Episode · Lenny's Podcast · 2026-05-31
Lenny Rachitsky & Benedict Evans: books mentioned on Lenny's Podcast
A rational conversation on where AI is actually going | Benedict Evans
Benedict Evans is an independent analyst and former partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he spent years as their in-house “thinker” tracking the most important technology trends.
Benedict Evans recommended Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome and Nature's Metropolis by William Cronon, and criticized The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Three Men in a Boat
Recommended“I sometimes often joke that there's a there's a classic British comedy from the late 19th century called Three Men in a Boat, which is like my itching. It's like we're having trouble hanging a picture.”
Where to get it
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Nature's Metropolis
Recommended“There's a book by I think William Cronin about the economic history of Chicago which is fascinating and actually very relevant to technology because it's talking basically about standardization and packetization and logistics and channel conflict and network dynamics and network neutrality.”
Where to get it
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The Lord of the Rings
Critiqued“Read books for grown-ups. Please read something other than Lord of the Rings. If you're going to name another company like I saw this and what was the latest like Peter Teal company? I was like read another book.”
Where to get it
