Person
Every book Graham Allison recommended on podcasts
Across 2 podcasts. Every show Graham Allison appears on, in one place — not just one.
Graham Allison appeared on podcasts such as All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg and the a16z Podcast to discuss international relations, global realignments, and historical conflicts. Allison recommended Herman Melville's classic novel Moby-Dick, suggesting that listeners revisit the text to draw parallels between Captain Ahab's obsessive pursuit of the white whale and modern political figures, such as comparing Benjamin Netanyahu's focus on Iran to Ahab's fixation. Additionally, Allison discussed Thucydides and his work History of the Peloponnesian War, describing how the ancient Greek chronicler captured timeless insights regarding the structural dynamics of great power conflict between Athens and Sparta. Building directly upon this historical framework, Allison discussed his own book, Destined for War, explaining how he analyzed the last five hundred years of history to illuminate the complex and tense relationship between the United States and China, emphasizing the persistent risks of conflict driven by the classic historical pattern known as the Thucydides trap.
Books recommended by Graham Allison
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MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE
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“If you're reader or if you listen to this and remember Moby Dick, they should go look at it again.”
Where to get it
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Destined for War
Destined for War by Graham T.
Discussed“So, in this book, I take this insight through Thucydides' trap to try to illuminate what's happening in the relationship between the US and China by putting it all on the canvas of history. So, I look at the last 500 years.”
Where to get it
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History of the Peloponnesian War
History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides is a classical historical chronicling of the intense conflict between Athens and Sparta in ancient Greece.
Discussed“Thucydides was a chronicler of the great conflict between Athens and Sparta in classical Greece. He wrote a spectacular book called History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides captured uh in this book an insight uh which is essentially as old as recorded history itself.”
Where to get it
Books Graham Allison wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Allison on the Global Realignment: Iran, China, Israel, Greenland | All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg | 2026-03-09 | 1 |
| a16z Podcast: Centers of Power, War, and History | a16z Podcast | 2017-08-11 | 2 |
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“That's a great question and in fact, I have a chapter which has a a little riff on that. Clash of Civilizations. So, a Chinese conception of order is extremely different than American conceptions of order.”