54+ Books Every Man Should Read - My Essential Reading List

Welcome to my on-going reading list for men *updated for April 2024

Reading is a valuable habit to develop so here are some excellent books for men to get you started. These books can be for women too obviously, it's just that my audience is overwhelmingly male.

Anyways, If you've had enough of watching the same repetitive content on YouTube, guess what? Books and audio books are thing you should totally give them a chance.

Books and audio books

I've grown to appreciate audio books as I can go to the gym and listen to them like a podcast. One pro tip is to take notes when you listen when something pops up of interest. It helps retain information so you know where to reference ideas from later.

Anyways, here is my ever-growing reading list of books every man should read (in no particular order):

The Sovereign Individual -

Absolutely mind blowing this book was written in 1997. It basically predicted the future and the coming of Bitcoin, censorship, our digital lives and more. Get this book to help you navigate the future.

Tales of the Dervishes -

Dang, this is easily the most under rated book I've ever read. No one's ever heard of it, but it's a collection of beautifully written stories that have a moral lesson embedded in it. My friend gave me this book to borrow and it's a great read as each tale is short, pithy and thought provoking.

12 Rules For Life –

Dr Jordan Peterson is a highly verbal person and the audio version of his book is simply outstanding. If you’ve not listened to this book, get it. It’s worth every penny if you're a young man.

The Rational Male | Preventative Medicine –

This books teaches you how female behavior is and how to act accordingly. There are two books by Rollo, The Rational Male and his follow up, Preventative Medicine. I found the latter to be an excellent read.

The Bitcoin Standard -

Saifedean takes a fascinating look at the consequences of voluntary free market money through his grasp of technological possibilities as well as historical facts about monetary progress.

Bitcoin, by challenging one of government's most hallowed privileges, is shifting sovereignty away from governments and toward individuals, offering us a revolutionary insight into a world where money is totally divorced from politics.

How To Get Rich –

By billionaire Felix Dennis who founded a bunch of successful magazines. This is a book about what it really takes to achieve great things and the painful sacrifices that you will end up making. In Mr Dennis’s case, children and a wife. Much better than the name implies. This book sucked me in and is one of my favorites.

4 Hour Work Week –

This was brilliant stuff when it came out. Now people are on to the concept of not having jobs, doing what you want. It’s an excellent read if you’re young and will motivate you to forego the dreams of mansions and lambos (so 90’s) and instead do what I do. Make a western income and travel on your terms.

Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder –

Yea it’s a book by Schwarzenegger, how good can it be? This is easily the most inspiring and motivational book I’ve read to date. It’s Arnold’s story about how he came from the country side in the middle of nowhere Austria to being a real estate millionaire, actor and world champion body builder.

The Dip –

A great short book by Seth Godin. A short truthful book about the struggle you will face when doing any creative endeavor and why most never achieve anything of real value because they don’t work to get past the dip. How long does it take to get past the dip? It's unknown, it took me 5 years.

Linchpin –

Another outstanding book by Seth Godin. A book more relevant than ever. Safe is not safe. Safe is found in your ability to adapt and be incredibly helpful and useful at something.

Sapiens –

By Yuval Noah Harari. A classic and for good reason. This explains how humans made a deal with the devil and traded a nomadic life for farming and how wheat tamed us conversely.

Meditations –

By Marcus Aurelius (Ceasar). Made popular by Ryan Holiday. This is an excellent book and you can get it for free as a PDF on the internet or as proper book on Amazon; but I highly recommend the audio version of this.

In short, the most powerful man in the world reflects on his life and shares some profound wisdom that will enable you to re-wire your mindset, behavior and outlook on life.

Atomic Habits –

By James Clear. James Clear originally founded a personal finance website called Passive Panda. But has since gone on to build a massive personal brand around his name based on his work of forming habits. He narrates the audio version which I suggest getting.

The Alchemist -

Your standard novel written in a poetic and beautiful way. Mixes in moral lessons, the nature of god as well as ethics into a captivating story that will capture your attention.

American Desperado 

A book on true crimes. This book, like Felix's book (how to get rich) was simply a book I could not put down. The writing and story telling of what actually happens within criminal organizations makes this a must read.

Journey of Souls -

Stories of past life regressions and the commonalities between them from unrelated people. The premise is that the author helps each person regress to their after life before they reincarnated to their current life and records what the "other side" is life. A really interesting, fun read.

Frankenstein -

By Mary Shelly from 1818. I read this in college for an English class to be honest but was deeply impressed with how beautifully written is was. Also the story is from the perspective of the creature and is much better than any movie would convey.

Can't Hurt Me -

By David Goggins. It's his story about the pain and struggles he endured as a child and young man and how he transformed himself into the man you see today. Deep, emotional and gut wrenching.

War of Art (audio) 

This book inspired Seth Godin's Linchpin book. In it you'll learn about the "resistant" you have in your head to getting creative, important work done. Sometimes that resistance is positive, sometimes negative. To be honest, the book is a dry read and difficult to get into but the audio book, wow it's a totally different experience.

Psycho-Cybernatics 

A classic book on habits and how to manage your thoughts. Pretty basic if you're older and experienced but a great read if you're young.

Some also don't like the Christianity references but if you can get past that there is a lot of wisdom in this book.

How to Not be a Millennial -

The audio version of this is great. It statistically shows in part how the millennial generation got screwed over by the poor parenting of the boomer generation as well as the dire failing and poor choices made by this generation.

Unplugged Alpha -

Written and recorded by Richard Cooper. His book is excellent for young men because if teaches them the right mindset to have to navigate the reality of the world so they get great results in life and with women.

Gorilla Mindset -

This is a great book by Mike Cernovich. I've been reading Mike since his Danger and Play days and appreciate how he has evolved as both a writer and person over time. This book covers the essentials for managing your life and emotions well.

The Fiat Standard -

The Fiat Standard, a new work by world-renowned economist Saifedean Ammous, applies his innovative analytical lens to the fiat monetary system, exploring it as a feat of engineering and technology just as he did for bitcoin in his worldwide best seller The Bitcoin Standard.

This time he examines how the world moved from the gold standard to today's government-backed fiat money system—explaining the aims and shortcomings of fiat currency; discussing its wider economic, political, and social consequences; and assessing how bitcoin will impact it over time.

The Compound Effect -

A complicated book on success that breaks everything down in an easy to understand process to move forward and multiply your success. No gimics, no lazy shortcuts. Just a clear how to.

The Molecule of More -

Why you can't focus and you're addicted to dopamine hits. A bit heavy on the story telling side but still an interesting explanation of how our minds work.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich –

By Ramit Sethi. The best personal finance book for those just getting started with making and managing money.

The Creature from Jekyll Island -

A book on central banking, a second look at the Federal Reserve (that's not federal and has no reserves lol) and a theory of how it was secretly formed in 1910 by a group of powerful men and the societal decay that we're seeing today.

Inventing the individual -

Crazy notion, but the concept of the individual, and personal property rights had to be invented. Previously, all decisions were made based on the family. You did what was best for the family unit, not your own interests.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck -

By Mark Manson. He started off as just another blogger back in the mid-2000s talking about dating. But kept at it and slowly grew an audience. He's now built a massive audience and platform.

His book is a world wide best seller for a reason. Check it out.

Software: National Strategic Significance of Bitcoin

This is an MIT thesis written by Jason Lowery who's currently holds the rank of Major in the US military. It postulates that Bitcoin is more than just a peer to peer payment system.

It is also a power projection tool that will be used to protect data. A new form of non-lethal warfare that may bring an end to kinetic warfare. Mind blowing to say the least. Checkout this interview with Robert Breedlove.

Hidden Wars -

A crazy look at how a simple parks and recreation games warden found himself involved in land war against drug cartels as they used public lands in the US to grow their cash crops.

48 Laws of Power -

A book on how to manipulate people to get what you want. Some say this is a dangerous book. Others say it's a guide on how to navigate a human hierarchy to your advantage.

Zero to One -

A good, not great book by Peter Thiel. There are six big ideas Peter want's to break down and examine, three of the six I found insightful the rest are filler.

This book covers how companies can better predict the future and take action now to ensure their long term success.

Art of War -

“Warfare,” be it combat or in interpersonal relationships, literally, reduced to its most basic and fundamental elements, as shared by Sun Tzu.

Essential reading or listening to defeat, and win over, any foe. Even if they're not aware they're you're opponent. Also reminds you that sometimes the struggle and conflict lies within.

Anything You Want -

I've been a fan of Derek Sivers for a decade now. A down to earth guy who built a business and shares his personal wisdom. That's exactly what he does in this book as he built CD Baby.

Why Women Deserve Less -

Stop being a simp, build wealth and work on yourself. That way you can see the side of women most men never do. The side that breaks rules for attractive and dynamic men who have choice.

Company of One -

A book on staying small. If you're curious about soloprenurship and building a monopoly around a professional, but personal brand this book is for you.

48 Laws of Power -

Some say this book should be illegal. It's a book that teaches you how to play the game of human emotions and interpersonal dynamics. Which you can use to your advantage for both good and bad. A must read to better understand how to leverage both influence and authority to get what you want, crush your enemies and improve your status.

The Millionaire Fast Lane -

You want to be in the millionaire Fast Lane, not the slow lane and certainly not the sidewalk (an actual metaphor used in the book). If this book does not fire you up to obtain wealth then I don't know what will. It starts off slow in my opinion and is a bit repetitive in the beginning but once DeMarco gets into the fast land section the book is very engrossing.

The 10 Pillars of Wealth -

A book by Alex Becker. Alex Becker got his start in the Air Force, after his enlistment he had a few grand saved up and started Source Wave SEO. A blog, email list, paid product business. This made him a multi-millionaire. He let this business die a slow death and took his wealth to solve a problem had had with running ads - tracking.

He eventually built a team that built Hyros, sold it for 100 million dollars. His book is the lessons he learned going from average joe shmoe, to rich AF, leave me alone I'll do whatever I want pro.

Always with Honor -

A pertinent memoir on the communist revolution and the Bolshevik slaughter of the working class. The General does well to make note of the short sightedness and incompetence of the authorities of the time, whose virtue signaling and foolish actions led to chaos and stupidity in their homeland.

Bitcoin is Venice -

To be honest, I'm not a fan of the title of this book as it does not capture just how hopeful and insightful these essays are. It theorizes on what kind of economy and world would exist if we we're on a Bitcoin standard and how that will affect social institutions like the state itself.

Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter -

A book by Curtis Jackson (50 Cents). Lessons learned on business, leadership and dealing with difficult situations. From selling drugs on the street to making millions. This book is a must read on how someone goes from immense personal loss to massive success.

The Man Who Solved The Market -

Jim Simmons, a mathematician who quit is tenured position to start the legendary Medallion fund. Used algorithms and math, hiring a team of scientists and fellow mathematicians to build the most successful investment firm in modern history. Simmons is now worth 23 Billion dollars.

Outlaw Bible of American Poetry -

It's a big, fat poetry book with unconventional poems from smart, creative people. You'll love word plays and unique writing styles, I know I did.

Dreamland: An Autobiography -

Bob Lazar claims to have worked on alien technology at Area 51. If you've seen his very popular interview with Joe Rogan than you should checkout his fascinating book.

Tasting History by Max Miller -

A cookbook of recipes throughout history as well as their backstory. Brought to you by the creator of the popular YouTube channel, Max Miller. This book is a great addition to any kitchen. My favorite so far is making Switchel.

Ape Who Understood the Universe -

A book about us. This an excellent dive into the concept of behavioral psychology with the author asking the reader to contemplate implications and realities brought up in the book instead of just stating facts and data.

5 Types of People Who Can Ruin Your Life -

Simply put, this book shows you how to identify and deal with difficult, horrible people. The name is a bit clickbait, but overall a very good book. I suggest you get this on Audible.

The Testosterone Optimization Therapy Bible -

Pretty much the best book I've come across on how to optimize your testosterone and all the little details you don't even know you don't know. It's something you need to be on top of as a man at any age.

The Spy Who Couldn't Spell -

A true story about a dyslexic traitor who was trying to make millions by selling government secrets where they bring in a guy who has dyscalculia (an inability to do math).

Unknown Market Wizards -

A book on the best traders you've never heard of. I found this book helpful with understanding how to approach the market for trading (which I don't do) and making money.

Expert Secrets -

A legit book by Russel Brunson on how to actually build an online business by selling something. Learn how to get to that next level and leave the beginners behind who are stuck running display ads and affiliate marketing. There is an audio version, but I strongly suggest you get this for Kindle.

The Soul After Death -

I was raised Roman Catholic, but to be honest I find more in common with the Orthodox church than anything else. This book is a clear explanation of the soul after death based on the Orthodox Christian church.

Books every man should read - conclusion

I'll update this periodically every month as I find books and audio books worth adding to the list.

That's it! Check back monthly for updates...

-David

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