Wow... he's really sounding very jaded. I would've expected more science and human enlightenment books. The Prince? Really?
To be honest, that's his "shtick". He's all sincire and educated when he's in front of a camera, but he gets all "edgy teenager" when he goes anywhere else. Here's some of his tweets: To most reasonable people, all these kind of sound childish. It's not wrong to have these opinions, but as an individual who is known for being an "intellect", it's really immature. However, to all of the "I am enlightened by my own intelligence", this guy is Sagan's gift to man. Looking at his PR record, it's unreasonable to think that he would choose anything but a bunch of stuff to be contrarian about.
What's the issue with The Prince? He's recommending these books on the basis that you view them as a precursor to understanding the history of the western world.
I agree but I understand why he would be. Also these seem to be maybe out of his wheelhouse being literature and fiction.