David Heinemeier Hansson Book Recommendations
David Heinemeier Hansson is a Danish programmer, racing driver and the creator of Ruby on Rails.
(Read more on Wikipedia)27 Books Recommended
Maverick
The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace
by Ricardo Semler
"A fantastic book [...] that was great inspiration to me." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
A Guide to the Good Life
The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
by William B. Irvine
"An easy way to learn about [Stoicism] and recognize why this resonates." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
Tobi Lütke, Jason Fried, Marc Andreessen, Mr. Money Mustache, Derek Sivers, Phil Libin, Austen Allred, Jodie Cook
The Myth of the Spoiled Child
Coddled Kids, Helicopter Parents, and Other Phony Crises
by Alfie Kohn
"A great book [...], which is even more specific about nurturing and supporting kids and so forth." - DHH (Source)
The Age of Absurdity
Why Modern Life makes it Hard to be Happy
by Michael Foley
"Another great book on philosophy in the current age." - DHH (Source)
Understanding Exposure
How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera
by Bryan Peterson
"Probably one of the first primers I read on [improving my photography]." - DHH (Source)
Punished by Rewards
The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes
by Alfie Kohn
"Outlines all the scientific research on why incentive systems don't work." - DHH (Source)
The 4-Hour Workweek
Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
by Tim Ferriss
"My key takeaway from [this book] was the concept of lifestyle design." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
Eric Weinstein, Tristan Harris, Charles Poliquin, Walter Isaacson, Daniel Pink, Blake Mycoskie, Marc Andreessen, Jason Silva, Mike Shinoda, Mark Bell, Tim Draper, Maurice Ashley, Derek Sivers, Rolf Potts, A.J. Jacobs, Michael Hyatt, Caterina Fake, Ev Williams, Gary Keller, Laura R Walker, Marc Goodman, Mike Maples, Jr., Lewis Howes, Jodie Cook, Brian Dean
Hell Yeah or No
What's worth doing
by Derek Sivers
"Don't think I've ever bought a book so quickly after seeing it released!" - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
Turn the Ship Around!
A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders
by L. David Marquet
"A wonderful book about a naval [Admiral] that was running one of the worst performing U.S. nuclear submarines and turned it around to be the best performing U.S. submarine." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
The Road to Wigan Pier
by George Orwell
"It’s amazing how much of the abusive ideology revealed in his account of the miners is still present in today’s gig economy." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
The Big Short
Inside the Doomsday Machine
by Michael Lewis
"A good one." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
Drive
The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
by Daniel Pink
"Takes some of those same ideas about motivations and rewards and extrapolates them in a little bit." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
Political Order and Political Decay
From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy
by Francis Fukuyama
"Traces back nation states all the way back to 4,000 years B.C. and goes through all the case studies of the rise of China and so forth." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
The Origins of Political Order
From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution
by Francis Fukuyama
"[This book and "Political Order and Political Decay" is] a fantastic two-part book." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
Escape from Freedom
by Erich Fromm
"One of my all-time top ten favorite books. Applies well in both business and politics." - DHH (Source)
A Doll's House
by Henrik Ibsen
"Classic Danish play from the 19th century [...] Surprisingly relevant for today." - DHH (Source)
Hate Inc.
Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another
by Matt Taibbi
"Telling the story of how TV, newspapers, and now the internet has reverted to the old partisan ways of the original media outlets." - DHH (Source)
I and Thou
by Martin Buber
"Treating humans as ends in themselves, not means to an end is perhaps the defining characteristic of humanism." - DHH (Source)
The Lost Writings
by Franz Kafka
"You're not here for a complete story, a narrative, but to bathe yourself in [the author]'s mind." - DHH (Source)
Give and Take
Why Helping Others Drives Our Success
by Adam Grant
"I almost gave up on the book immediately, but then I'd find a sentence that perked my interest, then read a little more." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
Ashton Kutcher, Daniel Pink, Krista Tippett, Susan Cain, Simon Sinek, Seth Godin, Chip Conley, Arianna Huffington, Tony Hsieh, Gretchen Rubin, Michael Mauboussin, Marcus Lemonis, Changpeng Zhao
The Management Myth
Why the Experts Keep Getting it Wrong
by Matthew Stewart
"A funny mix of stories, but it's worth the trip for the historical account of scientific management alone." - DHH (Source)
Bullshit Jobs
A Theory
by David Graeber
"Essentially a victory lap of the original essay and the response it provoked." - DHH (Source)
The Pathology of Normalcy
by Erich Fromm
"[The author] has touched on the idea that certain types of mental illness can be looked at in part as the sane reaction to an insane world." - DHH (Source)
The Talent Code
Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How.
by Daniel Coyle
"Main complaint seems to be 'this is a layman's description of not-new ideas'. I'm just fine with that." - DHH (Source)
Also recommended by:
Joe Rogan, Peter Attia, Kelly Starrett, Jason Fried, Tom Bilyeu, Tobi Lütke
Ruby on Rails Tutorial
Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series
by Michael Hartl
"Much celebrated." - DHH (Source)
