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Tim Urban Recommended Books
Tim Urban has recommended 31 books. Browse the complete reading list with quotes and sources below.
(Read more on Wikipedia)31 Books Recommended
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Originals
How Non-Conformists Move the World
by Adam Grant
"Enjoyed the shit out of it. Highly recommend." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
11 people
Peter Thiel recommended this bookPeter Thiel
"It can sometimes seem as if one must learn everything old before one can try anything new. [The author] does a masterful job showing that is not the case; we are lucky to have him as a guide." - Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel's recommendation of this book 
Richard Branson recommended this bookRichard Branson
"Will help you inspire creativity and change." - Richard Branson
Richard Branson's recommendation of this book 
Ray Dalio recommended this bookRay Dalio
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles."
Ray Dalio's recommendation of this book 
Seth Godin recommended this bookSeth Godin
"An urgent must read, a seminal work that will surprise you on every single page." - Seth Godin
Seth Godin's recommendation of this book 
Arianna Huffington recommended this bookArianna Huffington
"A fascinating, eye-opening read that will help you not just recognize your own unique gifts, but find the strength to challenge conventional wisdom to bring them to life." - Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington's recommendation of this book 
Tony Hsieh recommended this bookTony Hsieh
One of 4 books Tony Hsieh recommended in Inc.com
Tony Hsieh's recommendation of this book +5
More recommendations
- Whitney Wolfe Herd
Whitney Wolfe Herd mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
- Anthony Pompliano
"[One of the] best books I read in 2017." - Anthony Pompliano
- Kat Cole
"[One of] my two favorite books." - Kat Cole
- Sheryl Sandberg
"One of the most important and captivating books I have ever read." - Sheryl Sandberg
- Jodie Cook
"Gives you permission to be different." - Jodie Cook
- Whitney Wolfe Herd
The Biggest Bluff
How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win
by Maria Konnikova
"One of the most insightful and best storytellers around." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
Liv Boeree recommended this bookLiv Boeree
"The best depiction yet of the game I love." - Liv Boeree
Liv Boeree's recommendation of this book
The Fountainhead
by Ayn Rand
"I absolutely loved the book. Sure, the characters are extreme and one-dimensional - but to me, that was the point." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
13 people
Mark Cuban recommended this bookMark Cuban
"I'll pick it up when I need motivation." - Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban's recommendation of this book 
Larry Ellison recommended this bookLarry Ellison
"As a kid, I wanted to be an architect. That's before I read [this book]. I mean it is hard to find a profession that pays worse than architecture." - Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison's recommendation of this book 
Emma Watson recommended this bookEmma Watson
"I know, it's a cult. I'm not going to take it too far, but I did enjoy it." - Emma Watson
Emma Watson's recommendation of this book 
Kevin Kelly recommended this bookKevin Kelly
"By the end of the book, I decided to drop out of school. I never returned. It was the best decision of my life." - Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly's recommendation of this book 
Travis Kalanick recommended this bookTravis Kalanick
"It’s one of my favorite books." - Travis Kalanick
Travis Kalanick's recommendation of this book 
Vince Vaughn recommended this bookVince Vaughn
"Defiant in its pursuit of one’s artistic goals, meaning you don’t compromise; you stay truthful to what you’re exploring." - Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn's recommendation of this book +7
More recommendations
- Ev Williams
On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.
- Jesse Williams
"The protagonist’s audacious self-confidence and refusal to compromise his artistic vision—which was to say, himself—was a fascinating thing to survey." - Jesse Williams
- Noah Kagan
"Healthy selfishness is a great thing." - Noah Kagan
- Fred Wilson
"I do love [this book]." - Fred Wilson
- Jim Carrey
"I would be Howard Roark and not Peter Keating in [this book]." - Jim Carrey
- Ray Dalio
"Regarding economics, if you haven’t read [this author] lately, I suggest that you do." - Ray Dalio
- Shah Rukh Khan
"[This book] is good a difficult long read though..." - Shah Rukh Khan
- Ev Williams
The Three-Body Problem (3 books)
"Rocked my existence for a few months." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by:
Adam Savage, Lex Fridman, Liv Boeree, Mark Zuckerberg, Max Levchin, Naval Ravikant, Ryan Shea, Tobi Lütke, Barry Silbert, Mike Novogratz
Atomic Habits
An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
by James Clear
"I'd attribute about 60% of my good habits to [the author's] blog and this book is rapidly filling in the other 40%." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
7 people
Vinod Khosla recommended this bookVinod Khosla
"A decent book on self-help tools, not a category I am generally a fan of." - Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla's recommendation of this book 
Biz Stone recommended this bookBiz Stone
"Great book." - Biz Stone
Biz Stone's recommendation of this book 
Anthony Pompliano recommended this bookAnthony Pompliano
"Highly recommend." - Anthony Pompliano
Anthony Pompliano's recommendation of this book 
Jodie Cook recommended this bookJodie Cook
"I love the simplicity of this book." - Jodie Cook
Jodie Cook's recommendation of this book 
Blake Randall recommended this bookBlake Randall
"" - Blake Randall
Blake Randall's recommendation of this book 
Ali Abdaal recommended this bookAli Abdaal
"Helped me understand how habits are formed and what we can do." - Ali Abdaal
Ali Abdaal's recommendation of this book +1
More recommendations
- Ben Greenfield
Most Recommended Books reached out to Ben Greenfield directly.
- Ben Greenfield
The Uninhabitable Earth
Life After Warming
by David Wallace-Wells
"[The author's] been scaring the shit out of me with this research for the past few years, and now it's a book I hope lots of people read/discuss/debate." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person- Vinod Khosla recommended this book
Vinod Khosla
"A look into the future and how global warming will impact everything." - Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla's recommendation of this book
Hit Makers
The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction
by Derek Thompson
"Every time I talk to [this author], I can't stop taking my phone out to jot down insights that pop up in the convo. [This book] has the same effect." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
2 people
Daniel Pink recommended this bookDaniel Pink
"Offers a fresh and compelling take on how the media function and how ideas spread." - Daniel Pink
Daniel Pink's recommendation of this book 
Fareed Zakaria recommended this bookFareed Zakaria
"Superb." - Fareed Zakaria
Fareed Zakaria's recommendation of this book
Culture (11 books)
"They make me so depressed that I live in our primitive world." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by:
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
by Mark Manson
"[The author's] an awesome writer." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
Abraham Mutai recommended this bookAbraham Mutai
"Man, What a fucking amazing book." - Abraham Mutai
Abraham Mutai's recommendation of this book
Dream Teams
Working Together Without Falling Apart
by Shane Snow
"[This author] is an insanely interesting human." - Tim Urban (Source)
Option B
Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy
by Sheryl Sandberg
"A powerful book about a life skill we all need: resilience." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
Katie Couric recommended this bookKatie Couric
"I felt it was really brave of [the author] to write." - Katie Couric
Katie Couric's recommendation of this book
A Little History of the World
by E. H. Gombrich
"Super comprehensive history of everything. As if your grandfather were sitting around with a bunch of little kids explaining it." - Tim Urban (Source)
Our Final Invention
Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era
by James Barrat
"I think is the best overall resource on AI." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
2 people
Elon Musk recommended this bookElon Musk
"Worth reading." - Elon Musk
Elon Musk's recommendation of this book 
Sam Harris recommended this bookSam Harris
"Good." - Sam Harris
Sam Harris's recommendation of this book
Tools of Titans
The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
by Tim Ferriss
"Definitely worth checking out." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
9 people
Jocko Willink recommended this bookJocko Willink
Jocko Willink covered this book in "Jocko Podcast" Ep. 50
Jocko Willink's recommendation of this book 
Greg McKeown recommended this bookGreg McKeown
Greg McKeown mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Greg McKeown's recommendation of this book 
Greg Norman recommended this bookGreg Norman
One of Greg Norman's 3 answers to "what is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift?"
Greg Norman's recommendation of this book - Daniel Pink recommended this book
Daniel Pink
"[I have a] dog-eared copy [of this book]." - Daniel Pink
Daniel Pink's recommendation of this book 
George Raveling recommended this bookGeorge Raveling
George Raveling mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
George Raveling's recommendation of this book 
Kevin Rose recommended this bookKevin Rose
"[The author] has distilled down all the invaluable life lessons from his podcast and presents them in a choose your own adventure format. I think it’s one of his best books." - Kevin Rose
Kevin Rose's recommendation of this book +3
More recommendations
- Mr. Money Mustache
"I’ve actually got a huge, huge list of documentaries that I’ve been meaning to watch, many of them collected from the guests in [this book]." - MMM
- Jodie Cook
"Read it with a huge notebook in front of you for all the ideas and actions it will spark!" - Jodie Cook
- Ben Greenfield
Most Recommended Books reached out to Ben Greenfield directly.
- Mr. Money Mustache
TED Talks
The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking
by Chris Anderson
"[I read this book] while prepping for my TED Talk and found it HUGELY helpful." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
David Deutsch recommended this bookDavid Deutsch
"In [this book], [the author] describes the role The Fabric of Reality played in TED." - David Deutsch
David Deutsch's recommendation of this book
Immune
A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive
by Philipp Dettmer
"Super fun read and totally changed my understanding of the human body." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
John Green recommended this bookJohn Green
"Fascinating." - John Green
John Green's recommendation of this book
Elon Musk
Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
by Ashlee Vance
"A great biography on Musk." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
5 people- Anthony Pompliano recommended this book
Anthony Pompliano
"Found it even better than I anticipated." - Anthony Pompliano
Anthony Pompliano's recommendation of this book 
Austen Allred recommended this bookAusten Allred
"Was written in 2015 and already feels like you could have another full book as an update." - Austen Allred
Austen Allred's recommendation of this book 
Mr. Money Mustache recommended this bookMr. Money Mustache
"I’m a big fan [of this book]." - MMM
Mr. Money Mustache's recommendation of this book 
Casey Neistat recommended this bookCasey Neistat
"One of the people that I find most interesting. I'm fascinated by Elon Musk." - Casey Neistat
Casey Neistat's recommendation of this book 
John Collison recommended this bookJohn Collison
"A good read." - John Collison
John Collison's recommendation of this book
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Barking Up the Wrong Tree
The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong
by Eric Barker
"A mountain of scientific research on success distilled into a quick, enjoyable read." - Tim Urban (Source)
Station Eleven
by Emily St John Mandel
"Should be required reading to remind everyone that we all live in an incredible magical utopic civilization." - Tim Urban (Source)
Also recommended by
3 people
Kathryn Minshew recommended this bookKathryn Minshew
Most Recommended Books reached out to Kathryn Minshew directly.
Kathryn Minshew's recommendation of this book 
Tyler Cowen recommended this bookTyler Cowen
"[The author's] biggest-selling book to date." - Tyler Cowen
Tyler Cowen's recommendation of this book 
George R. R. Martin recommended this bookGeorge R. R. Martin
"Really blew me away." - George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin's recommendation of this book
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