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Daniel Ek Recommended Books
Daniel Ek has recommended 13 books. Browse the complete reading list with quotes and sources below.
Daniel Ek is the co-founder and CEO of Spotify.
(Read more on Wikipedia)13 Books Recommended
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Black Box Thinking
The Surprising Truth About Success
by Matthew Syed
"Since reading this book, I’ve literally incorporated this approach to problem-solving into every day." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
Richard Branson recommended this bookRichard Branson
Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.
Richard Branson's recommendation of this book
Hit Men
Power Brokers and Fast Money Inside the Music Business
by Fredric Dannen
"Still the essential biography of the music industry." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Leading
Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United
by Alex Ferguson
"[The author] grew Manchester United into one of the best known brands today, and that’s what fascinates me about him." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Guns, Germs, and Steel
The Fates of Human Societies
by Jared Diamond
"A brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning book about how the modern world was formed, analyzing how societies developed differently on different continents." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Also recommended by
11 people
Joe Rogan recommended this bookJoe Rogan
"An amazing book." - Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan's recommendation of this book 
Bill Gates recommended this bookBill Gates
"Fascinating.... Lays a foundation for understanding human history." - Bill Gates
Bill Gates's recommendation of this book 
Charlie Munger recommended this bookCharlie Munger
Charlie Munger recommended this book in the "Poor Charlie's Almanack" book.
Charlie Munger's recommendation of this book 
Simon Sinek recommended this bookSimon Sinek
"Offers us a new and remarkably simple way of looking at our world." - Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek's recommendation of this book 
Jesse Williams recommended this bookJesse Williams
"Helped rid me of the nagging incompleteness in my understood connection between the successes and failings of ancient and modern civilizations." - Jesse Williams
Jesse Williams's recommendation of this book 
Stewart Brand recommended this bookStewart Brand
"The main [book by this author]." - Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand's recommendation of this book +5
More recommendations
- Patrick Arnold
"Gave a big eye opening on why certain people of the world are more advanced than others and behave a certain way, as opposed to just genetics and this person is smarter because of this or that." - Patrick Arnold
- Jamie Dimon
On Jamie Dimon's list of favorite books.
- Margaret Atwood
"Also does pandemics." - Margaret Atwood
- Mark Manson
Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
- James Clear
"[One of] the 10 best nonfiction books of all-time." - James Clear
- Patrick Arnold
Poor Charlie's Almanack
The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
by Charlie Munger
"I’ve been enjoying Charlie Munger’s speeches online for years; this is the ultimate collection of the best of them." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Also recommended by
13 people
Naval Ravikant recommended this bookNaval Ravikant
"I always recommend [this book] as my top business book." - Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Marc Andreessen recommended this bookMarc Andreessen
"Tremendous." - Marc Andreessen
Marc Andreessen's recommendation of this book - Bill Gates recommended this book
Bill Gates
List of books Bill Gates read in 2011.
Bill Gates's recommendation of this book 
Warren Buffett recommended this bookWarren Buffett
"The ever-popular book about my partner." - Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett's recommendation of this book 
Patrick Collison recommended this bookPatrick Collison
Patrick Collison labeled this book "particularly great."
Patrick Collison's recommendation of this book 
Tim Ferriss recommended this bookTim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss mentioned this book on Twitter.
Tim Ferriss's recommendation of this book +7
More recommendations
- Drew Houston
"A great book." - Drew Houston
- Ramit Sethi
"An amazing book on mental models." - Ramit Sethi
- Shane Parrish
"If it’s knowledge and not credentials you’re after, [read this book]." - Shane Parrish
- Tai Lopez
"The one best book I've ever read." - Tai Lopez
- Courtland Allen
"Nobody asked me, but if you only read one book as a founder read [this book]." - Courtland Allen
- Patrick Bet-David
Patrick Bet-David recommended this book on his website.
- John Collison
"Get your copy of [this book], just in time for his centenary!" - John Collison
- Drew Houston
Sapiens
A Brief History, Book 1
by Yuval Noah Harari
"Both sobering and conservatively optimistic in equal measure." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Also recommended by
31 people- Joe Rogan recommended this book
Joe Rogan
"It really puts in perspective how bizarre human beings are. It’s an awesome overview of our species." - Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan's recommendation of this book - Bill Gates recommended this book
Bill Gates
"I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a fun, engaging look at early human history." - Bill Gates
Bill Gates's recommendation of this book - Naval Ravikant recommended this book
Naval Ravikant
"Best book I've read in [2015]." - Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Lex Fridman recommended this bookLex Fridman
"Basically one of the things we've created here is we've imagined ideas that we all share." - Lex Fridman
Lex Fridman's recommendation of this book 
Mark Zuckerberg recommended this bookMark Zuckerberg
"A big history narrative of human civilization." - Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg's recommendation of this book 
Peter Attia recommended this bookPeter Attia
One of Peter Attia's answers to "any books you feel would make your reading list?"
Peter Attia's recommendation of this book +25
More recommendations
- Ashton Kutcher
"The brainy book I seem to be sharing or talking about the most lately." - Ashton Kutcher
- Whitney Cummings
"A great book about [how] we’ve evolved and why we have anxiety." - Whitney Cummings
- Richard Branson
"I just love the style of his writing." - Richard Branson
- Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
- Vinod Khosla
"A previous favorite." - Vinod Khosla
- James Cameron
"It explains human behavior and why we are the way we are in human civilization from soup to nuts. And I’ve read it now a couple of times. It’s a pretty astonishing book." - James Cameron
- Demis Hassabis
"There's not many times where I read a book and come out with 20 new ideas I hadn't thought about before, and [this book] made me think like that." - Demis Hassabis
- Keith Rabois
Keith Rabois recommended this book on a Medium blog post.
- Reid Hoffman
"A grand theory of humanity." - Reid Hoffman
- Sam Kass
Sam Kass recommended this book in the "Tools of Titans" book.
- Sebastian Junger
"I’m going to give [this book] over and over again to everyone I know." - Sebastian Junger
- Kishore Biyani
"Fascinating because of its multi-disciplinary approach towards understanding human society, our behaviour and our future." - Kishore Biyani
- Ryan Shea
One of Ryan Shea's 4 answers to "what is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift?"
- Melinda Gates
Melinda Gates recommended this book on Likewise.com.
- Bill Gurley
"I really enjoyed [this book]." - Bill Gurley
- Karlie Kloss
"An amazing book on the beginning of humanity." - Karlie Kloss
- Anthony Pompliano
"[One of the] best books I read in 2017." - Anthony Pompliano
- Changpeng Zhao
"Gives me a greater perspective about how humans emerged and why we behave the way we do." - Changpeng Zhao
- PewDiePie
"Tells the major revolutions of human history." - PewDiePie
- Patrick O'Shaughnessy
"Provides a concise history of humankind and outlines why we have the psychology we do today." - Patrick O'Shaughnessy
- Chris Evans
"Truly mind-blowing. It’s changed the way I look at almost everything. I can’t endorse it enough." - Chris Evans
- Simon Mayo
"Love this book still." - Simon Mayo
- Penn Jillette
Penn Jillette mentioned this book in a New York Times interview.
- Mark Manson
Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
- James Clear
"[One of] the 10 best nonfiction books of all-time." - James Clear
- Ashton Kutcher
Raising Girls
How to Help Your Daughter Grow Up Happy, Healthy, and Strong
by Steve Biddulph
"Has been super helpful to me in setting out a clear map of girls' developmental stages and how we can make sure we don’t sell out the potential or uniqueness of our daughters." - Daniel Ek (Source)
The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
"It was fascinating to talk to [the author] about how this book came to be such a hit—he never backed down, and he allowed people to read it for free in order to then boost sales." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Also recommended by
17 people
Aubrey Marcus recommended this bookAubrey Marcus
"One of the first books that profoundly changed my life for the better." - Aubrey Marcus
Aubrey Marcus's recommendation of this book 
Will Smith recommended this bookWill Smith
"One of my favorite books." - Will Smith
Will Smith's recommendation of this book 
LeBron James recommended this bookLeBron James
"The more and more that you dream and actually talk about something that you want to do, it can become true." - LeBron James
LeBron James's recommendation of this book 
Big Sean recommended this bookBig Sean
"A crazy story." - Big Sean
Big Sean's recommendation of this book 
Brené Brown recommended this bookBrené Brown
"There's a great quote in [this book]: When you're on the right path the universe conspires to help you!" - Brené Brown
Brené Brown's recommendation of this book 
Ryan Flaherty recommended this bookRyan Flaherty
"I’ve loved [this book] for a very long time." - Ryan Flaherty
Ryan Flaherty's recommendation of this book +11
More recommendations
- Lisa Ling
"This simple little book contains hugely profound meaning." - Lisa Ling
- Eric Ripert
"Speaks of everyone having an ultimate goal in life, but most of us are too afraid to pursue it. The encouragement to fulfill your dreams is very inspirational!" - Eric Ripert
- Gabby Reece
"It’s that reminder that as you go out in the world and you’re looking for all these things, sometimes it is within us." - Gabby Reece
- Ryan Shea
One of Ryan Shea's 4 answers to "what is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift?"
- Garry Tan
"A remarkable book and I heartily recommend it." - Garry Tan
- Lewis Howes
"I've only probably read 4 books cover to cover. [This is one of them.]" - Lewis Howes
- Tony Robbins
"Great book." - Tony Robbins
- Jodie Cook
"The most important messages shared in the most beautiful story." - Jodie Cook
- Andy Frisella
"A wonderful book." - Andy Frisella
- James Clear
"[One of] the 10 best fiction books." - James Clear
- Patrick Bet-David
Patrick Bet-David recommended this book on his website.
- Lisa Ling
The Minefield Girl
by Sofia Ek
"About [the author's] experiences being a young Western woman living and doing business in a dictatorship, and it’s a story of love and hustle in a land where nothing is what it appears to be." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Bass Culture
When Reggae Was King
by Lloyd Bradley
"A great history of reggae music and the influences it has on other genres." - Daniel Ek (Source)
7 Powers
The Foundations of Business Strategy
by Hamilton Helmer
"At Spotify the 7 Powers are widely used as we discuss new initiatives." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Also recommended by
5 people
Keith Rabois recommended this bookKeith Rabois
Keith Rabois recommended this book on a Medium blog post.
Keith Rabois's recommendation of this book - Patrick Collison recommended this book
Patrick Collison
"Deeply incisive." - Patrick Collison
Patrick Collison's recommendation of this book 
Peter Thiel recommended this bookPeter Thiel
"[The author] understands that strategy starts with invention. He can't tell you what to invent, but he can and does show what it takes for a new invention to become a valuable business." - Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel's recommendation of this book 
Reed Hastings recommended this bookReed Hastings
"The forces of competition are just incredibly strong. Everyone is trying to eat your lunch, and if you don't read [this book] you're going to die alot sooner." - Reed Hastings
Reed Hastings's recommendation of this book 
Ryan Petersen recommended this bookRyan Petersen
"[Part of] my biz book canon." - Ryan Petersen
Ryan Petersen's recommendation of this book
Good to Great
Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't
by Jim Collins
"A really interesting book." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Also recommended by
10 people
Jeff Bezos recommended this bookJeff Bezos
Part of "Jeff's Reading List."
Jeff Bezos's recommendation of this book 
Dave Ramsey recommended this bookDave Ramsey
Recommended on Dave Ramsey's website.
Dave Ramsey's recommendation of this book 
Jason Calacanis recommended this bookJason Calacanis
"The great management book." - Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis's recommendation of this book 
Max Levchin recommended this bookMax Levchin
One of Max Levchin's answers to "what's your favourite business book you'd advise to young entrepreneurs?"
Max Levchin's recommendation of this book 
Brian Armstrong recommended this bookBrian Armstrong
"The scientific method can be applied to business. This book draws powerful lessons from data." - Brian Armstrong
Brian Armstrong's recommendation of this book 
Ev Williams recommended this bookEv Williams
On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.
Ev Williams's recommendation of this book +4
More recommendations
- Frank Blake
"As a business person, I love [this book]." - Frank Blake
- Tracy DiNunzio
"It’s too good. [...] Definitely a must read." - Tracy DiNunzio
- John Doerr
John Doerr recommended this book at the end of "Measure What Matters."
- Michael Hyatt
Michael Hyatt recommended this book on his website.
- Frank Blake
The Promise of a Pencil
How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change
by Adam Braun
"Amazing book, amazing cause." - Daniel Ek (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
Ellen DeGeneres recommended this bookEllen DeGeneres
"If you need a good Spring Break read, check out [this book]." - Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres's recommendation of this book
Edited by
Richard Reis
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
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Anurag Ramdasan
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
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