Person
Every book Josh Brolin recommended on podcasts
Across 4 podcasts. Every show Josh Brolin appears on, in one place — not just one.
Josh Brolin’s most recommended books
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Brother Sam's Universal Joke Book by Brother SAM
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
- All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
- Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone by Hunter S. Thompson
- Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson
- Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson
- The Terrible by Yrsa Daley-Ward
Josh James Brolin is an American actor. A son of actor James Brolin, he gained fame in his youth for his role in the adventure film The Goonies. Brolin had a resurgence with his starring role in the crime film No Country for Old Men and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for portraying Dan White in the biopic Milk. During podcast appearances on shows like The Joe Rogan Experience, The Daily Stoic, and SmartLess, Brolin discussed several books that influenced him. He recommended Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, calling it the only book that comes close to capturing the spiritual feeling of riding motorcycles, and recommended Brother Sam's Universal Joke Book about comedian Sam Kinison. Brolin discussed Yrsa Daley-Ward's memoir The Terrible, praising its naked honesty as an inspiration for his own writing. He also highlighted Hunter S. Thompson's Hell's Angels as a favorite text he frequently returns to, alongside Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. Additionally, he engaged in extensive discussions about Frank Herbert's science fiction classic Dune and how different directorial approaches shape its film adaptations.
Books recommended by Josh Brolin
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Dune
Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction masterpiece Dune is widely celebrated as an epic space opera exploring ecology, religion, and political power on a desert planet.
Discussed“I don't want to rain on your parade, but just let me know if it's now or 40 minutes. I can talk about Dune, because I have 800,000 questions. You can... you can about Dune anytime you want!”
Where to get it
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Brother Sam's Universal Joke Book
Brother Sam's Universal Joke Book by Brother SAM is a biographical work detailing the life, career, and struggles of the late controversial comedian Sam Kinison, written by his brother Bill Kinison.
Recommended“his brother wrote a great book it's called Brother Sam it's really really good book”
Where to get it
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M.
Recommended“there's something on a if you read Zen in the-art of Motorcycle Maintenance which is the only book that's ever been written that's kind of gets close to the kind of spiritual place”
Where to get it
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All the Pretty Horses
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy is a celebrated Western novel following a young Texan who crosses the border into Mexico with a companion, encountering hardship, romance, and tragedy.
Discussed“Plus, that's another guy, which I think there was a parallel, even though we didn't talk about it, is that the first, until All the Pretty Horses, which I think is his sixth novel or his seventh, that people had maybe bought maybe 1,200 books of each novel, so nobody bought his shit.”
Where to get it
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Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone
Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone by Hunter S.
Discussed“well did you ever read fear and love on the campaign Trail yeah that's one of the more interesting pieces”
Where to get it
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Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 is a gonzo journalism classic by Hunter S.
Discussed“well did you ever read fear and love on the campaign Trail yeah that's one of the more interesting pieces”
Where to get it
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Hell's Angels
Hell's Angels by Hunter S.
Discussed“well I was just reading uh Hell's Angels recently actually that's the book that I go back to most”
Where to get it
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The Terrible
Discussed“there's another memoir out there and i'll go back to matthew but there your of daily ward wrote a memoir called the terrible”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| #690 - Josh Brolin | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von | 2026-10-13 | 1 |
| How Stoicism Shaped Josh Brolin: Navigating Adversity And Building Resilience | The Daily Stoic | 2025-02-15 | 1 |
| #2232 - Josh Brolin | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2024-11-21 | 5 |
| Josh Brolin | SmartLess | 2024-03-04 | 6 |
Other mentions (4: passing, ad reads, own books)
“i have to leave them with a daily dad or green lights or you know something instead of just you know police lights and and uh and and i wrote”
“and then how many you know van go painting a painting and all those paintings being outside getting rained on and now they're selling for $100 million yeah all after he's dead all after he's dead yeah he never knew he sold one painting in his lifetime so he never got to not even a little bit experience what look”
“I did this play, I did Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in high school! I didn't understand a word I was saying! And I... and until there was an audience!”
“And at the same time I did see Streetcar and I saw East of Eden and those two movies had a major impact! Anyway, somebody, Hillary Shore took me on as... even though she knew the whole resume was [___], and she took me on!”