Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI, one of the most influential AI companies in the world. Previously, he was president of Y Combinator, where he led the renowned startup accelerator. His intellectual interests range from business strategy to evolutionary biology and human resilience.
66 Books Recommended by Sam Altman
Ranked by popularity across all reading lists on this site
Man’s Search for Meaning
36 people recommendedThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Dustin Moskovitz, Ev Williams, Aniela Gregorek, Bryan Johnson, Chelsea Handler, Chip Conley, Alastair Humphreys, Daniel Pink, Dave Elitch, David Blaine, Patrick Bet David, Emma Watson, Esther Perel, Fedor Holz, Jim Kwik, Jimmy Fallon, Jocko Willink, Jordan Peterson, Lex Fridman, Maria Popova, Mark Manson, Michael Gervais, Michael Hyatt, Pewdiepie, Phil Jackson, Robin Black, Ryan Holiday, Shane Parrish, Simon Sinek, Steve Kerr, Terry Crews, Tom Bilyeu, Tony Robbins, Turia Pitt, Derek Sivers
Zero to One
24 people recommendedrecommended 2xThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Elon Musk, Eric Jorgenson, Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Kishore Biyani, Marc Andreessen, Rupert Murdoch, Andrew Ng, Ben Horowitz, Bryan Johnson, Brian Dean, Chris Dixon, Eric Weinstein, Keith Rabois, Lee Stranahan, Luis Von Ahn, Matt Mullenweg, Max Levchin, Nassim Taleb, Patrick Oshaughnessy, Ryan Petersen, Tom Bilyeu, Derek Sivers
Meditations
22 people recommendedrecommended 2xGreat read.
Great read.
Also recommended by: Naval Ravikant, Eric Jorgenson, Jack Dorsey, Tobi Lutke, Adam Robinson, Anna Kendrick, Arianna Huffington, Chip Conley, Austen Allred, Patrick Bet David, James Clear, Jason Ferruggia, Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, Mark Manson, Neil Strauss, Robin Sharma, Ryan Holiday, Shane Parrish, Stewart Brand, Derek Sivers
Thinking, Fast and Slow
20 people recommendedrecommended 2xOne of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Ankur Warikoo, Naval Ravikant, Bill Gates, Ev Williams, Marc Andreessen, Ray Dalio, Ron Conway, Ben Greenfield, Bryan Johnson, Derek Sivers, Jason Fried, Jay Shetty, Mark Manson, Michiko Kakutani, Nassim Taleb, Preston Pysh, Sahil Lavingia, Scott Adams, Stewart Brand
Endurance
12 people recommendedOne of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Ray Dalio, Bryan Johnson, Andrew Klavan, Barry Ritholtz, Dominic Dagostino, Fred Wilson, Jason Fried, Jordan Peterson, Max Levchin, Ryan Holiday, Scott Belsky
Anna Karenina
12 people recommendedrecommended 2xThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Osho, Peter Thiel, Oprah Winfrey, Chelsea Handler, Austen Allred, Bret Easton Ellis, Ernest Hemingway, Jen Wilkin, Jennifer Lawrence, Jordan Peterson, Laura R Walker
Brave New World
10 people recommendedThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Winston Churchill, Christopher Hitchens, Yuval Noah Harari, Jordan Peterson, Matt Mullenweg, Pewdiepie, Sahil Lavingia, Stewart Brand, Tristan Harris
Blitzscaling
8 people recommendedrecommended 2xHave been waiting for it to come out so that I can recommend it to everyone.
Have been waiting for it to come out so that I can recommend it to everyone.
Also recommended by: Bill Gates, Brian Chesky, Changpeng Zhao, Eric Schmidt, Sheryl Sandberg, Vinod Khosla, Anthony Pompliano
The Score Takes Care of Itself
8 people recommendedOne of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Jack Dorsey, Ron Conway, Vinod Khosla, Justin Kan, Keith Rabois, Noah Kagan, Ryan Holiday
Einstein
8 people recommendedrecommended 2xThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, Charlie Munger, Ed Zschau, George Raveling, Scott Belsky
The Making of a Manager
7 people recommendedrecommended 2xGives new managers the tools they need to help their people and company win.
Gives new managers the tools they need to help their people and company win.
Also recommended by: Ev Williams, Stewart Butterfield, Ali Abdaal, Daniel Pink, Gretchen Rubin, Marty Cagan
A Pattern Language
6 people recommendedThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Naval Ravikant, Patrick Collison, Gretchen Rubin, Liz Lambert, Stewart Brand
Superintelligence
6 people recommendedrecommended 2xBest thing Iβve seen on this topic.
Best thing Iβve seen on this topic.
Also recommended by: Elon Musk, Naval Ravikant, Marc Goodman, Sam Harris, Will Macaskill
The Republic
6 people recommendedrecommended 2xOne of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Mark Zuckerberg, Vlad Tenev, Maria Popova, Mark Manson, Nolan Bushnell
Secrets of Sand Hill Road
5 people recommendedrecommended 2xA valuable resource for any founder who wants to work with VCs.
A valuable resource for any founder who wants to work with VCs.
Also recommended by: Eric Schmidt, Elad Gil, Michael Mauboussin, Ryan Hoover
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
4 people recommendedrecommended 2xThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Naval Ravikant, Adam Robinson, Patrick Oshaughnessy
Dealers of Lightning
4 people recommendedOne of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Patrick Collison, Austen Allred, Ryan Shea
The Picture of Dorian Gray
4 people recommendedThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Jenn Im, Pewdiepie, Zack Daleo
The Old Way
3 people recommendedThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Patrick Collison, Paul Graham
Winning
3 people recommendedOne of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Ev Williams, Patrick Bet David
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
3 people recommendedrecommended 2xThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Chris Dixon, Ramit Sethi
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Jordan Peterson, Mark Manson
The Principia
3 people recommendedOne of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Alan Kay, Neil Degrasse Tyson
The Kite Runner
3 people recommendedThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Ann Miura Ko, James Altucher
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Jordan Peterson, Sahil Lavingia
Call Me by Your Name
3 people recommendedThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Jack Edwards, Tavi Gevinson
Medieval Technology and Social Change
3 people recommendedrecommended 2xReally is great.
Really is great.
Also recommended by: Patrick Collison, Paul Graham
Molecular Biology of the Cell
2 people recommendedOne of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Alan Kay
The Art of War in the Middle Ages
2 people recommendedOne of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Paul Graham
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Paul Graham
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Patrick Collison
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Also recommended by: Keith Rabois
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
2 people recommendedThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Also recommended by: Ev Williams
Guns, Sails, and Empires
2 people recommendedrecommended 2xExcellent!
Excellent!
Also recommended by: Paul Graham
Solution Selling
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
The Supermen
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
The Beak of the Finch
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
Hold ’em Poker
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Pandaemonium
recommended 2xMy favorite book of [2018].
My favorite book of [2018].
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
recommended 2xReally good.
Really good.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Hunger of Memory
recommended 2xThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
The Trial of Socrates
recommended 2xThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
The Constitutional Convention
recommended 2xOne of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
One of Sam Altman's answers to "What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
Mind of Napoleon
recommended 2xAn incredible primary-source portrait on a brilliant (but obviously deeply flawed) individual.
An incredible primary-source portrait on a brilliant (but obviously deeply flawed) individual.
Skunk Works
recommended 2xThis book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
