Person
Jordan Peterson books: every book Jordan Peterson wrote and recommended
Across 12 podcasts. Every show Jordan Peterson appears on, in one place — not just one.
Books by Jordan Peterson
Jordan Peterson’s most recommended books
- The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn
- The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Origins and History of Consciousness by Erich Neumann
- The Discovery Of The Unconscious by Henri F. Ellenberger
- The Great Mother by Erich Neumann
- The Neuropsychology of Anxiety by Jeffrey Alan Gray
Jordan Bernt Peterson is a Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator who received widespread attention in the late 2010s for his views on cultural and political issues. On The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, Peterson frequently recommends influential works of fiction and non-fiction that shaped his worldview and analytical framework. He recommended Leo Tolstoy’s book Confession as a relatively short and worthwhile reading experience dealing with existential themes. Peterson also frequently discussed Fyodor Dostoevsky, recommending novels such as Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Notes from Underground, and The Devils, describing them as unbelievably compelling and deep works of fiction that fundamentally transformed his perspective. In addition to literature, Peterson suggested non-fiction texts to support his analytical discussions, including David E. Jones's An Instinct for Dragons to provide an evolutionary perspective on the concept of dragons, and Henri Ellenberger's The Discovery of the Unconscious to trace the history of psychoanalytic thought and social contagions.
Books recommended by Jordan Peterson
-
The Gulag Archipelago
The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is a monumental historical exposé detailing the brutal Soviet forced labor camp system through survivor testimonies, archival research, and the author's own imprisonment.
Discussed“This was while I was reading Soljenitson's book on the Gulleg archipelago and various accounts of totalitarian brutality in Nazi Germany and and so forth and some psychoanalytic work and and that's where the story part emerges.”
Where to get it
-
The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a profound philosophical novel that explores deep spiritual questions surrounding faith, free will, morality, and the human condition.
Recommended“For me, Dostoevsky, the Russian novelist, sort of top of that list. His books, The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment and Notes from Underground, The Devils, are unbelievably compelling works of fiction and they're deep.”
Where to get it
-
Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a profound psychological novel that explores guilt, morality, and the severe consequences of moral relativism and nihilism.
Discussed“like the attitude that DSTVski's character Rolnikov adopts in his famous book crime and punishment”
Where to get it
-
Notes from Underground
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a profound psychological novella that explores the tormented inner life, resentment, and irrational impulses of an isolated protagonist living in nineteenth-century Russia.
Discussed“Well, DSki tried to work through that problem very early on in the mid to late 1800s. He was a very astute critic of the socialist utopian dreams of that time which are very much like the same dreams in modern time. And he wrote about this in a book called Notes from Underground”
Where to get it
-
Irreversible Damage
Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier is a 2020 non-fiction book that explores the social contagion aspect of gender dysphoria, focusing on the sudden, massive surge in teenage girls identifying as transgender.
Discussed“I had a period of illness and when I came back to start my podcast up again in earnest, I interviewed Abigail Shrier and she wrote Irreversible Damage.”
Where to get it
-
Maps of Meaning
Maps of Meaning by Jordan B.
Discussed“I did some at McGill when I was there in Montreal beforehand, but I did a lot of the work that culminated in this book, Maps of Meaning, very academic book. One that was probably really in some ways mostly written for me”
Where to get it
-
1984
George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984 depicts a totalitarian society characterized by perpetual war, government surveillance, and the complete eradication of individual truth and freedom.
Discussed“and then I read 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World.”
Where to get it
-
The Origins and History of Consciousness
The Origins and History of Consciousness by Erich Neumann is a profound psychological and mythological study that explores the historical evolution of human awareness through archetypal symbolism.
Recommended“and also um Eric neyman's book uh the Origins and history of Consciousness that's a harder one”
Where to get it
-
The Discovery Of The Unconscious
The Discovery of the Unconscious is a sweeping historical and psychological masterwork by Henri F.
Recommended“There's a great book called um the history of the unconscious by Henri Alberge and he traces the history of psychoanalytic thought way back before memer and documents the hysteria so to speak which was the Freudian version of social contagion literally back it's 300 years so it's very well documented it's a great book by the way very useful”
Where to get it
-
The Great Mother
The Great Mother by Erich Neumann is a profound psychological study exploring the symbolism of the feminine and the historical development of human consciousness through archetypes.
Recommended“and also another book called the great mother which is study of the symbolism of the feminine it's a great book”
Where to get it
-
The Neuropsychology of Anxiety
The Neuropsychology of Anxiety by Jeffrey Alan Gray and Neil McNaughton is a rigorous scientific text that examines the biological, behavioral, and neuroanatomical systems underlying anxiety and response inhibition.
Recommended“he he wrote a book called The neuros pychology of anxiety which I think is one of the best Neuroscience books ever written”
Where to get it
-
The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R.
Discussed“How do you return home like the Hobbit does at the end of the well the Hobbit and at the end of the Lord of the Rings, right?”
Where to get it
-
Fossil Future
Fossil Future by Alex Epstein argues that fossil fuels are essential for human flourishing and that eliminating them prematurely would cause widespread societal collapse and death.
Discussed“so I had the Good Fortune to speak again today with Alex Epstein who I spoke with two years ago almost to the day um Alex is the author of two influential books one the first one the moral case for fossil fuels and the second one fossil future”
Where to get it
-
The Idiot
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a profound 19th-century Russian novel that follows the compassionate, innocent, and deeply misunderstood Prince Myshkin as he navigates the cynical and corrupt high society of St.
Discussed“do you ever read the idiot no yeah well I'm probably half idiot and half rol nikov”
Where to get it
-
The Population Bomb
The Population Bomb by Paul R.
Discussed“So Paul Erick who wrote the population bomb and his du kicking around made a very famous bet with an economist Julian Simon”
Where to get it
-
Inferno
Inferno by Dante Alighieri is a classic epic poem describing a journey through the underworld and the various circles of hell.
Discussed“Dante, who wrote Dante's Inferno, is one of the figures of the classic age, the Renaissance, let's say, classic European age, who who really formulated much of the modern vision of hell.”
Where to get it
-
Bible
The Bible is a foundational collection of sacred religious texts and historical narratives that has shaped Western law, morality, and culture for millennia.
Discussed“He is the temple; he is the Torah; he is the covenant; he is prophecy fulfilled.”
Where to get it
-
War on the West
The War on the West by Douglas Murray is a cultural commentary examining contemporary criticisms of Western civilization and the ideological battles shaping modern political discourse in America and Britain.
Discussed“So I'm talking today to Douglas Murray who just wrote this book on democracies and death cults, Israel and the future of civilization.”
Where to get it
-
In Order to Live
In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park and Maryanne Vollers is a harrowing memoir detailing the author's dramatic escape from North Korea and her subsequent journey toward freedom.
Discussed“she wrote this book called in order to live which is a harrowing book although i don't think it's as harrying to read as it is harrowing to talk to her”
Where to get it
-
Immortality Key
Why people recommend it: Brian C.
Discussed“I was talking to Brian Murray rescue I think it's probably yeah more than a year ago he wrote the immortality key and you know he he was although a lawyer he was the book is about ethno pharmacology in many regards”
Where to get it
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
- The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade
- 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
- Beyond Order by Jordan B. Peterson
- Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
- The Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjørn Lomborg
- Ordinary Men by Christopher R. Browning
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein
- Systemantics by John Gall
- A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas
- Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
- The Ecological Approach To Visual Perception by James J. Gibson
- The sacred mushroom and the cross by John Marco Allegro
- Laptop from Hell by Miranda Devine
- The Parasitic Mind by Gad Saad
- The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
- Values by Mark Carney
- Symbolism, the Sacred and the Arts by Mircea Eliade
- Nietzsche: Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
- The Bell Curve by Richard J. Herrnstein
- The Wealth and Poverty of Nations by David S. Landes
- Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
- Hitler's Table Talk by Hugh R. Trevor-Roper
- Paradise Lost by John Milton
Questions about Jordan Peterson’s book recommendations
What book does Jordan Peterson recommend most?
The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn. Jordan Peterson recommended it in 11 episodes, with 2 explicit recommendations.
How many books has Jordan Peterson recommended on podcasts?
We have found 366 books Jordan Peterson recommended or discussed, across 292 episodes of 12 podcasts. Ad reads and passing mentions are not counted.
What books are on Jordan Peterson's reading list?
The books Jordan Peterson has recommended most on podcasts are The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenit︠s︡yn, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky and Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier. The year-by-year lists below have all 366.
What books has Jordan Peterson written?
Maps of Meaning (1999), 12 Rules for Life (2015) and Beyond Order (2021).
What did Jordan Peterson recommend on The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast?
The Gulag Archipelago, The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment, among 348 books in all.
What is the latest book Jordan Peterson recommended?
Maps of Meaning, discussed on The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast (2026-10-25).
People who recommend the same books
Jordan Peterson’s latest episodes with books
Jordan Peterson’s book recommendations by year
All 366 books Jordan Peterson recommended or discussed across 292 episodes, filed by the year each episode came out. Each year goes episode by episode, with the minute every book came up.