Reading list: the books for what you are building
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643 books written by investors and founders
Now readingAtomic HabitsJames Clear4.31★
Change your answersFounder · Government and defence · Seed
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ShortlistThe best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
The best matches for everything you told us, ranked.
- 1
The Fifth Risk
Undoing Democracy
Michael Lewis · 2018
4.1048,939 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceCompany building
About the book
The morning after Trump was elected president, the people who ran the US Department of Energy waited to brief the administration’s transition team on the agency it would soon be running. Nobody appeared. Across all departments the stories were the same: Trump…
- 2
Re-enchanting the World
Feminism and the Politics of the Commons
Silvia Federici · 2018
4.27569 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
Silvia Federici is one of the most important contemporary theorists of capitalism and feminist movements. In this collection of her work spanning over twenty years, she provides a detailed history and critique of the politics of the commons from a feminist…
- 3
About Face
Odyssey Of An American Warrior
David H. Hackworth · 1989
4.396,333 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
Called “everything a twentieth century war memoir could possibly be” by The New York Times, this national bestseller by Colonel David H. Hackworth presents a vivid and powerful portrait of a life of patriotism. From age fifteen to forty David Hackworth…
- 4
The Power Broker
Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Robert A. Caro · 1974
4.5329,550 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • A modern American classic, this huge and galvanizing biography of Robert Moses reveals not only the saga of one man’s incredible accumulation of power but the story of his shaping (and mis-shaping) of twentieth-century New York. One of…
- 5
Out of Many, One
Portraits of America's Immigrants
George W. Bush · 2021
4.32969 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
In this powerful new collection of oil paintings and stories, President George W. Bush spotlights the inspiring journeys of America's immigrants and the contributions they make to the life and prosperity of our nation. The issue of immigration stirs…
- 6
Economic Policy
Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow
Ludwig von Mises · 1979
4.342,106 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
Von Mises' economic theories and views on economic policy are revealed in his lectures on capitalism, socialism, interventionism, inflation, foreign investment, and policies and ideas
- 7
The Marketing of Evil
How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised As Freedom
David Kupelian · 2005
4.17822 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceMarketing and growth
About the book
DAVID KUPELIAN'S CULTURE-WAR BESTSELLER IS NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK! Millions of Americans today accept ideas and behaviors that would have horrified all previous generations. Why? Why have thousands of years of Judeo-Christian moral standards suddenly…
- 8
Team of Teams
New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World
Stanley McChrystal · 2015
4.1314,158 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceCompany building
About the book
The retired four-star general and and bestselling author of My Share of the Task shares a powerful new leadership model As commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), General Stanley McChrystal played a crucial role in the War on Terror. But when he…
Books on government and defence.
- 1
The Hour of the Predator
Giuliano da Empoli · 2025
3.945,140 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
A chilling assessment of international politics in our time, from an internationally bestselling author whose work has sparked controversy and debate across the worldBlending the author’s personal insight with startling historical comparisons to the days of…
- 2
Apple in China
The Capture of the World's Greatest Company
Patrick McGee · 2025
4.4810,559 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceCompany building
About the book
For readers of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs and Chris Miller’s Chip War, a riveting look at how Apple helped build China’s dominance in electronics assembly and manufacturing only to find itself trapped in a relationship with an authoritarian state making…
- 3
Written Out of History
The Forgotten Founders Who Fought Big Government
Mike Lee · 2017
4.05728 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceCompany building
About the book
Senator Mike Lee tells the story of the Founders whose warnings about the dangers of an all-powerful federal government helped shape our Constitution--but are being ignored today. Today, most Americans are familiar only with the "big names" associated…
- 4
The Everything War
Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power
Dana Mattioli · 2024
4.121,461 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceCompany building
About the book
From veteran Amazon reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting, Dana Mattioli's The Everything War is the shocking, explosive, and untold exposé of Amazon's endless strategic greed, from destroying…
- 5
The Sirens' Call
How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource
Christopher L. Hayes · 2025
3.938,942 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
An Instant #1 New York Times BestsellerFrom the New York Times bestselling author and MSNBC and podcast host, a powerful wide-angle reckoning with how the assault from attention capitalism on our minds and our hearts has reordered our politics and the very…
- 6
The Man Who Saved the Union
Ulysses Grant in War and Peace
H.W. Brands · 2012
4.136,257 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
From New York Times bestselling author H. W. Brands, a masterful biography of the Civil War general and two-term president who saved the Union twice, on the battlefield and in the White House, holding the country together at two critical turning points in our…
- 7
Unit X
How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War
Raj M. Shah · 2024
3.821,608 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceCompany buildingInnovation
About the book
Shortlisted for the 2024 Financial Times Business Book of the Year “An exceedingly important book!”, General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Director of the CIA “Essential reading for understanding how technology will change the future of warfare.”…
- 8
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends
The Cyberweapons Arms Race
Nicole Perlroth · 2021
4.3111,823 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceCompany building
About the book
From The New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth, the untold story of the cyberweapons market-the most secretive, invisible, government-backed market on earth-and a terrifying first look at a new kind of global warfare.Zero day: a software bug…
What founders at seed need most: company building, finding product-market fit, raising money, first sales, marketing and growth.
- 1
The Elements of User Experience
User-Centered Design for the Web
Jesse James Garrett · 2002
4.014,134 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
Smart organizations recognize that Web design is more than just creating clean code and sharp graphics. A site that really works fulfills your strategic objectives while meeting the needs of your users. Even the best content and the most sophisticated…
- 2
Get Backed
Craft Your Story, Build the Perfect Pitch Deck, and Launch the Venture of Your Dreams
Evan Baehr · 2015
4.36356 ratings · Goodreads
Raising moneyCompany building
About the book
HOW DO YOU LAUNCH THE VENTURE OF YOUR DREAMS? Get Backed isn’t just about startup fundraising. It’s a handbook for anyone who has an idea and needs to build relationships to get it off the ground. Over the last 3 years, entrepreneurs Evan Loomis and…
- 3
Selling the Invisible
A Field Guide to Modern Marketing
Harry Beckwith · 1997
3.9410,059 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthFirst salesCompany building
About the book
You can't touch, hear, or see your company's most important products... So how do you sell, develop, make them grow? That's the problem with services. This "phenomenal" book, as one reviewer called it, answers that question with insights on how markets work…
- 4
Simple Marketing For Smart People
The One Question You Need to Win Customers without Gimmicks, Hype, or Hard Selling
Billy Broas · 2024
4.35305 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthFirst salesCompany building
About the book
Why do so many smart people struggle with marketing? The answer is smart people love complexity, and complexity brews problems. Does your marketing feel like it has way too many moving parts? If so, Simple Marketing for Smart People is the solution you’ve…
- 5
A Project Guide to UX Design
For User Experience Designers in the Field or in the Making
Russ Unger · 2009
3.871,774 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
“If you are a young designer entering or contemplating entering the UX field this is a canonical book. If you are an organization that really needs to start grokking UX this book is also for you. " -- Chris Bernard, User Experience Evangelist, Microsoft User…
- 6
Observing the User Experience
A Practitioner's Guide to User Research
Mike Kuniavsky · 2003
3.99695 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fit
About the book
The gap between who designers and developers imagine their users are, and who those users really are can be the biggest problem with product development. Observing the User Experience will help you bridge that gap to understand what your users want and need…
- 7
Solving Product Design Exercises
Questions & Answers
Artiom Dashinsky · 2018
4.30675 ratings · Goodreads
Finding product-market fitCompany building
About the book
Practice your product design and UX skills. Prepare for your next job interview. "Redesign the NYC metrocard system. Design a dashboard for a general practitioner. Redesign an ATM". Learn how to solve and present exercises like these, that top startups…
- 8
LinkedIn Riches
How To Use LinkedIn For Business, Sales and Marketing! Updated and Revised
John Nemo · 2014
4.07319 ratings · Goodreads
First salesMarketing and growthCompany building
About the book
SPECIAL Includes Free Access to 25+ LinkedIn Training Videos!Discover How To Use LinkedIn For Sales, Business and Marketing, including how Find New Sales Leads and Prospective Clients on LinkedIn FAST- Turn Your Existing LinkedIn Connections into Paying…
Leading and managing a team as the company grows.
- 1
Start with Why
How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Simon Sinek · 2009
4.09281,577 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Why do you do what you do? Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to…
- 2
A Higher Loyalty
Truth, Lies, and Leadership
James B. Comey · 2018
4.0949,995 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
In his book, former FBI director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like, and how it…
- 3
The Ride of a Lifetime
Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
Robert Iger · 2019
4.4099,495 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
A grand vision defined: The CEO of The Walt Disney Company shares the ideas and values he has used to reinvent one of the most beloved companies in the world, and inspire the people who bring the magic to life. In 2005, Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt…
- 4
The Goal
A Process of Ongoing Improvement
Eliyahu M. Goldratt · 2004
4.0786,160 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Written in a fast-paced thriller style, The Goal, a gripping novel, is transforming management thinking throughout the world. It is a book to recommend to your friends in industry - even to your bosses - but not to your competitors. Alex Rogo is a harried…
- 5
The Outsiders
Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success
William N. Thorndike Jr. · 2012
4.2214,412 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
”It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different.”, John TempletonWhat makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise. Others might point to the…
- 6
All It Takes Is a Goal
The 3-Step Plan to Ditch Regret and Tap Into Your Massive Potential | Achieve Your Resolutions and Find Success
Jon Acuff · 2023
4.552,450 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
"This is my new favorite book about goals!" -- Mel Robbins , podcaster and New York Times bestselling author of The High 5 Habit What if you could have a fulfilling career, a thriving marriage, strong friendships, and rewarding hobbies, all while being in…
- 7
Rising Strong
The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution
Brené Brown · 2015
4.2590,292 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
Social scientist Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability, the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome, is the only path…
- 8
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog
Leadership Made Simple
William H. McRaven · 2023
4.408,634 ratings · Goodreads
Leading and managing
About the book
From the acclaimed, bestselling author of Make Your Bed, a short, inspirational book of advice and leadership lessons that Admiral McRaven collected over his four decades as a Navy SEAL. The title “Bullfrog” is given to the Navy SEAL who has served the…
Published in the last three years, newest first, for what you told us.
- 1
How to Run a Country
An Ancient Guide for Modern Leaders
Marcus Tullius Cicero · 2044
3.82431 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest statesman and orator, was elected to the Roman Republic's highest office at a time when his beloved country was threatened by power-hungry politicians, dire economic troubles, foreign turmoil, and political parties that refused…
- 2
Chokepoints
American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare
Edward Fishman · 2025
4.342,959 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceCompany building
About the book
The epic story of how America turned the world economy into a weapon, upending decades of globalization to take on a new authoritarian axis, Russia, China, and Iran. It used to be that ravaging another country’s economy required blockading its ports and…
- 3
The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel
Romanovs, Revolutionaries, and the Forgotten Titan Who Fueled the World
Douglas Brunt · 2026
4.39615 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceCompany building
About the book
The hidden history of Emanuel Nobel, one of the world’s most successful corporate titans, a rival to the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds, integral in the creation of the Nobel Prize, whose legacy was erased in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution.…
- 4
Age of Revolutions
Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present
Fareed Zakaria · 2024
4.184,180 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
The CNN host and best-selling author explores the revolutions, past and present, that define the polarized and unstable age in which we live. Populist rage, ideological fracture, economic and technological shocks, war, and an international system studded…
- 5
Coming Up Short
A Memoir of My America
Robert B. Reich · 2025
4.502,794 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
From political economist, cabinet member, beloved professor, media presence, and bestselling author of Saving Capitalism and The Common Good, a deeply-felt, compelling memoir of growing up in a baby-boom America that made progress in certain areas, fell short…
- 6
How China Works
An Introduction to China’s State-led Economic Development
Xiaohuan Lan · 2024
4.34677 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
This book, a bestseller in China with over a million copies sold, depicts the role played by the Chinese government in China‘s economic development. It explains how the Chinese government has gradually established and improved market mechanisms while…
- 7
I Swear
Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan
Katie Porter · 2023
4.214,196 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defence
About the book
An honest, inspiring, and laugh-out-loud funny memoir about re-energizing our politics and standing up to corporate America--while carting three kids around in a minivan. Never having run for office before, Katie Porter charted a new path in 2018 when she…
- 8
Little Bosses Everywhere
How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America
Bridget Read · 2025
3.965,793 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceCompany buildingMarketing and growth
About the book
A groundbreaking work of history and reportage that unveils the stranger-than-fiction world of multilevel marketing, from the shadowy cabals at the top to the strivers at the bottom, whose deferred dreams churn a massive money-making scam that has remade…
How companies like yours were actually built, from the people who built them.
- 1
Destiny and Power
The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush
Jon Meacham · 2015
4.138,940 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceFounder stories
About the book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review | Time | NPR | St. Louis Post-DispatchIn this brilliant biography, Jon Meacham, the…
- 2
The Price of Peace
Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes
Zachary D. Carter · 2020
4.423,701 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceFounder stories
About the book
A page-turning biography of world-changing economist John Maynard Keynes and the big ideas that outlived him. In the spring of 1934, Virginia Woolf sketched an affectionate biographical portrait of her great friend John Maynard Keynes. Writing a full two…
- 3
Decision Points
George W. Bush · 2010
3.8143,034 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceFounder stories
About the book
In this candid and gripping account, President George W. Bush describes the critical decisions that shaped his presidency and personal life.George W. Bush served as president of the United States during eight of the most consequential years in American…
- 4
It Doesn't Take a Hero
The Autobiography of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
Norman Schwarzkopf · 1992
4.113,536 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceFounder stories
About the book
He set his star by a simple motto: duty, honor, country. Only rarely does history grant a single individual the ability, personal charisma, moral force, and intelligence to command the respect, admiration, and affection of an entire nation. But such a man…
- 5
My Share of the Task
A Memoir
Stanley McChrystal · 2013
4.112,140 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceFounder stories
About the book
In early March 2010, General Stanley McChrystal, the commanding officer of all U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, walked with President Hamid Karzai through a small rural bazaar. As Afghan townspeople crowded around them, a Taliban rocket loudly…
- 6
The Rise and Fall of American Growth
The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War
Robert J. Gordon · 2016
4.192,210 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
How America's high standard of living came to be and why future growth is under threat In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable. Electric lighting, indoor plumbing,…
- 7
The Wise Men
Six Friends and the World They Made
Walter Isaacson · 1986
4.114,470 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceFounder storiesCompany building
About the book
A captivating blend of personal biography and public drama, The Wise Men introduces the original best and brightest, leaders whose outsized personalities and actions brought order to postwar Averell Harriman, the freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt's special…
- 8
Call Sign Chaos
Learning to Lead
Jim Mattis · 2019
4.2914,295 ratings · Goodreads
Government and defenceFounder stories
About the book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A clear-eyed account of learning how to lead in a chaotic world, by General Jim Mattis--the former Secretary of Defense and one of the most formidable strategic thinkers of our time--and Bing West, a former assistant secretary…
What founders at seed keep coming back to, if you have not read them yet.
- 1
Crossing the Chasm
Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers
Geoffrey A. Moore · 2002
4.0332,109 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthCompany buildingFirst sales
About the book
Here is the bestselling guide that created a new game plan for marketing in high-tech industries. Crossing the Chasm has become the bible for bringing cutting-edge products to progressively larger markets. This edition provides new insights into the realities…
- 2
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
Violate Them at Your Own Risk
Al Ries · 1993
4.0522,738 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthCompany building
About the book
There are laws of nature, so why shouldn't there be laws of marketing? As Al Ries and Jack Trout, the world-renowned marketing consultants and bestselling authors of Positioning, note, you can build an impressive airplane, but it will never leave the ground if…
- 3
Building A Story Brand
Donald Miller · 2017
4.2726,500 ratings · Goodreads
Marketing and growthCompany building
About the book
New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller uses the seven universal elements of powerful stories to teach readers how to dramatically improve how they connect with customers and grow their businesses. Donald Miller’s StoryBrand process is a proven…
- 4
Inspired
How to Create Tech Products Customers Love
Marty Cagan · 2008
4.2226,350 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingFinding product-market fit
About the book
Learn to design, build, and scale products consumers can't get enough of How do today's most successful tech companies–Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Tesla–design, develop, and deploy the products that have earned the love of literally billions of…
- 5
To Sell is Human
The Surprising Truth About Moving Others
Daniel H. Pink · 2012
3.8726,914 ratings · Goodreads
Company buildingFirst sales
About the book
From the bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind comes a surprising--and surprisingly useful--new book that explores the power of selling in our lives.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day…
- 6
Shoe Dog
A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Phil Knight · 2016
4.45389,310 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable…
- 7
The Big Short
Inside the Doomsday Machine
Michael Lewis · 2010
4.31174,827 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
The #1 New York Times bestseller: "It is the work of our greatest financial journalist, at the top of his game. And it's essential reading.", Graydon Carter, Vanity FairThe real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn't shine and…
- 8
The Tipping Point
How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Malcolm Gladwell · 2000
4.01867,722 ratings · Goodreads
Company building
About the book
Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780316346627. From the bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia: discover Malcolm Gladwell's breakthrough debut and explore the science behind viral trends in business, marketing, and human behavior. The tipping point is…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Which books we recommend never depends on it: they are chosen from their ratings and what they are about.
From the record
Written by the people who write the cheques
Books by investors and founders we hold records for. The author links to what they have done, not just what they wrote.
The Lean Startupby Eric Ries, Eric Ries2011 · 4.11★L
Lean Inby Sheryl Sandberg, Meta2013 · 3.94★T
The Hard Thing About Hard Thingsby Ben Horowitz, Andreessen Horowitz2014 · 4.19★D
Delivering Happinessby Tony Hsieh, Tony Hsieh2000 · 4.04★#
#Girlbossby Sophia Amoruso2014 · 3.64★T
The One Thingby Gary Keller, Pocketchange Investments2012 · 4.12★P
Principlesby Ray Dalio2017 · 4.09★Read what the people you are pitching read.
Every investor and founder on our records links to their books and the podcasts they are on.