Tyler Cowen
Tyler Cowen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Person

Tyler Cowen books: every book Tyler Cowen wrote and recommended

Host of Conversations with Tyler · Guest on How I Write, EconTalk, Dwarkesh Podcast, Modern Wisdom, Lex Fridman Podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show and 1 more · 313 books · 144 episodes across 8 podcasts

Across 8 podcasts. Every show Tyler Cowen appears on, in one place — not just one.

Books by Tyler Cowen

We earn a commission if you buy through the store links below, at no cost to you.

14 books Tyler Cowen wrote, best known first. What podcasts say about them →

Tyler Cowen is an American economist, author, and public intellectual. He is the Holbert L. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University and serves as chairman of the university’s Mercatus Center. Cowen is widely known for his blog Marginal Revolution, which he has co-authored with Alex Tabarrok since 2003, and for hosting the interview podcast Conversations with Tyler. On his podcast, Cowen frequently recommends and promotes his guests' literary works. He strongly recommended Michael Moritz's family memoir Ausländer: One Family’s Story of Escape and Exile, noting how much he enjoyed reading it. Similarly, he gave promotional plugs toward the end of episodes to Toby Wilkinson's The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt, from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra and Kim Bowes's Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent. Cowen also introduced Paul Gillingham's Mexico: A 500-Year History, praising it as the single best introduction to the history of Mexico and predicting it would rank among the top nonfiction books of the year. Additionally, he concluded an episode by recommending Henry Oliver's Second Act, which focuses on the lives of late bloomers.

Books recommended by Tyler Cowen

Who said what is determined automatically. In hand-checked samples, at least 6% of mentions were credited to the wrong speaker — sometimes an interviewer’s line recorded as the guest’s, sometimes the reverse. Every entry below in the top 20 quotes the words and links to the episode, so you can check it; every other book's page carries its quotes.

  1. War and Peace

    Leo Tolstoy; Clara Bell · Discussed · 5 episodes

    War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is a sprawling Russian epic novel that chronicles elite society and military conflict during the Napoleonic era.

    Discussed
    “But War and Peace is still clearly better than Anna Karenina, which is more of a mono novel, and less complex and sprawling, right?”
    Where to get it
  2. The Lord of the Rings

    J.R.R. Tolkien · Discussed · 4 episodes

    The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.

    Where to get it
  3. Hamlet

    William Shakespeare · Discussed · 3 episodes

    Hamlet is William Shakespeare's famous tragedy exploring themes of mortality, revenge, madness, and moral hesitation in the Danish royal court.

    Discussed
    “Camille poglia once said if you look at Hamlet too closely most of it just doesn't make sense I'm not sure that's true”
    Where to get it
  4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    J. K. Rowling · Discussed · 3 episodes

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the opening fantasy novel in J.K.

    Where to get it
  5. The Dispossessed

    Ursula K. Le Guin · Discussed · 3 episodes

    The Dispossessed by Ursula K.

    Discussed
    “In Ursula Le Guin, if you read the major novels At least in the fiction, there seems to be this suggestion that the only way you can get rid of war is to really narrow or abolish or limit distinctions between men and women. Do you think that's in you know, Left Hand of Darkness or Dispossessed?”
    Where to get it
  6. The Dream of The Red Chamber

    Tsʻao, Hsüeh-chʻin.; H. Bencraft Joly · Discussed · 3 episodes

    Tsʻao Hsüeh-chʻin's 18th-century Chinese masterpiece The Dream of the Red Chamber, also known as The Story of the Stone, chronicles the tragic decline of a prominent aristocratic family.

    Discussed
    “But again, you get into Chinese fiction or if you look at a classic work, Dream of Red Chamber, other than people with some kind of background in China or Chinese studies, I know very few people who've read Dream of Red Chamber.”
    Where to get it
  7. Station Eleven

    Emily St. John Mandel · Recommended · 2 episodes

    Station Eleven by Emily St.

    Discussed
    “uh her biggest selling book to date is station 11.”
    Where to get it
  8. In Search of Lost Time

    Marcel Proust · Recommended · 2 episodes

    In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust is a monumental, multi-volume modernist novel that explores memory, time, art, and the profound meaning of human existence through an immersive blend of narrative and philosophical essay.

    Recommended
    “but i would say try proust again, language is a problem, the original english translation was not very good, lydia davis has done a better one”
    Where to get it
  9. Milton Friedman

    Jennifer Burns · Recommended · 2 episodes

    Milton Friedman by Jennifer Burns is a comprehensive biography exploring the life, ideas, and intellectual legacy of the influential conservative economist.

    Discussed
    “the new Jennifer Burns book about Milton Friedman is excellent I think that will do very well”
    Where to get it
  10. Capitalism, the unknown ideal

    Ayn Rand · Recommended · 2 episodes

    Ayn Rand's "Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal" is a collection of essays championing laissez-faire capitalism and objectivist philosophy.

    Discussed
    “but reading ein rand capitalism the unknown idea i am was a big thing for me”
    Where to get it
  11. Economics Rules

    Dani Rodrik · Recommended · 2 episodes

    Economics Rules by Dani Rodrik is a concise exploration of the uses, limitations, and proper applications of economic models in understanding public policy and human behavior.

    Discussed
    “Dani Rodrik, Economics Rules, CWT guest. COWEN: Mercantilism, to me, looks worse than it did 10 years ago, now that I have to live under it.”
    Where to get it
  12. Gulliver's Travels

    Jonathan Swift · Discussed · 2 episodes

    Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift is a classic satirical novel that follows Lemuel Gulliver on extraordinary voyages to strange and fantastical lands.

    Discussed
    “COWEN: You’ve read Gulliver’s Travels many times. You’ve studied it.”
    Where to get it
  13. Bleak House

    Charles Dickens · Recommended · 2 episodes

    Bleak House by Charles Dickens is a sprawling and intricate Victorian novel that famously critiques the British judicial system through the interminable chancery lawsuit of Jarndyce and Jarndyce.

    Where to get it
  14. General Theory Of Employment , Interest And Money

    John Maynard Keynes · Recommended · 2 episodes

    John Maynard Keynes's influential 1936 economic treatise reshaped macroeconomic policy and continues to provoke critical debate among modern economists and scholars.

    Recommended
    “even kan's general theory if you don't want to read the whole book just read chapter 12”
    Where to get it
  15. Last and First Men

    Olaf Stapledon · Recommended · 2 episodes

    "Last and First Men" by Olaf Stapledon is a sweeping science fiction novel written in the 1930s that chronicles the history of humanity across two billion years and nineteen distinct human species.

    Discussed
    “You and I were both fans of Olaf Stapledon who wrote the dual classics Last and First Men and Star Maker.”
    Where to get it
  16. Life of Samuel Johnson

    James Boswell · Recommended · 2 episodes

    Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell is an acclaimed eighteenth-century British biography that captures the wit, wisdom, and distinct personality of its subject.

    Recommended
    “like roswell's life of johnson would be one of my favorites”
    Where to get it
  17. On Liberty

    John Stuart Mill · Recommended · 2 episodes

    On Liberty by John Stuart Mill is a classic 1959 political essay that serves as one of history's most robust defenses of individual freedom, free expression, and intellectual liberty.

    Recommended
    “so of course there's on Liberty there's utilitarianism”
    Where to get it
  18. Sakhalin Island

    Anton Chekhov · Recommended · 2 episodes

    Sakhalin Island is a classic account by Anton Chekhov documenting his journey to a remote Russian penal colony and the harsh realities of the camp.

    Recommended
    “and then he cites Cav's book about prison camp saken Island which is also a fantastic story”
    Where to get it
  19. The Western Canon

    Harold Bloom · Recommended · 2 episodes

    The Western Canon by Harold Bloom surveys and ranks the greatest works of literature, offering extensive commentary and lists of foundational texts that shaped Western culture.

    Discussed
    “the earlier parts of my life, i spent a much higher percentage of my reading reading the kinds of books that would be in the back section of harold bloom's the western canon”
    Where to get it
  20. Uncle Tom's Cabin

    Harriet Beecher Stowe · Recommended · 2 episodes

    Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is a classic nineteenth-century novel that explores the harsh realities of slavery, migration, and human dignity, famously recognized for its immense historical impact on American social attitudes leading up to the Civil War.

    Discussed
    “how good a novel is Uncle Tom's Cabin we know it's historically very very important but just to sit down and read it what should someone today think about it uh I wouldn't if you're looking for a good read today I would not recommend Uncle Tom's Cabin”
    Where to get it
The other 293 books Tyler Cowen recommended or discussed, ranked
  1. Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond · discussed · 2 episodes
  2. Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman · discussed · 2 episodes
  3. Richard II by William Shakespeare · discussed · 2 episodes
  4. Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon · discussed · 2 episodes
  5. Star Wars by Drew Karpyshyn · discussed · 2 episodes
  6. The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker · discussed · 2 episodes
  7. The Charterhouse of Parma by John). STENDHAL (Marie-Henri Beyle) (BERRYMAN · discussed · 2 episodes
  8. The constitution of liberty by Friedrich A. von Hayek · discussed · 2 episodes
  9. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand · discussed · 2 episodes
  10. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin · discussed · 2 episodes
  11. The Republic by Plato · discussed · 2 episodes
  12. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins · discussed · 2 episodes
  13. The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith · discussed · 2 episodes
  14. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu · discussed · 2 episodes
  15. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë · discussed · 2 episodes
  16. Values by Mark Carney · recommended · 1 episode
  17. The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel · recommended · 1 episode
  18. How Africa Works by JOE STUDWELL · recommended · 1 episode
  19. Gray Matters by Theodore Schwartz · recommended · 1 episode
  20. The Student Abroad by John William Brennan · recommended · 1 episode
  21. Undaunted by John O. Brennan · recommended · 1 episode
  22. Survival of the City by Edward L. Glaeser, David Cutler · discussed · 1 episode
  23. Winnie and Nelson by Jonny Steinberg · recommended · 1 episode
  24. Believe by Ross Douthat · recommended · 1 episode
  25. How Rights Went Wrong by Jamal Greene · recommended · 1 episode
  26. Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar · recommended · 1 episode
  27. Rise and Fall of the EAST by Yasheng Huang · recommended · 1 episode
  28. The New Leviathans by John Gray · recommended · 1 episode
  29. An American Martyr in Persia by Reza Aslan · discussed · 1 episode
  30. Canción Del líder / the Song of Significance by Seth Godin · discussed · 1 episode
  31. Gulp by Mary Roach · discussed · 1 episode
  32. Polostan by Neal Stephenson · discussed · 1 episode
  33. The Aeneid by Publius Vergilius Maro · discussed · 1 episode
  34. American Civil Wars by Alan Taylor · recommended · 1 episode
  35. Ausländer by Michael Moritz · recommended · 1 episode
  36. Christianity by Diarmaid MacCulloch · recommended · 1 episode
  37. Excellent Advice for Living by Kevin Kelly · recommended · 1 episode
  38. Exiles by Michael J. Arlen · recommended · 1 episode
  39. Individualism by Friedrich A. von Hayek · recommended · 1 episode
  40. Individualism and Economic Order by Friedrich A. von Hayek · recommended · 1 episode
  41. Lower than the Angels by Diarmaid MacCulloch · recommended · 1 episode
  42. Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson · recommended · 1 episode
  43. Super-Infinite by Katherine Rundell · recommended · 1 episode
  44. The Evolution of Beauty by Richard O. Prum · recommended · 1 episode
  45. A Brief History of Equality by Thomas Piketty · recommended · 1 episode
  46. Abundance by Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson · recommended · 1 episode
  47. Air-Borne by Carl Zimmer · recommended · 1 episode
  48. Eagle and the Hart by Helen Castor · recommended · 1 episode
  49. End of Race Politics by Coleman Hughes · recommended · 1 episode
  50. How Asia Works by Joe Studwell · recommended · 1 episode
  51. Life after Gravity by Patricia Fara · recommended · 1 episode
  52. MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE by Herman Melville · recommended · 1 episode
  53. Our America by Ken Burns · recommended · 1 episode
  54. Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio · recommended · 1 episode
  55. Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by Benjamin M. Friedman · recommended · 1 episode
  56. Saudi Arabia by David Commins · recommended · 1 episode
  57. Second Act by Henry Oliver · recommended · 1 episode
  58. Surviving Rome by Kim Bowes · recommended · 1 episode
  59. The Last Dynasty by Toby Wilkinson · recommended · 1 episode
  60. The Number by Jonny Steinberg · recommended · 1 episode
  61. Wagnerism by Alex Ross · recommended · 1 episode
  62. ... In Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus · discussed · 1 episode
  63. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner · discussed · 1 episode
  64. Give People Money by Annie Lowrey · discussed · 1 episode
  65. Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves · discussed · 1 episode
  66. On the Edge by Nate Silver · discussed · 1 episode
  67. The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur C. Brooks · discussed · 1 episode
  68. The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth by Benjamin M. Friedman · discussed · 1 episode
  69. The New Testament: an Introduction for the General Reader by Oscar Cullmann · discussed · 1 episode
  70. The Time Tax by Annie Lowrey · discussed · 1 episode
  71. Two Paths to Prosperity by Avner Greif · discussed · 1 episode
  72. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri · discussed · 1 episode
  73. A capitalism for the people by Luigi Zingales · recommended · 1 episode
  74. Adventurer by Leo Damrosch · recommended · 1 episode
  75. An Armenian Sketchbook by Vasily Grossman · recommended · 1 episode
  76. An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Malthus · recommended · 1 episode
  77. And the Roots of Rhythm Remain by Joe Boyd · recommended · 1 episode
  78. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner · recommended · 1 episode
  79. Buddhism by Donald S. Lopez · recommended · 1 episode
  80. Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson · recommended · 1 episode
  81. Controlling Contagion by Sheilagh Ogilvie · recommended · 1 episode
  82. Dignity by Chris Arnade · recommended · 1 episode
  83. Dominion by Tom Holland · recommended · 1 episode
  84. Doom by Niall Ferguson · recommended · 1 episode
  85. Essays in positive economics by Milton Friedman · recommended · 1 episode
  86. Existence by Rollo May · recommended · 1 episode
  87. False Dawn by George Selgin · recommended · 1 episode
  88. Goddess of the Market by Jennifer Burns · recommended · 1 episode
  89. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson · recommended · 1 episode
  90. Invitation to a Banquet by Fuchsia Dunlop · recommended · 1 episode
  91. Margaret Thatcher : Herself Alone by Charles Moore · recommended · 1 episode
  92. Mexico by Paul Gillingham · recommended · 1 episode
  93. Modern Ireland and Revolution by Cormac K. H. O'Malley · recommended · 1 episode
  94. Our Dollar, Your Problem by Kenneth Rogoff · recommended · 1 episode
  95. Pricing beauty by Ashley Mears · recommended · 1 episode
  96. Read Write Own by Chris Dixon · recommended · 1 episode
  97. The Buddha by Donald S. Lopez · recommended · 1 episode
  98. The Confidence Man by Herman Melville · recommended · 1 episode
  99. The Dialogues of Plato by Plato · recommended · 1 episode
  100. The English and their history by Robert Tombs · recommended · 1 episode
  101. The golden asse of Lucius Apuleius by Ovid · recommended · 1 episode
  102. The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen · recommended · 1 episode
  103. The Once and Future King by T. H. White · recommended · 1 episode
  104. The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby · recommended · 1 episode
  105. The Restless Republic: Britain without a Crown by Anna Keay · recommended · 1 episode
  106. The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek · recommended · 1 episode
  107. The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill · recommended · 1 episode
  108. The Use of Knowledge in Society by Friedrich August Hayek · recommended · 1 episode
  109. The Vanishing American Adult by Ben Sasse · recommended · 1 episode
  110. The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith · recommended · 1 episode
  111. Thin Blue by Jonny Steinberg · recommended · 1 episode
  112. Ultralearning by Scott H. Young · recommended · 1 episode
  113. Ulysses by James Joyce · recommended · 1 episode
  114. Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill · recommended · 1 episode
  115. We Have Never Been Woke by Musa al-Gharbi · recommended · 1 episode
  116. What We Owe the Future by William MacAskill · recommended · 1 episode
  117. Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin · recommended · 1 episode
  118. 1984 by George Orwell · discussed · 1 episode
  119. A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James · discussed · 1 episode
  120. A Darwinian Left by Peter Singer · discussed · 1 episode
  121. A Farewell to Alms by Gregory Clark · discussed · 1 episode
  122. A Farewell to arms by Gregory Clark · discussed · 1 episode
  123. A history of British art by Andrew Graham-Dixon · discussed · 1 episode
  124. A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt · discussed · 1 episode
  125. A treatise on money by John Maynard Keynes · discussed · 1 episode
  126. A Turn in the South by V. S. Naipaul · discussed · 1 episode
  127. Against Empathy by Paul Bloom · discussed · 1 episode
  128. All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare · discussed · 1 episode
  129. An Economic Survey of Iran by Iran · discussed · 1 episode
  130. Animal Liberation by Peter Singer · discussed · 1 episode
  131. Animal Liberation Now by Peter Singer · discussed · 1 episode
  132. Anna Karenina by Лев Толстой · discussed · 1 episode
  133. Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past by Sarah Parcak · discussed · 1 episode
  134. As we go marching by John T. Flynn · discussed · 1 episode
  135. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand · discussed · 1 episode
  136. Benjamin Britten: A Life For Music by Neil Powell · discussed · 1 episode
  137. Beyond the Wall by Katja Hoyer · discussed · 1 episode
  138. Blood and Iron by Katja Hoyer · discussed · 1 episode
  139. Boswell's Life of Johnson by James Boswell · discussed · 1 episode
  140. Bottom's dream by Arno Schmidt · discussed · 1 episode
  141. Brown Face, Big Master by Joyce Gladwell · discussed · 1 episode
  142. Bug Jargal by Victor Hugo · discussed · 1 episode
  143. Capitalism and freedom by Milton Friedman · discussed · 1 episode
  144. Capitalism with Chinese characteristics by Yasheng Huang · discussed · 1 episode
  145. Chronicles by Bob Dylan · discussed · 1 episode
  146. Collapse by Jared M. Diamond · discussed · 1 episode
  147. Critique of Judgment by Immanuel Kant · discussed · 1 episode
  148. David by David Wolpe · discussed · 1 episode
  149. Democracy by Petition by Daniel Carpenter · discussed · 1 episode
  150. Dirty Harry by Phillip Rock · discussed · 1 episode
  151. DON QUIXOTE by Miguel de Cervantes · discussed · 1 episode
  152. Dune by Frank Herbert · discussed · 1 episode
  153. Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance · discussed · 1 episode
  154. Elon Musk and the Quest for a Fantastic Future Young Readers' Edition by Ashlee Vance · discussed · 1 episode
  155. Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau · discussed · 1 episode
  156. Essays in biography by John Maynard Keynes · discussed · 1 episode
  157. Essays One by Lydia Davis · discussed · 1 episode
  158. Essential Judaism by George Robinson · discussed · 1 episode
  159. Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen · discussed · 1 episode
  160. Every grain of rice by Fuchsia Dunlop · discussed · 1 episode
  161. Exodus by Leon Uris · discussed · 1 episode
  162. Faerie queene by Edmund Spenser · discussed · 1 episode
  163. Finnegans Wake by James Joyce · discussed · 1 episode
  164. Foundation by Isaac Asimov · discussed · 1 episode
  165. Free to Choose by Milton Friedman · discussed · 1 episode
  166. Genesis by Bernard Beckett · discussed · 1 episode
  167. Grunt by Mary Roach · discussed · 1 episode
  168. Hardy Women: Mother, Sisters, Wives, Muses by Paula Byrne · discussed · 1 episode
  169. Hegel by Peter Singer · discussed · 1 episode
  170. Herman Melville Classic Stories (Bartleby, the Scrivener / Bell Tower / Benito Cereno / Billy Budd / Encantadas / Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids / Piazza) by Herman Melville · discussed · 1 episode
  171. Hitler's Shadow Empire by Pierpaolo Barbieri · discussed · 1 episode
  172. Hive Mind by Garett Jones · discussed · 1 episode
  173. Homer's Odyssey: Books I-XII by Homer · discussed · 1 episode
  174. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski · discussed · 1 episode
  175. How Life Works by Philip Ball · discussed · 1 episode
  176. How to Pay for the War by John Maynard Keynes · discussed · 1 episode
  177. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov · discussed · 1 episode
  178. Impromptu by Reid Hoffman · discussed · 1 episode
  179. India: A Million Mutinies Now by V. S. Naipaul · discussed · 1 episode
  180. Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin · discussed · 1 episode
  181. It's Not Magic by John Amaechi · discussed · 1 episode
  182. Jacques the Fatalist by Denis Diderot · discussed · 1 episode
  183. John & Paul by Ian Leslie · discussed · 1 episode
  184. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke · discussed · 1 episode
  185. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy · discussed · 1 episode
  186. Jump-Starting America by Jonathan Gruber · discussed · 1 episode
  187. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton · discussed · 1 episode
  188. Land of fish and rice by Fuchsia Dunlop · discussed · 1 episode
  189. Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin · discussed · 1 episode
  190. Law, Legislation and Liberty, Volume 1 by F. A. Hayek · discussed · 1 episode
  191. Law, Legislation, and Liberty, Volume 19 by F. A. Hayek · discussed · 1 episode
  192. Le premier sexe by Eric Zemmour · discussed · 1 episode
  193. Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis · discussed · 1 episode
  194. Mastering 'Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect by Joshua D. Angrist · discussed · 1 episode
  195. Matangi by M.I.A. (Musician) · discussed · 1 episode
  196. Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare · discussed · 1 episode
  197. Messy Jobs by Luis Garicano · discussed · 1 episode
  198. Metamorphoses by Ovid · discussed · 1 episode
  199. Middlemarch by George Eliot · discussed · 1 episode
  200. Misbehaving by Richard H. Thaler · discussed · 1 episode
  201. Mother country by Marilynne Robinson · discussed · 1 episode
  202. Motherland by Julia Ioffe · discussed · 1 episode
  203. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf · discussed · 1 episode
  204. No god but God: The Origins and Evolution of Islam by Reza Aslan · discussed · 1 episode
  205. Nonzero by Robert Wright · discussed · 1 episode
  206. Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen · discussed · 1 episode
  207. Nudge by Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein · discussed · 1 episode
  208. Paper and Iron by Niall Ferguson · discussed · 1 episode
  209. Paradise Lost by John Milton · discussed · 1 episode
  210. Plato's Symposium by Plato · discussed · 1 episode
  211. Possession by A. S. Byatt · discussed · 1 episode
  212. Power and Progress by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson · discussed · 1 episode
  213. Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings by Jared Diamond · discussed · 1 episode
  214. Pushing Time Away by Peter Singer · discussed · 1 episode
  215. Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit · discussed · 1 episode
  216. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe · discussed · 1 episode
  217. Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell · discussed · 1 episode
  218. Satiricon by Petronius · discussed · 1 episode
  219. Skysteppers by Katherine Rundell · discussed · 1 episode
  220. Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu · discussed · 1 episode
  221. Speculations about Jakob by Uwe Johnson · discussed · 1 episode
  222. Sphere by Michael Crichton · discussed · 1 episode
  223. Studying with Miss Bishop by Dana Gioia · discussed · 1 episode
  224. Submission by Michel Houellebecq · discussed · 1 episode
  225. Sum by David Eagleman · discussed · 1 episode
  226. Swan Song (Forsyte Chronicles) by John Galsworthy · discussed · 1 episode
  227. Talent by Tyler Cowen · discussed · 1 episode
  228. Talking Hands by Margalit Fox · discussed · 1 episode
  229. Teachings from the Worldly Philosophy by Robert L. Heilbroner · discussed · 1 episode
  230. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy · discussed · 1 episode
  231. The American Experiment by David M. Rubenstein · discussed · 1 episode
  232. The American People by Larry Kramer · discussed · 1 episode
  233. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt · discussed · 1 episode
  234. The Arc of a Covenant by Walter Russell Mead · discussed · 1 episode
  235. The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher · discussed · 1 episode
  236. The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons · discussed · 1 episode
  237. The book of Genesis by Victor P. Hamilton · discussed · 1 episode
  238. The Book of Mormon by Unknown · discussed · 1 episode
  239. The Book of revelation by Rupert Thomson · discussed · 1 episode
  240. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky · discussed · 1 episode
  241. The Civil War by Lucan · discussed · 1 episode
  242. The civilizing process by Norbert Elias · discussed · 1 episode
  243. The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri · discussed · 1 episode
  244. The Constitution of Liberty by Friedrich August Hayek · discussed · 1 episode
  245. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham · discussed · 1 episode
  246. The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch · discussed · 1 episode
  247. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson · discussed · 1 episode
  248. The Essential Stalin by Joseph Stalin · discussed · 1 episode
  249. The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore · discussed · 1 episode
  250. The Home and the World, by Rabindranath Tagore. Translated by Rabindranath Tagore · discussed · 1 episode
  251. The hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo · discussed · 1 episode
  252. The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells · discussed · 1 episode
  253. The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud · discussed · 1 episode
  254. The Midas Paradox by Scott B. Sumner · discussed · 1 episode
  255. The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer · discussed · 1 episode
  256. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri · discussed · 1 episode
  257. The One and the Ninety-Nine by Luke Burgis · discussed · 1 episode
  258. The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl Popper · discussed · 1 episode
  259. The pilgrim's progress by John Bunyan · discussed · 1 episode
  260. The Poverty of Historicism by Karl Popper · discussed · 1 episode
  261. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism by Robert E. Buswell, Jr. · discussed · 1 episode
  262. The Rape of Lucrece by William Shakespeare · discussed · 1 episode
  263. The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley · discussed · 1 episode
  264. The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox · discussed · 1 episode
  265. The road by Василий Семёнович Гроссман · discussed · 1 episode
  266. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño · discussed · 1 episode
  267. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne · discussed · 1 episode
  268. The seventh day by 余华 · discussed · 1 episode
  269. The Son Also Rises by Gregory Clark · discussed · 1 episode
  270. The Tibetan book of the dead by Padma Sambhava · discussed · 1 episode
  271. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell · discussed · 1 episode
  272. The Voice Imitator by Thomas Bernhard · discussed · 1 episode
  273. The Wages of Destruction by J. Adam Tooze · discussed · 1 episode
  274. The Wall by Pink Floyd · discussed · 1 episode
  275. This is London by Ben Judah · discussed · 1 episode
  276. Thomas More by Joanne Paul · discussed · 1 episode
  277. Three felonies a day by Harvey A. Silverglate · discussed · 1 episode
  278. Trust by Francis Fukuyama · discussed · 1 episode
  279. Tudor Art by Susie Hodge · discussed · 1 episode
  280. Two lucky people by Milton Friedman · discussed · 1 episode
  281. Understanding the Old Testament by Bernhard W. Anderson · discussed · 1 episode
  282. Unit X by Raj M. Shah · discussed · 1 episode
  283. Utopia by Thomas More · discussed · 1 episode
  284. Vanishing Asia : Three Volume Set by Kevin Kelly · discussed · 1 episode
  285. Vermeer by Andrew Graham-Dixon · discussed · 1 episode
  286. We the Living by Ayn Rand · discussed · 1 episode
  287. Wed 21 by Juana Molina · discussed · 1 episode
  288. Weimar by Katja Hoyer · discussed · 1 episode
  289. What Happened to Liberal Democracy? by Daron Acemoglu · discussed · 1 episode
  290. Where Is My Flying Car? by J. Storrs Hall · discussed · 1 episode
  291. Who Really Cares by Arthur C. Brooks · discussed · 1 episode
  292. Zealot - the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan · discussed · 1 episode
  293. Zohar: The Book of Splendor by Gershom Scholem · discussed · 1 episode

Questions about Tyler Cowen’s book recommendations

What book does Tyler Cowen recommend most?

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Tyler Cowen discussed it in 5 episodes.

How many books has Tyler Cowen recommended on podcasts?

We have found 313 books Tyler Cowen recommended or discussed, across 144 episodes of 8 podcasts. Ad reads and passing mentions are not counted.

What books are on Tyler Cowen's reading list?

The books Tyler Cowen has recommended most on podcasts are War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling and The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. The full book list below has all 313.

What books has Tyler Cowen written?

Risk and Business Cycles (1997), In praise of commercial culture (1998), Creative destruction (2002), Markets and Cultural Voices (2005), Good and plenty (2006), Discover Your Inner Economist (2007), Modern Principles of Economics (2007), Modern Principles of Microeconomics (2011), The Great Stagnation (2011) and Average Is Over (2013), among 14 in all.

What did Tyler Cowen recommend on Conversations with Tyler?

War and Peace, The Lord of the Rings and Hamlet, among 264 books in all.

What is the latest book Tyler Cowen recommended?

Messy Jobs, discussed on Conversations with Tyler (2026-09-30).

People who recommend the same books

Appearances

EpisodePodcastDateBooks
Luis Garicano on Spain, Europe, and the Future of WorkConversations with Tyler2026-09-301
Annie Lowrey on the Time Tax, Fraud, and Rationing by PaperworkConversations with Tyler2026-09-164
Jared Diamond on Leaders, Luck, and IrreplaceabilityConversations with Tyler2026-09-092
Michael Moritz on Origin Stories, Exile, and Obsessive CuriosityConversations with Tyler2026-09-024
Luke Burgis on Mimetic Desire, Catholicism, and the Age of Social ContagionConversations with Tyler2026-08-192
Daron Acemoglu on Liberalism, Automation, and the Educated EliteConversations with Tyler2026-08-121
Julia Ioffe on Russian Women, Missing Men, and the Roots of AutocracyConversations with Tyler2026-08-051
Andrew Graham-Dixon on Vermeer, a Forgotten Sect, and Underrated ArtistsConversations with Tyler2026-07-222
What the Experts Really Think About Writing with AIHow I Write2026-07-202
Chase Koch on Principles, Music, and Overcoming EntropyConversations with Tyler2026-07-151
Joel Mokyr on Clans, Corporations, and a Culture of GrowthConversations with Tyler2026-07-083
Joanne Paul on Thomas More and the Tudor WorldConversations with Tyler2026-06-246
Katja Hoyer on Weimar, the GDR, and the German CharacterConversations with Tyler2026-06-104
Toby Wilkinson on Ptolemaic Egypt and the First Great Commercial CivilizationConversations with Tyler2026-05-272
Kim Bowes on the Economic Lives of Rome's Ninety PercentConversations with Tyler2026-04-152
Arthur Brooks on Reinvention, Religion, and the Science of HappinessConversations with Tyler2026-04-013
Paul Gillingham on Why Mexico Stays TogetherConversations with Tyler2026-03-252
Harvey Mansfield on Machiavelli, Straussianism, and the Character of Liberal DemocracyConversations with Tyler2026-03-181
Henry Oliver on Measure for Measure, Late Bloomers, and the Smartest Writers in EnglishConversations with Tyler2026-03-0414
Joe Studwell on Africa, Asia, and What Development Actually RequiresConversations with Tyler2026-02-186
Diarmaid MacCulloch on Christianity, Sex, and Unsettling Settled FactsConversations with Tyler2026-01-214
Brendan Foody on Teaching AI and the Future of Knowledge WorkConversations with Tyler2026-01-071
Conversations with Tyler 2025 RetrospectiveConversations with Tyler2025-12-2312
Dan Wang on What China and America Can Learn from Each OtherConversations with Tyler2025-12-033
Donald S. Lopez Jr. on BuddhismConversations with Tyler2025-11-124
Jonny Steinberg on South African Crime and Punishment, the Mandelas' Marriage, and the Post-Apartheid EraConversations with Tyler2025-10-286
George Selgin on the New Deal, Regime Uncertainty, and What Really Ended the Great DepressionConversations with Tyler2025-10-152
John Amaechi on Leadership, the NBA, and Being Gay in Professional SportsConversations with Tyler2025-10-012
David Commins on Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, and the Future of the Gulf StatesConversations with Tyler2025-09-172
Annie Jacobsen on Nuclear War, Intelligence Operations, and Conspiracy RealitiesConversations with Tyler2025-08-061
Helen Castor on Medieval Power and PersonalitiesConversations with Tyler2025-07-233
Chris Arnade on Walking CitiesConversations with Tyler2025-06-181
Any Austin on the Hermeneutics of Video GamesConversations with Tyler2025-06-111
John Arnold on Trading, Energy, and Evidence-Based PhilanthropyConversations with Tyler2025-06-041
Theodore Schwartz on Neurosurgery, Consciousness, and Brain-Computer InterfacesConversations with Tyler2025-05-214
Kenneth Rogoff on Monetary Moves, Fiscal Gambits, and Classical ChessConversations with Tyler2025-04-301
Chris Dixon on Blockchains, AI, and the Future of the InternetConversations with Tyler2025-04-231
Ian Leslie on McCartney, Lennon, and the Greatest Creative Partnership of All TimeConversations with Tyler2025-04-161
Sheilagh Ogilvie on Epidemics, Guilds, and the Persistence of Bad InstitutionsConversations with Tyler2025-04-021
Ezra Klein on the Abundance AgendaConversations with Tyler2025-03-193
Carl Zimmer on the Hidden Life in the Air We BreatheConversations with Tyler2025-03-052
The Most Practical Conversation About Writing With AI – Tyler CowenHow I Write2025-03-053
Gregory Clark on Social Mobility, Migration, and Assortative Mating (Live at Mercatus)Conversations with Tyler2025-02-192
Ross Douthat on Why Religion Makes More Sense Than You ThinkConversations with Tyler2025-02-053
Joe Boyd on the Birth of Rock, World Music, and Being There for EverythingConversations with Tyler2025-01-221
Scott Sumner on Monetary Rules, Blooming Late, and the Death of CinemaConversations with Tyler2025-01-081
Paula Byrne on Thomas Hardy's Women, Jane Austen's Humor, and Evelyn Waugh's WarmthConversations with Tyler2024-12-112
Stephen Kotkin on Stalin, Power, and the Art of BiographyConversations with Tyler2024-12-041
Russ Roberts on Vasily Grossman's Life and FateConversations with Tyler2024-11-253
Tyler Cowen on Life and FateEconTalk2024-11-255

The 50 most recent of 144 episodes. Every episode is listed on its podcast’s page: Conversations with Tyler, How I Write, EconTalk, Dwarkesh Podcast, Modern Wisdom, Lex Fridman Podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Rubin Report.

Other mentions (130: passing, ad reads, own books), the 30 most recent
Plugged Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings
“He has a new and notable book out called Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter?”
Plugged Profits, Prophets, Coaches, and Kings
“Before my last question, let me just plug your book again. It is called Profits, P-R-O-F-I-T-S, Prophets, P-R-O-P-H-E-T-S, Coaches, and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter?”
Passing Ulysses
“There’s Leopold Bloom also in Ulysses, of course.”
Plugged Wanting
“He’s author of the bestselling book Wanting, and his recent work is just coming out. It is called The One and the Ninety-Nine”
Plugged The One and the Ninety-Nine
“Before the last two questions, just another plug for your book. The title is The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion.”
Plugged What Happened to Liberal Democracy?
“Final question—but before, just your book again, What Happened to Liberal Democracy? by Daron Acemoglu, new out this year—what is it you want to learn about next?”
Plugged Motherland
“Before my last question, just to plug your book again, which I enjoyed very much, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy, coming in paperback.”
Plugged Vermeer
“COWEN: Just to plug your book again, Andrew Graham-Dixon, Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found.”
Passing Finnegans Wake
“I had this like idea like I was going to do it chronologically like the books were going to be in there chronologically and so it begins with the Bible and ends with Finnegan's Wake, you know.”
Passing The Epic of Gilgamesh
“Or maybe even pre there maybe maybe even pre-Bible, you know, there's some like some stoic an epic of Gilgamesh.”
Plugged Becoming a Principle-Driven Leader
“He and his father, Charles Koch, have a new book out, which I was happy to blurb. It is called Becoming a Principle-Driven Leader: 41 Principles to Build an Enduring Business.”
Plugged Becoming a Principle-Driven Leader
“COWEN: Again, everyone, to repeat, Charles and Chase Koch have a new book out, Becoming a Principle-Driven Leader.”
Plugged Thomas More
“Your last book, Thomas More: A Life, was what led to this podcast. Please tell us if you can, what will you do next?”
Plugged Weimar
“Before my final question, just to plug your book again, Katja Hoyer, Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe.”
Plugged Surviving Rome
“She is an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania, and she has a new book out called Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent.”
Plugged The Meaning of Your Life
“Before the last question, just to put in another plug for your book. It is available on Amazon and many other places. It is called The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness.”
Plugged Mexico
“Before the last question, just to plug your book again, Mexico: A 500-Year History. Everyone should buy and read it.”
Plugged The Rise and Fall of Rational Control
“Today, I’m speaking with the great Harvey Mansfield, and Harvey has a new and excellent book out called The Rise and Fall of Rational Control.”
Plugged Second Act
“He is author of a wonderful book, called Second Act, about late bloomers, which has been very popular.”
Plugged Too Big to Fail
“He's the bestselling author of Too Big to Fail, co-producer of a film adaptation of the same, nominated for 11 Emmy Awards.”
Plugged 1929
“He is also co-creator of the drama series Billions on Showtime, but most importantly, he has a new book out, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History - and How It Shattered a Nation.”
Plugged 1929
“Your book again, 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History - and How It Shattered a Nation. Andrew Ross Sorkin, thank you very much.”
Plugged Breakneck
“He has a new and bestselling book out called Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future.”
Plugged Breakneck
“Before the last two questions, let me just plug your book again, which I was very happy to have blurbed. Dan Wang, it is Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future.”
Plugged The Buddha
“He's one of the editors of the Princeton Encyclopedia of Buddhism and he has a new book out this year called The Buddha: Biography of a Myth.”
Plugged False Dawn
“He has a new book out called False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933 to 1947.”
Passing It's Not Magic
“His newest book is It's Not Magic, the the ordinary skills of exceptional leaders.”
Plugged When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows...
“Stephen needs no introduction per se, but I will point out he has a new and excellent book called When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows dot dot dot.”
Plugged On the Edge
“We are here to commemorate the paperback edition of Nate's On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything, a book that last year I described sincerely as Absolute Fun on every page.”
Passing Dignity
“he published a very well-known book called dignity seeking respect in back row America he is now uh I would say obsessed in the good sense with a new project”