Books Recommended by Kevin Kelly
The Ultimate Resource
Julian Lincoln Simon
Source: "[The author]’s clarifying insight—that mind and intelligence can overcome any physical limitations, and are therefore the only scarce resource—has become a big idea that colors much of what I look at today." - Kevin Kelly
Future Shock
Alvin Toffler
Source: "[The author] was the one who introduced the term 'future shock' which was that people would actually have like a resistance or a reaction to the future." - Kevin Kelly
Leaves of Grass
The Original 1855 Edition
Walt Whitman
Source: "While reading this classic poetic ode to America and possibilities ('I am multitude!') my gasket blew, and I became seized with an unstoppable urge to travel." - Kevin Kelly
Gandhi
An Autobiography - The Story of My Experiments With Truth
Mahatma Gandhi
Source: "[This book] curiously led me to Jesus. [The author]'s stance of radical honesty prompted me to attempt the same. It started my spiritual awakening." - Kevin Kelly
Shantaram
A Novel
Gregory David Roberts
Source: "You get an incredibly vivid, immersive, deep, and in some ways uplifting view of India and the underworld in India, into that part of Asia." - Kevin Kelly
Gödel, Escher, Bach
An Eternal Golden Braid
Douglas R. Hofstadter
Source: "Over the years, I kept finding myself returning to its insights, and each time I would arrive at them at a deeper level." - Kevin Kelly
So Good They Can't Ignore You
Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love
Cal Newport
Source: "What you really want to do is to master something and to use your mastering of something as a way to get to your passion." - Kevin Kelly
The Fountainhead
Ayn Rand
Source: "By the end of the book, I decided to drop out of school. I never returned. It was the best decision of my life." - Kevin Kelly
The Adventures of Johnny Bunko
The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need
Daniel Pink
Source: "It's a cartoon, basically, and it's aimed at young people as trying to teach them how to become indispensable." - Kevin Kelly
It's All Too Much
An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff
Peter Walsh
Source: "I actually gave it a whole page [in my book 'Cool Tools'] because I thought the message was so profound." - Kevin Kelly
Peopleware
Productive Projects and Teams
Tom DeMarco
Source: "A hugely underappreciated book. I remember all kinds of things from it." - Kevin Kelly
Childhood's End
Arthur C. Clarke
Source: "This story of a singularity always stuck with me as something to prepare for." - Kevin Kelly
The Essential Rumi
Jalal Al-Din Rumi
Source: "There is nothing that I enjoy more than at night reading Rumi." - Kevin Kelly
Finite and Infinite Games
James Carse
Source: "Gave me a mathematical framework for my own spirituality." - Kevin Kelly
Holy Bible
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Source: "Probably the most amazing thing you haven’t read yet." - Kevin Kelly
What the Dormouse Said
How the Sixties Counter culture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry
John Markoff
Source: "About the hippy origins of the personal computer industry." - Kevin Kelly
The Sound of the One Hand
281 Zen Koans with Answers
Yoel Hoffman
Source: Kevin Kelly recommended this book in the "Tools of Titans" book.
The Qur'an
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Source: "Read it through. It’s an amazing book." - Kevin Kelly
Regional Advantage
Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128
AnnaLee Saxenian
Source: "A really good book." - Kevin Kelly
FAQ
Did Kevin Kelly recommend all these books?
Not necessarily. This book list has Kevin Kelly must-read recommendations, but it also has a mix of mentions and suggestions.
How do you know Kevin Kelly mentioned these books?
Every suggestion made by Kevin Kelly is validated by our editors. You can find the sources to the recommendations linked next to the books.
Did Kevin Kelly actually create this list?
No. This reading list was curated by our editors based on confirmed mentions from Kevin Kelly, the sources are made available under each recommendation.
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