Books Recommended by David Heinemeier Hansson
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Turn the Ship Around!
A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders
L. David Marquet
Source: "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
The Pathology of Normalcy
Erich Fromm
Source: "[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
1 recommender
Political Order and Political Decay
From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy
Francis Fukuyama
Source: "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
2 recommenders
Give and Take
Why Helping Others Drives Our Success
Adam Grant
Source: "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
Hate Inc.
Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another
Matt Taibbi
Source: "Telling the story of how TV, newspapers, and now the internet has reverted to the old partisan ways of the original media outlets." - DHH
1 recommender
I and Thou
Martin Buber
Source: "Treating humans as ends in themselves, not means to an end is perhaps the defining characteristic of humanism." - DHH
1 recommender
The Road to Wigan Pier
George Orwell
Source: "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
3 recommenders
Drive
The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Daniel Pink
Source: "Takes some of those same ideas about motivations and rewards and extrapolates them in a little bit." - DHH
The Talent Code
Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How.
Daniel Coyle
Source: "Main complaint seems to be 'this is a layman's description of not-new ideas'. I'm just fine with that." - DHH
The Lost Writings
Franz Kafka
Source: "You're not here for a complete story, a narrative, but to bathe yourself in [the author]'s mind." - DHH
1 recommender
The Management Myth
Why the Experts Keep Getting it Wrong
Matthew Stewart
Source: "A funny mix of stories, but it's worth the trip for the historical account of scientific management alone." - DHH
1 recommender
The Myth of the Spoiled Child
Coddled Kids, Helicopter Parents, and Other Phony Crises
Alfie Kohn
Source: "A great book [...], which is even more specific about nurturing and supporting kids and so forth." - DHH
1 recommender
A Doll's House
Henrik Ibsen
Source: "Classic Danish play from the 19th century [...] Surprisingly relevant for today." - DHH
1 recommender
Escape from Freedom
Erich Fromm
Source: "One of my all-time top ten favorite books. Applies well in both business and politics." - DHH
1 recommender
Bullshit Jobs
A Theory
David Graeber
Source: "Essentially a victory lap of the original essay and the response it provoked." - DHH
1 recommender
A Guide to the Good Life
The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
William B. Irvine
Source: "An easy way to learn about [Stoicism] and recognize why this resonates." - DHH
Understanding Exposure
How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera
Bryan Peterson
Source: "Probably one of the first primers I read on [improving my photography]." - DHH
1 recommender
Punished by Rewards
The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes
Alfie Kohn
Source: "Outlines all the scientific research on why incentive systems don't work." - DHH
1 recommender
The Origins of Political Order
From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution
Francis Fukuyama
Source: "[This book and "Political Order and Political Decay" is] a fantastic two-part book." - DHH
2 recommenders
Either/Or
A Fragment of Life
Søren Kierkegaard
Source: "[The author]'s funny, he's straight forward (even when sarcastic), he's INTERESTING." - DHH
2 recommenders
Hell Yeah or No
What's worth doing
Derek Sivers
Source: "Don't think I've ever bought a book so quickly after seeing it released!" - DHH
2 recommenders
Maverick
The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace
Ricardo Semler
Source: "A fantastic book [...] that was great inspiration to me." - DHH
The 4-Hour Workweek
Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
Tim Ferriss
Source: "My key takeaway from [this book] was the concept of lifestyle design." - DHH
26 recommendersA.J. JacobsBlake MycoskieCaterina FakeCharles PoliquinDaniel PinkDavid Heinemeier HanssonDerek SiversEric WeinsteinEv WilliamsGary KellerJason SilvaLaura R WalkerMarc AndreessenMarc GoodmanMark BellMaurice AshleyMike Maples, Jr.Mike ShinodaRolf PottsTim DraperTristan HarrisWalter IsaacsonLewis HowesJodie CookBrian DeanMichael Hyatt
The Age of Absurdity
Why Modern Life makes it Hard to be Happy
Michael Foley
Source: "Another great book on philosophy in the current age." - DHH
1 recommender
2 recommenders
Ruby on Rails Tutorial
Addison-Wesley Professional Ruby Series
Michael Hartl
Source: "Much celebrated." - DHH
2 recommenders
3 recommenders
20 books
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