Person
Every book David Friedberg recommended on podcasts
David Friedberg’s most recommended books
- Principles by Ray Dalio
- Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker
- Changing World Order by Ray Dalio
- The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager
- Lifespan by David A. Sinclair, Matthew D. LaPlante
- King Henry V by William Shakespeare
- Our Energy Future by Christian Ngo
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- The Grid by Gretchen Anna Bakke
- The Idea Factory by Jon Gernter
David Friedberg is an entrepreneur and investor best known as a co-host on the All-In podcast. During various episodes of the show, Friedberg recommended and discussed several books covering technology, history, and macroeconomic trends. He strongly recommended Jon Gertner's The Idea Factory to discuss the history and innovation of Bell Labs. Friedberg also recommended Nick Lane's The Vital Question as part of his favorite media of the year. To illustrate how material conditions and the standard of living have improved over time, Friedberg repeatedly brought up Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now, encouraging listeners to examine the book's charts on human progress and optimism. He mentioned Thomas Hager's The Alchemy of Air to explain the historical breakthrough of synthetic fertilizer and how the Haber-Bosch process prevented widespread starvation in the mid-20th century. Finally, Friedberg referenced Ray Dalio's Principles to explain how current geopolitical dynamics were following the analytical framework laid out in the book.
Books recommended by David Friedberg
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Principles
Principles by Ray Dalio is a practical guide to decision-making, life management, and systematic economics based on the author's decades of experience running Bridgewater Associates.
Discussed“You have been in the Ray Dalio camp concerning the end of empires and whether the U.S. might be winding down its supremacy. Dalio pretty much asserts that this is the moment; is there any light between your position and his?”
Where to get it
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Enlightenment Now
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker is a data-driven defense of reason, science, humanism, and progress that argues humanity is living in an era of unprecedented health, prosperity, and safety.
Discussed“If you look Steve Pinker's book Enlightenment Now has a great statistic a set of statistics on this, but the amount of time that humans are spending on leisure activities per week has climbed extraordinarily over the past couple of decades.”
Where to get it
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Changing World Order
The Changing World Order by Ray Dalio examines the rise and fall of nations by analyzing big historical cycles in economics, debt, and geopolitical power.
Discussed“Ray dalio had this great book about this the changing world order I don't know if you if you read it”
Where to get it
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The Alchemy of Air
The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager is a historical nonfiction work detailing the invention of the Haber-Bosch process and the subsequent creation of synthetic fertilizer.
Recommended“And if not for the invention of the Haber-Bosch process, which you can read about in the book The Alchemy of Air, and the creation of ammonia as a synthetic fertilizer, humans would all have starved in the mid-20th century.”
Where to get it
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Lifespan
Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don't Have To by David A.
Recommended“on this one i would point folks to read the book lifespan by david sinclair who's a researcher at harvard and he's done a lot of kind of leading work on on basically calling aging a disease and life extension so the book lifespan highlights i think a lot of his research and findings”
Where to get it
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King Henry V
King Lear is a classic tragedy by William Shakespeare that examines themes of madness, betrayal, generational conflict, and the deconstruction of absolute authority.
Recommended“The other one that he wrote, which is called Life Ascending, those two books you must read if you don't want to be a letter, in my opinion.”
Where to get it
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Our Energy Future
Our Energy Future by Christian Ngo and Joseph Natowitz is a comprehensive examination of global energy systems, technological developments, and future sustainability challenges.
Recommended“and by the way if you guys ever want to read an interesting book about how the grid operates um there's a book called the grid and it talks about how the electrical uh power grid system was built in the united states and how inefficient it is and all the problems”
Where to get it
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Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is a gripping science fiction novel that chronicles a lone astronaut's desperate mission to save humanity from an extinction-level threat.
Recommended“Has anybody read Andy Weir's Hail Mary yet? The guy who did The Martian?”
Where to get it
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The Grid
The Grid by Gretchen Anna Bakke is an insightful non-fiction book that examines the history, construction, and inherent inefficiencies of the electrical power grid system in the United States.
Recommended“and by the way if you guys ever want to read an interesting book about how the grid operates um there's a book called the grid and it talks about how the electrical uh power grid system was built in the united states and how inefficient it is and all the problems”
Where to get it
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The Idea Factory
The Idea Factory by Jon Gertner is a comprehensive history of Bell Labs and the golden age of American technological innovation.
Recommended“I recently read a book that I liked. I don't know if I talked about it called The Idea Factory on the history of Bell Labs and the great age of American innovation. Strongly recommend it.”
Where to get it
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Vital Question
Vital Question by Nick Lane is a landmark biochemistry book exploring the deepest origins of life and how biological energy evolved.
Recommended“um it's called the vital question by a guy named Nick Lane someone recommended it to me”
Where to get it
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When Genius Failed
When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein is a compelling work of narrative non-fiction that chronicles the spectacular rise and fall of Long-Term Capital Management, a massive hedge fund managed by Nobel laureates and Wall Street titans whose collapse nearly triggered a global financial crisis.
Recommended“go read the book when genius failed if you want to read the story it's a it does a good job summarizing it”
Where to get it
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A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America
A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America by John Adams is a comprehensive historical treatise examining the principles of republican governance and political theory.
Discussed“In 1787, John Quincy Adams, there he goes, published a work called a defense of the constitutions of governments of the United States of America.”
Where to get it
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American prison
American Prison by Shane Bauer is an investigative exposé chronicling the author's undercover experience working as a guard in a private corporate prison in Louisiana to expose systemic failures, violence, and the economics of punishment.
Discussed“there's a book from a few years ago that this guy named shane bauer wrote i'm just trying to remember the name i think it's called american prison and uh the guy goes undercover and he goes and works in a in a in a penitentiary in louisiana”
Where to get it
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Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is a philosophical novel that outlines the author's system of Objectivism through a dystopian narrative about a society collapsing under heavy government intervention.
Discussed“san francisco we're basically an atlas shrugged i mean the uh you know half the storefronts are closed they're boarded up”
Where to get it
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Deception
Deception by Rand Paul is a political non-fiction book that critically examines government pandemic responses, the origins of COVID-19, and alleged bureaucratic cover-ups.
Discussed“I want to talk about your new book, Deception, The Great COVID Coverup. What was at the heart of the coverup from your point of view?”
Where to get it
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Ender's Game
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is a military science fiction novel following a gifted child trained through brutal war games to fight an alien species.
Discussed“the leveling up that happens in the book Enders game I think is a good example of this where the guy goes through the entire kind of ground up and then ultimately he's commanding armies of spaceships and space”
Where to get it
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Il futuro della vita
Discussed“40% of the bacteria in the oceans are killed every day by viruses This is a great stat that Jennifer Doudna uses in her book that on the discovery of CRISPR”
Where to get it
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San Fransicko
San Fransicko by Michael Shellenberger is a critical examination of urban decay, homelessness, and governance in modern American cities, arguing that progressive policies have severely harmed places like San Francisco.
Discussed“I think this is what your book and uh um you know in a lot of the videos you've made at least the message I got was San Francisco”
Where to get it
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Sapiens
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari is a sweeping exploration of how Homo sapiens evolved, dominated the planet, and constructed complex imaginary orders like religion, money, and nations.
Discussed“by the way this is the cliff notes version of sapiens everybody yes let's know it's version of sapience”
Where to get it
The other 5 books David Friedberg recommended or discussed, ranked
- The Federalist papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, James Madison, John Jay
- The Godfather by Mario Puzo
- The House of Morgan by Ron Chernow
- The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke
- Titan by Ron Chernow
Appearances
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“This is the cliff notes version of 'Sapiens'.”
“And anyway, all of this stuff's laid out in his books, and it supports a lot of the research that's being done. Obviously, fasting and exercise also trigger this gene expression and enable measures of longevity to kind of be showing up biologically.”