Sam Altman Recommended Books

Ray Dalio can be seen reading this book on the article's main image.

"How I want to behave in life." - Bryan Johnson

"This book (and his life) were living proof of his family motto: 'Fortitudine vincimus' (By endurance we conquer)." - Ryan Holiday

"Just a phenomenal story." - Scott Belsky

Max Levchin recommended this book on LinkedIn.

"An insipring story!" - Fred Wilson

Patrick Collison labeled this book "substantially above average."

"If you want to learn more about hunter gatherers I strongly recommend [this book]." - Paul Graham

Patrick Collison labeled this book "particularly great."

"Love [this book]." - Naval Ravikant

Stewart Brand recommended this book on his "Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization" blog post.

"I’m not a visual person, but this book taught me to see the world around me in an entirely new way." - Gretchen Rubin

"[The author] is a writer and a thinker about architecture and about how we build." - Liz Lambert

"For many years it has been the best single volume narrative of 'life from scratch.'" - Alan Kay

"The case studies you’re about to explore and the tools you’re about to gain have never been more relevant. This is an ideal moment to be reading this book." - Bill Gates

"An insightful book on how to scale at a very fast pace​ and more importantly WHEN." - Vinod Khosla

"Shares some of the key secrets for building mission-oriented, global businesses at speed." - Brian Chesky

"Paints the picture, with key case studies, of what it really takes to build a market-leading company." - Eric Schmidt

"No brainer pick up for every entrepreneur and investor." - Anthony Pompliano

"Has been very helpful to Binance as we chart our growth as an organization." - Changpeng Zhao

One of Paul Graham's answers to "what should I read to learn more about history?"

"Worth reading [this book]. We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes." - Elon Musk

"I wouldn’t just read [this book] breathless and wide-eyed and believe everything." - Naval Ravikant

"Made me worry that machine knowledge could ruin everything." - Sam Harris

"Very important book." - Will MacAskill

One of Marc Goodman's most-gifted or recommended books.

"One of my favorite books of all time." - Naval Ravikant

"My most read book." - Tobi Lütke

"Finished reading." - Jack Dorsey

"I kind of thrive on stress, so I’m almost embarrassed by how comforting I find this book." - Anna Kendrick

Neil Strauss recommended this book in the "Tools of Titans" book.

"I find [this book] so inspirational and instructive, it lives on my nightstand." - Arianna Huffington

On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.

Patrick Bet-David recommended this book on his website.

Ramit Sethi mentioned this book in the "What to Read Next" newsletter.

"Classic book that I admit I hadn’t read and my colleagues at a16z crypto got me to read." - Chris Dixon

Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.

Jocko Willink covered this book in "Jocko Podcast" Ep. 78

"The book I’ve probably gifted the most is [this book], since I’m 16." - Esther Perel

"Loved it. Really loved it." - Emma Watson

"Wow it's dark." - Naval Ravikant

"One of my favorite books." - David Blaine

"The man was connected to the universe in ways that I've never seen another human being connect." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

"I have never forgotten the combined shock and thrill of making my way through this in my 20s." - Alan Kay

List of books Bill Gates read in 2012.

Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles."

One of the books on Scott Adams' "Persuasion Reading List."

"Fine book but it didn’t need to be an entire book. A blog post would have gotten the point across." - Naval Ravikant

"I love surprising scientific findings, as well as information about how our brains work. [This book] is a treasure trove of both." - Ev Williams

"Captivating dive into human decision making, marred by inclusion of several/many? psychology studies that fail to replicate. Will stand as a cautionary tale?" - Marc Andreessen

"[The author] weaves an extravagant web." - Oprah Winfrey

Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.

"I don't know if I have to expound on why I love this book, but everyone should read [this author], and this was the first one of his works I read. So, it's like a first boyfriend. Or my first Cabbage Patch Kid." - Chelsea Handler

"I thought I wouldn't want to finish an 800-page book, but then I started slowing down and reading the same chapters over and over." - Jennifer Lawrence

"A great novel that I have read three times." - Laura R Walker

Austen Allred recommended this book on Twitter.

Naval Ravikant mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.

"[One of five books (this one perhaps most of all) that confirm] there is far, far more in our unconscious mind than is dreamt of in our philosophy." - Adam Robinson

"This is a mind f**k." - Patrick O'Shaughnessy

On the "favorite books" section of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook profile.

"I’m actually gobsmacked that this isn’t required in order to be sworn into office, like the Constitution is required for us American immigrants when it comes time to gain American citizenship." - Maria Popova

"I like the classics such as The Republic by Plato and The Art of War by Sun Tzu." - Vlad Tenev

"[One of my ten favorite books] I might think of if I were asked the question at an interview this minute." - Nolan Bushnell

Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.

Patrick Collison labeled this book "substantially above average."

"[One of] my favorite books for understanding the history of Silicon Valley." - Austen Allred

Ryan Shea recommended this book on his website.

"He took a team that was at the very very bottom, and he brought them to the top." - Jack Dorsey

Keith Rabois recommended this book on a Medium blog post.

"Even if you’ve never watched a down of football, you’ll get something out of this book." - Ryan Holiday

"Keep your lockers / desks clean and it'll reflect in other parts of your life." - Noah Kagan

"Words of wisdown from [the author] to inspire, inform, and enlighten leaders in all professions." - Ron Conway

"Among the best books! A way of living, working & commitment to excellence." - Vinod Khosla

"Excellent novel." - James Altucher

Ann Miura-Ko mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.

Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.

"The best science fiction book ever, definitely the most prescient." - Yuval Noah Harari

"Slightly older and less well known [than 1984] but equally chilling vision." - Tristan Harris

Matt Mullenweg mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.

Stewart Brand recommended this book on his "Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization" blog post.

"In [this book], one can often detect strong hints of a vicarious approval of what is ostensibly being satirized." - Christopher Hitchens

On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.

On the "books read" section of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook profile.

"I’ve read all the Einstein biographies, and this is by far the best." - Charlie Munger

List of books Bill Gates read in 2011.

"I read [this book and "Benjamin Franklin"] and probed [Walter Isaacson] about them to try to glean what characteristics they had in common." - Ray Dalio

"Anybody who can write a book on Einstein and that an idiot like me can understand the physics [was] a miracle." - George Raveling

Ed Zschau mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.

"I love this book." - Jenn Im

"A meaningful story with horror elements to it." - PewDiePie

"Lo rileggerei ogni settimana, ma forse meglio di no. Questo è un libro che ha plasmato la mia anima." - Zac D'Aleo

"Makes you feel as lost in the characters as they are in each other." - Tavi Gevinson

"Will fill [you] with love and then break [your] heart into tiny pieces." - Jack Edwards

"Are you a new manager? Are you a little scared? Fear not. [This author] is here to help." - Daniel Pink

"Its practical wisdom is immediately useful for the newly minted manager—and us old ones." - Ev Williams

"Combines cutting-edge analysis of how organizations work with engaging and accessible examples of how theory plays out in real life, with stories of what [the author] did right and wrong." - Gretchen Rubin

"An excellent, approachable and comprehensive guide for those making the transition into management." - Stewart Butterfield

"My management skills immediately improved after I started to do some of the things that [this author] recommends." - Ali Abdaal

"If you're a manager of product, design or engineering for a company built on empowered product teams, it's worth your time." - Marty Cagan

"The most fabulous book." - Paul Graham

Patrick Collison labeled this book "substantially above average."

"[Amazing.] An indictment of publishing that it's out of print." - Paul Graham

"As someone who’s helped a small company become a huge, valuable company, I know firsthand the power of the startup ecosystem and entrepreneurship. This book is the definitive book on navigating VC as part of that." - Eric Schmidt

"[This book] is great." - Elad Gil

Ryan Hoover mentioned this book on Twitter.

"Great!" - Michael Mauboussin

"Gives an overview of entrepreneurship and innovation." - Andrew Ng

"I learned a lot reading it." - Ben Horowitz

"A must read." - Bryan Johnson

Chris Dixon recommended this book on Twitter.

Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book during a Stanford lecture in 2014.

"[This author] has built multiple breakthrough companies, and [this book] shows how." - Elon Musk