Person
Every book Nat Eliason recommended on podcasts
Nat Eliason appears on podcasts such as Modern Wisdom, where he shares insights as an avid reader, blogger, and thinker focused on self-improvement, skill acquisition, psychology, and personal development. During his appearances, Eliason discusses and recommends works that explore human behavior, deep learning, and historical resilience. He highly recommends Alistair Urquhart's The Forgotten Highlander as a harrowing biography of a Scottish soldier in World War II, and points to Anders Ericsson and Robert Poole's Peak as the premier text on learning and skill acquisition. Eliason also endorses Douglas R. Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach for its intellectual exploration of art, mathematics, and artificial intelligence, Alfred Lansing's Endurance for its account of Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, and Ernest Becker's The Denial of Death for its examination of human actions driven by the fear of mortality. Furthermore, he touches upon Robert Greene's The 48 Laws of Power regarding online traffic and book summaries, and references Plato's Republic within the context of ideal governance systems.
Books recommended by Nat Eliason
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The Denial of Death
The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning psychological study that posits that human civilization, culture, and individual ambition are ultimately driven by an underlying, often unconscious fear of mortality.
Recommended“and then last one I'll throw out would be denial of death by Ernest Becker that's another super interesting one”
Where to get it
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Endurance
Endurance by Alfred Lansing is a classic historical account documenting Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated 1914 Antarctic expedition and the remarkable survival of his crew.
Recommended“I'll say endurance by Alfred Lansing is very good all right so that's the story of Shackleton and his crew”
Where to get it
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Gödel, Escher, Bach
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R.
Recommended“gödel Escher Bach is amazing is sorry it's a gödel Escher Bach by douglas hofstadter”
Where to get it
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Peak
Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool is a prominent nonfiction book that examines the science of human skill acquisition and deliberate practice.
Recommended“so piqued by Anders Ericsson Robert Poole is probably the best book on learning and skill acquisition”
Where to get it
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The Forgotten Highlander
Alistair Urquhart's The Forgotten Highlander is a harrowing memoir detailing a Scottish soldier's brutal experiences and survival in Japanese prisoner of war camps during World War II.
Recommended“or the last Highlander I think it is by Alistair no I haven't heard that so this man if you if you need a new order biography style book to read I really highly recommend this one”
Where to get it
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Antifragile
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a philosophical and economic exploration of systems that not only gain from disorder, stress, and volatility but actually require turbulence to improve and grow.
Discussed“and we said or we thought it might be fun to do a second episode on a book that we both really liked Angie fragile by Nassim Taleb”
Where to get it
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Plato's Symposium
Plato's Symposium and related classical works by Plato represent foundational texts in Western philosophy, exploring the nature of love, ideal forms, political justice, and the pursuit of ultimate truth through structured Socratic dialogues.
Discussed“well I think it's like you know Plato's Republic right”
Where to get it
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The 48 Laws of Power (Special Power Edition)
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene is a strategic and philosophical guide that draws upon historical examples to examine the mechanics of power, influence, and human behavior.
Discussed“so if you google like 48 laws of power or summary I think I'm like in the top three that come up for that and that you know but a lot of traffic to the site”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Five Best Books You've Never Read - Nat Eliason - #088 | Modern Wisdom | 2019-07-25 | 9 |
Other mentions (5: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I've got a lot of like the popular ones in there including laws of human nature of course and yes auntie Fraggle and all the ones on on made you think”
“I've got a lot of like the popular ones in there including laws of human nature of course and yes auntie Fraggle and all the ones on on made you think”
“so if you google like 48 laws of power or summary I think I'm like in the top three that come up for that”
“and atomic habits as well”
“well I think it's like you know Plato's Republic right the the ideal government is a philosopher-king”