Mentioned in Podcasts

Episode · On Purpose with Jay Shetty · 2021-04-12

Jay Shetty & Walter Isaacson: books mentioned on On Purpose with Jay Shetty

"The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaacson & Jay Shetty

10 books · With Walter Isaacson · Watch on YouTube

Walter Isaacson recommended Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, The Odyssey, Tell me how long the train's been gone by James Baldwin, The Moviegoer by Walker Percy, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE by Herman Melville, and discussed The Double Helix by James D. Watson and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Jay Shetty recommended The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson and others.

Books mentioned, in the order they came up

We earn a commission if you buy through the store links below, at no cost to you.

  1. The Double Helix

    James D. Watson · at 10:41

    The Double Helix by James D. Watson is a personal and controversial autobiographical account of the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA.

    Discussed
    “it was about the fact that even as a young girl she had been reading things like the double helix and wanted to become a scientist”
    Walter Isaacson "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 10:41
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  2. Brave New World

    Aldous Huxley · at 18:40

    Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is a classic dystopian novel that depicts a futuristic society shaped by advanced technology, consumerism, and engineered societal stability at the expense of individual freedom and authentic human emotion.

    Discussed
    “rich people buying better genes for their kids than poor people is a horror that we have to evolve avoid just like in brave new world or gattaca”
    Walter Isaacson "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 18:40
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  3. Team of Rivals

    Doris Kearns Goodwin · at 20:43

    Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin is a celebrated historical study examining how Abraham Lincoln brought his fiercest political opponents into his wartime cabinet.

    Recommended
    “if you read doris kearns goodwin's team of rivals or about franklin roosevelt or steve jobs they often like to have more creative tension within the team”
    Walter Isaacson "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 20:43
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  4. The Code Breaker

    Walter Isaacson, Kathe Mazur · at 43:10

    The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson and Kathe Mazur is a compelling biography of CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna that explores the revolutionary world of gene editing.

    Recommended
    “i want to encourage everyone who's deeply fascinated curious and intrigued to go out and get a copy of the code breaker”
    Jay Shetty "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 43:10
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  5. Moby Dick

    Herman Melville · at 48:28

    Moby Dick by Herman Melville is a classic 19th-century novel exploring the obsessions of Captain Ahab and the dramatic whaling voyage of the Pequod.

    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  6. The Odyssey

    Homer · at 48:42 · mentioned 2 times

    The Odyssey by Homer is an ancient epic poem that recounts Odysseus's arduous, decade-long journey home following the Trojan War.

    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  7. Tell me how long the train's been gone

    James Baldwin · at 49:13

    Tell me how long the train's been gone is a powerful and sweeping novel by James Baldwin that explores the life of an aging Black actor named Leo Proudhammer as he recovers from a heart attack and reflects upon his tumultuous past, political activism, and experiences with racism in America.

    Recommended
    “i did just read for the you know recently james baldwin i've gotten into and tell me how long the train's been gone”
    Walter Isaacson "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 49:13
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  8. The Moviegoer

    Walker Percy · at 49:23

    The Moviegoer by Walker Percy is a classic philosophical novel about a young stockbroker in New Orleans grappling with alienation, routine, and a search for authenticity.

    Recommended
    “the moviegoer by walker percy because it's about like any great book including non-fiction it's about a person goes on a journey and we're all on a journey”
    Walter Isaacson "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 49:23
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  9. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

    Mark Twain · at 49:26

    Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a classic American novel about a boy and an escaped slave traveling down the Mississippi River while confronting societal morality and racism.

    Recommended
    “speaking of great journeys um moby dick i think uh you could pick huck finn but moby dick is the same sort of thing”
    Walter Isaacson "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 49:26
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon

  10. MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE

    Herman Melville · at 49:26

    Moby-Dick by Herman Melville is an epic American novel that chronicles the obsessive, self-destructive quest of Captain Ahab to hunt down the giant white whale that maimed him.

    Recommended
    “speaking of great journeys um moby dick i think uh you could pick huck finn but moby dick is the same sort of thing”
    Walter Isaacson "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 49:26
    Where to get it
    Listen free with an Audible trialAmazon
Other mentions in this episode (7) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Passing Steve Jobs
“walter is the author of best-selling biographies on leonardo da vinci einstein and steve jobs and has a new book out today which is called the code breaker jennifer doudna gene editing and the future of the human race”
Jay Shetty "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 0:56
Passing The Innovators
“walter is the author of best-selling biographies on leonardo da vinci einstein and steve jobs and has a new book out today which is called the code breaker jennifer doudna gene editing and the future of the human race”
Jay Shetty "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 0:56
Passing The Code Breaker
“walter is the author of best-selling biographies on leonardo da vinci einstein and steve jobs and has a new book out today which is called the code breaker jennifer doudna gene editing and the future of the human race”
Jay Shetty "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 0:56
Passing Einstein
“walter is the author of best-selling biographies on leonardo da vinci einstein and steve jobs and has a new book out today which is called the code breaker jennifer doudna gene editing and the future of the human race”
Jay Shetty "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 0:56
Plugged Think Like A Monk
“i'm also excited to let you know that you can now get my book think like a monk from thinklikeamonkbook.com”
Jay Shetty "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 50:51
Plugged Think Like A Monk
“I'm also excited to let you know that you can now get my book think like a monk from thinklikeamonkbook.com”
Jay Shetty "The SECRET To Success All Starts With This ONE TRAIT!" | Walter Isaac… 2021-04-12 Listen at 50:52
Link to this list from the episode’s show notes

For the whole show, see the On Purpose with Jay Shetty page.