Paul Graham Book Recommendations

A Sense of Where You Are

Bill Bradley at Princeton

by John McPhee

Paul Graham's answer to "what’s the most beautiful book you’ve ever read?" (Source)

Founders at Work

Stories of Startups' Early Days

by Jessica Livingston

"Probably the single most valuable book a startup founder could read." - Paul Graham (Source)

Barbarian Days

A Surfing Life

by William Finnegan

"It's one of those rare books that divide your life into two parts: before you read it, and after." - Paul Graham (Source)

Sherlock Holmes (4 books)

"Few thoughts happier than realizing it's been long enough since you last read the Sherlocks Holmes stories that you can read them again." - Paul Graham (Source)

Medieval Technology and Social Change

by Lynn White

"The most fabulous book." - Paul Graham (Source)

On Bullshit

by Harry G. Frankfurt

According to a Twitter thread, Paul Graham praised this book. (Source)

A Mathematician's Apology

by G. H. Hardy

"Among the most inspiring books I know." - Paul Graham (Source)

Dog Man (10 books)

"Don't be so quick to add it to your reading list. Dog Man is aimed at 5-10 year olds." - Paul Graham (Source)

The German Generals Talk

by Basil H. Liddell Hart

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what’s your favorite book that almost nobody else knows or talks about?" (Source)

Mathematician's Delight

by W. Sawyer

"[One of ] the best [books] I can think of [to learn what math is really about]." - Paul Graham (Source)

How to Be Topp

by Ronald Searle

"I read this during dinner and laughed so much that people must have wondered what was wrong with me." - Paul Graham (Source)

Harry Potter (8 books)

Paul Graham mentioned these books on Twitter. (Source)

The Making of Europe

Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change, 950-1350

by Robert Bartlett

"I know I've recommended this book already, but it's so good I have to do it again. [The author] brings history to life by explaining how and why the things happened that other books merely tell you happened." - Paul Graham (Source)

A History of Rome

From its Origins to 529 A.D.

by Moses Hadas

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

by Harold Abelson

"This is one of the great classics of computer science. I bought my first copy 15 years ago, and I still don't feel I have learned everything the book has to teach." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Lord of the Rings (4 books)

Paul Graham's answer to "any book recommendations for young adults?" (Source)

Civilisation

by Kenneth Clark

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

by Robert A. Heinlein

"Made me want to work on AI, which led to Lisp." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Collected Works of P. G. Wodehouse

by PG Wodehouse

"[The author] is so good that I get distracted by his perfection. Not a word wrong." - Paul Graham (Source)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

An Inquiry Into Values

by Robert M. Pirsig

Paul Graham mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)

Guns, Sails, and Empires

Technological Innovation and the Early Phases of European Expansion, 1400- 1700

by Carlo M. Cipolla

"[Amazing.] An indictment of publishing that it's out of print." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

by Benjamin Franklin

"A great book, probably in my all time top 100." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

by Thomas S. Kuhn

Paul Graham mentioned re-reading this book on Twitter. (Source)

The Soul of A New Machine

by Tracy Kidder

One of Paul Graham's answers to "do you know of any good books about startups?" (Source)

My Family and Other Animals

by Gerald Durrell

"A wonderful book, though only implicitly about 'parenting.'" - Paul Graham (Source)

Clocks and Culture

1300-1700

by Carlo M. Cipolla

"I also recommend [this book]." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Man Who Knew Infinity

A Life of the Genius Ramanujan

by Robert Kanigel

"Great biography of Ramanujan." - Paul Graham (Source)

Euclid's Elements

by Euclid

"[One of ] the best [books] I can think of [to learn what math is really about]." - Paul Graham (Source)

The World We Have Lost

by Peter Laslett

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

Albert Einstein

Creator and Rebel

by Banesh Hoffmann

"The most exciting [biography of Einstein] I've read. The author is a physicist who is genuinely excited about Einstein's discoveries, and it moves fast instead of trying to leave no detail unpublished." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Extension of Man

A History of Physics before the Quantum

by J.D. Bernal

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

No Easy Day

The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden

by Mark Owen

"Simultaneously reading Rousseau's Confessions and [this book]. Triangulating..." - Paul Graham (Source)

Mohammed and Charlemagne

by Henri Pirenne

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

Wing Leader

The Top Scoring Allied Fighter Pilot of WWII

by Johnnie Johnson

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what’s your favorite book that almost nobody else knows or talks about?" (Source)

A Story Lately Told

Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York

by Anjelica Huston

"Wonderful." - Paul Graham (Source)

Plagues and Peoples

by William McNeill

"I suspect if you'd read 'Guns, Sails, and Empires' and [this book], little in 'Guns, Germs, and Steel' would surprise you." - Paul Graham (Source)

Richard Feynman

A Life in Science

by John Gribbin

"Excellent." - Paul Graham (Source)

Kelly

More Than My Share of It All

by Clarence L. Johnson

"How did I not know about this book til now?" - Paul Graham (Source)

History of the World

by J.M. Roberts

Paul Graham mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)

The Old Way

A Story of the First People

by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

"If you want to learn more about hunter gatherers I strongly recommend [this book]." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Double Helix

A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA

by James D. Watson Ph.D.

"The most impressive feature of [this book] is how much [the author] admits he didn't know. He's constantly talking about papers he couldn't understand and important concepts he didn't grasp." - Paul Graham (Source)

How To Win Friends and Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

"The one book we encourage startup founders to read. [...] It's critically important for anyone in business." - Paul Graham (Source)

Sea Flight

The Wartime Memoirs of a Fleet Air Arm Pilot

by Hugh Popham

"A wonderful book. I'm looking at the few pages left and wishing there were more." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Lives of the Artists

by Giorgio Vasari

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

The Battle of Alcazar

by E.W. Bovill

"Excellent." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Quest for El Cid

by Richard Fletcher

One of Paul Graham's answers to "are there any books on medieval history you can recommend?" (Source)

Very Good, Jeeves!

Jeeves, Book 4

by PG Wodehouse

"Wodehouse is so good that I get distracted by his perfection. Not a word wrong." - Paul Graham (Source)

Fall of Constantinople

by Steven Runciman

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

An Autobiography of Anthony Trollope

by Anthony Trollope

"[This] Autobiography is a wonderfully candid and inspiring one." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin and Hobbes, Book 18

by Bill Watterson

"Watterson is like Wodehouse. Because he works in an unpretentious medium, few realize how timelessly great he is." - Paul Graham (Source)

Flying Start

by Hugh Dundas

"A wonderful book." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Fry Chronicles

An Autobiography

by Stephen Fry

"As perfect as Wodehouse." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Ancient City

Life in Classical Athens and Rome

by Peter Connolly

"One of the best books I've found for explaining history to kids." - Paul Graham (Source)

Concorde

The Inside Story

by Geoffrey Knight

"[The author] was in charge of BAC's Commercial Aircraft Division, and thus the British side of Concorde development." - Paul Graham (Source)

Autobiographies

by Charles Darwin

Paul Graham mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)

Life in the English Country House

A Social and Architectural History

by Mark Girouard

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what’s your favorite book that almost nobody else knows or talks about?" (Source)

The Origin of Species

by Charles Darwin

Paul Graham used this book as an example that one scientist's "take" can be very convincing. (Source)

Fauna & Family

More Adventures of the Durrell Family of Corfu

by Gerald Durrell

"So good I'm reading slow to make it last." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Iliad

by Homer

Paul Graham's (funny) answer to "what are your favourite books with a politics very different to your own?" (Source)

The Harmless People

by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

"If you want to learn more about hunter gatherers I strongly recommend [this book]." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Confessions

by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

"Simultaneously reading [this book] and No Easy Day. Triangulating..." - Paul Graham (Source)

Memoirs or Chronicle of the Fourth Crusade and the Conquest of Constantinople

by Geoffrey de Villehardouin

"I've read [this book] at least two times, maybe three." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Complete Novels of Jane Austen

by Jane Austen

Paul Graham's answer to "examples of books that you reread years later, & found to be much better?" (Source)

The Art of War in the Middle Ages

by Charles Oman

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

Moorish Spain

by Richard Fletcher

"A great book." - Paul Graham (Source)

Hard Drive

Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire

by James Wallace

"Good." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Gallic Wars

by Julius Caesar

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

Blankie

Leslie Patricelli Board, Book 4

by Leslie Patricelli

"Will be deeply pleasing to [its respective audience]." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Copernican Revolution

Planetary Astronomy in the Development of Western Thought

by Thomas S. Kuhn

"Kuhn was surely most influenced by the Copernican Revolution. [This is an] excellent book incidentally." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Inimitable Jeeves

Jeeves and Wooster Book 2

by PG Wodehouse

Paul Graham's answer to "which P. G. Wodehouse book do you recommend?" (Source)

Maisy Mouse Collection

10 Books Set

by Lucy Cousins

"My favorite books for bedtime reading to 2 year olds." - Paul Graham (Source)

Born Red

A Chronicle of the Cultural Revolution

by Gao Yuan

"Book recommendation." - Paul Graham (Source)

Moab Is My Washpot

A Memoir

by Stephen Fry

Paul Graham's answer to "which Stephen Fry book do you recommend?" (Source)

The Spectator

Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays

by Joseph Addison

Paul Graham mentioned reading this book on Twitter. (Source)

Diocletian and the Roman Recovery

by Stephen Williams

"One of the best books about the late 3rd century." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Oxford History of Britain

Volume 1: Roman and Anglo-Saxon Britain

by Peter Salway

"Really excellent." - Paul Graham (Source)

The New Penguin Atlas of Ancient History

by Colin McEvedy

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

The Golden Trade of the Moors

West African Kingdoms in the Fourteenth Century

by E. W. Bovill

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?" (Source)

Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy

A Primer in the Social History of Pictorial Style

by Michael Baxandall

Paul Graham mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)

Memoirs of My Life

by Edward Gibbon

Paul Graham mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)

Good Night, Little Bear

by Patsy Scarry

Paul Graham mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)

Sunset at Blandings

by PG Wodehouse

"The writing in the novel Wodehouse left unfinished when he died at 93 is crisp as ever." - Paul Graham (Source)

With the Old Breed

At Peleliu and Okinawa

by E. B. Sledge

"Read this book." - Paul Graham (Source)

My Forty Years with Ford

by Charles E Sorensen

"I particularly liked [this book]." - Paul Graham (Source)

From Galileo to Newton

by A. Rupert Hall

"Particularly good at getting into contemporaries' heads." - Paul Graham (Source)

The Power Law

Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future

by Sebastian Mallaby

"If you want to understand how venture capital works and the effect it has had on the US economy, this is the book to read." - Paul Graham (Source)