that establishes her credentials as a writer, countering authenticity challenges about the above bestseller.

The Sword And The Shield - Vasili Mitrokihn

       Christopher Andrew helped Mitrokihn tell the story of how he smuggled KGB notes to England in the early 1990's, then reveals much of how that organization functioned prior to the fall of the Soviets.

The Jackie Gleason Story - Jim Bacon

       The inside story from a sportswriter friend of Gleason's.  Many direct quotes (non-ghost-written) abound, and Bacon describes the way this entertainer foreshadowed later greats like Dean Martin and Al Pacino: he could think like the camera.  He could envision a set not only from his own position, but from that of the camera's too.  He thought ahead of a run-through to that which the audience would see.

The Bridge At Andau - James Michener

       The Hungarian revolt of 1956 threw Budapest into confusion, but the Andau bridge offered escape to Austria.  Michener was living in Austria at the time and met many of the refugees as they came across. 

The Way The Future Was - Fred Pohl

       The science fiction publishing industry was created by a very few people in the 1930's pulp era; this writer was one of them and was the first literary agent to represent Isaac Asimov.

Homage To Catalonia - George Orwell

       Orwell was a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930's on the loyalist side opposing Franco, and in addition to combat saw the pro-Soviet groups defeat themselves from the inside. 

Costigan's Needle - Jerry Sohl

       An interdimensional transport device malfunctions and sucks a hundred people into its field, depositing them at a Robinson-Crusoe-like location with no apparent way home.

Why Sinatra Matters - Pete Hamill

       Those too young to remember the 40's big band context will benefit from analysis like Hamill's; he addresses Sinatra's timing in U.S. entertainment history as well as his connection to the style of the old country.

Philosophy: Who Needs It - Ayn Rand

       The writer contends that philosophy has deservedly fallen out of favor due to recent mistakes, and should reclaim its rightful place as wheelhouse of the ship of knowledge. 

All My Best Friends - George Burns

       From Dean Martin to Phil Silvers, from Phyllis Diller to Bing Crosby, Burns flew with the eagles.  Great anecdotes from the great years.

Secret Sea - Robb White

       A B-movie screenwriter produced an A-list thriller.  Difficult to find but a rewarding sailing yarn set in the (1950's) present day.  I recall it as having been that rare juvenile novel that doesn't demean teenagers; the emphasis is on the actions of adults.

Yes I Can - Sammy Davis, Jr.

       Davis did in one life what most would need three or more to accomplish.  And his talent was probably unrepeatable.

Patton On Leadership - Alan Axelrod

       The famous General officer was unfamously not in command of troops for most of his career, usually teaching cadets and flying a desk.   From his lessons come surprisingly sober bits of advice for those in the predicament of responsibility for others' actions.

Lord Valentine's Castle - Robert Silverberg

       A member of a planet's royal family is snatched from the castle and thought dead, but survives.   As a penniless laborer, he regains memory and with knowledge of the inner workings of local and regional government, devises a plan to return to power and discover who the usurper is.   Silverberg's best creation in my experience of not just story, but entire environment.

Architects of Fortune - Elaine Hochman

       Master builder Ludwig Mies van der Rohe got the commission for the National Pavilion of Germany in 1929 at the Barcelona world exposition, plus he headed the famous Bauhaus school of design for the last three years of its existence.   The Nazis might have ended his career and life at that point, but he escaped to the US and to a second career.   The questions raised by the escape period (and there are many) are pursued broadly for the first time by Hochman. 

Snakes And Ladders - Dirk Bogarde

       Like Sinatra, Bogarde survived a teen idol period in the 1950's to rise to greater acting heights.  But his writing is almost unknown - and this is difficult to fathom, since he knew almost everybody.   From Rex Harrison to Garland to David Niven to Lilly Palmer, dozens of mid-century big names in acting were houseguests of Bogarde's during some big shoot or other in England.  His memoirs run to almost a dozen volumes, all great experiences for me so far.

How To Be Rich - J. Paul Getty

       Acquisition is not the point in Getty's book.   To BE rich involves more than account sums or department promotions.   One must not just have a job, but discover one's proper purpose.  

The Ominous Parallels - Leonard Piekoff

       Germany in the 1930's developed in disastrous directions, altering the course of history as most everyone knows.   But this book contends that the seeds of those directions were apparently innocent.   Such notions as self-denial, the command economy and the assignment of suspicious motives to some unpopular group were common in all developed nations of the day and had been for generations.   Piekoff worries that such problems, not properly identified, could rise again with the same results.

The MAD World Of William M. Gaines - Frank Jacobs

       From his lack of fear in the face of the Comics Code Authority of the 1950's (a censorship board) to his formation of "The Usual Gang Of Idiots" (an all-star writers' group),  the story of the publisher of MAD Magazine must be studied by anybody interested in the very tricky business of comedy.   Of course, the story of his magazine is the story of old New York, of old Hollywood and Broadway and of the upbeat mid-20th-century attitude of this country.

The Mysterious Island - Jules Verne

       Verne's entry in the 'Robinson Crusoe' sweepstakes, this is a castaway story with a difference.  Showing how one could survive with modern knowledge in almost prehistoric conditions, it follows a hot-air balloon crew blasted into the south Pacific ocean by a hurricane and beyond hope of rescue.

Leaves From A Grass House - Don Blanding

       A forgotten poet today, Blanding was popular in the 1940's and 50's with hits like "Vagabond's House", and most popular in Hawaii where he lived.  He was an unofficial ambassador for the area and due to the sales of his work in hardback in the states, could have contributed to the area's income and even statehood (I'd have to research that).

Foundation and Empire - Isaac Asimov

       The second volume of the original Foundation trilogy, this is the one introducing the character called "The Mule" (continuing into the first section of Second Foundation).   The Mule and figures around him constitute probably the best job Asimov ever did in characterization - the difficult job of both constructing interesting characters and then having them interact in believeable and consistent ways.

From Socrates to Sartre - Thelma Lavine

       This one-volume history of western philosophy is one of the least painful I've found so far (for reference if not complete correctness in my view).  It gives short and balanced overviews of the biggest names from between the lifetimes of the two named figures in the title.   It's been so convenient to me that I keep extra copies to give to others.

The Great Pierpont Morgan - Frederick Lewis Allen

       The "robber baron" image is uniformly unfair to those tarred with it, being here a use of a medieval term to describe a free market actor.   This book is best at showing how wrong it was with respect to one person.   Adept in many industries, Morgan is generally remembered for banking.  During that phase of his career, his deals helped prop up several entire countries... including on one occasion, this one.  We could use him (and many thrifty aspects of his era) today. Visit the Morgan Library when in NYC.

also -

WORKS:  Shakespeare, Plato, Aristotle

SERIES: The Harvard Classics

SERIES: The Britannica Great Books