Sam Altman Recommended Books
Sam Altman has recommended 55 books. Browse the complete reading list with quotes and sources below.
Sam Altman is an American entrepreneur, investor, programmer, and blogger.
(Read more on Wikipedia)55 Books Recommended
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Solution Selling
Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
The Supermen
The Story of Seymour Cray and the Technical Wizards Behind the Supercomputer
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
Endurance
Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
Also recommended by:
Ray Dalio, Bryan Johnson, Ryan Holiday, Scott Belsky, Max Levchin, Fred Wilson, Jason Fried, Dominic D'Agostino, Jordan Peterson
Foundation (7 books)
This series was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
Adam Gazzaley, Demis Hassabis, Elon Musk, Lex Fridman, Naval Ravikant, Ryan Shea, Stewart Brand, Austen Allred, Cameron Winklevoss, Sahil Lavingia
The Beak of the Finch
A Story of Evolution in Our Time
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
The Old Way
A Story of the First People
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
Hold 'em Poker
For Advanced Players
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
A Pattern Language
Towns, Buildings, Construction
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
Patrick Collison, Naval Ravikant, Stewart Brand, Gretchen Rubin, Liz Lambert
Blitzscaling
The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies
"Have been waiting for it to come out so that I can recommend it to everyone." - Sam Altman (Source)
Also recommended by:
Bill Gates, Vinod Khosla, Brian Chesky, Eric Schmidt, Anthony Pompliano, Changpeng Zhao, Sheryl Sandberg
The Art of War in the Middle Ages
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
Also recommended by:
Superintelligence
Paths, Dangers, Strategies
"Best thing I’ve seen on this topic." - Sam Altman (Source)
Also recommended by:
Elon Musk, Naval Ravikant, Sam Harris, Will MacAskill, Marc Goodman
A Life Decoded
My Genome: My Life
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Meditations
"Great read." - Sam Altman (Source)
Winning
The Ultimate Business How-To Book
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
Also recommended by:
The Transit of Venus
"Incredible." - Sam Altman (Source)
Plentiful Energy
The Story of the Integral Fast Reactor
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
Pandaemonium
The Coming of the Machine as Seen by Contemporary Observers
"My favorite book of [2018]." - Sam Altman (Source)
Man's Search for Meaning
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
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, 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
Plan B 3.0
Mobilizing to Save Civilization
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
Stories
"Really good." - Sam Altman (Source)
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Powering the Future
How We Will (Eventually) Solve the Energy Crisis and Fuel the Civilization of Tomorrow
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
The Principia
The Authoritative Translation and Guide: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
Also recommended by:
Thinking, Fast and Slow
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
Fundamentals of Plasma Physics
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Anna Karenina
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
Oprah Winfrey, Jordan Peterson, Chelsea Handler, Jennifer Lawrence, Laura R Walker, Austen Allred, Jen Wilkin, Ernest Hemingway, Bret Easton Ellis, Peter Thiel
Hunger of Memory
The Education of Richard Rodriguez
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
The Trial of Socrates
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
The Republic
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
Also recommended by:
Mark Zuckerberg, Maria Popova, Vlad Tenev, Nolan Bushnell, Mark Manson
Dealers of Lightning
Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
Also recommended by:
The Score Takes Care of Itself
My Philosophy of Leadership
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
Also recommended by:
Jack Dorsey, Keith Rabois, Ryan Holiday, Noah Kagan, Ron Conway, Vinod Khosla, Justin Kan
The Constitutional Convention
A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?" (Source)
The Kite Runner
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
Brave New World
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
Jordan Peterson, Yuval Noah Harari, Tristan Harris, Matt Mullenweg, Stewart Brand, Christopher Hitchens, Sahil Lavingia, Winston Churchill, PewDiePie
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
The Fall
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
The Legend of Henry Ford
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Einstein
His Life and Universe
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
Mark Zuckerberg, Charlie Munger, Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, George Raveling, Ed Zschau, Scott Belsky
The Picture of Dorian Gray
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
Call Me by Your Name
A Novel
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
The Making of a Manager
What to Do When Everyone Looks to You
"Gives new managers the tools they need to help their people and company win." - Sam Altman (Source)
Also recommended by:
Daniel Pink, Ev Williams, Gretchen Rubin, Stewart Butterfield, Ali Abdaal, Marty Cagan
Medieval Technology and Social Change
"Really is great." - Sam Altman (Source)
Also recommended by:
Guns, Sails, and Empires
Technological Innovation and the Early Phases of European Expansion, 1400- 1700
"Excellent!" - Sam Altman (Source)
Also recommended by:
Secrets of Sand Hill Road
Venture Capital and How to Get It
"A valuable resource for any founder who wants to work with VCs." - Sam Altman (Source)
Also recommended by:
Mind of Napoleon
A Selection of His Written and Spoken Words
"An incredible primary-source portrait on a brilliant (but obviously deeply flawed) individual." - Sam Altman (Source)
Zero to One
Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Also recommended by:
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, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Tom Bilyeu, Ryan Petersen, Brian Dean, Rupert Murdoch
Skunk Works
A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf. (Source)
Other Recommenders
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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