Nat Eliason
Book Notes & Reviews
I've taken notes from, or at least reviewed, almost every book I've read over the last ten years. If you're looking for a great next read or want to see what I loved (or hated) you might find something here.
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Armor - John Steakley
Fiction, Science Fiction
Highly recommend. A thrilling story about a man fighting aliens in power armor, and a space pirate sabotaging a military base.
Finite and Infinite Games - James Carse
Philosophy
It’s an oddly written, extremely concise, very thought-provoking book. It definitely needs to be re-read 2-3 times. Make sure you’re thinking on the plane of infinite play.
The Analects of Confucius -
Philosophy
A fantastic dialogue-style record of Confucius's wisdom. Very readable and approachable, and relevant for life today.
Metaphors We Live By - George Lakoff and Mark Johnson
Philosophy
A wonderful book that will show you how deeply language influences our interpretation of the world around us.
12 Rules for Life - Jordan Peterson
Philosophy, Psychology, Self-help
Fantastic, it’s everything you expect from Peterson and more. Billed as a “self-help” style book, it beautifully interweaves history, religion, science, and philosophy into a highly pragmatic book on how to be a fulfilled, successful, better human being.
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
Fiction
The wonderful thing about a story like The Alchemist is that it’s packed with bits of wisdom you can believe from the story, but also validate through research. Finding meaning in life, spinning bad situations to their positives, learning through action, downsides of fearing failure, perceptions shaping reality, appreciating what you have.
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
Fiction
A novel that completely changed how I thought about the world the first time I read it. The characters are a little flat, true, but it's a highly motivating look at what can happen when we stop appreciating our own and others' ability to change the world.
Design Your Work: Praxis Vol. 1 - Tiago Forte
Productivity
Some of the best writing on productivity and knowledge management that I’ve found. Definitely worth reading through, and since it’s a series of essays you can easily jump around if any of them doesn’t speak to you.
Made to Stick - Chip and Dan Heath
Marketing
The best book I’ve found on crafting a compelling message. Useful for speaking, marketing, writing, any time you need to make people listen, believe, and act.
Models - Mark Manson
Masculinity
The best book I’ve seen on attraction and dating strategy. It’s not about being scummy and pickup-y, rather focusing on becoming a more attractive, honest person, and getting over the insecurities that get in most guys’ way. Highly recommend it, as do most of my friends who have read a few dating books.
Money Master the Game - Tony Robbins
Finance
Particularly useful is the “goal setting” so you know how much money you’re really shooting for.
Obviously Awesome - April Dunford
Marketing
This was a really useful toolkit for thinking about branding or rebranding your product. It helped a lot with putting together the new web copy for my agency, Growth Machine.
Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari
History
Fantastic history of humankind! Read it! Very interesting, you’ll learn about history, psychology, economics, it’s many lessons rolled into one compelling narrative.
Elements of Fiction Writing: Scene and Structure -
Writing
Fantastic book on core elements of good storytelling. Highly recommend it for non-fiction writers too.
Works and Days - Hesiod
Philosophy
Fun old book on work and wealth building, like a 2500 year old business book.
The Odyssey - Homer
Fiction
Honestly a fun, good story, that highlights the storytelling abilities of Homer and ancient poetry. Worth the read. Much better than The Iliad.
The Iliad - Homer
Fiction
The story of Achilles's wrath during the battle of Troy. It lags for long parts but is interesting to read for the historical value.
Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace
Fiction, Literature
It's incredibly written, deeply complex, confusing as hell, and you'll probably throw it at the wall when it's done. But then you'll kinda go "okay... I'm glad I did that" and maybe start it again.
The 50th Law - Robert Greene
Strategy, Leadership, History
Fantastic, one of Robert Greene’s best. The idea of fearlessness is essential for individual success outside of a traditional path, and even within it. If you can master fearlessness and take control of your own destiny, there is no limit on what you can accomplish.
Different - Youngme Moon
Marketing
The message of this book is HUGE! Do NOT try to make sure your weaknesses are up to par as everyone else, love your weaknesses and accentuate your strengths. Be DIFFERENT! Porsche does not make cheap cars. Robert Greene does not write easy books. Nassim Taleb is not polite. Be Different (and better) to stand out and succeed.
Getting to Yes - Robert Fisher
Communication
The best book on negotiation and effective argumentation. Useful even if you’re not in business, since in some form, you’re always negotiating.
The Sovereign Individual - Davidson and Rees-Mogg
Technology
One of those few books where you see the world differently after reading it. The next couple decades of technological advancements will give us unprecedented ability to live in ways that would have been unthinkable 30 years ago. This book outlines how tech will change the ways we live, especially relative to countries, and how we can take advantage of it.
What Every Body is Saying - Joe Navarro
Communication
Extremely useful for learning to interpret other people’s body language. One of the best books on the subject. After you read it you’ll be noticing these little cues everywhere–it’ll be impossible to unsee them.
End the Fed - Ron Paul
Politics
It's a book by a politician, about what you expect. Some interesting tid bits on the history of the Fed but you could get it from Wikipedia.
Turning Pro - Stephen Pressfield
Business
A good kick in the ass to focus on the work that matters, and stop being an amateur.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - Thomas Kuhn
Science
The beginning and end are fantastic for getting a better grip on how science is done, and understanding how it moves in cycles more than linear progress. The middle dragged a bit.
The Dictator's Handbook -
Politics
An excellent book on political incentives. It will make you see politics and politicians in a whole new light, similar to the effect from reading 48 Laws of Power.
Escape From Freedom - Erich Fromm
Philosophy
An excellent work of philosophy exploring our underlying anxiety caused by the ultimate freedom afforded to us by modern living, and our desire to escape that freedom for a more comfortable life.
A Random Walk Down Wall Street -
Finance
A fine intro to investing if you think you can reliably beat the market or that active trading is a good use of energy. If you're already bought in on index funds though, you won't find much here.
The Revolt of the Elites -
Politics
Enjoyed the first 1/3 which discussed our general failure to communicate effectively in our democracy. But it kinda dragged after that, got much less out of the last 2/3.
Count Down - Shanna H. Swan and Stacey Colino
Science
The most important highlights and takeaways from the book Count Down by Shanna H. Swan and Stacey Colino.
Mastering the Market Cycle - Howard Marks
Finance
A good book on trying to get a sense of where you are in the broad cycles of the market. Skip to the last chapter and read that, then go forward for the parts you wanna go deeper on.
Die With Zero -
Finance
Fantastic core idea around not wasting more time working to accumulate resources you'll never use. You can probably skim it. Rating reflects the quality of the core idea.
Breath - James Nestor
Mindfulness-meditation
A fantastic primer on how important the way you breathe is, must read for anyone.
The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel
Finance
The most important highlights and takeaways from the book The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel.
The Rise of the Creative Class - Richard Florida
Learning
The most important highlights and takeaways from The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida.
Antifragile - Nassim Taleb
Philosophy
The book that’s had one of the greatest influences on my thinking. If you enjoy the content on this site, you’ll love Antifragile.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant - Eric Jorgenson, Jack Butcher, and Tim Ferriss
Philosophy
The most important highlights and takeaways from the book The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson, Jack Butcher, and Tim Ferriss.
The 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene
Strategy, Leadership, History
Fantastic stories broadly applicable to success in life, though a bit overwhelming in scope and heavy to work through. That said, it was banned from US prisons for a reason.
Food of the Gods - Terence McKenna
Psychology
A really interesting look at the history of our relationship with psychedelics, and how we might rekindle some of that communication with nature.
Sacred Cow - Diana Rodgers and Robb Wolf
Science
A densely packed book of information on meat and health, ethics, and the environment. Great if you're already bought in to the benefits of meat and want some data, but I think it'd have a hard time convincing a skeptic. I'm also having a hard time verifying some of their claims, so it warrants further research.
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat - Samin Nosrat
Health
Such an incredible book on becoming a better chef, with little tricks and methods I use almost every day now. Plus the recipes in the back are delicious!
Scale - Geoffrey West
Science
A fascinating wide-ranging book combining insights from various disciplines into how things grow, how they change as they grow, and what we can infer about life, cities, and businesses.
The Art of Fermentation - Sandor Ellix Katz
Health
A fantastic intro to fermentation that helped me get started making some sauerkraut, kombucha, fermented chili peppers, and a lot more.
Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! - Greg Crabtree
Finance
A good book on basic accounting for businesses doing less than $10M a year. It helped me make a simple spreadsheet for planning Growth Machine hiring which I appreciated a lot.
Civilized to Death - Christopher Ryan
Philosophy
A fine book on the decline of quality of life as a result of civilization, felt a little heavy handed at times though and I felt like I already knew most of it.
The Logic of Collective Action - Mancur Olson
Management
Some interesting ideas on how we work in groups, but I didn't get that much out of it.
The Power Broker - Robert A. Caro
Biography
An incredible biography of Robert Moses. It can be a little slow and dense at times, but it's worth pushing through for the full story.
Red Notice - Bill Browder
Finance
A fantastic real-life thriller of one banker taking on the Russian government. Really hope Browder doesn't end up having an "accident" from all this 😬.
Never Split the Difference - Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
Communication
The most useful book on negotiation I've read, filled with great stories and examples to help carry you through the methods.
The Dark Forest - Cixin Liu
Fiction
The phenomenal second part of the Three Body trilogy. Highly highly recommend.
Building a Story Brand - Donald Miller
Marketing
A good guide to aligning your branding with the hero’s journey. I liked it as I was reading it, but when I went through after I found it less applicable than “Obviously Awesome.”
Built to Sell - John Warrillow
Entrepreneurship
Similar to “The Goal,” this book has some useful lessons wrapped up in an easy to breeze through story. Kinda basic stuff, but there are good general concepts for thinking about creating a business vs. a job.
Energy and Civilization - Vaclav Smil
History
I learned a ton from this book both about history and how energy has influenced our development as a society. It’s very dry at parts so you might have to push through, but you’ll come out on the other end with a new lens of thinking about energy and civilization.
Let My People Go Surfing - Yvon Chouinard
Entrepreneurship
A really fun read on the history and philosophy behind Patagonia, and some of the decisions that have set them apart and made them such a successful, admirable brand.
The Great CEO Within - Matt Mochary
Management
A good overview on how to be a better CEO or manager. Some slower parts and it feels hastily written, but there are useful takeaways.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell
Philosophy
I enjoyed “The Power of Myth” more, but this is still a very interesting look at the common themes of mythology and the pervasiveness of the hero’s journey in our understanding of reality.
The Three Body Problem - Cixin Liu
Fiction
A phenomenal sci-fi series, can’t recommend it highly enough if you like good, rigorous SF.
Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business - Gino Wickman
Business
I wasn’t getting much out of this book so I dropped off after a few chapters. You might find some value in it, but I got more out of books like E-Myth.
10% Happier - Dan Harris
Mindfulness
Great participatory journalism exploring the world of modern mindfulness and meditation. If you’re skeptical of the benefits of meditation, especially if you think it’s “too spiritual” or “woo-woo” for you, I highly recommend reading this.
The $100 Startup - Chris Guillebeau
Entrepreneurship
A useful book for someone getting started with microbusinesses, or lifestyle businesses, and wants some more guidance. Helped me get started.
The 12 Week Year - Brian Moran
Productivity, Entrepreneurship
It’s okay, didn’t feel like there was anything groundbreaking here in the planning, productivity, or business space though.
The 4-Hour Chef - Tim Ferriss
Learning, Productivity
This is the most disjointed of his three books, but the first section alone makes it worthwhile. Tim breaks down his methodology to learning anything which has been incredibly useful to me for writing and marketing, and a number of other skills I’ve picked up bits and pieces of. The next 4 of 5 sections are a fun cookbook, which help explain the concepts through practical exercises. They’re good if you’re new to this methodology, but if not, you don’t need them as much.
The 4-Hour Workweek - Timothy Ferriss
Entrepreneurship, Productivity
Massively influential in my life, giving me the idea that I could pursue my own entrepreneurial projects to sustain myself immediately after college. Haven't gone back to it in a while, but it's still one of the first books I recommend for someone going down the entrepreneurial path.
Accelerando - Charles Stross
Fiction, Science Fiction
One of my favorite pieces of science fiction. Fantastic adventure through the singularity, I highly recommend it!
American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
Fiction
I’ve never come so close to throwing up from reading as I did with this book. Not for the faint of heart. Oddly gripping, but you’ll feel guilty for enjoying it.
Amusing Ourselves to Death - Neil Postman
Technology
Everyone needs to read this book. The observations were made in a pre-internet era, and they’re 10x as relevant today. Nothing will do more to help cure your information addiction that the healthy dose of reality provided in these pages.
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Fiction
This was another one I had a hard time getting into, I think because I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. Except Levin. Levin was great.
Anything You Want - Derek Sivers
Entrepreneurship
Full of fun tidbits of philosophy on life and business, this is a great book for anyone who feels overworked and stressed.
Aphorisms and Thoughts - Napoleon
Aphorisms
More quotations than aphorisms, still some good wisdom here though. It’s short, too. You can get through all ~500 in a couple sittings. These ones were my favorites.
The Art of Learning - Josh Waitzkin
Learning
The Art of Learning is a wonderful collection of stories on learning from Josh’s own life. It gives a look into the practicing mind of a master, instead of pure prescription. It’s less directly tactical than Peak, but it gives you many of the ideas through an ongoing story that’s exciting to read.
The Art of Non-Conformity - Chris Guillebeau
Entrepreneurship
It’s a good quick read on principles of thinking for yourself in today’s economy. Worth reading through if you like Chris’s blog, or if you’re a student trying to get out of the typical school / career path.
The Art Science and Craft of Great Landscape Photography - Glenn Randall
Photography
Great book on landscape photography, for novices and intermediate photographers alike.
The Art of Seduction - Robert Greene
Masculinity
Jeez I took a lot of notes on this one. It’s much more than about sexual seduction, it’s about how to seduce anyone, politically, socially, and yes, sexually. Extremely interesting analogs from history, highly recommend it.
The Art of Worldly Wisdom - Baltasar Gracian
Aphorisms
A lovely book of aphoristic wisdom. You’ll find different parts speak to you on each readthrough. It echoes of the stoics.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - Neil Degrasse Tyson
Science
An entertaining read on science and astrophysics, but ultimately it felt a little shallow compared to books like A Brief History of Time.
Atomic Habits - James Clear
Productivity
This is one of the most useful book on changing your habits, more than The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I’d recommend it over most books aimed at helping you get control over your life.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin -
Biography
Good history of Franklin’s life, but I found it kind of hard to get through at times, likely from the older language. Still worth a read, though, especially for some of his thinking around self-improvement. Also, I never realized how old he was during the revolution!
Awaken the Giant Within - Tony Robbins
Psychology
Any book on self-improvement or harnessing your own psychology written since this one is merely a footnote. You could forego every other pop-psych book, just read this one, and you’d be set.
You Are a Badass - Jen Sincero
Productivity
Don’t read it, she starts off with a bit of interesting material then gets into aligning your energy with the universe and anyone who respects reality has to stop at that point.
The Bed of Procrustes - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Philosophy
No other book can get me into a good groove of thought as quickly as this one. The joy of aphorisms is that they’re bite sized pieces of thought meant to get you going, so you can jump around and find ones that fit the moment and you’re off. Don’t read this as your first Taleb book though.
The Beginning of Infinity - David Deutsch
Science
A phenomenal wide-ranging book touching on everything from physics to history to economics. If you like books like Sapines or Godel Escher Bach, check it out.
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
Fiction
I had a hard time getting into this, I know it’s a great book, but it didn’t grip me. Not sure why not. The ending is exciting though.
The Bhagavad Gita -
Philosophy
Fantastic, many similar ideas to Stoicism and Virtue Ethics, though with more mystical elements thrown in. Would highly recommend it as a “first taste” of eastern religion.
The Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Philosophy
Complete game changer in thinking about sudden, unexpected events. Not only does it help you be less foolish in interpreting the world around you, it provides a model that anyone (not just entrepreneurs) can use for maximizing the potential for sudden success in life while decreasing the risk of sudden ruin.
Blue Ocean Strategy - W. Chan Kim
Marketing
Mental model: create blue oceans, don’t fight in the Red oceans. The figures are useful for determining how to find your blue ocean strategies.
Blue Zones - Dan Buettner
Health
A great overview of how you can live forever, drawing from what we can learn from the regions of the world where people are more likely to live to 100+ (the Blue Zones).
Bold - Peter Diamandis
Entrepreneurship
The first 2/3 of the book is an excellent primer on being bold as fuck, then the last third is a confusingly placed foray into crowdfunding (??). The first 2/3 are great though if you want to start thinking bigger with your goals.
The Book of Five Rings - Miyamoto Musashi
Strategy
The sword fighting lessons aren’t as useful, naturally, but the underlying strategy and wisdom is fascinating. A great read for strategy or philosophy.
This Book Will Teach You How to Write Better -
Copywriting
Borrows heavily from other copywriting books without attribution. I’d strongly recommend reading Boron Letters instead.
The Boron Letters - Gary Halbert
Copywriting
Likely the only copywriting book you’ll ever need. Fantastic, and extremely readable.
A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
Science
Makes you think about… well everything. Excellent history, highly recommend it.
Can't Hurt Me - David Goggins
Biography
A very entertaining read, though it starts to feel a bit formulaic as it goes on. Either way, highly recommend for a motivating easy read.
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Fiction
A wonderful mix of literary and science fiction, I enjoyed this much more than Slaughterhouse 5.
The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
Fiction
It’s kinda like if The Secret was a novel, I wonder how many people read this and believe it’s real…
Chaos Monkeys - Antonio Garcia Martinez
Biography
Half of why this is so good is the author’s own hubris. It’d be a dull story without it, but with it, you get an entertaining look at the inner workings of startups and silicon valley tech giants.
The Checklist Manifesto - Atul Gawande
Productivity
Checklists are good for making sure things get done, even in complex fields like medicine. Make more of them. (That’s most of the book).
Choke - Chuck Palahniuk
Fiction
All sorts of messed up, but a gripping read! If you liked Fight Club then check this out too.
Choose Yourself - James Altucher
Entrepreneurship
Too much pumping you up rah rah you can do it, not enough substance.
The CIO’s Guide to Breakthrough Portfolio Project Management - Michael Hannan, Wolfram Muller and Hilbert Robinson
Productivity
A fantastic productivity resource on how to get more done when you’re managing multiple projects. Even if you’re not a CIO (which I’m not) you can learn a lot from this book about how to better manage your many projects.
Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau
Philosophy
Important piece of political philosophy, though I found it a little dull to get through. Might be relevant in the current (2016) political climate…
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
Fiction
Beautiful, gripping story. It’s six different points in history and the future that overlap and influence each other, you might find the first one kind of dull but keep going! Also, don’t watch the movie first, the book is much richer.
College Unbound - Jeffrey Selingo
College
Interesting info on how the college system became so messed up, felt fluffed though.
Confessions of a Public Speaker - Scott Berkun
Communication
The best book on public speaking I’ve found. If you want to speak better, or improve your confidence speaking, this is for you.
Contagious - Jonah Berger
Marketing
One of my favorite marketing books, it's a useful overview of why some things catch on, others don't, and how we might better engineer our messages.
Daily Rituals - Mason Currey
Productivity
A little dull just reading through summaries of everyone’s routines, but it was cool to see how different famous people whose work I like worked. Lots of drugs, alcohol, bad habits, but also strong routines and rituals.
Darwin's Dangerous Idea - Daniel Dennett
Science
A wonderful book about evolution and what it means for our interpretation of life. It’s tough to get through at parts, there’s a ~100pg section refuting his critics that you can mostly skip, but it’s brilliant and makes you rethink the meaning of life.
Decisive - Chip and Dan Heath
Decision-making
I love Decisive, I think it’s one of the most practical “decision theory” books out there. They break down many of the biases and heuristics covered in other books in a way that makes them easier to manage, instead of simply pointing them out and saying “well, have fun!” This was one of the first books that turned me on to the psychology of decision making, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be a little [smarter and more rational](http://www.nateliason.com/become-smarter-more-rational/).
Deep Work - Cal Newport
Productivity
It's a useful resource on paying attention to your work, but doesn't say a ton beyond that. I'm not sure that over-optimizing for deep work is a great goal, either. It seems you should better be able to develop a flow of productivity.
The Defining Decade - Meg Jay
College
It’s a guide to not feeling lost in your 30s and 40s from a clinical psychologist who sees young people. It’s a must read if you’re in your 20s. Some of the research and examples are suspect, but the advice is excellent.
The Denial of Death - Ernest Becker
Philosophy
Phenomenal book on how our fear of death is the core of our psychological disturbances, and our motivation for life. It will make you think about why we do things and behave in certain ways in an entirely new fashion, and the language within it is delicious.
The Dialogues of Socrates -
Philosophy
Socrates remains the greatest foundational influence on philosophy, and to understand his method, you have to read his dialogues. The rhetoric is brilliant, and at times, even hilarious.
Digital Minimalism: On Living Better with Less Technology - Cal Newport
Productivity
A useful book for reducing your addiction to and reliance on technology, while increasing the benefits you derive from it. Good for being mindful about controlling your tech, instead of letting it control you.
Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison - Michael Foucault
Philosophy
Confusing… and one of the harder books I’ve ever read. I’m not sure I recommend it, but it’s good. Definitely gave me a much better understanding of postmodernist thought than by just going off of how it’s described in the popular media.
Discourses - Epictetus
Philosophy
One of the three pillars of stoic writing, Discourses is interesting since Epictetus was a freed slave. Useful aphorisms and quotes as always with the stoics.
Why Don't We Learn From History - B.H. Liddell Hart
History
An excellent collection of lessons from history based primarily around warfare. The author died while writing it, unfortunately, but it’s still jam packed with insights.
Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero - James Romm
Biography
An interesting story about the life of Seneca, though it made me realize that I care much more about his ideas than him as a person.
The E-Myth - Michael Gerber
Entrepreneurship
The central message is to focus on building your _business_ , such that it shouldn’t require you. This is an important thing to keep in mind for distinguishing between having a job, and building a business. If your business needs you, it’s not a business yet.
Early Retirement Extreme - Jacob Fisker
Finance
An excellent introduction to many of the early financial freedom concepts, it just felt like the narrative drifted too much at parts and had to be skimmed. Definitely some good lessons and takeaways, though.
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
Fiction
Absolutely beautiful, a must read. No crazy plot, but there doesn’t need to be.
The Education of Millionaires - Michael Ellsberg
College
I didn’t feel there was much here, he’s mostly commenting on other books and giving a textbook demonstration of narrative fallacy and confirmation bias.
The Effective Executive - Peter Drucker
Productivity
The best book on getting your most important work done. Read this instead of every other “productivity” book.
Ego is the Enemy - Ryan Holiday
Philosophy
Better than Obstacle, it has some useful advice and good stories about how ego can lead to your downfall. It’s a tangent to stoic philosophy, so if you enjoy those concepts you’ll probably get something from this book. But stoicism is so easy to read anyway that there's not much point in reading this when you could read the originals.
The Elements of Style - William Strunk
Writing
Some very important lessons for the aspiring writer. The best way to use it is to read through it and find the examples where you can’t immediately tell what is wrong, study the explanations, and then apply those learnings to your own writing.
Emergency - Neil Strauss
Fitness
A fun, easy to read journey from zero to full apocalypse readiness. It definitely falls more on the “story” side than the “how to” side, but it provides a good overview of prepping and how you can get started.
Enchiridion - Epictetus
Aphorisms
Epictetus’s aphoristic Stoic wisdom. It flows less than other stoic works, naturally, but it’s a good reminder of the underlying principles.
Endurance - Alfred Lansing
Biography
Holy shit what a ride! Absolutely amazing story of perseverance and leadership, a must read. Whatever struggles you think you are going through simply cannot compare.
Escape from Cubicle Nation - Pamela Slim
Entrepreneurship
A few useful ideas, but felt like it was reiterating a lot of entrepreneurship stuff you’ll see in other books. Read [4HWW](http://www.nateliason.com/lessons/4-hour-workweek-timothy-ferriss/) and [Millionaire Fastlane](http://www.nateliason.com/lessons/millionare-fastlane- mj-demarco/) instead.
It's Even Worse Than it Looks - Thomas Mann
Politics
An interesting (and depressing) overview of the problems in American politics.
Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got -
Sales
A decent book on getting more clients for your services business. You can probably just read the summary, lots of repetition.
Excellent Sheep - William Deresiewicz
College
Very important! College students are stuck on traditional, “safe” paths and end up with jobs they don’t like so they can buy shit they don’t need to impress people they don’t like. This book is perfect for the college student who is stuck on that path, or the parent who put them there. The only criticism I have is that his solution doesn’t go big enough in its ambition.
Extended Massive Orgasm - Steve Bodansky
Sex
Fantastic resource on moving beyond the typical “peak” type orgasms, both for men and women. Also a good primer on communicating more during sex, sharing what you both want, and making sure you’re both satisfied.
Extraordinary Everyday Photography - Brenda Tharp and Jed Manwaring
Photography
A fantastic resource for finding great photos all around you. Helpful ideas for when you can’t travel but want to get practice near home, and for finding more photos in any setting you’re in.
Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Leadership
The idea of extreme ownership is interesting, but the stories used in the book feel like confirmation bias and narrative fallacy. While I think the ideas are compelling, and agree that leaders should take responsibility for their teams, there were plenty of cases in the book where the opposite of the concept could have been an equally valid argument. That said, the stories are fascinating and it’s worth reading for those alone.
How to Fail at Everything and Still Win Big - Scott Adams
Biography
A fun book of life advice built around stories from Adams’s experience becoming a famous cartoonist, among other endeavours. Nothing that “new” persay, but a fun read and the endorsement of affirmations is curious.
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
Fiction
Darker and crazier than the movie, though the twist is a little more obvious. Highly recommend it if you enjoyed the movie.
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia - Mohsin Hamid
Fiction
Absolutely beautiful language and commentary on the human condition. At the end, you have lived and died a full life.
Financial Intelligence - Karen Berman and Joe Knight
Finance
A useful overview of how to read and interpret financial statements for non- accounting people, great for helping you know what to do with your money as an early stage founder.
The First 20 Hours - Josh Kaufman
Learning
This is basically a much worse version of 4-Hour Chef. Kaufman doesn’t bring nearly as much to the table as Ferriss, and it feels a little rushed and under researched. Wouldn’t recommend it if you’re trying to quickly develop skills, I’d read 4-Hour Chef instead.
The Fish that Ate the Whale - Rich Cohen
Biography
One of the craziest, most impressive stories of business smarts I’ve come across and from someone otherwise unknown. Like a real-life Francisco d’Anconia from Atlas Shrugged.
Flash Boys - Michael Lewis
Finance
A scary and interesting overview of the high-frequency trading world. Definitely got me scared for the next potential crash, which I imagine was part of the idea behind it.
Fluent in 3 Months - Benny Lewis
Language
Speak the language from day one, use visualizations to remember words. The rest of the book is mostly fluff on those two concepts. I’d read his blog instead.
Fluent Forever - Gabriel Weinberg
Language
The best book on language learning that I’ve found. You can skip a lot of this if you have full immersion available to you, but either way, the techniques are useful for picking up a language quickly.
Fooled - Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Decision-making
Always love Taleb. I found this book less practical than Antifragile, but it lays a conceptual groundwork for Black Swan and Antifragile to “warm you up” for his next books.
How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World - Harry Browne
Philosophy
An excellent primer on pursuing more freedom in your life. Very impersonal egoist influenced, and it makes good arguments around honesty, priorities, and the traps that we put ourselves in. One of the few self-help books I’d recommend.
The Game - Neil Strauss
Masculinity
Great, compelling story. The parts on pickup and dating aren’t as good as a book like Models, but the story here is fantastic.
The Gervais Principle - Venkatesh Rao
Psychology
In this series of essays, Venkatesh explores the workings of organizations through the lens of The Office. I enjoyed the earlier essays about the Sociopath / Loser / Clueless dynamic, but didn’t get into the later parts as much.
Getting Results the Agile Way - J.D. Meier
Productivity
This was one of the first productivity books that really changed how I thought about life and work. I'd highly recommend it for anyone looking for a more robust productivity system.
Global Catastrophic Risks - Nick Bostrom
Technology
An interesting though very dense and heavy book. If you want to become depressed over the potential of going extinct, well, here you go!
Gödel Escher Bach - Douglas R. Hofstadter
Science
This book stretched my mind more than almost any other book I’ve read. It’s tough at parts, it’s long, but you’ll come out of it thinking about brains, minds, intelligence, and AI in an entirely new way.
So Good They Can’t Ignore You - Cal Newport
Entrepreneurship
Don’t “follow your passion,” focus on getting really good at something and passion will follow. This summarizes the entire book, without offering as much tactical advice as [Deep Work](https://www.nateliason.com/lessons/deep-work- cal-newport/) (to me). Many people think this is his better book though, so try it for yourself.
Grain Brain - David Perlmutter
Health
I think this book is, maybe, a little over the top, but it’s compelling. Grains = bad. Especially gluten. Also sugar. Cut them out. Any argument to the contrary is of the “you can’t prove that’s bad” vs “that’s good” variety.
Growth Hacker Marketing - Ryan Holiday
Marketing
Some interesting ideas, but read Immutable Laws instead.
Happy Accidents - Morton A Meyers
Science
An interesting overview of the role of serendipity in scientific and medical breakthroughs. It got a little dry at times, though, and somewhat repetitive. Still an interesting medical and scientific history though.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben Horowitz
Entrepreneurship
A fantastic resource for someone starting a company, and especially growing one. The nice thing about this book is that it’s less on “starting a startup” and more on all the hard parts that come after, which is a refreshing change.
Hello My Name is Awesome - Alexandra Watkins
Marketing
The most useful book on naming that I’ve found. Good to read for the stories and examples, but you could also use my summary.
High Output Management - Andy Grove
Management
A phenomenal book for any current or future manager to read, even if you don’t have anyone working for you yet. It’s very accessible and has lots of good example processes to follow, it’s a book I revisit frequently.
Hiroshima Diary - Michihiko Hachiya
Biography
A painful and gruesome story about life in Hiroshima right after the bombing. Hachiya kept a diary of his experience nearly dying, then working to save his friends and peers as a doctor working in Hiroshima before and after the bomb went off.
Homo Deus - Yuval Noah Harari
Technology
Not as good as Sapiens, but an interesting look at where our species might go in the future and what we should watch for over the coming decades.
Hooked - Nir Eyal and Ryan Hoover
Marketing
A useful tool for brainstorming how to make your products more habit forming, and thus addictive.
How to Invest in Real Estate: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Getting Started - Brandon Turner, Joshua Dorkin
Real-estate
A good intro to breaking into real estate investing from the team behind the most popular podcast on the subject. Some of it is skimmable, but it’s a more concise intro resource than sifting through podcast episodes.
How to Take Smart Notes - Sonke Ahrens
Learning
An excellent intro guide to the "Zettlekasten" method you can use to take useful notes from everything you read. Strong recommend for improving your note taking and the usefulness of everything you're reading.
How We Learn - Benedict Carey
Learning
I didn’t get much from this one, I think some people like it, but I felt there was a lot of bias and bad research. I’d read other books on learning.
The Inevitable - Kevin Kelly
Technology
An interesting collection of thoughts on where the future might be headed, but I found myself bored during it. It just feels like Kevin rambling over a couple drinks about what might happen. That said, if you’re in the tech startup space (or want to be), this will probably give you a lot of ideas.
The Inner Game of Tennis - Timothy Gallwey
Learning
It’s about much more than Tennis. It’s about how to get out of your own way so you can perform at your best. How to “get out of your head” so you don’t try to control your unconscious processes with your conscious mind. Kind of like a guide to zen for people who aren’t into all of the “zen-y” parts.
The Lean Startup - Eric Reis
Entrepreneurship
I think there are better books out there for introducing you to these ideas, even though this is “the book” on them. Surprisingly light in useful detail.
What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars - Jim Paul
Finance
A more story-focused version of many of the lessons in Fooled by Randomness. If you understood that book, you won’t need this one.
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing - Al Ries
Marketing
The quintessential marketing book. Always worth referring back to. Yet to be outdone in its straightforward usefulness.
The Fighter's Mind - Sam Sheridan
Fitness
Found this hard to read, and got little from it. There are some nice quotations, though.
Essentialism - Greg McKeown
Mindfulness-meditation
I didn’t get much from this book, it’s sort of in-between Paradox of Choice and some of the psychology of 4-Hour Workweek, but doesn’t do as good a job as either. That said, a lot of people like it a lot…
Good to Great - Jim Collins
Entrepreneurship
Primarily about what makes a business great, but also a useful tool for making your own life great. Where do you want to be great, not just have success?
The Lessons of History - Will and Ariel Durant
History
One of the most knowledge-dense books I’ve ever picked up. It’s short, but you’ll learn more than you expect about how trends of the past can influence our thinking about today.
The Power of No - James Altucher
Decision-making
Say No to more things, even if it hurts. Think Hell Yeah or No. Got it? Good. Saved you a few dollars and hours.
Principles (Original PDF) - Ray Dalio
Philosophy
Absolutely phenomenal. One of the best and most concise guides to creating an order and direction for your life, from the most successful hedge fund manager in the world. It’s short, you can get through it in one sitting, and come back to it regularly.
Seeking Wisdom - Peter Bevelin
Decision-making
Simply the best book on improving your decision making there is. It’s dense and hard to get through if you’re not truly interested, but it’s well worth it.
Striking Thoughts - Bruce Lee
Aphorisms
Excellent, one of my favorite books of aphorisms. It’s clearly influenced by Taoism and Zen Buddhism, but with some more aggressive Stoic-style undertones to it as well. Highly recommend.
Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
Philosophy
Some of the oldest food for thought in the world. Needs to be re-read regularly, you’ll find new things each time.
I Will Teach You to Be Rich - Ramit Sethi
Finance
A good primer on being smart with your finances, but not as good as Money Master the Game. It is shorter, though, and an easier entry point to being smarter with your savings and investing.
Letters from a Stoic - Seneca
Philosophy
A massively influential work of philosophy, I've enjoyed this book every time I go back to it. Great entry point for anyone into virtue ethics.
Liar's Poker - Michael Lewis
Finance
Mostly it’s a great story. Not sure I “learned” anything, but a fun ride!
How to Lie with Statistics - Darrell Huff
Marketing
The book is a fantastic primer on how we’re tricked, daily, by the sneaky use of statistics. It’s a must-read for anyone to more intelligently interpret news, media, and even medical research. Once you learn to see these tricks, you cannot unsee them.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo
Philosophy
It’s not just about tidying up (though it’s an excellent book on that). Underlying it is a powerful philosophy on handling our cluttered lives. Highly recommend, you can read it in one sitting.
The Little Book of Talent - Daniel Coyle
Learning
This one is a good reminder of the principles in Peak and Talent Code. It’s quick, should only take you an hour, and has some useful tips on improving your skills. If think that if you read this without either of those books complementing it, you’d miss out on a lot though.
Long-Distance Real Estate Investing - David Greene
Real-estate
It’s a useful book for getting your head around the idea of investing out of state, you can skim through a lot of it but there are some useful nuggets and heuristics.
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It - Kamal Ravikant
Philosophy
A short, powerful reminder to not be so hard on ourselves, and a few practical techniques for getting in the habit of respecting ourselves and treating ourselves better.
Lying - Sam Harris
Philosophy
Don't lie, it's not worth it, here's why. Thinking about how we erode trust through white lies told in front of other people was particularly interesting.
The Magic of Thinking Big - David Schwartz
Entrepreneurship
Want to do something big, or unsure if you should go after something big? You need this book. It is also an excellent book on simply being a better person. I think anyone would be improved immensely from reading it.
As a Man Thinketh - James Allen
Philosophy
Short, you can read it in an hour, but a motivating meditation on the importance of “right thoughts.” The belief that powerful thoughts, pointed in the right direction, are the foundation and base on which all happiness and success is built. Reminds me of the power of affirmations.
Manage Your Day-to-Day - Jocelyn Glei
Productivity
Basically a bunch of guest posts rolled into a book. I’d look elsewhere.
Managing Oneself - Peter Drucker
Productivity
The most successful people manage themselves. Drucker outlines how to do that, including effective questions to ask yourself and others in order to make sure you’re playing to your strengths and that everyone is lifting each other up. Not allowing differences to become conflicts.
Man’s Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl
Philosophy
Broken into two distinct pieces, Frankl tells the story of his experience in Nazi concentration camps, and how that led to his theories on the importance of meaning in one’s life. It provides a compelling argument for each of us finding a reason to live, while reminding us of how terrible humans can be to one another.
The Martian - Andy Weir
Fiction
Amazing science and a gripping story. The dialogue can be a little jarring at times, but the quality of the SF more than makes up for it.
Mastery - Robert Greene
Learning
A fantastic book on sculpting your mind and your life in the pursuit of mastery. Becoming the best in a craft, emulating the best practicioners in all fields throughout history.
Mate ("What Women Want") - Tucker Max
Masculinity
Not as good on “dating” as Models, but a very useful book on "Being a better guy." The psychology on understanding women’s POV in dating was interesting too.
Maxims and Reflections - Goethe
Aphorisms
A book of aphorisms, it’s a useful tool for sparking your own clear thoughts.
Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
Philosophy
My least favorite of the 3 famous stoic philosophers. Still motivational and interesting to read, especially considering these were his reminders to himself while he was essentially emperor of the world.
Merchants of Doubt - Naomi Oreskes
Science
Interesting, tough to get through at parts. It’s very “this happened, then this happened, then this happened…” Disturbing to see how few people could have such a large negative impact on the public understanding of science and health, though.
Million Dollar Consulting - Alan Weiss
Entrepreneurship
It’s okay, not sure why it’s so popular. Most of it felt fairly intuitive. The outline for creating a good proposal was great, though, and easy to incorporate into my own work.
The Millionaire Fastlane - MJ DeMarco
Entrepreneurship
As a heuristic and set of ideas for distinguishing between the “slowlane” traditional wealth method and the “fastlane” superior method, it’s fantastic. I read it after I’d already internalized most of the ideas, but if you think working for 40 years and retiring on your 401k is a good idea, this book will be a useful wakeup call.
Mindwise - Nicholas Epley
Psychology
Good for breaking down the notion that you have any idea why you do what you do, or why other people do what they do, or that you understand how you or others behave or what you or others think. Basically, we know nothing.
Mistakes Were Made but Not By Me - Carol Tavris
Decision-making
Fantastic introduction to biases and how to identify them in ourselves and others. Read it! Sort of like the other-minded companion to Paradox of Choice.
Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari
Masculinity
A fun and informative look at modern dating culture. Nothing that “new,” persay, but having it presented by Aziz makes it fun. Their data is interesting too.
The Monk and the Riddle - Randy Komisar
Entrepreneurship
Be happy now, don’t put off being happy till later and get stuck on the “deferred life plan,” ESPECIALLY if you do a “high power” or “high-income” job. If you already believe that, you don’t need this book, but you might enjoy the stories.
Moonwalking with Einstein - Joshua Foer
Learning
A fun book about one journalists journey to learn to become a “master of memory” and ultimately win the US memory championship in under a year. It teaches you how to significantly improve your own memory through the story of his journey, making it both highly tactical and a fun read. If you want to learn how to memorize cards, numbers, etc. this book is an excellent guide to follow. During the experience, he contacted Anders Ericsson to help him with the learning process. Ericsson later wrote Peak, my favorite book on skill mastery, so if you’re more interested in that part then you should read Ericsson’s book.
Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus -
Aphorisms
An ancient book of stoic wisdom, it’s remarkable how many of these aphorisms are common phrases today. Since it’s aphorisms, you’ll get different things out of it each time, and you can open it to any page and find something to ruminate on.
The Motivation Hacker - Nick Winter
Productivity
One of the best “bang for your buck” productivity books. Many of the concepts are presented elsewhere, but it’s a fun way of getting reintroduced to them and a good way of framing productivity.
The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus
Philosophy
Should we commit suicide? Is life absurd? What is meaningful? This thoughtful essay from Camus makes you question the nature of our existence.
Never Eat Alone - Keith Ferrazzi
Networking
The quintessential networking book. I do find many of these behaviors annoying, though…
The Nicomachean Ethics - Artistotle
Philosophy
One of the original works of virtue ethics, this book on living a good life by Aristotle has some great advice on being a good, thriving person, through moderating your excesses and deficiencies and striving to improve yourself.
Nobody Wants to Read Your Shit - Steven Pressfield
Writing
It’s a good book for some writing tips on making your stories more compelling. Especially important in a world with so many information sources competing for people’s attention. Very readable, quick, and you’ll get some good notes from it.
Own the Day Own Your Life - Aubrey Marcus
Health
One of the better health / self improvement books I’ve come across. It’s very no-bullshit and compact, well researched, and fun to read. One of those useful tactical books that can replace at least 3 or 4 less condensed ones.
The Paradox of Choice - Barry Schwartz
Decision-making
This is an excellent book for someone who is new to cognitive biases and heuristics and who wants to improve their decision making. I didn’t get much out of it since I already knew a lot of it, but if you’re just getting into the topic it’s a good place to start.
Peak - Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
Learning
This is the best book on mastering a skill that I’ve found. Anders is the real deal, doing most of the research that other books on this topic are based on. **If you only read one book on mastering your craft, read this one.** Second, if you still believe there’s such a thing as talent, you also need to read this book. It’s been disproven in countless studies now, with Anders leading most of it, and the sooner you stop thinking talent exists the sooner you can become a master.
Perennial Seller - Ryan Holiday
Marketing
Fairly shallow marketing and writing advice, I’d recommend reading something else.
The Photographer's Eye - Michael Freeman
Photography
Extremely useful book for the beginning photographer, full of heuristics for better photo taking. It was fun reading it then going through the National Geographic award-winning photos, since I could pick out some of the elements discussed in the book and how they helped make the photos work.
The Post American World - Fareed Zakaria
Politics
Thought provoking on how America might lose its global prominence, and the steps we ought to take to preserve it.
The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg
Productivity
A useful book on improving your habits, but maybe a little over simplistic. Still useful if you want to get more control over your life, though.
The Power of Myth - Joseph Campbell
Psychology
A fantastic book told through 8 interviews done on the power of myth in our lives. It really made me think about how we lack cultural traditions and narratives, and how few people go through rites of initiation or make sacrifices for big commitments in their lives. I wonder how much of feeling lost comes from lacking a strong narrative to track your life against, to motivate and guide you.
The Practicing Mind - Thomas Sterner
Learning
Somewhere between Peak and Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind, The Practicing Mind provides a good framework for thinking about your art in a nonjudgemental way. It helps with the spiritual side of skill development, instead of always just focusing on go go go.
Pragmatic Thinking and Learning - Andy Hunt
Learning
Probably the best, non-charlatanic book on improving your thinking that I’ve found. I only wish I’d found it sooner.
In Praise of Idleness - Bertrand Russell
Philosophy
A must read for anyone who has trouble relaxing, or who works 8+ hours a day. I like re-reading it when I start to feel guilty for not buckling down and working all day every day.
The Price of Privilege - Madeline Levine
College
The first 1/3 is a great primer on the problems of popular parents styles and how that leads to depression, angst, and the excellent sheep problems. The rest is how to parent better, which I (obviously) did not find quite as useful (but if you’re a parent, read it!!!)
Principles - Ray Dalio (Book Version)
Philosophy
Much better organized and fleshed out than the original PDF. It gets very slow in the work principles, definitely skim those based on your interest. The life principles are phenomenal, though. Would highly recommend.
Profit First - Mike Michalowitz
Entrepreneurship
It's a good way of thinking about accounting and making money, but it's both simplistic and overly complicated. It also skews towards smaller, earlier businesses, and I'm not sure this would be a good philosophy if you wanted to grow something more substantial.
Psych - Judd Biasiotto
Fitness
Some interesting thoughts on peak performance, but a bit too woo-woo without enough to back it up. Takeaway: meditation is good for performance.
Remote - Jason Fried
Management
A light read on the benefits of remote work. Some bias since the authors work in a leading remote company…
The Rise of Superman - Steven Kotler
Psychology
The best book on getting a basic understanding of Flow states and how to get there. Highly recommend it since it’s much more approachable than the landmark book “Flow.”
The Science of Getting Rich - Wallace D. Wattles
Finance
Focus your mind and energies and develop an abundance mindset and you will become rich. Many of the ideas in this book were warped into ideologies like The Secret, but the underlying concepts here are good. I’d recommend “[As a Man Thinketh](http://www.nateliason.com/lessons/man-thinketh-james-allen/)” and some [Stoicism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism) instead, though.
The Score Takes Care of Itself - Bill Walsh
Leadership
Written in short chapters on different ideas for leadership and success in competitive fields, Walsh’s memoir on leadership is excellent even if you know nothing about football.
Seeing Like a State - James C. Scott
Politics
A phenomenal, interesting look at how governments and the desire to govern shape human life. Only a 9 because it is dense and slow and not a particularly fun book to read.
Self-Reliance - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Philosophy
Fantastic modern stoic wisdom. Reading this with a bit of background in Seneca or Epictetus makes it evident where Emerson drew his inspiration from, but he adds a bit more of a “RAH! GET AFTER IT!” attitude that makes it more invigorating.
To Sell is Human - Dan Pink
Sales
Useful insights on how to sell in a world with information equality, especially for people who generally don’t like “Selling” (like me). Also lays out the argument that everyone has to become a salesperson of some type now if they wish to advance.
The Shallows - Nicholas Carr
Technology
An interesting, and somewhat frightening overview of how our brains are being shaped by the Internet. A compelling case for spending less time “surfing.”
Simple Rules - Donald Sull
Productivity
Absolutely essential concept, and one that I’ve been a fan of for a while. The book is useful in exploring simple rules and giving examples, but I get the sense they padded it a bit because it could be much shorter. You can get most of it from my notes, but I’d recommend picking up a copy to go deeper on the concepts.
Skin in the Game - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Philosophy
Great ideas around skin in the game and having some stake in the advice you’re getting, but I didn’t find this book as mind blowing as Antifragile or Black Swan. Still worth a read, though.
Smartcuts - Shane Snow
Learning
Smartcuts is a useful tool for thinking about problems differently. The most frequent path or obvious path is usually the worst, and if you can approach problems differently using some “smartcuts” you’ll typically do much better, or get to the goal much faster.
Smoke Signals - Martin A. Lee
History
An interesting history on the medical and legal history of weed in the US. I didn't realize how bad the misinformation around it has been, or how much money and energy has been wasted in fighting its spread. Lower rating is just because it gets a little slow at times and it's LONG.
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
Fiction
At the time I’m sure this reality seemed much more far-flung than it does now, but it remains a prescient look at what the emerging VR/AR Metaverse could be like (and a great story to go with it!)
Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart - Gordon Livingston
Philosophy
It’s an interesting set of reminders on life from someone who’s gone through more emotional hardship than most of us ever will. Some might feel familiar, other topics new, but it’s definitely worth reading through.
The Story of Philosophy - Will Durant
History
It’s a great overview of the history of philosophy, told as a story where one set of ideas leads into the next. It’s just a bit dense and hard to get through at times.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck - Mark Manson
Philosophy
Some good ideas, but I would suggest an old philosophy book instead. If you enjoy his blog you’ll enjoy the book, but to others, the writing style might seem unnecessarily coarse.
Surely Your Joking Mr. Feynman - Richard Feynman
Biography
This book sneaks up on you. You’re reading these fun stories about Feynman’s life, and then you look back and realize you learned about the scientific process along the way. Extremely readable, packed with wisdom, and fun!
The Talent Code - Daniel Coyle
Learning
I like that this book breaks down some of the mystique around learning, but I think it goes too far by suggesting that NOTHING is innate. There is certainly room for both.
The Dip - Seth Godin
Entrepreneurship
A helpful little book for figuring out when to stick out your project, and when to quit. I think the most useful piece is learning to distinguish between Dips and Cul-de-Sacs, and keeping in mind that it’s not worth being in the middle.
The Elephant in the Brain - Robin Hanson and Kevin Simler
Psychology
A phenomenal book on understanding your own "hidden motivations in everyday life" and why we do what we do. Widely applicable to all parts of life, and the kind of explanations you can't stop thinking about after reading.
The Goal - Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Entrepreneurship
Very much a “zero to one” book, where after you read it you see the world differently. Extremely helpful meta-tactic for evaluating how to improve systems, and I wish I had read it sooner.
The Jungle - Upton Sinclair
Fiction
More about capitalism than the meat packing industry, it's an entertaining book, but fails to make a compelling case for socialism.
The Most Important Thing - Howard Marks
Finance
A great, digestible, summary of investing advice from one of the best in the business. Each chapter can be read in a few minutes, and each feels distinct and useful.
The Rational Optimist - Matt Ridley
History
It’s just okay. There are some interesting stats on global prosperity, but it was kind of hard to get through at parts and felt overly optimistic in others. I’d rather read a more balanced perspective on the subject.
The Sales Acceleration Formula - Mark Roberge
Sales
A really useful book for someone trying to figure out their sales process for the first time. As someone who knew (and still knows) very little about sales, this book helped a lot in figuring out a framework.
The Way of Zen - Alan Watts
Mindfulness-meditation
The most helpful overview of Zen Buddhism that I’ve come across. I didn’t realize there was such a difference between Southern Indian Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism, and I realized that I like the style of Zen Buddhism much better.
How to Think More About Sex - Alain de Botton
Sex
A lovely and quick read on reframing how we think about sexuality. Less practical, more for affecting our mental attitudes towards it and conversations around it.
Tools of Titans - Tim Ferriss
Learning
I was disappointed. I love Tim’s work, but this didn’t deliver in the way his past books have. There’s zero thematic organization, so you can’t reference certain topics you want to learn more about except in a few cases. While this has some interesting pieces, I doubt I’ll refer back to it like I have with Workweek, Body, and Chef.
Traction - Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares
Marketing
Hands down the best startup marketing book out there, and the first one I recommend to people who want to get into startup marketing. I still use some form of the Bullseye Method in it for thinking about digital marketing, and the list of channels to brainstorm new ideas.
Training the Best Dog Ever - Larry Kay and Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz
Dog-training
Great book on basic dog training. It was really helpful with learning some of the basic foundational stuff around shaping, training, reinforcement, and especially how to make sure your puppy doesn’t develop bad habits.
The Trusted Advisor - David H. Maister
Management
Extremely useful if you do any kind of advice-work, like consulting, freelancing, or working on an agency.
The Truth - Neil Strauss
Masculinity
Every guy should read this book, especially after reading The Game. It covers the struggle between monogamy and desire, and how Neil experience and dealt with it.
Unconventional Medicine - Chris Kresser
Health
A good introduction to functional medicine, and the many issues plaguing the medical, insurance, and health world of today. Very stats heavy, I would have liked more actionable takeaways.
Unshakeable - Tony Robbins
Finance
It’s essentially a spark-notes for “[Money Master the Game](http://www.nateliason.com/lessons/money-master-game-tony-robbins/),” I’d recommend reading the full book instead since it’s much more thorough and worth the time investment.
Vagabonding - Rolf Potts
Travel
Not convinced you can travel for a long period inexpensively? This is your book!
Waking Up - Sam Harris
Philosophy
I love Waking Up as a compelling argument for meditation and mindfulness for the otherwise non-spiritual person. I think Harris spends too much time bashing on religion, but aside from that, it’s excellent.
Walden - Henry David Thoreau
Philosophy
I really loved every part of Walden _not_ about the mechanics of living there. The philosophy is beautiful and empowering, discussing taking your own path, living simply, happiness, and standing out confidently. Skip over the financial statements, if you try to trudge through them you might get bored and not finish.
The War of Art - Steven Pressfield
Productivity
A fun quick read on productivity and creativity, beating your "inner resistance." Skip the last 1/3 about angels and god.
The War on Normal People - Andrew Yang
Politics
Is Universal Basic Income a good idea? Yang makes a compelling case in this book that it's at least the best option for a pretty terrible situation. Lots of great statistics and historical data.
This is Water - David Foster Wallace
Philosophy
Powerful, concise, worth reading multiple times to redigest what is both a simple yet profound idea.
The Way of the Superior Man - David Deida
Masculinity
Way of the Superior Man, better than any other book I’ve found, made me more comfortable with the important distinctions between masculine and feminine behaviors and recognizing and working with those differences instead of pretending that men and women are perfect equals. Also, the distinction between rape and ravishment is helpful in helping men get over their cognitive dissonance with rough, aggressive, dominant sex.
What Makes Sammy Run - Budd Schulberg
Fiction
I found it hard to get through at times, but the ending is very satisfying. The last few pages are amazing, but you do need the entire story to get there and understand it. Worth a read for anyone who tends to work hard at the expense of everything else in life.
Who - Geoff Smart
Entrepreneurship
An excellent tactical resource on hiring, needs to be re-read when I’m actually hiring people.
The Willpower Instinct - Kelly McGonigal
Productivity
A good book on willpower, but I no longer recommend it since it seems like most of the research in it hasn't held up.
Words that Work - Frank Luntz
Communication
One of the best books on speech and copywriting. It’ll take your awareness of political messaging to new heights, and give you a greater ability to influence others through your word choice alone.
Work Clean (Everything in its Place) - Dan Charnas
Productivity
One of the best “productivity” books I’ve read. It discusses how chefs work, and how you can apply it to your daily life. I’ve implemented a number of the strategies into my personal system, and I think most people could benefit from reading through it.
Worldly Wisdom: Quotations and Aphorisms - Josh Kaufman
Aphorisms
An assorted collection of quotations and aphorisms on various subjects. Unrated since it didn’t really introduce anything, just curate them. Good for a skim through to find interesting ideas and thinkers.
On Writing - Stephen King
Writing
Of the books on writing better, this is my favorite. It has less direct, tactical advice than “On Writing Well” but it caries you along better and has more stories in it. I think you should read both though.
On Writing Well - William Zinsser
Writing
My favorite explicit, directional book on writing better. A must-read for anyone who does any amount of writing.
Zen Mind Beginner's Mind - Shunryu Suzuki
Philosophy
Primarily useful in its ability to inspire introspection, worth reading for practitioners of mindfulness. Keep the concept of beginner’s mind present to avoid hubris, or limited potential.
Zero to One - Peter Thiel
Entrepreneurship
This is, in my mind, the best book on starting a real COMPANY. Lean startup is great for something that won’t die, but this is the book on making something that lasts. Definitely worth re-reading for founders.
The Lean Entrepreneur - Brant Cooper
Entrepreneurship
I found this book most useful of the lean startup related books. The roadmap at the end is good, and worth referring back to regularly when you aren’t sure what to do at a given stage of growing a business.