Leading minds in business, entertainment, and tech are always asked
"what books would you recommend?"
We've collected and analyzed their responses 😊
Sources include interviews, biographies, podcast transcripts, public online lists (e.g., Oprah's book club), and more out the wazoo.
Ben Horowitz
Clayton M. Christensen
Steven Pressfield
Geoffrey A. Moore
Richard P. Feynman
Stephen R. Covey
Andrew S. Grove
Brent Schlender
Reid Hoffman
Robert Iger
Greg Lukianoff
Ed Catmull
Douglas Adams
John Doerr
William N. Thorndike
James Dale Davidson
This is a highly debated (and based on pure subjectivity) topic so it opens the door to opinions that vary greatly. But according to we've called our list of greatest books of all time, the top winner is the history book "Sapiens" by Yuval Noah Harari. If you haven't read this book, we highly recommend it. However a close all time second (which isn't too far off) is the beautifully written "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl (more of a biography). We recommend you buy and read both, since from all our research online they're the two clear winners. We also have all sorts of other choices from modern to classics for all who love reading books, so we're sure you'll find something you love!
Because we try to focus on the (roughly) 100 best books and novels of all time, we didn't account for the best books that had less than 7 recommendations (and only took stock of those that had more). Of course, there are a lot of other top books out there in the world, but we didn't want to make this page too long :) We already wrote more than 100 and (both us and some readers) think it's too much!
There is no real right or wrong answer to this question as it ultimately is based on each readers personal preference (although some people will race to make their own conclusions!). Some readers may prefer the reassurance and familiarity of what are called some of the most critically acclaimed books of all time, while others may enjoy the excitement and thrill of finding a lesser-known piece of literature they fall in love with. Both types of reading experiences can offer their own long list of real unique pleasures (social and personal). Reading a widely-acclaimed book (or named one of the greatest novels of all time, i.e. classics) allows the reader to connect with a larger community of readers and unite in its universal praise and admiration. Discovering a hidden gem, on the other hand, offers the sense of being part of an exclusive literary club/ family and being able to share your newfound love for the book with others who might not have heard about it before. The best books are ultimately the ones that make you feel the best (hence why debating it doesn't make any sense).
Our number one rule begins with don't try to out-Bezos Bezos. Which is why we sell everything via Amazon (plus that's where you can view a copy of each book, read the review, see which books got fancy stuff like a national book award, find advanced sharing options on Twitter, Facebook, etc, buy your own AND in different formats from digital to paperback, even translated if needed!). It just makes life easier for everyone.