13 Best Evolutionary Psychology Books
We analyzed 4+ expert sources, curated book lists, and recommendations from successful people to find the 13 best evolutionary psychology books according to the internet — not just one person's opinion. Each book on this list was mentioned by at least two independent sources, and the ranking is based on how frequently each title appears across all sources studied. This consensus-based approach ensures you get recommendations backed by multiple experts, not a single reviewer's bias.
Goal: Find the best Evolutionary Psychology books according to the internet (not just one person's opinion).
Method:
- Search for "best evolutionary psychology books" and study the top 4+ pages.
- Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
- Rank the results neatly here.
13 Best Evolutionary Psychology Books
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The Selfish Gene
Also recommended by
12 people
Charlie Munger recommended this bookCharlie Munger
"I had to read [this book] twice before I fully understood it." - Charlie Munger
Charlie Munger's recommendation of this book 
Matt Ridley recommended this bookMatt Ridley
"Turned evolutionary biology on its head and was written like a great detective story." - Matt Ridley
Matt Ridley's recommendation of this book 
Brian Armstrong recommended this bookBrian Armstrong
"Famous book about how our bodies are vehicles to replicate our genes (even though we occasionally defy them)." - 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 
Nick Szabo recommended this bookNick Szabo
"Explains more about life (including human behavior and myself) than anything else I’ve read. " - Nick Szabo
Nick Szabo's recommendation of this book 
Phil Libin recommended this bookPhil Libin
"Had a profound influence on me pretty early on." - Phil Libin
Phil Libin's recommendation of this book +6
More recommendations
- Mr. Money Mustache
"An explanation of evolution since the beginning of life that explains things from the perspective of individual genes." - MMM
- Bob Metcalfe
"It just seemed to explain everything." - Bob Metcalfe
- David Deutsch
"Influenced my books." - David Deutsch
- Tai Lopez
"Mind blowing book. [...] But warning you, it’s too true for most people to handle..." - Tai Lopez
- Elon Musk
"Most people don't realize that the origin of the word 'meme' is [this book]." - Elon Musk
- Mark Manson
Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
- Mr. Money Mustache
The Blank Slate
The Modern Denial of Human Nature
Also recommended by
3 people
Nassim Taleb recommended this bookNassim Taleb
"A great exposition of modern scientific thinking and understanding of the nature of man." - Nassim Taleb
Nassim Taleb's recommendation of this book 
Tom Bilyeu recommended this bookTom Bilyeu
Tom Bilyeu recommended this book on Twitter.
Tom Bilyeu's recommendation of this book 
Mark Manson recommended this bookMark Manson
Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
Mark Manson's recommendation of this book
The Moral Animal
Why We Are, the Way We Are
Also recommended by
2 people
Ryan Holiday recommended this bookRyan Holiday
"The definitive beginner text on evolutionary psychology and one of the easiest to get into." - Ryan Holiday
Ryan Holiday's recommendation of this book - Tom Bilyeu recommended this book
Tom Bilyeu
Tom Bilyeu recommended this book on his website.
Tom Bilyeu's recommendation of this book
Evolutionary Psychology
The New Science of the Mind
The Evolution of Desire
Strategies of Human Mating
The Mating Mind
How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature
Behave
The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
Also recommended by
6 people
Sam Harris recommended this bookSam Harris
"I highly recommend. It really is the most accessible discussion of brain science you will find." - Sam Harris
Sam Harris's recommendation of this book 
Marc Andreessen recommended this bookMarc Andreessen
"Robert Sapolsky's magnum opus on human behavior." - Marc Andreessen
Marc Andreessen's recommendation of this book 
Vinod Khosla recommended this bookVinod Khosla
"Among the best insights into our brain and behavior." - Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla's recommendation of this book 
Bryan Johnson recommended this bookBryan Johnson
Bryan Johnson recommended this book on Twitter.
Bryan Johnson's recommendation of this book 
Keith Rabois recommended this bookKeith Rabois
"A bit of a long commitment but worth it. Provocative." - Keith Rabois
Keith Rabois's recommendation of this book 
Michael Mauboussin recommended this bookMichael Mauboussin
"The best book I have ever read on human behavior." - Michael Mauboussin
Michael Mauboussin's recommendation of this book
The Red Queen
Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
Also recommended by
4 people
Naval Ravikant recommended this bookNaval Ravikant
"Everything by [this author] is worth reading." - Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Aubrey Marcus recommended this bookAubrey Marcus
"If you want to understand HUMAN sexual biology, this information is incomplete at best." - Aubrey Marcus
Aubrey Marcus's recommendation of this book - Nick Szabo recommended this book
Nick Szabo
"I think three or four of my top 20 books of all time are all [this author's]." - Nick Szabo
Nick Szabo's recommendation of this book 
Neil Strauss recommended this bookNeil Strauss
"Diverse, engaging, and wide-ranging." - Neil Strauss
Neil Strauss's recommendation of this book
The Origins of Virtue
Human Instincts and The Evolution of Cooperation
Also recommended by
2 people- Naval Ravikant recommended this book
Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant's answer to "one book recommendation on Game theory?"
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book - Nick Szabo recommended this book
Nick Szabo
"I think three or four of my top 20 books of all time are all [this author's]." - Nick Szabo
Nick Szabo's recommendation of this book
The Language Instinct
How the Mind Creates Language
Also recommended by
1 person- Charlie Munger recommended this book
Charlie Munger
"Says that human language ability is not just learned, it is deeply buried - to a considerable extent - in the genome." - Charlie Munger
Charlie Munger's recommendation of this book
How the Mind Works
The Adapted Mind
Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture
Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters
From Dating, Shopping, and Praying to Going to War and Becoming a Billionaire
Sources
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
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