Episode · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2026-06-09
Tim Ferriss & Max Levchin: books mentioned on The Tim Ferriss Show #869
#869: Max Levchin, PayPal and Affirm — The Path from The Soviet Union to Building Multi-Billion Dollar Companies (Plus: Real-World Socialism vs. Capitalism)
Max Levchin (@mlevchin) is a serial entrepreneur and investor in 100+ startups. He's the founder and CEO of Affirm, the payment network powering consumer purchases and merchant growth.
Tim Ferriss recommended Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, and discussed Ronin by Frank Miller and The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Max Levchin recommended 7 Powers by Hamilton Helmer, Influence by Robert B. Cialdini, and A Mind at Play by Jimmy Soni and others, and discussed Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, Neuromancer by William Gibson, and Titan by Ron Chernow.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Ronin
Discussed“And one of the layers of explanation that you added to it, which I ended up applying, it made it very concrete for me, which I think you've already done, but it was when you aren't sure, I'm quoting from what you put in the book here, is when you aren't sure about a key employee or a co-founder, odds”
Where to get it
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Cryptonomicon
Recommended“And something I always wondered is that we all had cryptonnomicon as required reading. So I want you to explain that. I love that book. It's a great book.”
Where to get it
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Snow Crash
Discussed“My college life was shaped by Snow Crash with probably the thing that really put him on the map.”
Where to get it
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Neuromancer
Discussed“So, Thorrash basically presented an alternative to Neurommancer. Neurommancer was this dark dystopian. Also, by the way, first book I read when I came to the US. Neurommancer.”
Where to get it
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The Master and Margarita
Discussed“I'm very embarrassed to say this is the Master and Margarita.”
Where to get it
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Influence
Recommended“I am sure it's in your list and everyone's list, but if you haven't read it, if you're trying to start a business, you should read Influence by Chelini because that is probably the most important social science book published in the last 50 years.”
Where to get it
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Titan
Discussed“Titan is a huge one. Titan is probably the one that's closest to like business advice.”
Where to get it
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A Mind at Play
Recommended“There's a great book called A Mind at Play, which is Claude Shannon's biography.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“And I wanted to kick this off with a thank you, believe it or not, from what you put into my last book, Tribe of Mentors.”
“I asked you what book or books you've given the most as a gift and why.”