Books Athletes Recommend Most

Based on 431 sourced recommendations from 57 athletes. Updated October 22, 2026.

1. 1. Meditations

   

   By Marcus Aurelius

   Recommended by 3 of 57 athletes

   • Adam Robinson Source
   • David Heinemeier Hansson Source
   • Arnold Schwarzenegger Source

   In that sense, it's equally powerful, and perhaps even more inspiring, than The Manual.

   Source

2. 2. Outliers

   

   By Malcolm Gladwell

   Recommended by 3 of 57 athletes

   • Shaun White Source
   • Dwayne Johnson Source
   • Stephen Curry Source

   Besides that, The Outliers... I was reading it and I really enjoyed the book... I was amazed about the story about the hockey players in this kind of anomaly in the system. I started applying that to my own life.

   Source

3. 3. Jonathan Livingston Seagull

   

   By Richard Bach

   Recommended by 3 of 57 athletes

   • Wim Hof Source
   • Laird Hamilton Source
   • Kobe Bryant Source

   Here's the book I recommended to the @Chargers today. Add this to your #musecage #greatread

   Source

4. 4. The Daily Stoic

   

   By Ryan Holiday, Stephen Hanselman

   Recommended by 3 of 57 athletes

   • Arnold Schwarzenegger Source
   • David Heinemeier Hansson Source
   • Michael Phelps Source

   Book of the month: Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday. This is a perfect book to read every morning. The lessons are short and sweet, and get you into the right mindset for the day.

   Source

5. 5. The Bible

   

   By Unknown/Other

   Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

   • Stephen Curry Source
   • Serena Williams Source

   I’ll start with the Bible, that is an obvious one for me.

   Source

6. 6. Man's Search For Meaning

   

   By Viktor Frankl

   Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

   • Phil Jackson Source
   • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

   'Man's Search For Meaning' was an important book for me, but I never passed it out to any players.

   Source

7. 7. Steve Jobs

   

   By Walter Isaacson

   Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

   • George Raveling Source
   • Arnold Schwarzenegger Source

   Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. I absolutely love to hear stories about people who have tremendous vision; and when you talk about vision, Steve Jobs has to be in the conversation.

   Source

8. 8. The Alchemist

   

   By Paulo Coelho

   Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

   • LeBron James Source
   • Kobe Bryant Source

   [Jay Shetty: The book that's had the biggest impact on you?] The Alchemist.

   Source

9. 9. Animal Farm

   

   By George Orwell

   Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

   • J. Cole Source
   • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

   Speaking of totalitarianism, I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook rendition of Animal Farm on flight'n'drive today.

   Source

10. 10. Siddhartha

    

    By Hermann Hesse

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • Wim Hof Source
    • Phil Jackson Source

    Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The Last Temptation of Christ by Kazanzakis. for those who have asked

    Source

11. 11. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

    

    By Robert M. Pirsig

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • Phil Jackson Source
    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig. It gives a summary of philosophy of Western Civilization.

    Source

12. 12. The Obstacle Is the Way

    

    By Ryan Holiday

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • George Raveling Source
    • Christopher Sommer Source

13. 13. Team of Rivals

    

    By Doris Kearns Goodwin

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • Kobe Bryant Source
    • Arnold Schwarzenegger Source

    I loved TEAM OF RIVALS

    Source

14. 14. 12 Rules for Life

    

    By Jordan Peterson

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • George Raveling Source
    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    It was reading Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life that made me recall this story about the captain and his young adults.

    Source

15. 15. Ego Is the Enemy

    

    By Ryan Holiday

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • George Raveling Source
    • Michael Phelps Source

    Ego Is the Enemy is one that I go back to a lot.

    Source

16. 16. The New Jim Crow

    

    By Michelle Alexander

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • J. Cole Source
    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    If you liked such lovely stats, please read The New Jim Crow. Fantastic book and research on the broader topic.

    Source

17. 17. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

    

    By Shunryū Suzuki

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • Phil Jackson Source
    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    Zen Mind, Beginner Mind, by Suzuki

    Source

18. 18. Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha

    

    By John Romaniello, Adam Bornstein

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • Terry Crews Source
    • Arnold Schwarzenegger Source

    Read the foreword I wrote for the new book, out now, by @JohnRomaniello and @BornFitness, and please support them

    Source

19. 19. A Most Beautiful Thing

    

    By Arshay Cooper

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • Cameron Winklevoss Source
    • Stephen Curry Source

    Picked for his own Underrated book club (Literati).

    Source

20. 20. The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self

    

    By Michael Easter

    Recommended by 2 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source
    • Arnold Schwarzenegger Source

    The Comfort Crisis is a great book on this.

    Source

21. 21. Sapiens

    

    By Yuval Noah Harari

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    I'm liking it, but not uncritically so.

    Source

22. 22. How to Win Friends and Influence People

    

    By Dale Carnegie

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Ken Block Source

23. 23. The Coddling of the American Mind

    

    By Greg Lukianoff, Jonathan Haidt

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    I'm a big fan of Jonathan Haidt's work on What Happened In 2013, which he captured in The Coddling of the American Mind. That was a very balanced book

    Source

24. 24. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

    

    By Walter Isaacson

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • George Raveling Source

25. 25. The 4-hour Workweek

    

    By Tim Ferriss

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    I had read The 4-Hour Workweek sometime in advance of that and so had Jason... We were both just impressed with that.

    Source

26. 26. Atlas Shrugged

    

    By Ayn Rand

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Joe De Sena Source

27. 27. The War of Art

    

    By Steven Pressfield

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Dave Camarillo Source

28. 28. Snow Crash

    

    By Neal Stephenson

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Cameron Winklevoss Source

29. 29. The Better Angels of Our Nature

    

    By Steven Pinker

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    Great reminder that for all that is terrible in modern societies, we've still made dramatic leaps over even the pretty recent past.

    Source

30. 30. The Checklist Manifesto

    

    By Atul Gawande

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Charles Poliquin Source

31. 31. The Intelligent Investor

    

    By Benjamin Graham, Jason Zweig

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    If you read just one book on the market or investing, make it this one.

    Source

32. 32. How to Change Your Mind

    

    By Michael Pollan

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Amelia Boone Source

33. 33. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

    

    By Stephen Covey

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Ken Block Source

34. 34. Why We Sleep

    

    By Matthew Walker

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    Amazing book. Recommend it to everyone who mistakenly think they're "just fine" on 6-7h.

    Source

35. 35. The Wealth of Nations

    

    By Adam Smith

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    It presents such a basic, plain description of capitalism and its functions that serves as a proper grounding for a critique.

    Source

36. 36. To Kill a Mockingbird

    

    By Harper Lee

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    Really liking this one so far.

    Source

37. 37. The Tipping Point

    

    By Malcolm Gladwell

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Stephen Curry Source

    And now, anything from Malcolm Gladwell. Between Dan Brown and Malcolm Gladwell, those are probably the two authors that have meant the most to me so far.

    Source

38. 38. Tools of Titans

    

    By Tim Ferriss

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • George Raveling Source

39. 39. Range

    

    By David Epstein

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Kobe Bryant Source

    This book looks at how an emphasis on specialization can actually hamper our ability to really excel at something. It aligns with what I try to do when I am coaching, in my stories, and what we're doing with Mamba Sports Academy — create all-around athletes who can think critically and make assessments in real time to enhance their play rather than rely only on a narrow set of skills.

    Source

40. 40. Good to Great

    

    By Jim Collins

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Phil Jackson Source

    this author put into words what I've always believed and had the good fortune to experience in my career.

    Source

41. 41. The True Believer

    

    By Eric Hoffer

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • George Raveling Source

42. 42. The Brothers Karamazov

    

    By Fyodor Dostoevsky

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Phil Jackson Source

    The Brothers Karamazov is my fav...has 3 brothers' philosophical stance juxtaposed: hedonist, agnostic, and spiritual brothers

    Source

43. 43. A Guide to the Good Life

    

    By William Braxton Irvine

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    I found A Guide to the Good Life the introductory text was just an easy way to learn about it and recognize why this resonates.

    Source

44. 44. Atomic Habits

    

    By James Clear

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Arnold Schwarzenegger Source

    It feels like Atomic Habits has held the top spot on Amazon for a decade. That’s what happens when a book sells more than 20 million copies. James Clear masterfully hit the nail on the head regarding the importance of habits and how to build them.

    Source

45. 45. The Righteous Mind

    

    By Jonathan Haidt

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    I first read Haidt in his excellent book The Righteous Mind from 2012, which presents his research into moral foundations theory.

    Source

46. 46. The Autobiography of Malcolm X

    

    By Malcolm X

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Lewis Hamilton Source

47. 47. David and Goliath

    

    By Malcolm Gladwell

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Stephen Curry Source

    And now, anything from Malcolm Gladwell. Between Dan Brown and Malcolm Gladwell, those are probably the two authors that have meant the most to me so far.

    Source

48. 48. Masters of Doom

    

    By David Kushner

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • David Heinemeier Hansson Source

    Great book.

    Source

49. 49. Who Moved My Cheese?

    

    By Spencer Johnson

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Serena Williams Source

    [The book] was very impactful in my life. It meant a lot to me... It's about change and I'm not good with change... it was really good for me to read.

    Source

50. 50. Autobiography of a Yogi

    

    By Paramahansa Yogananda

    Recommended by 1 of 57 athletes

    • Phil Jackson Source

    Favorite dozen additional spiritual book list here goes my addition: The Auto of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.

    Source

Every Athlete on Ultimate Book List

• David Heinemeier Hansson — 112 recommendations
• Dan Heisman — 60 recommendations
• Stephen Curry — 57 recommendations
• Arnold Schwarzenegger — 48 recommendations
• Phil Jackson — 21 recommendations
• Serena Williams — 15 recommendations
• George Raveling — 13 recommendations
• Kobe Bryant — 12 recommendations
• Lewis Hamilton — 9 recommendations
• Adam Robinson — 8 recommendations
• Ed Latimore — 8 recommendations
• Michael Phelps — 7 recommendations
• Cameron Winklevoss — 6 recommendations
• Charles Poliquin — 4 recommendations
• Dave Camarillo — 4 recommendations
• Wim Hof — 4 recommendations
• Daniel Negreanu — 3 recommendations
• Dwayne Johnson — 3 recommendations
• Laird Hamilton — 3 recommendations
• LeBron James — 3 recommendations
• Liv Boeree — 3 recommendations
• Maria Sharapova — 3 recommendations
• Shaun White — 3 recommendations
• Amelia Boone — 2 recommendations
• Brian MacKenzie — 2 recommendations
• Dorian Yates — 2 recommendations
• J. Cole — 2 recommendations
• Joe De Sena — 2 recommendations
• Joe Maddon — 2 recommendations
• Ken Block — 2 recommendations
• Terry Crews — 2 recommendations
• Alex Honnold — 1 recommendations
• Brendan Schaub — 1 recommendations
• Christopher Sommer — 1 recommendations
• Jason Khalipa — 1 recommendations
• Lewis Howes — 1 recommendations
• Max Verstappen — 1 recommendations
• Abby Wambach — 0 recommendations
• Andrew Miller — 0 recommendations
• Bruce Lee — 0 recommendations
• Bruce Thomas — 0 recommendations
• Cameron Hanes — 0 recommendations
• Frank White — 0 recommendations
• Garry Kasparov — 0 recommendations
• Jack Johnson — 0 recommendations
• John Wooden — 0 recommendations
• Lon Kilgore — 0 recommendations
• Mark Rippetoe — 0 recommendations
• Mark Webber — 0 recommendations
• Mason Malmuth — 0 recommendations
• Maurice Ashley — 0 recommendations
• Paul G. Hewitt — 0 recommendations
• Paul Wade — 0 recommendations
• T. K. V. Desikachar — 0 recommendations
• Ted Williams — 0 recommendations
• Tim Kennedy — 0 recommendations
• Tom Brady — 0 recommendations

Frequently asked questions

What is the top book recommended by athletes?

Meditations ranks first, recommended by 3 athletes.

How is the ranking counted?

We count each person once per book, using only public people, books and approved recommendations. Books are ranked by recommenders in this group, then by total public recommenders. Source links are shown where available.

How many athletes are included?

This group includes 57 public profiles, including profiles with no public recommendations. 8 have recommended at least 10 books.