Person
Sam Parr's book recommendations
Across 5 podcasts. Every show Sam Parr appears on, in one place — not just one.
Sam Parr’s most recommended books
- How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis
- American Kingpin by Nick Bilton
- Influence by Robert B. Cialdini
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
- The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
- Mastery by Robert Greene
- Endurance by Alfred Lansing
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Manhunt by James L. Swanson
- The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene
Sam Parr is an entrepreneur and podcast host best known for co-hosting the My First Million podcast and founding The Hustle. Across multiple podcast appearances, he has recommended and discussed several books that influenced his business thinking and personal philosophy. He brought up Edward De Bono's The Six Thinking Hats as a productive read for structured thinking and perspective-taking. For founders wanting to understand the value of copywriting, he recommended David Ogilvy's Ogilvy on Advertising. He also expressed high praise for Felix Dennis's How to Get Rich, describing it as a life-changing and beautiful book despite its vulgar title. Discussing business and fitness, Parr cited James Clear's Atomic Habits to emphasize that individuals do not rise to the level of their goals, but fall to the level of their systems. To illustrate extreme toughness and resilience compared to modern comforts, he recommended Alfred Lansing's Endurance, detailing the historical Antarctic voyage. Furthermore, he noted that Robert Cialdini's Influence is a classic work on persuasion that is worth rereading repeatedly. For leadership and difficult conversations, Parr mentioned Jonathan Kellerman's The Motive as a preferred alternative to other communication guides, and he highlighted W. Timothy Gallwey's The Inner Game of Tennis to explain flow states and mental focus.
Books recommended by Sam Parr
-
How to Get Rich
Felix Dennis's book How to Get Rich is a candid and unconventional guide offering pragmatic advice on building wealth from the perspective of an experienced magazine publishing mogul.
Recommended“That book changed my life. That book changed my life. It's the best. It's probably the best book I've ever read because it's beautiful. I hate um recommending it cuz the title is so vulgar, but it's a beautiful book because he's a beautiful man.”
Where to get it
-
American Kingpin
American Kingpin by Nick Bilton is a true-crime non-fiction book that details the rise and fall of Ross Ulbricht and his dark web marketplace, the Silk Road.
Discussed“I think that if you read American Kingpin about Ross alri Ross had the same exact style where it was very romantic”
Where to get it
-
Influence
Influence by Robert B.
Discussed“So what you're saying by the way is like a world famous uh it's the rule of reciprocity. It's Robert Chaini's book, Influence”
Where to get it
-
The 4-Hour Workweek
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss is a lifestyle design manual that encourages readers to rethink traditional employment, automate income streams, and reclaim ownership of their time.
Discussed“I don't remember everything we read, but it was like it was like Tim Ferriss's book, The 4-Hour Workweek.”
Where to get it
-
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“Robert Green they say this about his book right 48 laws of power like I think one of the like marketing stickticks which I don't know if he completely made up or is true and then he used it to like to to market his book, but it was this book is banned from prisons because because they don't want”
Where to get it
-
Mastery
Mastery by Robert Greene is a non-fiction book that explores the paths to achieving high-level expertise through historical examples and psychological insights.
Recommended“I read Mastery Robert Green changed my life and that's why I purposely use those words of trade and Mastery”
Where to get it
-
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“the book endurance probably honestly might be the top three books I've read of all time. The story is basically in the early 1900s when he was just in like a ship without you know power sails around to the bottom of the Arctic or Antarctica I forget which one. The ship gets like so deep into the cold that”
Where to get it
-
Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits by James Clear is a widely acclaimed guide on habit formation, personal development, and how minor incremental adjustments yield substantial long-term results.
Recommended“The best quote of this I think comes from James Clear or whoever he got it from in his book Atomic Habits which is you know we don't rise to the level of our goals we fall to the level of our systems you see this everywhere everywhere I see it in my business”
Where to get it
-
Manhunt
Manhunt by James L.
Discussed“Have you read Manhunt about Lincoln's assassination? I did. um that is a it's an interesting book”
Where to get it
-
The Laws of Human Nature
The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene is an exhaustive examination of human psychology, social behavior, and the underlying motivations that drive people's actions.
Discussed“like I've read Robert Green has this book called human nature and he tells a story about how like some of the earliest writing on walls was a generation complaining about the generation after them that they were lazy”
Where to get it
-
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye by J.
Discussed“With copy work, what I like to do is I find the best sales letters or it could even be the best book. So it could be like Catcher in the Rye, that's what I did it with.”
Where to get it
-
The Comfort Crisis
The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter is a nonfiction exploration of how modern human life has become dangerously comfortable and how embracing physical adversity can improve health and well-being.
Discussed“One of the books that I read this last year, I think it was Michael something Easter maybe The Comfort Crisis and he talked about the Misogi.”
Where to get it
-
The Game
The Game by Neil Strauss is a non-fiction book that investigates the secretive subculture of pickup artists and dating strategy.
Discussed“For people of our generation, Shawn and I probably both did the same thing. We read the book The Game, which like has has so many flaws in it. But the one thing that it did do was it encouraged me to go and talk to women.”
Where to get it
-
The Power Broker
The Power Broker by Robert A.
Discussed“I just started reading finally reading the Power Broker. Power Broker is a historic book considered one of the 50 best books of the of the 20th century.”
Where to get it
-
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L.
Discussed“and then I just got done reading the rise of the Third Reich which is like which is like a 1500 or 1300 word like epic”
Where to get it
-
Titan
Titan by Ron Chernow is a comprehensive biography detailing the life and monumental business career of industrialist John D.
Discussed“oh no he wrote the the play yeah he wrote Titan he wrote Titan or what's this guy Carl Robert Carl Robert Carol car”
Where to get it
-
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by Tucker Max is a notorious, boundary-pushing comedic memoir that chronicles the author's wild partying exploits and helped popularize the controversial fratire genre.
Discussed“do you know who Tucker Max is yeah so Tucker Max is this author he's my friend um I haven't talked to him in a while but I used to be buddies with them and he's an author he wrote a I hope they serve beer in hell”
Where to get it
-
Ametora
Ametora by W.
Recommended“I was so inspired that I went and bought this book called 'How Japan Saved American Fashion.' I read it, and I learned all about the culture of Japan.”
Where to get it
-
Amp It Up
Amp It Up by Frank Slootman is a direct management guide focused on building a high-performance execution culture, raising expectations, and driving hypergrowth through urgency and intensity.
Recommended“So he's got this book called Amp It Up. But if you really you could just read his blog post called Amp It Up and get 80% of the the idea. It's not even just about working hard.”
Where to get it
-
Empire of the Summer Moon
Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C.
Recommended“book uh i'm gonna go with endurance story about a shipwreck and then i'll also go with empire the summer moon it's about the comanche indians they're just and and the texas rangers and how they fought and they're all just [ __ ] savages the rate dude endurance is so good”
Where to get it
- Hellbound by David McCaffrey
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Influence, New and Expanded: the Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B Cialdini
- Made to stick by Chip Heath
- Motive by Jonathan Kellerman
- Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
- Propaganda by Edward L. Bernays
- Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
- Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono
- The 2-Hour Cocktail Party by Nick Gray
- The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
- The River of Doubt by Candice Millard
- The Wager by David Grann
- $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi
- Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
- Biography of Louis Fitch Q.C by Bernard Figler
- Catch Me If You Can by Bernard Most
- Conspiracy by Ryan Holiday
- Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett, Dave Evans
- Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton
- How Stuff Works by Marshall Brain
- How To Be Rich Ideas From Warren Buffett by Warren Buffett
- How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
- Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld
- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
- Mastermind by Maria Konnikova
- Meditations by Aurelius Marcus
- Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
- Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
- Money for Couples by Ramit Sethi
Questions about Sam Parr’s book recommendations
What book does Sam Parr recommend most?
How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis. Sam Parr recommended it in 3 episodes, with 4 explicit recommendations.
How many books has Sam Parr recommended on podcasts?
We have found 76 books Sam Parr recommended or discussed, across 66 episodes of 5 podcasts. Ad reads and passing mentions are not counted.
What books are on Sam Parr's reading list?
The books Sam Parr has recommended most on podcasts are How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis, American Kingpin by Nick Bilton, Influence by Robert B. Cialdini, The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss and The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. The year-by-year lists below have all 76.
What did Sam Parr recommend on My First Million?
How to Get Rich, American Kingpin and Influence, among 68 books in all.
What is the latest book Sam Parr recommended?
Mistborn, discussed on My First Million (2026-10-23).
People who recommend the same books
Sam Parr’s latest episodes with books
Sam Parr’s book recommendations by year
All 76 books Sam Parr recommended or discussed across 66 episodes, filed by the year each episode came out. Each year goes episode by episode, with the minute every book came up.