Angela Duckworth's Book Recommendations (Updated for 2026)

1

Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up

Jerry Colonna

4.2

One of the start-up world’s most in-demand executive coaches—hailed as the “CEO Whisperer” (Gimlet Media)—reveals why radical self-inquiry is critical to professional success and healthy relationships in all realms of life.

Jerry Colonna helps start-up CEOs make peace with their demons, the psychological habits and behavioral patterns that have helped them to succeed—molding them into highly accomp

Recommended by Angela Duckworth, Brad Feld, Patty McCord, and 7 others.

Angela Duckworth

Author

If you want to be a better leader, or a better person, or both, read this book. A beautifully written, achingly honest account of why you can’t grow a business without growing yourself. [source]

Brad Feld

Co-Founder/Foundry Group

Jerry and I learned how to be VCs together. But more importantly, we learned how to be humans to the leaders who are entrepreneurs. Leadership is extremely difficult, and great leaders are intensely introspective, as they must learn about themselves to be effective long-term. With this book, Jerry helps any leader go deep on all aspects of their journey. [source]

Patty McCord

Former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix

Jerry's book is so much more than the secrets of the CEO whisperer. It’s about the courage to have a broken open heart. [source]

2

Stillness Is the Key

Ryan Holiday

4.5

Preview Summary

In The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy, bestselling author Ryan Holiday made ancient wisdom wildly popular with a new generation of leaders in sports, politics, and technology. In his new book, Stillness Is the Key, Holiday draws on timeless Stoic and Buddhist philosophy to show why slowing down is the secret weapon for those charging ahead.

All great leaders, thinkers, artists, athletes,

Recommended by Angela Duckworth, Arianna Huffington, Cal Newport, and 10 others.

Angela Duckworth

Author

Ryan Holiday is among the most psychologically wise writers I know. I'm a fan of all of his work, including this new gem, Stillness is the Key. If you struggle—as I do—to find your center in the increasingly noisy and frenetic world we live in, then this book is for you. [source]

Arianna Huffington

Founder/The Huffington Post

Whether you are an athlete, an investor, a writer or an entrepreneur, this little but wise and soulful book will open the door to a healthier, less anxious and more productive life and career. [source]

Cal Newport

Author

Some authors give advice. Ryan Holiday distills wisdom. This book is a must read for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the frenetic demands of modern life. [source]

3

The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World

Jamil Zaki

4.3

"In this masterpiece, Jamil Zaki weaves together the very latest science with stories that will stay in your heart forever."--Angela Duckworth, author of Grit

Empathy is in short supply. We struggle to understand people who aren't like us, but find it easy to hate them. Studies show that we are less caring than we were even thirty years ago. In 2006, Barack Obama said that the United States was suf

Recommended by Angela Duckworth, Arianna Huffington, Carol S. Dweck, and 3 others.

Angela Duckworth

Author

In this masterpiece, Jamil Zaki weaves together the very latest science with stories that will stay in your heart forever. If you'd like the world to be a kinder place, starting with your own capacity for empathy, read The War for Kindness. You'll never be the same. [source]

Arianna Huffington

Founder/The Huffington Post

Jamil Zaki's wonderful new book, The War for Kindness, shows that empathy isn't a fixed trait — it's something we can, and must, develop and nurture. https://t.co/LfRpjvhkY4 [source]

Carol S. Dweck

Author

In this landmark book, Jamil Zaki gives us a revolutionary perspective on empathy: Empathy can be developed, and, when it is, people, relationships, organizations, and cultures are changed. [source]

4

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Carol S. Dweck

4.3

Preview Summary

Now updated with new research — the book that has changed millions of lives.

After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how

Recommended by Bill Gates, Tony Robbins, Angela Duckworth, and 26 others.

Angela Duckworth

Author

Without exaggeration, I’ve never met a CEO who didn’t have Mindset on their bookshelf. It resonates with people who have become successful because the belief that your abilities can grow is foundational to their achievements. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

One of the reasons I loved Mindset is because it’s solutions-oriented. In the book’s final chapter, Dweck describes the workshop she and her colleagues have developed to shift students from a fixed to a growth mindset. These workshops demonstrate that ‘just learning about the growth mindset can cause a big shift in the way people think about themselves and their lives. [source]

Tony Robbins

Life Coach

Tony Robbins recommended this book on the podcast "The Tim Ferriss Show". [source]

5

Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society

Nicholas A. Christakis MD PhD

4.2

For too long, scientists have focused on the dark side of our biological heritage: our capacity for aggression, cruelty, prejudice, and self-interest. But natural selection has given us a suite of beneficial social features, including our capacity for love, friendship, cooperation, and learning. Beneath all of our inventions -- our tools, farms, machines, cities, nations -- we carry with us innate

Recommended by Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, Angela Duckworth, and 3 others.

Angela Duckworth

Author

A remarkable achievement! Christakis explains, in the most lucid and accessible way imaginable, how our genetic and cultural heritages are deeply intertwined. The story of human nature is no fairy tale, but it nevertheless reveals our potential, and our proclivity, for good. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

Are our similarities powerful enough to overcome our differences? “Blueprint” is an optimistic (and terrific) book that explores why humans have evolved to work together and cooperate. https://t.co/mQz07WvFgm [source]

Eric Schmidt

CEO/Google

Tribalism is all around us, but it does not have to be. After all, we are all human. In lively and engaging prose, Christakis shows what is possible, and what we must do. [source]

6

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

Chip Heath, Dan Heath

4.4

Preview Summary

The New York Times bestselling authors of Switch and Made to Stick explore why certain brief experiences can jolt us and elevate us and change us—and how we can learn to create such extraordinary moments in our life and work.

While human lives are endlessly variable, our most memorable positive moments are dominated by four elements: elevation, insight, pride, and connection. If we embrace these el

Recommended by Angela Duckworth, Eric Ries, Adam Grant, and 4 others.

Angela Duckworth

Author

I read this cover to cover and learned something new on each page. Beautifully written, brilliantly researched--I'm recommending it to everyone I know! [source]

Eric Ries

Founder/Long-Term Stock Exchange

What if we could design experiences that have real impact for our families, our customers and employees? Master storytellers Chip and Dan Heath show how. [source]

Adam Grant

The most interesting, immediately actionable book I’ve read in quite a while. I walked away with new ideas for motivating employees, delighting customers, engaging students, and even planning family vacations. If life is a series of moments, the Heath brothers have transformed how I plan to spend mine. [source]

Cover unavailable

7

A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life

Brian Grazer, Charles Fishman

3.7

From Academy Award–winning producer Brian Grazer and acclaimed business journalist Charles Fishman comes the New York Times bestselling, brilliantly entertaining peek into the weekly “curiosity conversations” that have inspired Grazer to create some of America’s favorite and iconic movies and television shows—from 24 to A Beautiful Mind.

For decades, film and TV producer Brian Grazer has scheduled

Recommended by Eric Schmidt, Sheryl Sandberg, Angela Duckworth, and 4 others.

Angela Duckworth

Author

I read A Curious Mind in one sitting. I sank into a chair and fell into the story of this person, who did not start with material advantages but ended up doing great creative work as a Hollywood producer. He calls curiosity ‘a superpower.’ I read it cover to cover in part because it’s so fun and it’s so fueled by curiosity and creativity. [source]

Eric Schmidt

CEO/Google

To have a great life, you need to be curious. Curiosity is what makes us human and moves our world forward. Brian Grazer tells this story in an exceptional way and demonstrates how everyone can tap into curiosity to live a bigger life. [source]

Sheryl Sandberg

COO/Facebook

A powerful tribute to the ways innovation and disruptive thinking stem from a common trait: curiosity. Because the little girl who asks ‘Why is the sky blue?’ becomes the woman who can change the world. [source]

8

Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive

Marc Brackett

4.4

The mental well-being of children and adults is shockingly poor. Marc Brackett, author of Permission to Feel, knows why. And he knows what we can do.
"We have a crisis on our hands, and its victims are our children."

Marc Brackett is a professor in Yale University's Child Study Center and founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. In his 25 years as an emotion scientist, he ha

Recommended by Angela Duckworth, Carol S. Dweck, Peter Salovey, and 1 others.

Angela Duckworth

Author

A compelling and complete journey that delivers on its promise of giving us permission to feel. Marc Brackett shows us that emotional intelligence is not a gift but a skill―one that we can all learn, and benefit from immensely. [source]

Carol S. Dweck

Author

We often create a false dichotomy between thinking and feeling. In this dichotomy, thinking is important, strong, and adaptive, but feeling is not. Marc Brackett shows us how emotions and our ability to feel, understand, and use them are key to fulfilling our potential. [source]

Peter Salovey

More than any other book on human feelings, Permission to Feel integrates psychological research, educational practice, and compelling stories, including Marc Brackett’s own life experiences, to make emotional intelligence come alive. This is one book that leaders, educators, parents, students, and researchers will all find valuable . . . and fun to read. [source]

Cover unavailable

9

How Change Happens

Cass R. Sunstein

3.4

The different ways that social change happens, from unleashing to nudging to social cascades.How does social change happen? When do social movements take off? Sexual harassment was once something that women had to endure; now a movement has risen up against it. White nationalist sentiments, on the other hand, were largely kept out of mainstream discourse; now there is no shortage of media outlets

Recommended by Angela Duckworth and Chip Heath.

Angela Duckworth

Author

It's often said that the only constancy in life is change. Cass Sunstein weaves threads from diverse traditions in behavioral science to explain how big shifts get started. [source]

Chip Heath

Author

If you think you'd like to change something―another person, an organization, or even your society―then try this test: Pick up this book and read five pages. If you don't have your eyes opened with a fresh insight or useful tool, well, you're probably not serious enough about making change. [source]

10

The Marshmallow Test: Why Self-Control Is the Engine of Success

Walter Mischel

4.1

Renowned psychologist Walter Mischel, designer of the famous Marshmallow Test, explains what self-control is and how to master it.

A child is presented with a marshmallow and given a choice: Eat this one now, or wait and enjoy two later. What will she do? And what are the implications for her behavior later in life?

The world's leading expert on self-control, Walter Mischel has proven that the ab

Recommended by Angela Duckworth.

Angela Duckworth

Author

The marshmallow test is one of psychology’s greatest experiments, conducted by one of the twentieth century’s greatest psychologists, Walter Mischel. It’s not just about the marshmallow test—it’s autobiographical, too. He talks about his struggles with self-control and how he developed his experiments. It’s fascinating. But the best reason to read this book, and I think the reason why his books remain perennially popular, is because Walter packed his whole life’s work between two covers. It integrates all his studies, all his wisdom. It’s a wonderful thing that we still have the book, because we lost Walter. [source]

Cover unavailable

11

Popular: Finding Happiness and Success in a World That Cares Too Much about the Wrong Kinds of Relationships

Mitch Prinstein

3.9

A leading psychologist examines how our popularity affects our success, our relationships, and our happiness--and why we don't always want to be the most popular.

Popular examines why popularity plays such a key role in our development and, ultimately, how it still influences our happiness and success today. In many ways--some even beyond our conscious awareness--those old dynamics of our youth con

Recommended by Angela Duckworth.

Angela Duckworth

Author

Prinstein wrote a wonderful book, very warm and relatable. There are a lot of great stories, and it’s a terrific summary of like more or less everything that’s known on the topic of popularity. [source]

Cover unavailable

12

The Path to Purpose: How Young People Find Their Calling in Life

William Damon

3.9

Drawing on the revelatory results of a landmark study, William Damon -- one of the country's leading writers on the lives of young people, whose book Greater Expectations won the Parents' Choice Award -- brilliantly investigates the most pressing issue in the lives of youth today: why so many young people are "failing to launch" -- living at home longer, lacking career motivation, struggling to ma

Recommended by Angela Duckworth.

Angela Duckworth

Author

Bill Damon pioneered the science on purpose. His research focuses on where purpose comes from and how to share it. It’s a beautifully written book, and pretty short. When you read it, you feel like you are sitting across from someone who is not only a great scientist, but a wise soul. Path to Purpose radiates his warmth, his empathy and his wisdom on how to lead a good life. For that reason, it has had a big impact. [source]