Sam Harris Book Recommendations

Behave

The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

by Robert M. Sapolsky

"I highly recommend. It really is the most accessible discussion of brain science you will find." - Sam Harris (Source)

The Flight of the Garuda

The Dzogchen Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism

by Keith Dowman

"Especially beautiful and wise." - Sam Harris (Source)

The Beginning of Infinity

Explanations That Transform the World

by David Deutsch

"Greatly expanded my sense of the potential power of human knowledge." - Sam Harris (Source)

Enlightenment Now

The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

by Steven Pinker

Sam Harris picked this as the first book in his Book Club. (Source)

Stumbling on Happiness

by Daniel Todd Gilbert

"A good book which I recommend." - Sam Harris (Source)

In Cold Blood

by Truman Capote

"If you just want to forget about the future and lose yourself in the book that forever changed how narrative nonfiction is written, read [this book]." - Sam Harris (Source)

Machete Season

The Killers in Rwanda Speak

by Jean Hatzfeld

"If you want to see what it’s like when things go about as wrong as they can go, read [this book]." - Sam Harris (Source)

The Anatomy of Disgust

by William Ian Miller

"Fun." - Sam Harris (Source)

History of Western Philosophy

And Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day

by Bertrand Russell

"Just a great example of how English should be written and just a great voice to have in your head as a result." - Sam Harris (Source)

The Qur'an

"Read it in a weekend and you will be informed about the central doctrines of Islam in a way that you may not be and it’s good to be informed, given how much influence these ideas have currently in our world." - Sam Harris (Source)

Hitch-22

A Memoir

by Christopher Hitchens

"You can get the benefit of both his voice and his writing if you listen to [this audiobook]." - Sam Harris (Source)

Reasons and Persons

by Derek Parfit

"Brilliant and written as though by an alien intelligence." - Sam Harris (Source)

Superintelligence

Paths, Dangers, Strategies

by Nick Bostrom

"Made me worry that machine knowledge could ruin everything." - Sam Harris (Source)

On Having No Head

by Douglas Edison Harding

"A very useful little volume." - Sam Harris (Source)

Our Final Invention

Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era

by James Barrat

"Good." - Sam Harris (Source)

Mortal Questions

by Thomas Nagel

"There are some very good essays in there that were very influential in philosophy and should be more influential in the culture, generally." - Sam Harris (Source)

The Last Word

by Thomas Nagel

"Champions rationality in a very compelling way." - Sam Harris (Source)

I Am That

by Nisargadatta Maharaj

"He said a few crazy things, as many gurus do. But if you stick to what he was claiming about the nature of experience, I think you’re on firm ground." - Sam Harris (Source)

Humiliation

by William Ian Miller

"Just on the phenomenon of being humiliated and differentiating it from embarrassment and other similar emotions." - Sam Harris (Source)

God Is Not Great

How Religion Poisons Everything

by Christopher Hitchens

"You can get the benefit of both his voice and his writing if you listen to [this audiobook]." - Sam Harris (Source)

One Blade of Grass

Finding the Old Road of the Heart, a Zen Memoir

by Henry Shukman

"Beautifully written." - Sam Harris (Source)

What We Owe the Future

by William MacAskill

"Altogether thrilling and necessary." - Sam Harris (Source)