Person
Every book Josh Waitzkin recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Josh Waitzkin has recommended or discussed 8 books on podcasts, as of March 19, 2025.
- Josh Waitzkin has talked about books on 3 podcasts, as of March 19, 2025.
- Those books came up in 4 episodes, as of March 19, 2025.
- The 3 books Josh Waitzkin has mentioned in the most episodes, as of March 19, 2025: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Dreaming Yourself Awake and Lion Tracker's Guide to Life.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Josh Waitzkin aired on March 19, 2025.
Updated
Across 3 podcasts. Every show Josh Waitzkin appears on, in one place — not just one.
Josh Waitzkin’s most recommended books
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
- Dreaming Yourself Awake by B. Alan Wallace
- Lion Tracker's Guide to Life by Boyd Varty
- The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
Joshua Waitzkin is an American former chess player, martial arts world champion, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. The film Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on his early life. Appearing on podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience, Huberman Lab, and The Tim Ferriss Show, Waitzkin recommended Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings for its deep study of the way. He also recommended Boyd Varty's Lion Tracker's Guide to Life, B. Alan Wallace's Dreaming Yourself Awake in the context of Tibetan dream yoga, and Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which he cited as a major philosophical influence exploring dynamic versus static quality. Additionally, he reflected on the release of the book Searching for Bobby Fischer about his early life and discussed the process behind writing his own book, The Art of Learning.
Books Josh Waitzkin recommended or discussed
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Recommended“Robert Pirsig, my favorite the most important philosopher in my life, Robert Pirsig wrote Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Have you read Have you read that book?”
Where to get it
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Lion Tracker's Guide to Life
Recommended“he in his his book lion tracker's Guide to Life he has this gorgeous quote”
Where to get it
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The Book of Five Rings
Recommended“So, the Book of Five Rings, right? Like to me, I feel that I cannot believe how few people have studied Musashi deeply.”
Where to get it
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Lila
Discussed“then you could think about Robert PK's work and and there Motorcycle Maintenance and lla around Dynamic quality versus static quality”
Where to get it
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Searching for Bobby Fischer
Discussed“yes so when I was 11 the the book searching for Robbie fer came out and when I was 15 the movie came out and at that point”
Where to get it
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The Art of Learning
Discussed“one of the things I feel badly about in in like when I wrote the art of learning I spoke a lot about process and outcome”
Where to get it
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This Is Water
Discussed“It's like that idea, that great David Foster Wallace discussion around, This is Water, built around the metaphor of a fish swimming in water doesn't know what water is.”
Where to get it
Books Josh Waitzkin wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2292 - Josh Waitzkin | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2025-03-19 | 2 |
| The Art of Learning & Living Life | Josh Waitzkin | Huberman Lab | 2025-01-27 | 5 |
| #756: Anne Lamott and Josh Waitzkin | The Tim Ferriss Show | 2024-07-19 | 2 |
| #375: Josh Waitzkin — How to Cram 2 Months of Learning into 1 Day | The Tim Ferriss Show | 2019-06-26 | 1 |
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“when I wrote my first book, The Art of or my my second book, The Art of Learning, it was about my experience of crossing over my level from chess into the Chinese martial arts.”
“that I wrote about my book and that I've developed since”
“I wrote The Art of Learning 15 years ago, and I just started writing again recently. It’s been beautiful to re-enter that terrain.”