Person
Every book Nat Eliason recommended on podcasts
Across 2 podcasts. Every show Nat Eliason appears on, in one place — not just one.
Nat Eliason’s most recommended books
- The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker
- Conflict by Margaret Mayo
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
- Endurance by Alfred Lansing
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
- Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas R. Hofstadter
- Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
- Peak by Anders Ericsson
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown
- Suspense by Joseph Conrad
Nat Eliason is an author and podcast guest who has appeared on programs like How I Write and Modern Wisdom to discuss storytelling, writing techniques, and literary influences. When seeking to learn how to write more exciting narratives, Eliason recommended Pierce Brown's Red Rising as a super fast-paced, engaging book that is hard to put down. He cited Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as the primary visual inspiration for the cover of his own book, and mentioned that reading Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential early on influenced his writing style. For tactical advice on narrative and story structure, Eliason highly recommended Margaret Mayo and Joseph Conrad's Conflict and Suspense from the elements of fiction writing series, noting it is valuable even for non-fiction writers. To prime himself for environmental and emotional descriptions during the editing process, he mentioned reading slower-paced works like John Steinbeck's East of Eden. In addition to his writing-focused recommendations, Eliason previously recommended Alistair Urquhart's harrowing World War II biography The Forgotten Highlander and Douglas R. Hofstadter's intellectually challenging Gödel, Escher, Bach, which explores mathematics, art, artificial intelligence, and philosophy.
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 philosophical and psychological study that argues human behavior is fundamentally driven by an unconscious terror of mortality and the subsequent cultural mechanisms created to deny it.
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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Conflict
Conflict by Margaret Mayo, frequently referenced alongside suspense writing guides, is a practical instruction manual designed to help writers build tension and master narrative structure within their stories.
Recommended“The there's this really good book called Conflict and Suspense and it's part of the elements of fiction writing series which is a wonderful series. highly highly recommend it even for non-fiction writers”
Where to get it
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East of Eden
East of Eden by John Steinbeck is a sprawling, multi-generational masterpiece that adapts the Cain and Abel story into twentieth-century California.
Recommended“And East of Eden is a great example of this because if I can prime myself with those kinds of books, then when I go back and edit this, I can draw it out a little bit more.”
Where to get it
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Endurance
Endurance by Alfred Lansing is a gripping historical non-fiction account detailing Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition and the harrowing survival story of his stranded 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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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S.
Recommended“It needs to have that um Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas feel to it. That was the main inspiration is I sent them that and I said this is like what we want to use as inspiration for the cover.”
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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Kitchen Confidential
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain is a candid, bestselling memoir that exposes the gritty, high-pressure underbelly of professional restaurant kitchens while romanticizing the culinary arts.
Recommended“Uh and I mean, obviously kind of inspired by Anthony Bourdain, right? I I read Kitchen Confidential early on when I was trying to find a good style for the book and he really influenced the writing style in a couple ways.”
Where to get it
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Peak
Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool is a comprehensive study of expertise and deliberate practice that explores how individuals achieve peak performance through specialized training rather than innate talent alone.
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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Red Rising
Red Rising by Pierce Brown is a fast-paced science fiction novel set in a rigidly stratified dystopian society where a low-caste miner infiltrates the ruling class to exact revenge and spark a rebellion.
Recommended“And one that was actually really helpful was Red Rising. And it's it's super fast-paced, super engaging, very hard to put down.”
Where to get it
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Suspense
Suspense is a gripping historical novel by Joseph Conrad that explores the political intrigue, revolutionary fervor, and psychological tension surrounding the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte on Elba prior to the Hundred Days.
Recommended“The there's this really good book called Conflict and Suspense and it's part of the elements of fiction writing series which is a wonderful series. highly highly recommend it even for non-fiction writers”
Where to get it
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The Forgotten Highlander
The Forgotten Highlander by Alistair Urquhart is a harrowing memoir detailing the author's survival as a Scottish soldier captured by the Japanese during World War II, enduring forced labor on the infamous railway and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
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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The Sovereign Individual
The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg is a visionary late-twentieth-century book that anticipates the decline of the nation-state and the rise of decentralized digital economies, remote work, and cryptocurrencies.
Recommended“I'll say sovereign individual by James Dale Davidson and William Reece mark that's really really really phenomenal books”
Where to get it
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Antifragile
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a groundbreaking exploration of systems that not only withstand shocks and disorder but actually thrive and grow stronger when exposed to volatility, stress, and uncertainty.
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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Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is a sweeping philosophical novel that champions objectivism, laissez-faire capitalism, and individual achievement while depicting a dystopian society collapsing under the weight of excessive government controls.
Discussed“It feels there's so many times when reading Atlas Shrugged where it's really clear that that it's no longer this character talking. It's just her insert.”
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
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers is a provocative guide examining the historical mechanics of influence, strategy, and social dynamics.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Want to Tell Better Stories? This Guy Will Teach You How (Nat Eliason | How I Write Podcast) | How I Write | 2024-07-03 | 7 |
| The Five Best Books You've Never Read - Nat Eliason - #088 | Modern Wisdom | 2019-07-25 | 10 |
Other mentions (7: passing, ad reads, own books)
“Like Stephen King wrote Carrie when he was 26, you know, and that was his first book deal, and he got 200 grand for it, which is something like 600 grand in today's dollars, right?”
“And you know, Red Rising is a good example of this, too. Pice Brown wrote it, I think, when he was 27 or 28.”
“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”