Books Investors Recommend Most

Based on 4253 sourced recommendations from 122 investors. Updated October 31, 2026.

  1. 1. Sapiens

    Sapiens

    By Yuval Noah Harari

    Recommended by 12 of 122 investors

    Not that I agree with all of it, but it is still mind-bending speculation about our future as a follow-up to a previous favorite, Sapiens.
    Source
  2. 2. Principles

    Principles

    By Ray Dalio

    Recommended by 12 of 122 investors

    I highly, highly recommend this book. It has already changed how I think about making decisions in my life and in my business.
    Source
  3. 3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things

    The Hard Thing About Hard Things

    By Ben Horowitz

    Recommended by 11 of 122 investors

    Ben's book is a great read — with uncomfortable truths about entrepreneurship and how to lead to a company. It's also an inspiring story of a business rebirth through sheer willpower.
    Source
  4. 4. Zero to One

    Zero to One

    By Peter Thiel, Blake Masters

    Recommended by 10 of 122 investors

    bookshelf for @kyro! most books are science/tech but here is the section w/novels. I nominate @paulg and @peterthiel.
    Source
  5. 5. High Output Management

    High Output Management

    By Andrew Grove

    Recommended by 10 of 122 investors

    Andy Grove’s classic book on management. Surprisingly, I found I was already using many of the management ideas in this book (1:1, OKRs, etc) which is a testament to just how influential this book is.
    Source
  6. 6. Thinking, Fast and Slow

    Thinking, Fast and Slow

    By Daniel Kahneman

    Recommended by 9 of 122 investors

    I always go back to it… Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman.
    Source
  7. 7. How to Win Friends and Influence People

    How to Win Friends and Influence People

    By Dale Carnegie

    Recommended by 9 of 122 investors

    Seven Rules For Making Your Home Life Happier. Interestingly, this section was included in the original 1936 edition of How to Win Friends and Influence People but omitted from the revised 1981 edition.
    Source
  8. 8. Shoe Dog

    Shoe Dog

    By Phil Knight

    Recommended by 9 of 122 investors

    Memoir by the Nike founder and CEO, Phil Knight.
    Source
  9. 9. 1984

    1984

    By George Orwell

    Recommended by 8 of 122 investors

    Our enemy is speech control and thought control – the increasing use, in plain sight, of George Orwell's \"1984\" as an instruction manual.
    Source
  10. 10. The Innovator's Dilemma

    The Innovator's Dilemma

    By Clayton Christensen

    Recommended by 8 of 122 investors

    It's important that we make this transformation, because of what Clayton Christensen calls "the innovator's dilemma," where people who invent something are usually the last ones to see past it, and we certainly don't want to be left behind. (Jobs to Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, 2011, ch. 40)
    Source
  11. 11. Only the Paranoid Survive

    Only the Paranoid Survive

    By Andrew Grove

    Recommended by 8 of 122 investors

    Andy Grove has written a terrific book, incidentally, "Only the Paranoid Survive," which describes strategic inflection points. I recommend that every one of you read that book, because it is a terrific book.
    Source
  12. 12. Skin in the Game

    Skin in the Game

    By Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    Recommended by 8 of 122 investors

    The best book I've read in 2018, I highly recommend it. Lots of great ideas in there. Lots of good mental models and constructs.
    Source
  13. 13. Crossing the Chasm

    Crossing the Chasm

    By Geoffrey Moore

    Recommended by 8 of 122 investors

    Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Consumers, Geoffrey Moore
    Source
  14. 14. Man's Search For Meaning

    Man's Search For Meaning

    By Viktor Frankl

    Recommended by 7 of 122 investors

    1. Man’s Search For Meaning A gift from a friend. As hard as you think your life is, it pales in comparison to Auschwitz. I took two big things away from this book: (1) the ultimate freedom is the ability to choose your attitude in the face of any circumstance and (2) the more you target success, the more you will miss it.
    Source
  15. 15. Atlas Shrugged

    Atlas Shrugged

    By Ayn Rand

    Recommended by 7 of 122 investors

    Celebrate the creators in the world (even when they struggle). They may be more valuable than we think.
    Source
  16. 16. Poor Charlie's Almanack

    Poor Charlie's Almanack

    By Charlie Munger

    Recommended by 7 of 122 investors

    4. Letters to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders and Poor Charlie’s Almanack — Because I have an MBA a lot of people inevitably ask me if they should pursue one. If it’s knowledge and not credentials you’re after, save your money and read these two. The letters are freely available on Berkshire’s website but I find the paperback collection works best for me. If you’re scared t
    Source
  17. 17. The Lean Startup

    The Lean Startup

    By Eric Ries

    Recommended by 7 of 122 investors

    The two things that influenced me the most were Marc Andreessen's 2011 Wall Street Journal article, 'Why Software Is Eating the World,' and 'The Lean Startup' — Eric Ries's book, which I literally read in a day.
    Source
  18. 18. Getting to Yes

    Getting to Yes

    By William Ury, Roger Fisher, Bruce Patton

    Recommended by 7 of 122 investors

    Getting to Yes is one, and that's all about telling a story… telling a really great story for why people should say yes.
    Source
  19. 19. Range

    Range

    By David Epstein

    Recommended by 7 of 122 investors

    This book examines the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists and discovers that in most fields , generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. This book argues that cultivating range prepares us for things we can’t anticipate and adversity. We’ve believed in a single path to excellence: Start early, specialize soon, narrow your focus, aim for efficiency. This book suggests to hold off on starting those piano lessons too early. I’ve always loved exploration so this is very much in sync with my beliefs. Every high school and college student should read it.
    Source
  20. 20. Meditations

    Meditations

    By Marcus Aurelius

    Recommended by 6 of 122 investors

    3. Meditations and Montaigne’s Essays — Reading these guys, along with Seneca, has really helped foster my interest in philosophy. So much of what they say speaks to me that I’m often left with entire pages underlined and margins filled with thoughts.
    Source
  21. 21. Snow Crash

    Snow Crash

    By Neal Stephenson

    Recommended by 6 of 122 investors

    Snow Crash is amazing
    Source
  22. 22. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

    By Robert M. Pirsig

    Recommended by 6 of 122 investors

    My daughter was reading “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” which brought me back to my youth. I picked it up and read a couple of chapters just for old time’s sake.
    Source
  23. 23. Why We Sleep

    Why We Sleep

    By Matthew Walker

    Recommended by 6 of 122 investors

    Definitely people, if they're interested in unpacking sleep, Why We Sleep , I believe, is the title of Matt's book
    Source
  24. 24. Influence

    Influence

    By Robert Cialdini

    Recommended by 6 of 122 investors

    I'm positive you've read this book: Robert Cialdini's Influence. Classic, classic book. Everybody should read it, memorize it
    Source
  25. 25. Antifragile

    Antifragile

    By Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    Recommended by 6 of 122 investors

    6. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder This book changed how I see the world. As if that wasn’t enough, it also introduced me to iatrogenics, fragilistas, and connected inversion and via negativa (something I should have connected much sooner).
    Source
  26. 26. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

    Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

    By Richard Feynman

    Recommended by 6 of 122 investors

    anyone who wants to read a fantastic book should read, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, one of my favorites.
    Source
  27. 27. The Lessons of History

    The Lessons of History

    By Will Durant, Ariel Durant

    Recommended by 6 of 122 investors

    A concise book of lessons drawn from the survey of history. The book comes highly recommended by someone I met at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting last weekend. I can’t believe I haven’t read this before. I’ll be re-reading this a few times and I’ve started listening to the audio version in the car as well
    Source
  28. 28. The Sovereign Individual

    The Sovereign Individual

    By James Dale Davidson

    Recommended by 6 of 122 investors

    It's a good book, but this is more like the next step — the Sovereign Collective.
    Source
  29. 29. The Checklist Manifesto

    The Checklist Manifesto

    By Atul Gawande

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

    The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
    Source
  30. 30. Homo Deus

    Homo Deus

    By Yuval Noah Harari

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

    Not that I agree with all of it, but it is still mind-bending speculation about our future as a follow-up to a previous favorite, Sapiens. It’s directionally right.
    Source
  31. 31. The Black Swan: Second Edition

    The Black Swan: Second Edition

    By Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

    He is also famous for The Black Swan, Antifragile, and Fooled by Randomness, all of which are worth reading.
    Source
  32. 32. The Ride of a Lifetime

    The Ride of a Lifetime

    By Robert Iger

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

  33. 33. Made to Stick

    Made to Stick

    By Chip Heath, Dan Heath

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

    How to make your message memorable so it will spread.
    Source
  34. 34. Behave

    Behave

    By Robert Sapolsky

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

    Among the best insights into our brain and behavior. A top of the charts for me for this year, along with Scale.
    Source
  35. 35. Fooled by Randomness

    Fooled by Randomness

    By Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

    He is also famous for The Black Swan, Antifragile, and Fooled by Randomness, all of which are worth reading.
    Source
  36. 36. Superforecasting

    Superforecasting

    By Philip E. Tetlock, Dan Gardner

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

    Attentive readers will note this is the second time I’ve read this book this month. I’m interviewing the author for The Knowledge Project soon
    Source
  37. 37. Born Standing Up

    Born Standing Up

    By Steve Martin

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

    It had a profound effect on me. So great. Must read.
    Source
  38. 38. Loonshots

    Loonshots

    By Safi Bahcall

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

    This book explores the beauty, quirkiness, and complexity of ideas, especially new and out-of-the-box ones. Loonshots shows how group dynamics and workplace politics conspire against the psychological safety people need in order to boldly share their wildest ideas. A key to understanding why Silicon Valley culture is changing the world.
    Source
  39. 39. High Growth Handbook

    High Growth Handbook

    By Elad Gil

    Recommended by 5 of 122 investors

    Read a book called The High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil. Arguably one of the best certainly angel investors of the last few decades. His hit rate is absolutely insane.
    Source
  40. 40. The Coddling of the American Mind

    The Coddling of the American Mind

    By Greg Lukianoff, Jonathan Haidt

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    This book dives into the new problem on college campuses, Safetyism, and how it undermines the freedom of inquiry and speech that are indispensable to universities. The consequences of a generation unable or disinclined to engage with ideas that make them uncomfortable are dire for society, and open the door — accessible from both the left and the right — to various forms of authoritarianism. A good companion read to “Winner Takes All”. Can too much political correctness hurt?​
    Source
  41. 41. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

    Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

    By Walter Isaacson

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    like something like Franklin's, both his autobiography and say the biography that's recently been written by, well not that recently, but in, I guess, five or ten years ago when it was written, the biography by Isaacson on Franklin is really good.
    Source
  42. 42. Steve Jobs

    Steve Jobs

    By Walter Isaacson

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    Walter is incredibly thorough in his research. Highly recommend his other books!
    Source
  43. 43. The Intelligent Investor

    The Intelligent Investor

    By Benjamin Graham, Jason Zweig

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    Of all the investments I ever made, buying Ben's book was the best (except for my purchase of two marriage licenses).
    Source
  44. 44. How to Change Your Mind

    How to Change Your Mind

    By Michael Pollan

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    The true subject of this “mental travelogue” is not just psychedelic drugs but also the eternal puzzle of human consciousness and how, in a world that offers us both suffering and joy, we can do our best to be fully present and find meaning in our lives. It is also a fun exploration of psychedelic drugs, especially for someone who has never tried them.
    Source
  45. 45. The Rational Optimist

    The Rational Optimist

    By Matt Ridley

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    Matt Ridley is a longtime favorite. Originally a PhD zoologist, Ridley went on to write great books like The Red Queen and The Rational Optimist, and wrote for The Economist for a while. This book makes the argument for how trial-and-error style evolution occurs across a wide range of phenomena. I don’t know that I agr
    Source
  46. 46. The Selfish Gene

    The Selfish Gene

    By Richard Dawkins

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    Yeah, most people don't realize that the origin of the word meme is the, I believe, 1976 book by Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, in which he coined the word meme, that ideas propagate like genes based on sort of like a survival of the fittest paradigm, only the strongest memes survive.
    Source
  47. 47. The Prince

    The Prince

    By Niccolò Machiavelli

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    I have a lot to read in my pile but after reading Blood & Beauty last week — an excellent read by the way — I was inspired to pick up this masterful work again
    Source
  48. 48. Good to Great

    Good to Great

    By Jim Collins

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    The scientific method can be applied to business. This book draws powerful lessons from data.
    Source
  49. 49. Thinking in Bets

    Thinking in Bets

    By Annie Duke

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    , which comes out this week. I was lucky to have an advance copy. I read this in preparation for having Annie Duke on the podcast. Anyone interested in making better decisions can learn a lot from this book
    Source
  50. 50. Masters of Doom

    Masters of Doom

    By David Kushner

    Recommended by 4 of 122 investors

    Masters of Doom is a great book
    Source

Every Investor on Ultimate Book List

Frequently asked questions

What is the top book recommended by investors?

Sapiens ranks first, recommended by 12 investors.

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 investors are included?

This group includes 122 public profiles, including profiles with no public recommendations. 46 have recommended at least 10 books.