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Every book George Mack recommended on podcasts

Guest on Modern Wisdom, My First Million · 36 books · 13 episodes across 2 podcasts

Across 2 podcasts. Every show George Mack appears on, in one place — not just one.

George Mack is a podcast guest who has appeared on programs such as Modern Wisdom and My First Million, where he frequently shares literature and resource recommendations. On Modern Wisdom, Mack mentioned John Steinbeck's East of Eden as an example of unique and original writing. He also recommended Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks, specifically highlighting its chapter on cosmic insignificance therapy, and praised Mate by Tucker Max and Geoffrey Miller as an excellent evolutionary psychology-inspired dating book for men. In addition, Mack brought up David Deutsch's The Beginning of Infinity while discussing the philosophical concept that problems are infinite, recommended Andrew Roberts's biography Churchill during a conversation about Winston Churchill's life, and listed Ivan Goncharov's novel Oblomov as part of his recommended book resources. On My First Million, Mack recommended reading Ed Thorp's biography, noting it as one of the best biographies he had ever encountered, and praised Cole Summers's book Don't Tell Me I Can't as an exceptionally underrated and inspiring business book.

Books recommended by George Mack

Who said what is determined automatically. In hand-checked samples, at least 6% of mentions were credited to the wrong speaker — sometimes an interviewer’s line recorded as the guest’s, sometimes the reverse. Every entry below in the top 20 quotes the words and links to the episode, so you can check it; every other book's page carries its quotes.

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

  1. Atomic Habits

    James Clear · Discussed · 3 episodes

    Atomic Habits by James Clear is a widely praised guide on habit formation, behavior change, and systems over goals.

    Discussed
    “as James Clear says it's a vessel for self-improvement disguised as a money-making Enterprise the it's the the biggest driver of your personal growth”
    Where to get it
  2. The Sovereign Individual

    James Dale Davidson, William Rees-Mogg, Lord William Rees-Mogg · Recommended · 2 episodes

    The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg is a provocative economic and political study exploring how the shift toward a digital information economy empowers individuals at the expense of the nation-state.

    Discussed
    “There's a beautiful line in the sovereign individual where he talks about the Roman Empire falling”
    Where to get it
  3. Don't Tell Me I Can't

    Cole Summers · Recommended · 2 episodes

    Don't Tell Me I Can't by Cole Summers is an inspiring biographical work detailing the remarkable achievements of a young person who demonstrated extraordinary agency, education, and entrepreneurial drive outside of traditional schooling systems.

    Recommended
    “The second person on my list is uh is it's a book by called um Don't Tell Me I Can't by Cole Summers. It's the most underrated business book in the world in my opinion.”
    Where to get it
  4. Four Thousand Weeks

    Oliver Burkeman · Recommended · 2 episodes

    Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman is an insightful time-management book that confronts the finite nature of human life and challenges modern productivity obsessions.

    Recommended
    “And there's also a really, this is like the Brit roll call here, but I think Oliver Burkeman is also one of your countrymen, wrote a great book called 4,000 weeks, which is tremendous. And one of the chapters is called cosmic insignificance therapy.”
    Where to get it
  5. Thinking, Fast and Slow

    Daniel Kahneman · Discussed · 2 episodes

    Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman explores the dual systems of the human mind that drive how people think, make choices, and commit cognitive errors.

    Discussed
    “and I remember there's a line from Daniel canaman who wrote thinking fast and slow”
    Where to get it
  6. The Secret

    Rhonda Byrne · Discussed · 1 episode

    The Secret by Rhonda Byrne is a bestselling self-help phenomenon centered on the law of attraction, which posits that positive visualization and focused intention can manifest wealth, health, and happiness directly into a person's life.

    Discussed
    “what you had about 20 years ago was the secret the book that came out and it was this idea that you could just manifest things into reality”
    Where to get it
  7. The Forgotten Highlander

    Alistair Urquhart · Recommended · 1 episode

    The Forgotten Highlander by Alistair Urquhart is a harrowing memoir detailing the author's survival as a Scottish soldier captured by the Japanese during World War II, enduring forced labor on the infamous railway and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

    Recommended
    “I read the last Highlander by Alistair Urquhart yeah forgotten Highlander forgotten her forgot Honda”
    Where to get it
  8. Extreme Ownership

    Jocko Willink, Leif Babin · Discussed · 1 episode

    Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin is a prominent leadership and self-improvement book written by former Navy SEAL officers that translates military combat experiences into actionable business and personal principles.

    Discussed
    “you've heard about chakra willing so extreme ownership where you just take ownership of every single thing that goes on in your life”
    Where to get it
  9. A Random Walk Down Wall Street

    Burton Gordon Malkiel · Recommended · 1 episode

    Burton Gordon Malkiel's A Random Walk Down Wall Street is a widely read finance book that advocates for the efficient market hypothesis, arguing that stock market prices completely reflect all available information and that active investing cannot consistently outperform a simple index fund.

    Recommended
    “Sean you should read Ed Thorp's biography one of the best biographies I've ever read adding it to the list a man for market.”
    Where to get it
  10. Black Box Thinking

    Matthew Syed, Matthew Syed Consulting Ltd · Recommended · 1 episode

    Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed is a book that examines how organizations and industries can learn from failure by studying the aviation sector's rigorous approach to investigating mistakes and accidents.

    Recommended
    “I think I there's a book called Black Box thinking which I recommend which studies the aviation industry where they compare well why are Airline deaths going down so much”
    Where to get it
  11. Chasing Excellence

    Ben Bergeron · Recommended · 1 episode

    Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron is a self-improvement and fitness book that explores the mindsets, habits, and rigorous frameworks required to achieve elite performance in athletics and daily life.

    Recommended
    “I remember seeing an interview with her as a part of Ben Bergeron's chasing excellence fantastic book highly recommended if you've not read it”
    Where to get it
  12. Churchill

    Andrew Roberts · Recommended · 1 episode

    Churchill by Andrew Roberts is an acclaimed biographical work detailing the long, complex, and consequential life of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

    Recommended
    “Churchill's biography is so good. Like you go Jesus Christ did this man um the big I think it's Andrew Roberts uh Churchill biography.”
    Where to get it
  13. East of Eden

    John Steinbeck · Recommended · 1 episode

    East of Eden by John Steinbeck is a sprawling, multi-generational masterpiece that adapts the Cain and Abel story into twentieth-century California.

    Recommended
    “If you read East of Eden by Steinbeck, it's the last sort of big book I read.”
    Where to get it
  14. Mate

    Tucker Max, Geoffrey Miller · Recommended · 1 episode

    Mate by Tucker Max and Geoffrey Miller is an evolutionary psychology-inspired dating and self-improvement guide designed to help men understand modern dating markets and relationship dynamics.

    Recommended
    “So mine my my kind of go-to for this is a little bit niche, but it's Mate by Tucker Max and Jeffrey Miller. to become the man women want the evolutionary psychology inspired dating book for men.”
    Where to get it
  15. Oblomov

    Ivan Goncharov; Sheba Blake · Recommended · 1 episode

    Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov is a classic 19th-century Russian novel that tells the story of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, a nobleman who is pathologically incapable of leaving his bed or taking decisive action.

    Recommended
    “There's going to be a a book breakdown, a list of a load of different books, but the personal one of uh Oblamov, a Russian man from the 18th century who the first 50 pages are about him getting out of bed.”
    Where to get it
  16. Resilient

    Rick Hanson · Recommended · 1 episode

    Resilient by Rick Hanson provides practical psychological strategies and mindfulness techniques designed to help individuals cultivate emotional strength, calm, and lasting well-being.

    Recommended
    “So I spoke to professor Rick Hanson New York Times bestseller writer of hardwiring happiness and his most recent book resilience”
    Where to get it
  17. The beginning of infinity

    Deutsch, David · Recommended · 1 episode

    The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch is a wide-ranging exploration of science, human progress, and the philosophical underpinnings of the Enlightenment, arguing that human problems are solvable and that knowledge creation is infinite.

    Recommended
    “I hate to sound like I'm doing an affiliate link for the beginning of infinity which I am. I'll post it in the link problems are infinite.”
    Where to get it
  18. 1984

    George Orwell · Discussed · 1 episode

    George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984 presents a chilling vision of a totalitarian society characterized by perpetual surveillance, historical denial, and severe psychological manipulation.

    Discussed
    “so like double Fink which comes from George Orwell's 1984 right which to hold 2 contradictory beliefs”
    Where to get it
  19. Deep Work

    Cal Newport · Discussed · 1 episode

    Deep Work by Cal Newport is a guide to cultivating undistracted focus and achieving peak productivity in an increasingly noisy world.

    Discussed
    “yeah deep work from Cal Newport also alludes to that there's neurologically Milan creates around neurons that are continually firing”
    Where to get it
  20. Finnegans Wake

    James Joyce · Discussed · 1 episode

    Finnegans Wake by James Joyce is a famously experimental and notoriously dense modernist novel that challenges traditional narrative structures with its idiosyncratic language and dreamlike logic.

    Discussed
    “So I only find this out recently. So Finnegan's Wake is a book that I've read around a lot. I haven't read Finnegan's Wake, but I read about it a lot.”
    Where to get it
The other 16 books George Mack recommended or discussed, ranked
  1. Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb · discussed · 1 episode
  2. Hardwiring Happiness by Rick Hanson · discussed · 1 episode
  3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling · discussed · 1 episode
  4. How to Know a Person by David Brooks · discussed · 1 episode
  5. Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman · discussed · 1 episode
  6. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl · discussed · 1 episode
  7. Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus by John Gray, John Gray, John [Ph.D] Gray · discussed · 1 episode
  8. Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom · discussed · 1 episode
  9. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt · discussed · 1 episode
  10. The Art of Persuasion by Bob Burg · discussed · 1 episode
  11. The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb · discussed · 1 episode
  12. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald · discussed · 1 episode
  13. The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell · discussed · 1 episode
  14. The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin · discussed · 1 episode
  15. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield · discussed · 1 episode
  16. Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker · discussed · 1 episode

Appearances

EpisodePodcastDateBooks
Mexican Batman, Britain’s Downfall, Mr Bean’s Comeback & Jimmy Carr - Rabbit Hole #5 - #1143Modern Wisdom2026-08-295
Black Holes, Denny’s Fist Fights & Japanese Handjob Culture - Rabbit Hole #4 - #1118Modern Wisdom2026-07-023
Does Tim Ferriss Dream In Japanese? - Rabbit Hole #3 - #1105Modern Wisdom2026-06-014
Studio Launch Party - Indian Fetishes, Betting on Wars & Tom Cruise - Rabbit Hole #1 - #1078Modern Wisdom2026-03-301
The Most Valuable Skill For Any FounderMy First Million2025-05-052
The Most Valuable Skill In The Modern World – George MackModern Wisdom2025-03-246
I can't believe nobody's doing this yet - 5 cash cow business ideasMy First Million2024-08-301
Simple Life Changes That Lead To Big Results - George MackModern Wisdom2024-06-242
Modern Wisdom Christmas Special - Reflecting On The Wildest Year - #723Modern Wisdom2023-12-231
16 Wise Truths To Improve Your Life - George MackModern Wisdom2023-07-138
Mental Models 103 - George Mack - #178Modern Wisdom2020-06-011
Mental Models 102 - The Decision Strikes Back - George MacGill - #095Modern Wisdom2019-08-195
Mental Models 101 - How To Make Better Decisions - George MacGill - #069Modern Wisdom2019-05-0610
Other mentions (7: passing, ad reads, own books)
Passing Atomic Habits
“I don't think that there's that much of a waiting in terms of the LLM that James Clear's Atomic Habits on Moby Dick is worth 10 million times that of an anime and manga blog.”
Passing MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE
“I don't think that there's that much of a waiting in terms of the LLM that James Clear's Atomic Habits on Moby Dick is worth 10 million times that of an anime and manga blog.”
Passing Inside the Box
“This is David Epste's new book, Inside the Box. really good.”
Passing Oblomov
“um find out about Oblavv who I spoke last time my 400page Russian novel where a man spends the first 50 pages worrying about how he's gonna get out of bed.”
Passing Man's Search For Ultimate Meaning
“Uh, the forgotten Highlander, Alistister Urkhart, you know, uh, Victor Franklman, Search for Meaning in some ways, too.”
Passing The Sovereign Individual
“like I love people who I find and they posted some incredible essay on the sovereign individual it has five likes and I'll see their location oh he's in Amsterdam”
Passing Trump: The Art of the Deal
“apparently trump says it's not in the art of the deal so he'll stay like a price that's super high to begin with which means that then when he let's say for example he wants 5 million he will stay 10 million because now he's anchored them around 10 million”