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Nick Szabo Recommended Books
Nick Szabo has recommended 23 books. Browse the complete reading list with quotes and sources below.
Nick Szabo is a computer scientist, legal scholar and cryptographer.
(Read more on Wikipedia)23 Books Recommended
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Money Changes Everything
How Finance Made Civilization Possible
by William N. Goetzmann
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
The Most Powerful Idea in the World
A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention
by William Rosen
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
Bill Gates recommended this bookBill Gates
"An entertaining narrative weaving together the clever characters, incremental innovations and historical context behind the steam engines that gave birth to our modern world." - Bill Gates
Bill Gates's recommendation of this book
The Fatal Conceit
The Errors of Socialism
by F. A. Hayek
"[One] of the most important books I’ve read." - Nick Szabo (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
Charles Koch recommended this bookCharles Koch
Charles Koch recommended this book on his website.
Charles Koch's recommendation of this book
Getting To Maybe
How to Excel on Law School Exams
by Richard Michael Fischl
"Nominally a book on how to take a law school exam. Really a primer on quantum thought." - Nick Szabo (Source)
Masters of the Word
How Media Shaped History
by William J. Bernstein
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
A History of Western Technology
by Friedrich Klemm
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
The Measure of Reality
Quantification in Western Europe, 1250–1600
by Alfred Crosby
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
Metaphors We Live By
by George Lakoff
"[One] of the most important books I’ve read." - Nick Szabo (Source)
Also recommended by
2 people
Tristan Harris recommended this bookTristan Harris
"Talked about the power of grounding metaphor." - Tristan Harris
Tristan Harris's recommendation of this book 
Patrick O'Shaughnessy recommended this bookPatrick O'Shaughnessy
"Intense, but it is the best book I’ve read about how we learn and communicate." - Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Patrick O'Shaughnessy's recommendation of this book
The Columbian Exchange
Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492
by Alfred Crosby
"Basically what Jared Diamond ripped off when he wrote his book." - Nick Szabo (Source)
The Rational Optimist
How Prosperity Evolves
by Matt Ridley
"I think three or four of my top 20 books of all time are all [this author's. This is my favorite one.]" - Nick Szabo (Source)
Also recommended by
10 people
Naval Ravikant recommended this bookNaval Ravikant
"The most brilliant and enlightening book I've read in years." - Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Jordan Peterson recommended this bookJordan Peterson
Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.
Jordan Peterson's recommendation of this book - Bill Gates recommended this book
Bill Gates
"Its subject is the history of humanity, focusing on why our species has succeeded and how we should think about the future." - Bill Gates
Bill Gates's recommendation of this book 
Mark Zuckerberg recommended this bookMark Zuckerberg
"Argues [that] economic progress is the greater force [that] is pushing society forward." - Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg's recommendation of this book 
Marc Andreessen recommended this bookMarc Andreessen
"Sparkling explanation of how the economy evolves, producing the glorious cornucopia of goods and services available all around us. How to feel good about the future even in dark times." - Marc Andreessen
Marc Andreessen's recommendation of this book 
Mr. Money Mustache recommended this bookMr. Money Mustache
"It argues compellingly that everything is not only going to be OK in the future, it is surely going to be Fucking Great. That much, I agree with." - MMM
Mr. Money Mustache's recommendation of this book +4
More recommendations
- John Arnold
One of John Arnold's answers to "what is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift?"
- Bill Gurley
"[The author] has the ability to combine thinking from many fields - most notably science, technology, psychology, & a heavy dose of microeconomics." - Bill Gurley
- Anthony Pompliano
"[One of the] best books I read in 2017." - Anthony Pompliano
- Rupert Murdoch
"Re-read [this great book] after 5 years. As stimulating as ever." - Rupert Murdoch
- John Arnold
The Black Book of Communism
Crimes, Terror, Repression
by Mark Kramer
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
The Fourth Part of the World
The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map That Gave America Its Name
by Toby Lester
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
The 10,000 Year Explosion
How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution
by Gregory Cochran
"[A crucial book] on our origins & our natures." - Nick Szabo (Source)
Glass
A World History
by Alan Macfarlane
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
The Origins of Virtue
Human Instincts and The Evolution of Cooperation
by Matt Ridley
"I think three or four of my top 20 books of all time are all [this author's]." - Nick Szabo (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person- 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
Conquest, Tribute and Trade
How the Quest for Precious Metals Gave Birth to Globalization
by Howard J. Erlichman
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
A Splendid Exchange
How Trade Shaped the World
by William J. Bernstein
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
The Selfish Gene
by Richard Dawkins
"Explains more about life (including human behavior and myself) than anything else I’ve read. " - Nick Szabo (Source)
Also recommended by
11 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 
Phil Libin recommended this bookPhil Libin
"Had a profound influence on me pretty early on." - Phil Libin
Phil Libin's recommendation of this book - Mr. Money Mustache recommended this book
Mr. Money Mustache
"An explanation of evolution since the beginning of life that explains things from the perspective of individual genes." - MMM
Mr. Money Mustache's recommendation of this book +5
More recommendations
- 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.
- Bob Metcalfe
The Wealth of Nations
by Adam Smith
"[One] of the most important books I’ve read." - Nick Szabo (Source)
Also recommended by
7 people
Elon Musk recommended this bookElon Musk
"Adam Smith FTW obv." - Elon Musk
Elon Musk's recommendation of this book - Naval Ravikant recommended this book
Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant's answer to "any good book about economy for a beginner?"
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Neil deGrasse Tyson recommended this bookNeil deGrasse Tyson
"To learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself." - Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson's recommendation of this book 
Noam Chomsky recommended this bookNoam Chomsky
On the "Top 100 Books Referenced by Noam Chomsky" list.
Noam Chomsky's recommendation of this book 
Brandon Stanton recommended this bookBrandon Stanton
Brandon Stanton mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Brandon Stanton's recommendation of this book 
Bill Gurley recommended this bookBill Gurley
"[The author]'s magnum opus." - Bill Gurley
Bill Gurley's recommendation of this book +1
More recommendations
- Patrick Bet-David
Patrick Bet-David recommended this book on his website.
- Patrick Bet-David
The Red Queen
Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
by Matt Ridley
"I think three or four of my top 20 books of all time are all [this author's]." - Nick Szabo (Source)
Also recommended by
3 people- Naval Ravikant recommended this book
Naval 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 
Neil Strauss recommended this bookNeil Strauss
"Diverse, engaging, and wide-ranging." - Neil Strauss
Neil Strauss's recommendation of this book
To Rule the Waves
How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World
by Arthur Herman
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe
by Elizabeth L. Eisenstein
Nick Szabo mentioned this book on Twitter. (Source)
Genome
The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters
by Matt Ridley
"I think three or four of my top 20 books of all time are all [this author's]." - Nick Szabo (Source)
Also recommended by
3 people- Naval Ravikant recommended this book
Naval Ravikant
"Everything by [this author] is worth reading." - Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book - Mark Zuckerberg recommended this book
Mark Zuckerberg
"Aims to tell a history of humanity from the perspective of genetics rather than sociology." - Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg's recommendation of this book - Charlie Munger recommended this book
Charlie Munger
Charlie Munger recommended this book in the "Poor Charlie's Almanack" book.
Charlie Munger'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
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