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Every book David Sacks recommended on podcasts
Across 3 podcasts. Every show David Sacks appears on, in one place — not just one.
David Sacks appeared on the podcast All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg to discuss and recommend numerous non-fiction and business titles. He praised Ray Dalio's online and freely available work How Countries Go Broke, noting that he read it over the weekend and found it valuable enough to use a highlighter. Sacks also recommended Jonathan Haidt's works, specifically mentioning The Coddling of the American Mind and The Anxious Generation, and noted that he had previously given away 1,800 copies of the former at a summit. Furthermore, Sacks brought up Jimmy Soni's book The Founders, which details the history of PayPal and the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley, mentioning that he and Jack Selby optioned it to adapt into a television series. He recommended Michael Shellenberger's San Fransicko as his top book choice of the year, praising its reporting. Lastly, during a discussion on business media and adaptations, Sacks noted that Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar is an excellent book that offers a next-level focus on its subject matter.
Books recommended by David Sacks
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The End of History and the Last Man
The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama is a prominent political science and philosophy book arguing that the worldwide spread of liberal democracies may signal the endpoint of humanity's sociocultural evolution.
Discussed“And remember in the 1990s the leading philosopher or international relations theorist the most celebrated book was the end of history by Francis Fukyama and what he basically said is that we're at the end of history because liberal democracy has won and it's only a matter of time before the whole world becomes liberal democracies.”
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.
Recommended“and if you haven't read Michael's book San Francisco you did some great reporting there as well”
Where to get it
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The Coddling of the American Mind
The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt examines how modern safetyism and social media culture are impacting the psychological resilience of younger generations.
Recommended“so my previous book The cing of the American mind began when my by the way I I I gave a copy to everyone at our Summit last year so we gave away 1800 of it was my pick”
Where to get it
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1984
George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984 presents a chilling vision of a totalitarian society characterized by perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, and the systematic manipulation of historical truth and language.
Discussed“So, I do worry about the potential for AI to be used to surveil us, censor us, control us as Orwell described in 1984. So, if that's where the Pope is going with this, I very much agree with him.”
Where to get it
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The Happiness Hypothesis
The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt is a popular psychology book that explores ancient wisdom through the lens of modern scientific research.
Discussed“Jonathan Heights, uh, book from years ago, uh, the happiness hypothesis. Yes. A great study in there on economic progress being the best predictor of happiness.”
Where to get it
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Barbarians at the Gate
Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar is a landmark work of narrative business journalism detailing the chaotic 1989 leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco by the private equity firm KKR.
Recommended“barbarians at the gate was better booked was it was a tv movie with james gardner it was good yeah it's worth watching the book is excellent the book is focused next level”
Where to get it
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Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides' Trap?
Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides' Trap? by Graham Allison and Andrew Hastie examines historical patterns of conflict between rising powers and reigning hegemons to assess modern geopolitical tensions between the United States and China.
Recommended“a really good book about this is the Thucydides Trap um by Graham Allison who's a Harvard professor and he discusses different strategies we can take.”
Where to get it
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How Countries Go Broke
How Countries Go Broke by Ray Dalio is an analytical examination of currency debt markets, historical economic cycles, and national financial collapses.
Discussed“this week Ry is releasing a new book called how countries go broke in which he analyzes and shares his studies on this particular topic and I'm really excited for Ry to join me here uh today”
Where to get it
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The Anxious Generation
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt is a prominent book examining the profound psychological impacts of smartphones and social media on youth mental health and the rising crisis of loneliness.
Discussed“I know you've done a lot of media lately and a lot of it has focused on the anxious generation which has obviously got some really important topical conversations embedded within it”
Where to get it
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The Founders
The Founders by Jimmy Soni is a narrative history chronicling the creation of PayPal and the ambitious entrepreneurs who helped shape modern Silicon Valley.
Recommended“one project I will give a little plug to is Jimmy Sony's book the founders which is the story of PayPal and the entrepreneurs who shaped Sil Valley that came out in 2022”
Where to get it
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An Inconvenient Minority
Discussed“so for example there's a book written recently about asian-americans in the United States called the inconvenient minority”
Where to get it
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Apple in China
Apple in China by Patrick McGee is an investigative business book that chronicles Apple's complex manufacturing footprint, supply chain dependencies, and operational history in Asia.
Discussed“There's a great book Apple in China that documents a lot of this to your point in terms of you know could we get that back in some ways there's no reason why we why we couldn't”
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“I think this is right out of Atlas Shrugged where if you've ever read that book that begins with like a train wreck that in that case it kills a lot of people”
Where to get it
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Changing World Order
Changing World Order by Ray Dalio examines the recurring historical cycles of empires, financial systems, and global power shifts, offering a macroeconomic framework for understanding why nations succeed and fail.
Discussed“in 20121 as everyone knows Ray published The Changing World Order why Nations succeed and fail I declared it the book of the year”
Where to get it
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Chaos Monkeys
Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez is a revealing and energetic memoir detailing the author's turbulent time working inside Silicon Valley tech giants like Facebook.
Discussed“I mean, number one, I think there was a really good reason not to hire this guy, which is that he wrote a best-selling tell-all book about the last big tech company he worked at. So why if you're a big tech company, why in the world would you hire him?”
Where to get it
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Dead Center
Dead Center by Joe Manchin is a political book focusing on bipartisanship, common sense governance, personal responsibility, and the history of American public service.
Discussed“And Chamath and I will be interviewing him uh on his new book, Dead Center in Defense of Common Sense.”
Where to get it
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Destined for War
Destined for War by Graham T.
Discussed“He's helped dismantle 12,000 Soviet nuclear weapons, and his book Destined for War remains the definitive framework for understanding the US-China relationship.”
Where to get it
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Fight Club
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk is a searing satirical novel examining modern masculinity, consumerism, and the psychological fractures of contemporary life.
Discussed“I actually wrote in 1999 when I joined PayPal, I wrote an article called Silicon Valley's Fight Clubs in which I basically said that startups were the answer to this sort of you got to remember Fight Club came out in 1999 and so you had this sort of nihilism associated with this empty materialism.”
Where to get it
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Free speech for me--but not for thee
Free Speech for Me--But Not for Thee by Nat Hentoff is a vital examination of civil liberties and the historical challenges faced by the First Amendment in the United States.
Discussed“he wrote a book called free speech for me but not for thee”
Where to get it
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Good to Great
Good to Great by Jim Collins is a popular business book exploring how companies transition from being mediocre to achieving sustained greatness.
Critiqued“it was good to great”
Where to get it
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Hillbilly Elegy
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D.
Discussed“you know i read you know the the hillbilly elegy author”
Where to get it
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How to Be a (Young) Antiracist
How to Be a (Young) Antiracist by Ibram X.
Discussed“No, I mean these HR consultants who've written these books, like on the—was it D'Angelo or whatever on white fragility? And you know, how to be an anti-racist?”
Where to get it
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How to Be an Antiracist
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X.
Critiqued“these hr consultants who've written these books like on the was it uh d'angelo or whatever on white fragility and you know how how to be an anti-racist i mean they're all making a fortune in corporate fees”
Where to get it
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How to Read the Bible
How to Read the Bible by James L.
Discussed“I go back to like if you want to quote the Bible, right? There's a There's a beautiful passage in the Bible, the book of John.”
Where to get it
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If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies
If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares is a stark warning about the existential threats and out-of-control scenarios posed by the rapid advancement of superintelligent artificial intelligence.
Discussed“Yud is like this the central figure who's been preaching AI doom for a long time, right? So he wrote that book if anyone builds it, we all die. Yes.”
Where to get it
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In Defense of Looting
In Defense of Looting by Vicky Osterweil is a controversial sociological and political book that argues property destruction and looting can function as valid, radical protest tactics during moments of civil unrest.
Discussed“you even had a book called in defense of looting and i don't hear anybody defending the storming of the capital”
Where to get it
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Losing Ground
Losing Ground by Charles Murray is a provocative examination of American welfare policies and their historical consequences.
Discussed“have you read this book called losing ground by Charles Marine yes I have I mean a very provocative book”
Where to get it
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Maya Angelou
Discussed“And I think that, you know, for all the founders and whether you're pre-exit, postexit, or on your way to an exit, my advice would be that to quote Maya Angelou, when a state shows you who they are, believe them the first time. This is the direction of travel in California.”
Where to get it
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey is a classic novel set in a psychiatric hospital that explores themes of institutional control, rebellion, and individual freedom through the conflict between Randle McMurphy and Nurse Ratchet.
Discussed“there were a bunch of scandals in the 1970s and epitomized by the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nestle Jack Nicholson about the conditions in these mental health homes”
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“i'm not disagreeing with chamoth but the the point the point that resonates with me that friedrich said is actually the book sapiens really did impact my thinking as a vc which is you know yuval harari makes this point that it's narratives that kind of define you know humans”
Where to get it
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Super Pumped
Super Pumped by Mike Isaac is a non-fiction book that chronicles the meteoric rise and turbulent fall of Uber and its co-founder Travis Kalanick.
Discussed“and then also we we have the issue of selling in secondary when those opportunities arise and we all just watched the we crashed documentary which one of your partners um plays a role in i don't know obviously it's probably five percent reality”
Where to get it
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Thank You for Smoking
Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley is a satirical novel about a tobacco lobbyist who skillfully defends the rights of Americans to consume a harmful product.
Discussed“and actually Elon just posted a long reminiscence about how we made Thank You for Smoking which was kind of cool did you guys see that”
Where to get it
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The art of John Bolton
The art of John Bolton by John Bolton is a political memoir detailing the author's tenure as National Security Advisor in the Trump administration.
Discussed“Can we talk by the way could we just talk about this Bolton book I mean what the [ __ ] I mean he he did ask you jimping to help him win the election and he bartered buy soybeans to help me win the election I mean this is insane I think I think we need to we need”
Where to get it
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The big short
The big short by Michael Lewis is a non-fiction account that explores the housing market collapse and the traders who profited from the 2008 financial crisis.
Discussed“On August 22nd of 2019, Michael Burry, who is famous from The Big Short, discloses a three percent position in the company and highlights that ninety percent of GameStop's 5,700 stores are free cash flow positive.”
Where to get it
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The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order
The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P.
Discussed“The author who actually predicted this and well there's Mir Shimemer who predicted in the early 2000s also Samuel Huntington wrote a book called the Clash of Civilizations in the mid '90s that was sort of the opposite of end of you know end of history was celebrated. Clash of Civilizations was sort of reviled.”
Where to get it
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The Clash of Civilizations?
Samuel P.
Discussed“The author who actually predicted this and well there's Mir Shimemer who predicted in the early 2000s also Samuel Huntington wrote a book called the Clash of Civilizations in the mid '90s that was sort of the opposite of end of you know end of history was celebrated. Clash of Civilizations was sort of reviled.”
Where to get it
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The Emerging Democratic Majority
The Emerging Democratic Majority by John B.
Discussed“my favorite political commentator one of them is roy tashira who's a democrat 662 2494.7 heater wrote the emerging democratic majority”
Where to get it
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The end of history
The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama is a celebrated international relations text arguing that the triumph of liberal democracy after the Cold War represents the endpoint of humanity's ideological evolution.
Discussed“And remember in the 1990s the leading philosopher or international relations theorist the most celebrated book was the end of history by Francis Fukyama and what he basically said is that we're at the end of history because liberal democracy has won and it's only a matter of time before the whole world becomes liberal democracies.”
Where to get it
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The Federalist papers
The Federalist papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, James Madison, John Jay is a foundational collection of essays advocating for the ratification of the United States Constitution.
Discussed“I recently started reading the Federalist papers again sex I don't know when you last reviewed them and I'm just struck by how so much of our modern political rhetoric is driven by what the federal government will do for you on a national basis a state basis and now even a local basis”
Where to get it
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The Fountainhead
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is a classic philosophical novel that explores individualism, artistic integrity, and the conflict between independent creators and collectivist societal pressures.
Discussed“Travis, you uh famously had uh the fountain head. Trump didn't want to delete the US Constitution.”
Where to get it
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The Language of Deception
Discussed“In fact, I thought one detail that was really kind of interesting was their first interaction, one of the first was about they bonded over a book called deception, which I haven't I haven't read the book.”
Where to get it
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The Last LIne of Defense
The Last Line of Defense by Eric Schmitt details the author's experiences and legal battles during his tenure as the Attorney General of the state of Missouri.
Discussed“And you now have a new book called The Last Line of Defense, which is about your time in your previous job, which was as attorney general of the state of Missouri.”
Where to get it
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The Light of Other Days
The Light of Other Days is a science fiction novel by Arthur C.
Discussed“there's a there's a book by a guy named steven baxter was a science fiction book from years ago and arthur clark called the light of other days and these guys developed wormhole technology they could put it in any house and they could see and listen to everything”
Where to get it
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The Odyssey
Homer's epic poem The Odyssey recounts the arduous ten-year journey of the Greek hero Odysseus as he strives to return home to Ithaca following the Trojan War, facing mythical monsters, divine wrath, and profound personal trials along the way.
Critiqued“Homer's Odyssey. Yes. But as interpreted by the great director of our time, Christopher Nolan. Have any of you idiots actually read the Odyssey? This is not great. I'm sorry, but The Odyssey is a terrible book.”
Where to get it
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The Sleepwalkers
The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark is a detailed historical account examining the complex diplomatic miscalculations and events that led to the outbreak of the First World War.
Discussed“no there's a there's a famous history of world war one called The Sleepwalkers”
Where to get it
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The Vision of the Anointed
The Vision of the Anointed by Thomas Sowell is a critical analysis of social policies and the tendency of intellectuals to push for central planning under the guise of benevolence.
Discussed“It's right out of the vision of the anointed which was a book Thomas Soul wrote 30 years ago where intellectuals throughout history have thought that if they're maximally empowered then they can engineer society in a more benevolent direction.”
Where to get it
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To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic American novel addressing themes of racial injustice, moral growth, and empathy in the Deep South.
Discussed“in Florida we do have an issue I think with uh the curriculum where really important classic books are being removed from the curriculum for political reasons mainly in California books like to Kill a Mockingbird or a Huck fair that was weird”
Where to get it
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White Fragility
White Fragility by Dr.
Critiqued“these hr consultants who've written these books like on the was it uh d'angelo or whatever on white fragility and you know how how to be an anti-racist i mean they're all making a fortune in corporate fees”
Where to get it
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Zero to One
Zero to One by Peter A.
Discussed“and you know, that's what Peter's whole book. - Yeah. - "Zero to One" is about is there's two kinds of companies. - Right there, it's right there. - On the shelf.”
Where to get it
Books David Sacks wrote
Appearances
Other mentions (19: passing, ad reads, own books)
“You wrote the book. You've now got a nonprofit.”
“Everyone sort of recognized how ruthless he is. We see movies like There Will Be Blood, which is basically about him.”
“When Hollywood dramatizes this, it's um you know, it's like Henry Fonda and the Oxbow incident or maybe it's Gregory Pek and Tequila Mockingbird.”
“It's kind of described in Star Trek, you know, where like there is no money because we have everything.”
“And her story was turned into the feature film and book Molly's Game.”
“You probably know her from the movie Molly's Game, which we'll hear a little bit about today.”
“I remember having to buy books on Adobe Photoshop as a kid and then you'd read them to learn how to remove something from a from an image and how to fill it in and feather and all this stuff.”
“with us as well today, my guy, fellow broadcaster Ben Shapiro, host of the Ben Shapiro show, co-founder of The Daily Wire, which uh gosh, makes a mountain of money, and has a new book coming out in September. Lions and Scavengers, the true story of America and her critics.”
“It was like in Rocky IV when Apollo Creed's corner is like yelling, "Throw in the damn towel! Throw in the damn towel!"”
“You have like your Kill Bill list.”
“they scored a blue tarski 0.0 bluei in Animal House he scored 0.0 Harvard SC 0.0 Z”
“by the way Freeburg that they made a movie It's a Wonderful Life about bankrupt”
“There was a great tweet that encapsulated this—it’s like we've merged George Orwell with Iran, where Elon Musk, the heroic entrepreneur, tries to rescue freedom of speech, while simultaneously, an Orwellian ministry of truth is being created by the federal government.”
“did you watch dont look up on netflix is that why you're”
“But you have this mantra; it is communist-like, where it's like the commandments written on the barn in Animal Farm where it is propaganda that’s so at odds with reality; it’s just absurd.”
“so michael crichton you know who wrote jurassic park”
“You know, I read, you know, the Hillbilly Elegy author, um, you know, I was, you know, my surprise at that happening caused me to ask questions.”
“basically you could make a bio weapon that would be similar to what the aliens and prometheus and aliens were doing the engines even much worse even much worse”
“this is a great stat that Jennifer Doudna uses in her book that on the discovery of CRISPR”