Sam Altman
CEO of OpenAI
Former president of Y Combinator, now CEO of OpenAI. His book recommendations reveal his intellectual DNA: philosophy, science, and how civilizations rise and fall. Known for recommending books that are challenging but transformative.
@sama67
Timeless books
6,219
Avg Lindy score
2406 yrs old
Oldest book
Stood the test of time — old, widely published, and repeatedly endorsed
“Marcus Aurelius' Meditations has been more influential on how I think about leadership than any other book.”
“Frankl's ability to find meaning in the worst possible circumstances is extraordinary. If he could do it there, there is no excuse for any of us not to find meaning.”
The Republic
Plato
24k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
1984
George Orwell
23k
“1984 is the most important political novel of the 20th century. Every technologist should read it — especially anyone building systems that touch information or communication.”
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Zero to One
Peter Thiel
14k
“Zero to One is required reading for founders. Thiel forces you to think about what is genuinely new versus merely improved — a distinction most people never make.”
Foundation
Isaac Asimov
13k
“Foundation shaped how I think about the long-term trajectory of civilization more than almost any other book.”
“The Great Gatsby captures something essential about ambition, reinvention, and the gap between who we are and who we want to be.”
Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy
11k
“Anna Karenina is one of the greatest novels ever written. Tolstoy understood human nature — self-deception, desire, and consequence — with terrifying precision.”
“Gödel, Escher, Bach is one of the most influential books I've ever read. It shaped how I think about intelligence and self-reference.”
“The Black Swan changed how I think about risk and uncertainty — especially about predicting the future of technology.”
“Superintelligence is required reading for anyone thinking seriously about AI risk. Bostrom asks the right questions with more rigor than anyone else.”
“Huxley's vision of a comfortable dystopia — pacified through pleasure rather than pain — feels more relevant today than Orwell's. Brave New World is the more prescient warning.”
“Sunday night reading”
“Horowitz captures the psychological reality of leadership that no business school prepares you for.”
“I'm reading The Endurance and "by endurance we conquer" (Ernest Shackleton's family motto) struck me as a great piece of startup wisdom.”
“High Output Management is the most practical book on managing people I've ever read. Required reading at Y Combinator.”
“David Deutsch's philosophy of fallibilism and explanatory knowledge is foundational for thinking about AGI.”
One 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?'
One 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?'
One 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?'
One 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?'
One 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 Recommends
39 books · below Lindy threshold
Skunk Works
Ben R. Rich
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Pandaemonium, 1660-1886
Humphrey Jennings
2.8k
“My favorite book of the year is Pandaemonium. Incredible read.”
Mind of Napoleon
J. Christopher Herold
2.8k
“An incredible primary-source portrait on a brilliant (but obviously deeply flawed) individual. Broadly applicable thoughts.”
The Transit of Venus
Shirley Hazzard
2.8k
“Re-reading this book tonight. It's incredible.”
The Art of War in the Middle Ages
Charles Oman
2.8k
“This is correct--art of war in the Middle Ages.”
The Constitutional Convention
James Madison
2.8k
“Sunday night reading”
Blitzed
Norman Ohler
2.8k
“Oh, I wanna read that.”
The Sleepwalkers
Christopher Clark
2.8k
“This is a really good book, and has been on my mind watching the Ukraine situation develop”
The Way to Love
Anthony de Mello
2.8k
“The last thing I read, it's really short I recommend it a lot, it's called The Way to Love by Anthony de Mello. It'll take you like an hour to read. It was recommended to me by Naval and it is a series of meditations on life and it is a super fast read and I just finished it and I really enjoyed it.”
Blitzscaling
Reid Hoffman
2.8k
“I got to read an early copy of this, and have been waiting for it to come out so that I can recommend it to everyone”
The Boy Who Played with Fusion
Tom Clynes
2.8k
“This author wrote a book (!) on a Thiel Fellow who was working on fusion”
Medieval Technology and Social Change
Lynn White
2.8k
“it really is great.”
Persecution and the Art of Writing
Leo Strauss
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Guns, Sails, and Empires
Caro M. Cipolla
2.8k
“it was excellent!”
The Old Way
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
A Life Decoded
J. Craig Venter
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Plentiful Energy
Charles E. Till
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Plan B 3.0
Lester R. Brown
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Powering the Future
Robert B. Laughlin
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
The Trial of Socrates
I. F. Stone
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Hunger of Memory
Richard Rodriguez
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Fundamentals of Plasma Physics
Paul M. Bellan
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
The Legend of Henry Ford
Keith Sward
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
The Fall
Albert Camus
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Dave Eggers
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Call Me By Your Name
André Aciman
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Emperor of the Air
Ethan Canin
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
The Palace Thief
Ethan Canin
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
The Crime of Reason
Robert B. Laughlin
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Ishmael
Daniel Quinn
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
American Prometheus
Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
Alice Munro
2.8k
“weekend book recommendation: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro. stayed up last night finishing; really good”
Everything Is Bullshit
Alex Mayyasi, Rohin Dhar, Zachary Crockett
2.8k
“priceonomics wrote a book, and its currently the number 2 best seller in its category on amazon”
Solution Selling
Michael Bosworth
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
The Supermen
Charles J. Murray
2.8k
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
Jonathan Weiner
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Hold 'em Poker
David Sklansky
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'
Winning
Jack Welch
2.8k
One of Sam Altman's answers to 'What are some of the best books you recommend for a young startup founder?'