At Praxis, we like to read. A lot. We asked our team to submit their top book recommendations – the most enriching, enjoyable, and hard-hitting books we’ve read. If you’re a budding entrepreneur (or Christmas shopping for one) we guarantee you’ll find a great recommendation here.
The Act of Creation by Arthur Koestler
“The Act of Creation inspired me to deliberately create opportunities and environments for myself from which creativity could emerge.” – Isaac Morehouse
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
“More than anything else I think this book captures the spirit of Praxis.” – Derek Magill
“It’s the best book I’ve ever read about the path to achieving your individual human potential.” – Hannah Frankman
Zero to One by Peter Thiel
“Zero to One is the most exciting kick in the gut I’ve ever had. It forced me to think harder and deeper about every aspect of the Praxis mission and strategy.” – Isaac Morehouse
The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein
“I’m only halfway through this book, and already it’s tremendously clarified my thinking around climate change – by using philosophy. If you’re interested in using philosophy as a tool for solving your real-life problems, you can learn a lot from the methods applied in this book.” – Grant Parker
The Hungry Mind: The Origins of Curiosity in Childhood by Susan Engel
“This book makes a compelling case for why education should aim at nourishing a child’s curiosity and sense of playfulness above all else.” – T.k. Coleman
The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
There Is Nothing Wrong with You by Cheri Huber
“Most of our so-called character deficiencies are simply positive attributes that have been misunderstood and misused. This book shows you how to overcome self-hate and transform your vices into virtues through radical self-acceptance.” – T.k. Coleman
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss
“One of the few business books that’s actually worth reading all the way through. I read it in college and it got me thinking about the options available to me for my life in ways that school never had.” – Derek Magill
“This book is what lit my entrepreneurial bug on fire. It opened me up to the freedom that comes with lifestyle design, and gave me actionable strategies to plan and execute, some of which I still live by 3 years later.” – Simon Fraser
Human Action by Ludwig Von Mises
“Human Action helped me create a logically sound lens through which to understand social and economic phenomena.” – Isaac Morehouse
The End of Jobs: Money, Meaning and Freedom Without the 9-to-5 by Taylor Pearson
“The best nonfiction book I read all year. I like to think of it as a sequel to 4-Hour Work Week. This is a book for young people starting their careers, aspiring dropouts, and employers alike.” – Derek Magill
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
“Some things in the world are fragile and some are robust, we know this. But some things actually gain from disorder — startups, elements of your health, and even education are like this. Taleb’s witty book is full of stories, aphorisms, and the occasional statistical model. This is a delightful read that is difficult to classify into one category or another.” – Praxis Staff
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
“What if you were condemned to Hell for eternity but given the chance to leave? Lewis’ short little novel makes us second guess whether or not we would immediately leave. Regardless of your religious convictions, Lewis’ food for thought in The Great Divorce forces us to ask ourselves, “what opportunities am I talking myself out of?”” – Praxis Staff
“The amount of insight he has on human nature and why we choose things that don’t make us happy is astounding.” – Austin Batchelor
Unflattening by Nick Sousanis
“This book is the Praxis philosophy….in the form of a graphic novel.” – T.k. Coleman
Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill
“Hill challenges us to live with definiteness of purpose and, through a clever conversation with the Devil himself, shows us how the institutions we grow up with are actually many of those that hold us back. School, parents, church, and the news — nothing is sacrosanct.” – Praxis Staff
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
“I find the story so impressive. Rowling takes strands from different stories throughout seven different books and ties them together over the course of her writing. It’s a series I will never tire of re-reading.” – Sara Morrison
Total Recall, My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
“The themes include the importance of decentralization, questioning authority, and “entrepreneuring” around a set of rules. There is also Ender’s Shadow which is a parallel of the same story told from a different character’s point of view.” – Sara Morrison
Once a Runner by John L. Parker, Jr.
“It’s the most realistic (yet fictional) account of the “miles of trials and trials of miles” when being a distance runner.” – Sara Morrison
The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety by Alan Watts
“This book introduced me to the life philosophy of the present moment. It allowed me to let go of worries and insecurities by unveiling them for what they are and displaying the root cause.” – Simon Fraser
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
“I can’t put into words how valuable this book is. It singlehandedly challenged nearly every belief and framework I held, and I haven’t found insights as applicable, as numerous or as deep anywhere else. It’s long, but the time I spent reading it has yielded higher dividends than any other time I’ve invested. Get this book and read it.” – Grant Parker
“This book shifted my worldview on economics and morality. I gained a new sense of purpose and scope in my thinking. It helped me prioritize my values.” – Simon Fraser
How to Find Fulfilling Work by Roman Krznaric
“How to develop an effective and healthy approach to your early career is not a common topic of discussion for young people. This book was the first comprehensive book on how to go about finding professional opportunities that will make room for both professional ambition and personal freedom. It has a lot of insight you can take action on right away, but it’s the mental frameworks it supplies you with that give it permanent value to any young person who is looking for more than a 9-5.” – Cameron Sorsby
More Than a Carpenter by Josh and Sean McDowell
How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World by Harry Browne
“The one book I go back to more often than any other. It taught me how to live without seeking the permission of others and how to carve out the life I really wanted as I entered my 20’s. It covers how to keep healthy relationships with everything and everyone from social norms to family members to professional colleagues.” – Cameron Sorsby
Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim S. Grover
“Honestly, this book probably isn’t for you. You don’t want to hear what the author has to say. Through his experience training Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and other elite athletes, Tim Grover has picked up some incredible insight into how the most successful professionals approach their lives. It was worth the multiple reads just for the stories on Jordan and Bryant, but it also gave me a priceless framework to look at how myself and others approach their work. A great management tool.” – Cameron Sorsby
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand by Leonard Peikoff
“A guidebook for living like Howard Roark and John Galt. This book presents the complete philosophy Rand’s characters use to orient their worldview and guide their actions in a comprehensive, start-to-finish fashion. It’s helped me achieve a clarity of thought miles above what I had and given me a framework for reality I’ve used to accomplish what I have so far. It’s not a light read, but you’ll get out every bit of what you put in.” – Grant Parker
The Aeneid by Virgil
“I’m a sucker for the classic epics and I think Virgil captures everything an epic is supposed to be. The Aeneid is an articulation of the passions and scope of the human experience, told in a dazzlingly brilliant display of the language humans created to articulate said experience.” – Hannah Frankman
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
“The basic premise is start small and build as you get market feedback instead of building big and hoping things work out. It’s saved me a lot of money. My first failed T-shirt business I paid several hundred dollars up front for products before knowing my stuff was in demand. My latest T-shirt businesses are printed as I make sales.” – Gabriel Mitchell
We the Living by Ayn Rand
“I can’t read anything from it without feeling like Rand herself is staring right through me.” – Alexandra Woodfin
FREE BONUS: The essay series Breaking Smart
“Most of us don’t realize the world is changing before our eyes; Breaking Smart does. I can think of no better resource that describes the time we live in now and some of the really unique implications of the fact that software is eating the world.” – Isaac Morehouse
