Books Recommended by Matt Ridley
The Martian
A Novel
Andy Weir
Source: "I loved the fact that the hero never once implies that it’s courage, spirit and faith that saves him [...] just lots of practical tinkering and problem-solving: Science the crap out of it." - Matt Ridley
Whole Earth Discipline
Why Dense Cities, Nuclear Power, Transgenic Crops, Restored Wildlands, and Geoengineering Are Necessary
Stewart Brand
Source: "Describes how one of the things he did was spawn a back-to-the-land movement with people growing their own vegetables and forming communes." - Matt Ridley
The Vital Question
Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life
Nick Lane
Source: "A brilliant new analysis of the origin of life, by the man who has himself done more than anybody to crack the problem." - Matt Ridley
What Technology Wants
Kevin Kelly
Source: "Realises that there’s an inexorability about the way technology changes and that it’s almost as if technology has its own agenda." - Matt Ridley
The Fabric of Civilization
How Textiles Made the World
Virginia Postrel
Source: "A fascinating, surprising and beautifully written history of technology, economics, and culture, told through the thread of textiles." - Matt Ridley
The Double Helix
A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
James D. Watson Ph.D.
Source: "An astonishing literary achievement, and it was about the greatest scientific discovery of the 20th century." - Matt Ridley
Dynasty
The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar
Tom Holland
Source: "It’s fascinating on how, inch by inch, Augustus and his successors surreptitiously turned a republic into an autocracy." - Matt Ridley
The Selfish Gene
Richard Dawkins
Source: "Turned evolutionary biology on its head and was written like a great detective story." - Matt Ridley
The Skeptical Environmentalist
Measuring the Real State of the World
Bjørn Lomborg
Source: "Most of the environmental trends in the world are getting better not worse." - Matt Ridley
The Bottomless Well
The Twilight of Fuel, The Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy
Peter Huber
Source: "Points out that the cheaper energy gets the more we use." - Matt Ridley
The Hockey Stick Illusion
A W Montford
Source: "A great piece of detective work on a key scientific blunder." - Matt Ridley
p53
The Gene that Cracked the Cancer Code
Sue Armstrong
Source: "[A fabulous chance] to eavesdrop on science in the making." - Matt Ridley
My Family and Other Animals
Gerald Durrell
Source: Matt Ridley recommended this book in a "What Should I Read Next" interview.
The Ultimate Resource 2
Julian Lincoln Simon
Source: "[The author] is really the god of this subject in many ways." - Matt Ridley
One Summer
America, 1927
Bill Bryson
Source: "A charming account of the events of 1927 in America." - Matt Ridley
Cuckoo
Cheating by Nature
Nick Davies
Source: "Mixes hard science with soft nature in a satisfying way." - Matt Ridley
Unravelling the Double Helix
The Lost Heroes of DNA
Gareth Williams
Source: "Uncovers those who almost found the secret of life." - Matt Ridley
The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin
Source: "[Changed] science and [reached] the public." - Matt Ridley
Alchemy
The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life
Rory Sutherland
Source: "Buy this book. I loved it. It’s full of great insights." - Matt Ridley
Into the Silence
The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest
Wade Davis
Source: "The account of the 1920s Everest expeditions." - Matt Ridley
FAQ
Did Matt Ridley recommend all these books?
Not necessarily. This book list has Matt Ridley must-read recommendations, but it also has a mix of mentions and suggestions.
How do you know Matt Ridley mentioned these books?
Every suggestion made by Matt Ridley is validated by our editors. You can find the sources to the recommendations linked next to the books.
Did Matt Ridley actually create this list?
No. This reading list was curated by our editors based on confirmed mentions from Matt Ridley, the sources are made available under each recommendation.
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