102 Best Books of All Time
(according to 600+ really successful people)
Leading minds in business, entertainment, and tech are always asked "what books would you recommend?" We've collected and analyzed their responses 😊
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102 Best Books of All Time
Man's Search for Meaning
36 recommenders:
Jordan Peterson, Jocko Willink, Esther Perel, Emma Watson, Naval Ravikant, David Blaine, Terry Crews, Jimmy Fallon, Tony Robbins, Simon Sinek, Michael Gervais, Daniel Pink, Ev Williams, Bryan Johnson, Dustin Moskovitz, Sam Altman, Chelsea Handler, Ryan Holiday, Maria Popova, Aniela Gregorek, Fedor Holz, Turia Pitt, Chip Conley, Dave Elitch, PewDiePie, Shane Parrish, Phil Jackson, Tom Bilyeu, Lex Fridman, Mark Manson, Alastair Humphreys, Steve Kerr, Robin Black, Jim Kwik, Michael Hyatt, Patrick Bet-David
Sapiens
A Brief History, Book 1
32 recommenders:
Joe Rogan, Bill Gates, Naval Ravikant, Lex Fridman, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Attia, Ashton Kutcher, Whitney Cummings, Richard Branson, Ray Dalio, Vinod Khosla, James Cameron, Demis Hassabis, Keith Rabois, Daniel Ek, Reid Hoffman, Sam Kass, Sebastian Junger, Kishore Biyani, Ryan Shea, Melinda Gates, Bill Gurley, Karlie Kloss, Anthony Pompliano, Changpeng Zhao, PewDiePie, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Chris Evans, Simon Mayo, Penn Jillette, Mark Manson, James Clear
The 4-Hour Workweek
Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
26 recommenders:
Eric Weinstein, Tristan Harris, Charles Poliquin, Walter Isaacson, Daniel Pink, Blake Mycoskie, David Heinemeier Hansson, Marc Andreessen, Jason Silva, Mike Shinoda, Mark Bell, Maurice Ashley, Tim Draper, Derek Sivers, Rolf Potts, A.J. Jacobs, Caterina Fake, Ev Williams, Gary Keller, Laura R Walker, Marc Goodman, Mike Maples, Jr., Lewis Howes, Jodie Cook, Brian Dean, Michael Hyatt
Principles
Life and Work
25 recommenders:
Arianna Huffington, Bill Gates, Bryan Johnson, Diddy, Doug McMillon, Drew Houston, Dustin Moskovitz, Gary Vaynerchuk, Howard Marks, Jack Dorsey, Kevin Systrom, Marc Benioff, Mark Cuban, Michael Bloomberg, Naval Ravikant, Reed Hastings, Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, Austen Allred, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Tom Bilyeu, Lex Fridman, James Clear, Marty Cagan, Ben Greenfield
Atlas Shrugged
23 recommenders:
Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Peter Thiel, Shah Rukh Khan, Joe De Sena, Peter Diamandis, Ev Williams, Gabby Reece, Travis Kalanick, Brian Armstrong, Amelia Boone, Bob Metcalfe, Blake Scholl, Fred Wilson, Phil Jackson, John Carmack, Mark Cuban, Ray Dalio, Austen Allred, Russell Brunson, Paul Krugman, Rand Paul, Patrick Bet-David
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
22 recommenders:
Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Attia, Marc Andreessen, Larry Page, Matt Mullenweg, Andrew Ng, Drew Houston, Keith Rabois, Dustin Moskovitz, Max Levchin, Luis von Ahn, Kathryn Minshew, Andrew Wilkinson, Tim Ferriss, Blake Scholl, Chris Dixon, Fred Wilson, Raoul Pal, Jodie Cook, Michael Dell, Marty Cagan
Zero to One
Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
22 recommenders:
Andrew Ng, Ben Horowitz, Bryan Johnson, Chris Dixon, Dustin Moskovitz, Elon Musk, Eric Weinstein, Keith Rabois, Kishore Biyani, Lee Stranahan, Luis von Ahn, Marc Andreessen, Mark Zuckerberg, Matt Mullenweg, Max Levchin, Nassim Taleb, Sam Altman, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Tom Bilyeu, Ryan Petersen, Brian Dean, Rupert Murdoch
Holy Bible
19 recommenders:
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Peter Thiel, Barack Obama, Wim Hof, Laird Hamilton, Walter Isaacson, A.J. Jacobs, Hillary Clinton, Kevin Kelly, Caterina Fake, Ricardo Semler, Ryan Flaherty, Tim Draper, Christopher Hitchens, Cathie Wood, Kanye West, Maya Angelou, Russell Moore, Winston Churchill
Meditations
Thinking, Fast and Slow
How To Win Friends and Influence People
Influence
The Psychology of Persuasion
The Alchemist
18 recommenders:
Aubrey Marcus, Will Smith, LeBron James, Big Sean, Brené Brown, Ryan Flaherty, Lisa Ling, Daniel Ek, Eric Ripert, Gabby Reece, Ryan Shea, Garry Tan, Lewis Howes, Tony Robbins, Jodie Cook, Andy Frisella, James Clear, Patrick Bet-David
The Innovator's Dilemma
When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
Shoe Dog
A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Siddhartha
The War of Art
Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Snow Crash
The Lean Startup
How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses
1984
Give and Take
Why Helping Others Drives Our Success
High Output Management
Play Nice But Win
A CEO's Journey from Founder to Leader
Poor Charlie's Almanack
The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
The Fountainhead
14 recommenders:
Mark Cuban, Tim Urban, Larry Ellison, Emma Watson, Kevin Kelly, Travis Kalanick, Vince Vaughn, Ev Williams, Jesse Williams, Noah Kagan, Fred Wilson, Jim Carrey, Ray Dalio, Shah Rukh Khan
The Better Angels of Our Nature
Why Violence Has Declined
Guns, Germs, and Steel
The Fates of Human Societies
12 recommenders:
Joe Rogan, Bill Gates, Charlie Munger, Simon Sinek, Daniel Ek, Jesse Williams, Stewart Brand, Patrick Arnold, Jamie Dimon, Margaret Atwood, Mark Manson, James Clear
How to Change Your Mind
What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
Originals
How Non-Conformists Move the World
12 recommenders:
Peter Thiel, Richard Branson, Tim Urban, Ray Dalio, Seth Godin, Arianna Huffington, Tony Hsieh, Whitney Wolfe Herd, Anthony Pompliano, Kat Cole, Sheryl Sandberg, Jodie Cook
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
12 recommenders:
Dave Ramsey, Daniel Pink, Ken Block, Dustin Moskovitz, Noah Kagan, Kishore Biyani, Michael McCullough, Shay Carl, Jenn Im, Jim Kwik, Michael Hyatt, Ben Greenfield
The Art Of War
The Four Agreements
A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
12 recommenders:
Joe Rogan, Peter Attia, Jack Dorsey, Aubrey Marcus, Ellen DeGeneres, Daniel Negreanu, Karlie Kloss, Big Sean, Jen Sincero, Danny Miranda, Robin Black, Patrick Bet-David
The Selfish Gene
12 recommenders:
Charlie Munger, Matt Ridley, Brian Armstrong, Ev Williams, Nick Szabo, Phil Libin, Mr. Money Mustache, Bob Metcalfe, David Deutsch, Tai Lopez, Elon Musk, Mark Manson
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"
Adventures of a Curious Character
11 recommenders:
Peter Attia, Naval Ravikant, Tim Ferriss, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Ev Williams, Sergey Brin, Brian Armstrong, Noah Kagan, Sahil Lavingia, James Clear
Anna Karenina
Good to Great
Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't
11 recommenders:
Jeff Bezos, Dave Ramsey, Jason Calacanis, Max Levchin, Brian Armstrong, Ev Williams, Frank Blake, Tracy DiNunzio, Daniel Ek, John Doerr, Michael Hyatt
Outliers
The Story of Success
11 recommenders:
Bill Gates, Charlie Munger, DJ Vlad, Dwayne Johnson, James Altucher, Joe Rogan, Shaun White, Will Smith, Jay-Z, Carlos Slim, Patrick Bet-David
The Rational Optimist
How Prosperity Evolves
Bird by Bird
Some Instructions on Writing and Life
10 recommenders:
Tim Ferriss, Daniel Pink, Susan Cain, Ryan Holiday, Matt Mullenweg, Ramit Sethi, Brian Koppelman, Mark Bittman, Mike Birbiglia, Matt Haig
Brave New World
Crime and Punishment
10 recommenders:
Jordan Peterson, Esther Perel, Larry King, Christopher Hitchens, PewDiePie, Jim Cramer, Ernest Hemingway, Jim Carrey, Brian Dean, Jack Edwards
Crossing the Chasm
Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers
10 recommenders:
Andrew Ng, Drew Houston, Seth Godin, Aaron Levie, Ev Williams, Ron Conway, Guy Kawasaki, Bill Gurley, Changpeng Zhao, Chris Dixon
Endurance
Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
10 recommenders:
Ray Dalio, Sam Altman, Bryan Johnson, Ryan Holiday, Scott Belsky, Max Levchin, Fred Wilson, Jason Fried, Dominic D'Agostino, Jordan Peterson
Finite and Infinite Games
10 recommenders:
Tristan Harris, Kevin Kelly, Stewart Brand, Simon Sinek, Graham Duncan, Jane McGonigal, Tobi Lütke, Daniel Gross, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Ryan Shea
Mindset
The New Psychology of Success
10 recommenders:
Bill Gates, Tobi Lütke, Satya Nadella, Tony Robbins, Josh Waitzkin, Ev Williams, Dustin Moskovitz, Kathryn Minshew, Tom Bilyeu, Mark Manson
Tao Te Ching
10 recommenders:
Rick Rubin, Naval Ravikant, Michael Gervais, Josh Waitzkin, Brian MacKenzie, Stewart Brand, Jason Nemer, Soman Chainani, Jack Dorsey, Jack Ma
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 1
10 recommenders:
Elon Musk, Shah Rukh Khan, Naval Ravikant, Seth Rogen, Richard Branson, Tim Ferriss, Evan Goldberg, Sahil Lavingia, Jack Edwards, Zack D'Aleo
The Obstacle Is the Way
The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
10 recommenders:
Aubrey Marcus, Tim Ferriss, Steven Pressfield, George Raveling, James Altucher, Christopher Sommer, Casey Neistat, Tom Bilyeu, Chris Do, Patrick Bet-David
Tools of Titans
The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
10 recommenders:
Jocko Willink, Tim Urban, Greg McKeown, Greg Norman, Daniel Pink, George Raveling, Kevin Rose, Mr. Money Mustache, Jodie Cook, Ben Greenfield
A Guide to the Good Life
The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
9 recommenders:
Tobi Lütke, Jason Fried, Marc Andreessen, Mr. Money Mustache, David Heinemeier Hansson, Derek Sivers, Phil Libin, Austen Allred, Jodie Cook
AI Superpowers
China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order
Antifragile
Incerto, Book 3
9 recommenders:
Ev Williams, James Altucher, Vlad Tenev, Tobi Lütke, Changpeng Zhao, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Shane Parrish, Tom Bilyeu, Vinod Khosla
Enlightenment Now
The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
9 recommenders:
Bill Gates, Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, Yuval Noah Harari, A.J. Jacobs, David Deutsch, Michael Mauboussin, Richard Dawkins, David Friedberg
Everything Is Figureoutable
9 recommenders:
Brené Brown, Arianna Huffington, Cheryl Strayed, Daymond John, Seth Godin, Simon Sinek, Sophia Amoruso, Steven Pressfield, Tony Robbins
High Growth Handbook
9 recommenders:
Reid Hoffman, Keith Rabois, Aaron Levie, Kathryn Minshew, Brian Armstrong, Max Levchin, Ryan Petersen, Alexis Ohanian, Chris Dixon
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Start with Why
How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
9 recommenders:
Richard Branson, Robert Rodriguez, Tony Hsieh, Julie Rice, Kathryn Minshew, Tom Bilyeu, Jim Kwik, Michael Hyatt, Patrick Bet-David
Steve Jobs
9 recommenders:
Elon Musk, Scott Adams, Ray Dalio, Bill Gates, Gary Vaynerchuk, George Raveling, Chris Fussell, Scott Belsky, Ed Zschau
The Black Swan
Incerto, Book 2
9 recommenders:
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Edward Norton, Nick Kokonas, James Altucher, Art De Vany, Ev Williams, Ryan Shea, Pavel Durov
The Changing World Order
Why Nations Succeed and Fail
9 recommenders:
Arianna Huffington, Jamie Dimon, Mark Cuban, Lex Fridman, David Friedberg, Changpeng Zhao, Mark Manson, Brian Armstrong, Balaji Srinivasan
The Checklist Manifesto
How to Get Things Right
9 recommenders:
Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey, Tim Ferriss, Malcolm Gladwell, Charles Poliquin, Keith Rabois, Ramit Sethi, Michael McCullough, Vinod Khosla
The Great Gatsby
9 recommenders:
Taylor Swift, Bill Gates, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Daniel Pink, Ev Williams, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Christopher Hitchens, Jim Carrey, Ryan Holiday
The Magic of Thinking Big
9 recommenders:
Tim Ferriss, Mr. Money Mustache, Dave Camarillo, Steve Harvey, Jodie Cook, Ali Abdaal, Jim Kwik, Michael Hyatt, Patrick Bet-David
The Power of Habit
Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
9 recommenders:
Ray Dalio, Scott Adams, Tim Ferriss, Naval Ravikant, Kelly Starrett, Mr. Money Mustache, Max Levchin, Danny Miranda, Patrick Bet-David
The Ride of a Lifetime
Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
9 recommenders:
Tim Ferriss, Brené Brown, Brian Chesky, Jason Calacanis, Karlie Kloss, Alexis Ohanian, Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, Saagar Enjeti
Thinking in Bets
Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts
9 recommenders:
Seth Godin, Marc Andreessen, Mike Maples, Jr., Max Levchin, Howard Marks, Michael Mauboussin, Jason Fried, Mark Manson, Danny Miranda
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
An Inquiry Into Values
9 recommenders:
Jordan Peterson, Paul Graham, Drew Houston, Josh Waitzkin, Bryan Johnson, Ev Williams, Austen Allred, Fred Wilson, Phil Jackson
Animal Farm
8 recommenders:
Jordan Peterson, J. Cole, Whitney Cummings, Daniel Pink, Vlad Tenev, Christopher Hitchens, Sahil Lavingia, Lex Fridman
Atomic Habits
An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
8 recommenders:
Tim Urban, Vinod Khosla, Biz Stone, Anthony Pompliano, Jodie Cook, Blake Randall, Ali Abdaal, Ben Greenfield
Autobiography of a Yogi
8 recommenders:
Steve Jobs, Marc Benioff, Dan Engle, Richa Chadha, Travis Brewer, Sahil Lavingia, Phil Jackson, Virat Kohli
Becoming Steve Jobs
The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader
8 recommenders:
Marc Andreessen, Jack Dorsey, Bill Gates, Peter Attia, Keith Rabois, Brian Armstrong, Ed Catmull, Jim Collins
Benjamin Franklin
An American Life
8 recommenders:
Elon Musk, Tim Ferriss, Ray Dalio, George Raveling, Scott Belsky, Brandon Stanton, Ed Zschau, Charlie Munger
Between the World and Me
8 recommenders:
Jack Dorsey, Bob Iger, Barack Obama, Jon Stewart, Cal Fussman, Sunny Hostin, Jay-Z, Mark Manson
Blitzscaling
The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies
8 recommenders:
Bill Gates, Vinod Khosla, Brian Chesky, Sam Altman, Eric Schmidt, Anthony Pompliano, Changpeng Zhao, Sheryl Sandberg
Creativity, Inc.
Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
Einstein
His Life and Universe
8 recommenders:
Mark Zuckerberg, Charlie Munger, Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, George Raveling, Sam Altman, Ed Zschau, Scott Belsky
Homo Deus
A Brief History, Book 2
8 recommenders:
Bill Gates, Naval Ravikant, Vinod Khosla, Richard Branson, Raoul Pal, Tai Lopez, Penn Jillette, Mark Manson
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
8 recommenders:
Peter Attia, Wim Hof, Laird Hamilton, Ev Williams, Mike Maples, Jr., Vinod Khosla, Fred Wilson, Ed Latimore
Lean In
Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
8 recommenders:
Richard Branson, Alicia Keys, Arianna Huffington, Jim Collins, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, John Doerr
Mastery
8 recommenders:
Aubrey Marcus, Ryan Holiday, Mark Hart, Tom Bilyeu, Rollo Tomassi, Robin Sharma, Robin Black, Patrick Bet-David
Measure What Matters
How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs
8 recommenders:
Larry Page, Bill Gates, Walter Isaacson, Dustin Moskovitz, Reid Hoffman, Jim Collins, Sheryl Sandberg, Marty Cagan
Only the Paranoid Survive
How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company
8 recommenders:
Steve Jobs, Marc Andreessen, Charlie Munger, Ben Horowitz, Bill Gates, Vinod Khosla, Balaji Srinivasan, Jamie Dimon
Ready Player One
8 recommenders:
Steve Jurvetson, Brian Armstrong, Astro Teller, Bill Gurley, Austen Allred, Jenn Im, George R. R. Martin, Mark Zuckerberg
Rework
8 recommenders:
Mark Cuban, Jeff Bezos, Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, Tom Peters, Tony Hsieh, Andrew Wilkinson, Shane Parrish
Skin in the Game
Incerto, Book 5
8 recommenders:
Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Peter Mallouk, Keith Rabois, Vinod Khosla, Changpeng Zhao, Chris Dixon, Ryan Shea
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
8 recommenders:
Charlie Munger, Paul Graham, Walter Isaacson, Cory Booker, Brandon Stanton, Vince Vaughn, Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon
The Beginning of Infinity
Explanations That Transform the World
8 recommenders:
Patrick Collison, Naval Ravikant, Sam Harris, Mark Zuckerberg, Steven Pinker, Chris Anderson, Mark Bell, Ryan Shea
The Catcher in the Rye
8 recommenders:
Bill Gates, Jennifer Lawrence, Gretchen Rubin, Ev Williams, Larry King, Tim Draper, Kathie Lee Gifford, Sarah Jessica Parker
The Coddling of the American Mind
How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
8 recommenders:
Vinod Khosla, Bryan Johnson, Max Levchin, Michael Mauboussin, Richard Dawkins, Tom Bilyeu, Derren Brown, Glenn Beck
The Coming Wave
Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma
8 recommenders:
Alain de Botton, Al Gore, Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, Stephen Fry, Tristan Harris, Yuval Noah Harari, Daniel Kahneman
The Denial of Death
8 recommenders:
Jordan Peterson, Eric Weinstein, Jason Silva, Darren Aronofsky, Shay Carl, Tai Lopez, Mark Manson, Marc Maron
The Lessons of History
8 recommenders:
Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Tim Ferriss, Kevin Systrom, Shane Parrish, Mark Manson, James Clear, Lyn Alden
The Old Man and the Sea
8 recommenders:
Jordan Peterson, Jack Dorsey, Josh Waitzkin, Phil Keoghan, PewDiePie, Lex Fridman, Mark Manson, Jack Edwards
The Oxford Shakespeare
The Complete Works
8 recommenders:
Shah Rukh Khan, J.K. Rowling, Barack Obama, Stewart Brand, Ricardo Semler, Christopher Hitchens, Fred Wilson, Mark Twain
The Prince
8 recommenders:
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stewart Brand, Ryan Holiday, Eric Ripert, Fred Wilson, Garry Tan, Ryan Shea, Patrick Bet-David
The Road
8 recommenders:
Jocko Willink, Oprah Winfrey, Aubrey Marcus, Charlize Theron, Joel McHale, Sam Hinkie, Lex Fridman, Ryan Holiday
The Score Takes Care of Itself
My Philosophy of Leadership
8 recommenders:
Jack Dorsey, Keith Rabois, Sam Altman, Ryan Holiday, Noah Kagan, Ron Conway, Vinod Khosla, Justin Kan
The True Believer
Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
8 recommenders:
Eric Weinstein, George Raveling, Mark Cuban, Seth Godin, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Mark Manson, Marc Andreessen, Patrick Bet-David
The Untethered Soul
The Journey Beyond Yourself
8 recommenders:
Naval Ravikant, Ryan Hoover, Daniel Gross, Deepak Chopra, Oprah Winfrey, Russell Brand, Tony Robbins, Danny Miranda
The Wealth of Nations
8 recommenders:
Elon Musk, Naval Ravikant, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Nick Szabo, Noam Chomsky, Brandon Stanton, Bill Gurley, Patrick Bet-David
What We Owe the Future
8 recommenders:
A.J. Jacobs, Ezra Klein, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julia Galef, Liv Boeree, Sam Harris, Stephen Fry, Elon Musk
When Breath Becomes Air
8 recommenders:
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Anthony Pompliano, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Tim Cook, Peter King, Shauna Niequist, James Clear
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
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