Books Recommended by Tyler Cowen
The American Dream Is Not Dead
(But Populism Could Kill It)
Michael R. Strain
Source: "Just how good or bad are things in America right now? [This book] is the most balanced and informative take on this question you are likely to see." - Tyler Cowen
Facebook
The Inside Story
Steven Levy
Source: "Probably the best history of the company were are going to get, at least for the earlier years of the company." - Tyler Cowen
The Glass Bead Game
A Novel
Hermann Hesse
Source: "About the beauty of organised structures and how we play them in game-like fashion and how much they entrance us." - Tyler Cowen
The Senkaku Paradox
Risking Great Power War Over Small Stakes
Michael E. O'Hanlon
Source: "About what options a U.S. government would have — short of full war — to deal with international grabs by China or Russia." - Tyler Cowen
Confessions of a Sociopath
A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight
M.E. Thomas
Source: "One of the most interesting parts of the memoir is how she reconciles being both a 'psychopath' and a Mormon..." - Tyler Cowen
Generation Priced Out
Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America
Randy Shaw
Source: "A YIMBY book, with good historical material on San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other locales involved in the struggle to build more." - Tyler Cowen
The Infinite Machine
How an Army of Crypto-hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum
Camila Russo
Source: "Yes, this is the story of Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum. Very useful, and I am glad there is now a good book on this topic." - Tyler Cowen
Children of Ash and Elm
A History of the Vikings
Neil S. Price
Source: "I have only browsed this book, yet it appears to have much more information about the Vikings than other books I know." - Tyler Cowen
Allah
God in the Qur’an
Gabriel Said Reynolds
Source: "A very good treatment of what it promises, with an emphasis on the concept of mercy in Islam." - Tyler Cowen
Conviction Machine
Standing Up to Federal Prosecutorial Abuse
Harvey A. Silverglate
Source: "A frank and brutal documentation of why you should never trust a prosecutor or speak to the FBI." - Tyler Cowen
The Idealist
Wendell Willkie’s Wartime Quest to Build One World
Samuel Zipp
Source: "I could not help but crack open the cover and sample a few pages, and then I was hooked." - Tyler Cowen
The Cure That Works
How to Have the World's Best Health Care -- at a Quarter of the Price
Sean Masaki Flynn
Source: "A look at how to translate ideas from Singapore’s health care system into the United States." - Tyler Cowen
Drink?
The New Science of Alcohol and Health
Professor David Nutt
Source: "A very good introduction to the growing body of evidence about the harms of alcohol, in all walks of life." - Tyler Cowen
New Atlantis Revisited
Paul R. Josephson
Source: "Imagine the Soviets trying to build a 'city of science,' and meeting problem after problem." - Tyler Cowen
Sunnis and Shi'a
A Political History
Laurence Louër
Source: "Captures the complexities, and in fact pulls the reader away from the usual tired dichotomy." - Tyler Cowen
Wikinomics
How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
Don Tapscott
Source: "It basically says wikis work and wikis are important and wikis are the way of the future." - Tyler Cowen
Here Comes Everybody
The Power of Organizing Without Organizations
Clay Shirky
Source: "About spontaneous order and decentralisation, and just how powerful the web can be." - Tyler Cowen
The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium
Martin Gurri
Source: "One of the more important and more prophetic social science books of our time." - Tyler Cowen
Individualism and Economic Order
F. A. Hayek
Source: "Has nothing to do with the internet per se, it’s really about decentralisation." - Tyler Cowen
The Bomb
Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War
Fred M. Kaplan
Source: "Not a secret history, but it is a good general overall introduction to its chosen topic." - Tyler Cowen
FAQ
Did Tyler Cowen recommend all these books?
Not necessarily. This book list has Tyler Cowen must-read recommendations, but it also has a mix of mentions and suggestions.
How do you know Tyler Cowen mentioned these books?
Every suggestion made by Tyler Cowen is validated by our editors. You can find the sources to the recommendations linked next to the books.
Did Tyler Cowen actually create this list?
No. This reading list was curated by our editors based on confirmed mentions from Tyler Cowen, the sources are made available under each recommendation.
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