Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2021-03-01
Books mentioned on #165 – Josh Barnett: Philosophy of Violence, Power, and the Martial Arts
Josh Barnett is an MMA fighter, catch wrestler, and a scholar of violence. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – Munk Pack: https://munkpack.
Josh Barnett recommended The Outfit by Richard Stark and No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, and discussed The Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo and others, Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler and others, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Wrestling Tough by Mike Chapman, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Hagakure
The Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo and D.
Discussed“to be perfectly honest i mean reading the hagakure going back to philosophy books This was really impactful on me as a younger adult Because here's a book written in the 19th century about someone who lived through the 19th and 18th century at times as a samurai now a monk And his objections to society at the time the”
Where to get it
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Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler is a notorious autobiographical manifesto outlining the author's political ideology and anti-Semitic worldview.
Discussed“for example i've been recently reading mineconf you know what that's the thing even there's something in there's probably things in mineconf that are not the surface level Read if you get all hung up on on all probably all his crap about uh you know his anger anger at jews and this and that all this crap It's like”
Where to get it
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Man's Search for Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E.
Discussed“you brought up frankel and i'm like yeah frankel's dope answers for meaning uh maslow's great and and i talked to you about how i started to think like man do the ability for human beings to to to live and or potentially flourish in the worst environments you can think of is pretty incredible in and of itself and”
Where to get it
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Blood Meridian
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy is a harrowing and visceral historical novel that depicts the extreme violence and bleak reality of the American West through the harrowing journey of a runaway teenager known as the kid.
Discussed“and i think the one of the best explanations i ever got from this and another person very impactful on my life and outlook and thinking about things cormac mccarthy and so in blood meridian there's this fantastic speech about war given by the judge which there's a ton of fantastic speeches on things given by the judge all that”
Where to get it
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Wrestling Tough
Wrestling Tough by Mike Chapman is a notable sports book detailing the intense mental discipline, psychology, and physical demands required of elite wrestlers.
Discussed“there's a book called wrestling tough yeah this is a really good book there's i've encountered in my life a few especially in wrestling people who really tried to find a way to use anger to get really angry at their opponent”
Where to get it
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Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a foundational philosophical masterpiece by Friedrich Nietzsche that introduces iconic concepts such as the Ubermensch, the eternal recurrence, and the death of God.
Discussed“well there was an example in the spoke zarathustra about a snake being down the person's throat and biting it and then having this maniacal laughter erupting”
Where to get it
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The Outfit
The Outfit by Richard Stark is a classic hardboiled crime fiction novel featuring the relentless professional thief Parker, known for its gritty realism and taut pacing.
Recommended“derived from a book by called the outfit by ah what is his name uh i forget but darwin cook the comics illustrator he did donald westlake wrote so darwin cooked is does an amazing comic book send up of darwin cook's novels And they are fucking incredible”
Where to get it
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No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy is a gripping modern Western thriller following a hunter who stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and a relentless, calculating killer named Anton Chigurh.
Recommended“and this is which also is part of the reason why i like no country for old men so much which i felt was a great great great movie even better book”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“It's like well you could always pick a book and read out about read about it clearly it's called the torah”
“and now let me leave you with some words from sun tzu in the art of war the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting thank you for listening and hope to see you next time”