Brian Koppelman's Top Book Recommendations

Brian Koppelman

I had read “Impeach, The case Against Donald Trump”, in an early form. Read the book as published today. I’m so proud of @SammyKoppelman @neal_katyal. Their book is lucid, honest, powerful. But this isn’t merely a father’s pride. I’m proud, as an American, that this book exists. [source]

Chris Sacca

Go read this absolutely fantastic book making the case for Trump’s impeachment. It’s authored by @neal_katyal the guy, who has been leading the biggest lawsuits to keep this WH in check: https://t.co/jFgXtXTz9n [source]

Col. Morris Davis

Appreciate the bears letting the delivery person through & not eating the package left on my doorstep. Thanks @neal_katyal for sending your new book “Impeach: The Case Against @realDonaldTrump.” Neal is a brilliant attorney & good guy. Order the book! https://t.co/tfsJ7gcMfO https://t.co/xS40uQfQ60 [source]

Brian Koppelman

Talks about resistance. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

When a writer or an entrepreneur, or a manager, or an employee, or a…whatever…sits down to get to work, he or she is often met by “the resistance”. The excuses that come up: I can’t do this. I am too old. I don’t have enough money. I’m scared. “The War of Art” is the guide to getting through that block. The comfort zone is papered up and cemented shut by our excuses. Learn to blast through that wall. Because on the other side of the comfort zone are all the tools of success. [source]

Seth Godin

Author, Marketer, Entrepreneur

Also hard to find on audio. I find Steve's voice to be fascinating, and even before I knew him, I was fascinated by listening to him speak his own work. The War of Art is one of those books, at least for me when I finally was exposed to it, I said, 'Why wasn't I informed? Why did it take this long for this book to land on my desk?'... You need to be clear with yourself about what you are afraid of, why you are afraid, and whether you care enough to dance with that fear because it will never go away. [source]

Brian Koppelman

I don't have many rules in my life, but one I never break is: if Ryan Holiday writes a book, I read it as soon as I can get my hands on it. [source]

Charlamagne Tha God

Radio Presenter/The Breakfast Club

This is one of my favorite authors on the planet @ryanholiday one of his many books is titled “Ego Is The Enemy.” So if you want more from him on the subject of ego than what’s in this 60 second clip that’s the book… https://t.co/0QDe9V69KV [source]

Robert Greene

Author

Inspiring yet practical... teaches us how to manage and tame this beast within us so that we can focus on what really matters - producing the best work possible. [source]

Brian Koppelman

I’ve given it to 100 people. All of them thanked me and gave away a bunch themselves. [source]

Nicholas Carlson

Amazing recommendations. Thanks everyone. Just finished a book off this list: "City of Thieves." It was funny, moving, and thrilling. I also recommend it. https://t.co/mvmjjNpyHC [source]

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)

One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 [source]

Brian Koppelman

A legendary book about how somebody makes their way in Hollywood. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

Budd Schulberg’s (who wrote the screenplay for On the Waterfront) whole trilogy is amazing and each captures a different historical era. His first, What Makes Sammy Run? is Ari Gold before Ari Gold existed–purportedly based on Samuel Goldwyn (of MGM) and Darryl Zanuck. His next book, The Harder They Fall is about boxing and loosely based on the Primo Carnera scandal. All you need to know about Schulberg’s writing is captured in this quote from his obituary: “It’s the writer’s responsibility to stand up against that power. The writers are really almost the only ones, except for very honest politicians, who can make any dent on that system. I tried to do that. And that’s affected me my whole life.” Fiction can do that, and sometimes it does it even better than non-fiction. [source]

Marina Hyde

It’s a novel by Budd Schulberg about a copyboy who’s worked his way up from absolutely nothing to become an incredibly grasping self-motivated amoral movie producer. I think it was really based on Jerry Wald who was a Warners executive and then an independent who made lots of fantastic movies. Louis Meyer of MGM was appalled, and told Schulberg’s parents – Schulberg was the son of a movie exec – you’ve got to deport this son of yours because he’s going to fuel anti-Semitism. Hollywood became probably more establishment than they needed to have been in many ways, because they were terrified of anti-Semitism. Meyer was almost more anti-Communist than McCarthy, and Schulberg ended up being blacklisted as a Communist, partly because Hollywood was always terrified of (I think actually terribly wet about) being seen as harbouring this stuff. It was really horrible. Schulberg was a fascinating guy, a great writer: he wrote On the Waterfront and worked on John Ford’s wartime documentary unit. He went with the deputation to arrest Leni Riefenstahl, primarily to get her to identify people from footage. He died only about a month ago. [source]

Brian Koppelman

Every one of Ryan Holiday’s books is appointment reading for me. If he writes it, I make the time to read it. [source]

Marc Andreessen

Co-Founder/Andreessen Horowitz

Startlingly deep cultural history of conspiracies, examined through the lens of the brutally effective Gawker takedown, with full access to the main players. [source]

Robert Greene

Author

This book is the Art of War for any twenty-first century conspirator....A brilliant meditation on strategy, with numerous lessons. [source]

Brian Koppelman

The single best distillation of the kind of focus, commitment, and sense of mission it takes to become a great artist. [source]

Anant Jain

On the non-business side of things, “What I Talk about When I Talk About Running” by Haruki Murakami is my recent favorite. I’m a long distance runner and I was extremely delighted to find out that one of the top fiction writers in the world draws a huge chunk of his inspiration from long distance running. In this book, Murakami beautifully connects running to writing, which are two skills close to me that I want to get better at. [source]

Brian Koppelman

This book was the first of Tony Robbins books I read, and it asked me crucial questions about the stories I was telling myself that were limiting my growth. [source]

Derek Sivers

When I was 18, this book changed my life. [source]

Gennady Batrakov

In the business category, my #1 book is Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins. It has been over 20 years since I read the book for the first time. I reread it a few times since. I even keep extra copies of this book on my bookshelf to give away to my friends. Awaken the Giant Within has helped me in many ways. It aided me to deal with the habits I wanted to stay away from. It was easy to quit smoking after reading that book, even though I had many unsuccessful attempts to quit smoking in the previous 20 years; however, after reading that book - it was just natural. I stopped “cold turkey” and I never looked back since (21 years of non-smoking life… Yay!). I gained some understanding of how to run the brain to achieve results. It helped me to focus on the goals through some rough time and the tragic losses throughout my life. [source]

Brian Koppelman

James is on a very personal journey. He's telling you the story on Saturday, on Sunday he's talking about how it failed, and on Monday he's talking about doing it a different way. [source]

Kamal Ravikant

Entrepreneur & Author

I’m reading Reinvent Yourself by James Altucher which is just amazing. [source]

Brian Koppelman

If you have always wanted to read this author, I think this Covid-19 period of time is perfect for it. He could have conceived of this whole thing. [source]

Bernard Tan

I’m also a Murakami and Vonnegut fan, Kafka on the Shore, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, Slaughterhouse-Five, etc. Now that I look at the books listed, they seem to carry an existential theme. I guess I like to understand humanity and human behaviour ultimately to better understand myself. I find reading a means to connect with people who may have lived before my time, or in a distant country, that I may never have had the chance to connect with in real life. As three-dimensional humans, we are all made up of so many faces and emotional layers that we find it hard to dissect them all, and when we find writers who can explain these thought processes in a way that’s tangible and digestible, there’s this incredibly comforting eureka moment of feeling understood. [source]

Sung J. Woo

He’s the best-known Japanese writer right now and this book I would consider to be his opus. It’s a big sprawling book that deals with weighty subjects like the Second World War and Japan’s part in that. There is a horrifying section set when the Japanese had occupied Manchuria and the Chinese are approaching and it’s told from the point of view of a soldier who is told to kill all the animals in the zoo as the Chinese close in. It’s a harrowing tale of this Japanese soldier going round the cages killing these magnificent animals. [source]

Brian Koppelman

If you have always wanted to read this author, I think this Covid-19 period of time is perfect for it. He could have conceived of this whole thing. [source]

Bernard Tan

I’m also a Murakami and Vonnegut fan, Kafka on the Shore, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, Slaughterhouse-Five, etc. Now that I look at the books listed, they seem to carry an existential theme. I guess I like to understand humanity and human behaviour ultimately to better understand myself. I find reading a means to connect with people who may have lived before my time, or in a distant country, that I may never have had the chance to connect with in real life. As three-dimensional humans, we are all made up of so many faces and emotional layers that we find it hard to dissect them all, and when we find writers who can explain these thought processes in a way that’s tangible and digestible, there’s this incredibly comforting eureka moment of feeling understood. [source]

John Craig

The only book, or should I say author, that takes priority is Haruki Murakami. He is a Japanese novelist that takes me into the next world. His style is surreal. Check it out. Start with Kafka on the Shore. [source]