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Angela Duckworth's Top Book Recommendations

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Want to know what books Angela Duckworth recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Angela Duckworth's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
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 make a timely transition into adulthood, and not yet finding a life pursuit that inspires them.

His groundbreaking study shows that about one-fifth of youth today are thriving --...
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Recommended by Angela Duckworth, and 1 others.

Angela DuckworthBill 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... (Source)

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2
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 continue to play out in every business meeting, every social gathering, in our personal relationships, and even how we raise our children. Our popularity even affects our DNA,...
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Recommended by Angela Duckworth, and 1 others.

Angela DuckworthPrinstein 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)

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3
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 ability to delay gratification is critical for a successful life, predicting higher SAT scores, better social and cognitive functioning, a healthier lifestyle and a...
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Recommended by Angela Duckworth, and 1 others.

Angela DuckworthThe 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... (Source)

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4

How Change Happens

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 for them. In this book, with the help of behavioral economics, psychology, and other fields, Cass Sunstein casts a bright new light on how change happens.

Sunstein focuses on the...
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Recommended by Angela Duckworth, Chip Heath, and 2 others.

Angela DuckworthIt'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 HeathIf 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)

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5
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 has developed a remarkably effective plan to improve the lives of children and adults - a blueprint for understanding our emotions and using them wisely so that...
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Carol S. DweckWe 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)

Angela DuckworthA 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)

Peter SaloveyMore 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)

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6

A Curious Mind

The Secret to a Bigger Life

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 a weekly “curiosity conversation” with an accomplished stranger. From scientists to spies, and adventurers to business leaders, Grazer has met with anyone willing to answer his questions...
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Eric SchmidtTo 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 SandbergA 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)

Angela DuckworthI 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)

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7
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 elements, we can conjure more moments that matter. What if a teacher could design a lesson that he knew his students would remember twenty years later?...
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Angela DuckworthI 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 RiesWhat 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 GrantThe 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)

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8

Blueprint

The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society

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 proclivities to make a good society.


In Blueprint, Nicholas A. Christakis introduces the compelling idea that our genes affect not only our bodies and behaviors, but also the...
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Eric SchmidtTribalism 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)

Bill GatesAre 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)

Steven PinkerNicholas Christakis is a pioneer in bridging the conceptual chasm between the choices of individual people and the shaping of an entire society. In this timely and fascinating book, he shows how the better angels of our nature, rooted in our evolutionary past, can bring forth an enlightened and compassionate civilization. (Source)

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9
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 we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset — those who believe that abilities are fixed — are less likely to flourish than those with a growth...
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Tony Robbins[Tony Robbins recommended this book on the podcast "The Tim Ferriss Show".] (Source)

Bill GatesOne 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)

Dustin Moskovitz[Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book on Twitter.] (Source)

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10
"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 suffering from an "empathy deficit." Since then, things seem to have only gotten worse.

It doesn't have to be this way. In this groundbreaking book, Jamil Zaki...
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Carol S. DweckIn 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)

Angela DuckworthIn 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 HuffingtonJamil 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)

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Don't have time to read Angela Duckworth's favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.

Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:

  • Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
  • Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
  • Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
11

Stillness Is the Key

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, and visionaries share one indelible quality. It enables them to conquer their tempers. To avoid distraction and discover great insights. To achieve happiness...
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Angela DuckworthRyan 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)

Robert GreeneIn the world today the dangers are many—most notably, the endless distractions and petty battles that make us act without purpose or direction. In this book, through his masterful synthesis of Eastern and Western philosophy, Ryan Holiday teaches us all how to maintain our focus and presence of mind amid the sometimes overwhelming conflicts and troubles of 21st-century life (Source)

Mark MansonIn this age of manufactured outrage and constant distraction, the ability to choose a focused inner stillness is arguably more important than ever before. Ryan Holiday’s book revives ancient wisdom that calls for a quiet life in a noisy and restless world. (Source)

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12
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 accomplished individuals—yet have been detrimental to their relationships and ultimate well-being. Now, this venture capitalist turned executive coach shares his unusual yet...
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Brad FeldJerry 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)

Angela DuckworthIf 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)

Patty McCordJerry'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)

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Don't have time to read Angela Duckworth's favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.

Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:

  • Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
  • Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
  • Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.