Episode · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2020-05-25
Books mentioned on #436: Books I've Loved — Maria Popova and Tyler Cowen
#436: Books I've Loved — Maria Popova and Tyler Cowen | Brought to you by Audible. Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types—from startup founders and investors to chess champions to Olympic athletes.
Tim Ferriss recommended Essentialism by Greg McKeown. Maria Popova recommended Letter to a Hostage by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Love and Saint Augustine by Hannah Arendt, and A madman dreams of Turing machines by Janna Levin, and discussed The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt. Tyler Cowen recommended In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust, Instant Replay by Jerry Kramer and others, Timeless Flight by Johnny Rogan, Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Ultralearning by Scott H. Young.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Essentialism
Essentialism by Greg McKeown is a self-improvement guide that advocates for focusing on the vital few things instead of getting overwhelmed by the trivial many.
Recommended“neo also has perhaps the most calming voice of all time in 3rd Gregg McEwan's essentialism subtitle the disciplined pursuit of less”
Where to get it
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The Little Prince
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a classic philosophical novella that explores themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and human nature through the journey of a young prince visiting various planets.
Discussed“Antoine de saint-exupéry the author of the little prince which is of course one of the most beloved I hesitate to say children's books of all time”
Where to get it
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Letter to a Hostage
Letter to a Hostage by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a poignant, compact masterpiece written by the celebrated author of The Little Prince during the harrowing trials of the Second World War.
Recommended“the first book is a tiny tiny gem of a book called letter from a hostage by Antoine de saint-exupéry the author of the little prince”
Where to get it
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Love and Saint Augustine
Love and Saint Augustine by Hannah Arendt is a philosophical exploration of the concept of love through the writings of Saint Augustine.
Recommended“it's called love and st. Augustine by Hannah Arendt and it's an improbable and and deeply insightful inquiry into the life of the heart”
Where to get it
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The Origins of Totalitarianism
The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt is a classic historical and political study examining the psychosocial conditions, social atomization, and rise of twentieth-century totalitarian regimes.
Discussed“she obsessively revised and annotated the manuscript and for the remainder of her life she honed her core philosophical ideas against Augustine's whetstone contemplating the troublesome disconnect between philosophy and politics particularly moral philosophy and politics as evidenced by the rise of totalitarian regimes which of course she later explored in her just just shockingly relevant book the origins of”
Where to get it
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A madman dreams of Turing machines
A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines by Janna Levin is a biographical novel that weaves together the lives and intellectual pursuits of logician Kurt Gödel and mathematician Alan Turing, exploring the intersections of computation, mental fragility, and genius.
Recommended“and the book is called a madman dreams of Turing machines and perhaps it's best described as a mathematical historical novel”
Where to get it
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In Search of Lost Time
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust is a monumental, multi-volume modernist novel that explores memory, time, art, and the profound meaning of human existence through an immersive blend of narrative and philosophical essay.
Recommended“so I think my fiction read I found the most rewarding was Marcel Proust remembrance of things past which comes in multiple volumes”
Where to get it
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Instant Replay
Instant Replay by Jerry Kramer and Dick Schaap is a classic sports memoir that chronicles a season with the Green Bay Packers under legendary coach Vince Lombardi.
Recommended“I recommend to people read a book on something you know about so if you're a football fan I read about Vince Lombardi or read Jerry Kramer's instant replay”
Where to get it
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Timeless Flight
Timeless Flight by Johnny Rogan is an exhaustive biographical and analytical chronicle of the influential classic rock band The Byrds.
Recommended“my favorite book on management is a book about the classic rock group The Byrds Bui RDS it's by Johnny Rogan it's called timeless flight”
Where to get it
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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is a classic nineteenth-century novel that explores the harsh realities of slavery, migration, and human dignity, famously recognized for its immense historical impact on American social attitudes leading up to the Civil War.
Recommended“and that is Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin which is a book about migration a book about travel a book about race obviously a book about slavery”
Where to get it
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Ultralearning
Ultralearning by Scott H.
Recommended“it's by Scott H Young it's called ultra learning the subtitle is master hard skills outsmart the competition and accelerate your career”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“the next is the graveyard book by Neil Gaiman GA IMA n one of my favorites even if you're a nonfiction purist this is the fiction book that you need to listen to”
“and I wrote a very thick very yellow book called figuring which looks at our human search for truth for meaning for self-actualization for love through the lives of several historical figures”