Books Recommended by Ryan Holiday
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The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
Giorgio Vasari
Source: "A friend and peer of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael Titian and all the other great minds of the Renaissance sat down in 1550 and wrote biographical sketches of the people he knew or had influenced him." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Totto-Chan
The Little Girl at the Window
Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
Source: "Has sold something like 5 million copies in Japan alone (an insane number). Totto-Chan is a special figure in modern Japanese culture—she is a celebrity on par with Oprah or Ellen." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman
The Earl of Chesterfield
Source: "[The author] wrote his letters to his illegitimate son, tutoring him on how to learn, how to think, how to act, how to deal with important people. I don’t agree with all his advice but most of it is great." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son
George Horace Lorimer
Source: "The (supposedly) preserved correspondence between Old Gorgon Graham, a self-made millionaire in Chicago, and his son who is coming of age and entering the family business." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Boyd
The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
Robert Coram
Source: "Probably the greatest post-WWII military strategist; he developed the F-15 and F-16, revolutionized ground tactics in war and covertly designed the US battle plans for the Gulf War." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
2 recommenders
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
Source: "The private thoughts of the most powerful man in the world, admonishing himself on how to be better, more just, more immune to temptation, wiser." - Ryan Holiday
Sherman
Soldier, Realist, American
B. H. Liddell Hart
Source: "This was someone I knew little about before I read the book, and by the end of it found myself referencing and thinking of him constantly." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Sex on the Brain
The Biological Differences Between Men and Women
Deborah Blum
Source: "One of the better books on evolutionary biology that focuses almost entirely on the biological and psychological differences between men and women." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Titan
The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
Ron Chernow
Source: "I found Rockefeller to be strangely stoic, incredibly resilient, and, despite his reputation as a robber baron, humble and compassionate." - Ryan Holiday
The Road
Cormac McCarthy
Source: "Read it when you have kids. When I finished this book, [I] walked into my son's room when he was asleep, sat on the floor, and I just wept." - Ryan Holiday
Bird by Bird
Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Anne Lamott
Source: "Ostensibly about the art of writing, but really it too is about life and how to tackle the problems, temptations and opportunities life throws at us." - Ryan Holiday
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The Moral Sayings Of Publius Syrus
A Roman Slave (1855)
Publius Syrus
Source: "A Syrian slave in the first century BC, Publius Syrus is a fountain of quick, helpful wisdom that you cannot help but recall and apply to your life." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl
Source: "Looks at how we find purpose by dedicating ourselves to a cause, learning to love and finding a meaning to our suffering." - Ryan Holiday
36 recommendersAniela GregorekBryan JohnsonChelsea HandlerChip ConleyDaniel PinkDave ElitchDavid BlaineDustin MoskovitzEmma WatsonEsther PerelEv WilliamsFedor HolzJim KwikJimmy FallonJocko WillinkJordan PetersonLex FridmanMaria PopovaMichael GervaisNaval RavikantRyan HolidaySam AltmanSimon SinekTerry CrewsTony RobbinsTuria PittPewDiePieShane ParrishMark MansonPhil JacksonTom BilyeuMichael HyattAlastair HumphreysSteve KerrRobin BlackPatrick Bet-David
Fragments
Heraclitus
Source: "A bit poetic. But those beautiful lines are really the same direct advice and timeless, perspective-changing observations." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Average Is Over
Powering America Beyond the Age of the Great Stagnation
Tyler Cowen
Source: "Changes how you see the future and help explain real pain points in our new economy–both good and bad." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Anonymous
Source: "I read this on my honeymoon (probably the only person on the beach reading it, if I had to guess)." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
Endurance
Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Alfred Lansing
Source: "This book (and his life) were living proof of his family motto: 'Fortitudine vincimus' (By endurance we conquer)." - Ryan Holiday
Tiny Beautiful Things
Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
Cheryl Strayed
Source: "Contains some of the most cogent insights on life, pain, loss, love, success, youth that I have ever seen." - Ryan Holiday
The Moral Animal
Why We Are, the Way We Are
Robert Wright
Source: "The definitive beginner text on evolutionary psychology and one of the easiest to get into." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
Fight Club
A Novel
Chuck Palahniuk
Source: "I’m amazed how many young people haven’t read this book. Truly life-changing." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Mastery
Robert Greene
Source: "Read [this book] so that you can figure your life’s task and how to dedicate yourself to it." - Ryan Holiday
The Moviegoer
Walker Percy
Source: "The novel that every young kid stuck in their own head needs to read." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
Founders at Work
Stories of Startups' Early Days
Jessica Livingston
Source: "Interviews with technology founders from one of the best investors of all time." - Ryan Holiday
Rules for Radicals
A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals
Saul D. Alinsky
Source: "This is the '48 Laws of Power' written in more of an idealist, activist tone." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
Reveille for Radicals
Saul D. Alinsky
Source: "This is the '48 Laws of Power' written in more of an idealist, activist tone." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
The Fish That Ate the Whale
The Life and Times of America's Banana King
Rich Cohen
Source: "Sucked me in completely. Everyone I’ve recommended it to loves it." - Ryan Holiday
Selected Epigrams
Martial
Source: "Hilarious. I have one hanging on the gate in front of my house." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
The Score Takes Care of Itself
My Philosophy of Leadership
Bill Walsh
Source: "Even if you’ve never watched a down of football, you’ll get something out of this book." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
The War of Art
Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Steven Pressfield
Source: One of Ryan Holiday's 2 answers to "what book are you most likely to give out as a gift?"
The Harder They Fall
Budd Schulberg
Source: "About boxing and loosely based on the Primo Carnera scandal." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
1 recommender
How to Live
Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer
Sarah Bakewell
Source: "A series of essays about Montaigne, who invented the essay." - Ryan Holiday
3 recommenders
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
As Told to Alex Haley
Malcolm X
Source: "[One] of the most inspiring men of the last 150 years." - Ryan Holiday
My Bondage and My Freedom
Frederick Douglass
Source: "[One] of the most inspiring men of the last 150 years." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
The Power Broker
Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Robert A. Caro
Source: "One of the most magnificent books I’ve ever read." - Ryan Holiday
4 recommenders
Essays and Aphorisms
Arthur Schopenhauer
Source: "A brilliant composer of quick thoughts that will help us with our problems." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
Believe in People
Bottom-Up Solutions for a Top-Down World
Charles Koch
Source: "A provocative book for the moment. Highly recommended." - Ryan Holiday
3 recommenders
Asylum
William Seabrook
Source: "I actually ended up helping get [this book] back in print." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Letters from a Stoic
Lucius Seneca
Source: "After Marcus Aurelius, this is one of my favorite books." - Ryan Holiday
4 recommenders
The 48 Laws of Power
Robert Greene
Source: "Critical for anyone trying to accomplish anything." - Ryan Holiday
Lincoln's Melancholy
How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness
Joshua Wolf Shenk
Source: "[One of] my three favorite books about [Lincoln]." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
President Lincoln
The Duty of a Statesman
William Lee Miller
Source: "[One of] my three favorite books about [Lincoln]." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Lincoln
The Biography of a Writer
Fred Kaplan
Source: "[One of] my three favorite books about [Lincoln]." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt, Book 1
Edmund Morris
Source: "Spectacular. He’s my favorite president." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
Tough Jews
Fathers, Sons, and Gangster Dreams
Rich Cohen
Source: "Amazing book [...] about Jewish gangsters." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
History of the Peloponnesian War
Thucydides
Source: "An obligation for every student of history." - Ryan Holiday
3 recommenders
Fishing For Fun
And To Wash Your Soul
Herbert Hoover
Source: "[One of] the best books I read [in 2019]." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Lone Star
A History Of Texas And The Texans
T. R. Fehrenbach
Source: "[One of] the best books I read [in 2019]." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Memoirs of Hadrian
Marguerite Yourcenar
Source: "[One of] the best books I read [in 2019]." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
American Caesar
Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964
William Manchester
Source: "[One of] the best books I read [in 2019]." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
The Woman's Hour
The Great Fight to Win the Vote
Elaine Weiss
Source: "[One of] the best books I read [in 2019]." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
Keep Going
10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad
Austin Kleon
Source: "[One of] the best books I read [in 2019]." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
2 recommenders
Xenophon's Cyrus the Great
The Arts of Leadership and War
Xenophon
Source: "Every ambitious young person should read." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
The Second Mountain
The Quest for a Moral Life
David Brooks
Source: "[One of] the best books I read [in 2019]." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
Range
Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
David J. Epstein
Source: "[One of] the best books I read [in 2019]." - Ryan Holiday
3 recommenders
The River of Doubt
Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
Candice Millard
Source: "I thought I knew about Theodore Roosevelt." - Ryan Holiday
3 recommenders
1 recommender- 1 recommender
1 recommender
2 recommenders
2 recommenders
The New New Thing
A Silicon Valley Story
Michael Lewis
Source: Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
4 recommenders
Here Comes Everybody
The Power of Organizing Without Organizations
Clay Shirky
Source: Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
2 recommenders
1 recommender
Hackers & Painters
Big Ideas from the Computer Age
Paul Graham
Source: Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
Brave New War
The Next Stage of Terrorism and the End of Globalization
John Robb
Source: Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
1 recommender
4 recommenders
The Pirate's Dilemma
How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism
Matt Mason
Source: Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
1 recommender
2 recommenders
The Net Delusion
The Dark Side of Internet Freedom
Evgeny Morozov
Source: Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
1 recommender
The Cathedral & the Bazaar
Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary
Eric S. Raymond
Source: Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
1 recommender.jpg)
The Strategy Paradox
Why Committing to Success Leads to Failure (And What to do About It)
Michael E. Raynor
Source: Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
1 recommender
2 recommenders
No Hiding Place
An Autobiography
William Seabrook
Source: Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
1 recommender
1 recommender
Wikinomics
How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
Don Tapscott
Source: Ryan Holiday recommended this book on his blog.
2 recommenders
1 recommender
2 recommenders
Leadership: In Turbulent Times
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Source: "[The author]'s masterwork." - Ryan Holiday
3 recommenders
4 recommenders
The Tiger
A True Story of Vengeance and Survival
John Vaillant
Source: "Holy shit, this book is good. Just holy shit." - Ryan Holiday
2 recommenders
1 recommender
2 recommenders
1 recommender
2 recommenders
1 recommender
2 recommenders
Empire State of Mind
How Jay Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office
Zack O'Malley Greenburg
Source: "Great book." - Ryan Holiday
1 recommender
1 recommender
4 recommenders
50 books
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