Person
Every book Noah Feldman recommended on podcasts
Noah Feldman’s most recommended books
- Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder
- Democracy and the Market by Adam Przeworski
- On War by Carl von Clausewitz
- Political Order and Political Decay by Francis Fukuyama
- The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand
- The origins of political order by Francis Fukuyama
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu
- The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr
Noah Feldman appeared on The Tim Ferriss Show to share various book recommendations and discuss significant historical and political works. He recommended Carl von Clausewitz's On War, describing it as the single most influential book on war written since Sun Tzu's The Art of War and a foundational text for military academies globally. Feldman also recommended Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands, highlighting its clear and beautiful writing despite its intense subject matter, noting that it helps readers understand twentieth-century European history and geopolitics. Additionally, Feldman discussed Francis Fukuyama's Political Order and Political Decay in the context of state-building and governance. He recommended Adam Przeworski's Democracy and the Market as a helpful and relatively concise read on political systems and capitalism. Furthermore, Feldman strongly recommended Louis Menand's The Metaphysical Club, praising the Harvard professor's writing and noting the book's Pulitzer Prize win while discussing pragmatism and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. He also touched upon Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.'s The Common Law, characterizing it as a total re-reading of legal history concerning accidents and contracts, and compared von Clausewitz's military principles with Sun Tzu's classic teachings.
Books recommended by Noah Feldman
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Bloodlands
Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder is a historical examination of the mass killings and political atrocities committed by the regimes of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin in Eastern Europe during the mid-twentieth century.
Recommended“his grand book is called bloodlands it's long and intense but it's very very very beautifully and and clearly written and if you can you know if you can stomach a book about the wars of the 20th century you'll learn a ton about geopolitics and the region in the process”
Where to get it
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Democracy and the Market
Democracy and the Market by Adam Przeworski is an influential political science text that explores the complex dynamics between political regimes and economic systems.
Recommended“another book which is a bit shorter and which i have found incredibly helpful uh for me is a book called democracy and the market and it's by a polish born political scientist whose name is adam chavorski”
Where to get it
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On War
On War by Carl von Clausewitz is a foundational treatise on military strategy, political theory, and the nature of armed conflict, written by the Prussian general following the Napoleonic Wars.
Recommended“and it's this book called on war by von klausewitz a german general it's the single most influential book on war written since sun tzu's art of war and as i said it's required reading in military academies in every country in the world”
Where to get it
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Political Order and Political Decay
Political Order and Political Decay by Francis Fukuyama is a comprehensive political science text that examines the historical evolution of political institutions, the origins of the state, and the various factors leading to institutional degradation across different societies.
Recommended“one of his most recent books is this kind of grand grand book political order and political decay”
Where to get it
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The Metaphysical Club
The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand is a Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural history that explores the origins of pragmatism through the lives of remarkable figures like Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Recommended“and i read a book that actually i love called the metaphysical club by a person called louis minand who's an amazing amazing writer he's a professor at harvard in the english department book won the pulitzer prize”
Where to get it
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The origins of political order
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution is a sweeping historical and sociological study by Francis Fukuyama that examines how human societies have developed governing institutions, legal frameworks, and the modern state across millennia.
Recommended“one of his most recent books is this kind of grand grand book political order and political decay”
Where to get it
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The Art of War
The Art of War by Sun Tzu is an ancient military treatise offering timeless strategic principles on leadership, outmaneuvering adversaries, and conflict resolution.
Discussed“and it's this book called on war by von klausewitz a german general it's the single most influential book on war written since sun tzu's art of war”
Where to get it
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The Common Law
Discussed“and he wrote a little book called the common law which was a total re-reading of the history of the law basically the law of accidents and contracts”
Where to get it
Books Noah Feldman wrote
Appearances
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“so about 10 years ago i wrote a book about u.s and china which was called cool war which i thought was like the best title of any book title i've ever come up with and i was convinced that i'd come up with the perfect name for the us-china relationship”
“what was the title of that book that was called after jihad america and the struggle for islamic democracy”