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Peter Attia's Top Book Recommendations

Founder/Attia Medical

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

1
Why do people dodge responsibility when things fall apart? Why the parade of public figures unable to own up when they screw up? Why the endless marital quarrels over who is right? Why can we see hypocrisy in others but not in ourselves? Are we all liars? Or do we really believe the stories we tell?

Renowned social psychologists Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson take a compelling look into how the brain is wired for self-justification. When we make mistakes, we must calm the cognitive dissonance that jars our feelings of self-worth. And so we create fictions that absolve us of...
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Peter AttiaA book about cognitive dissonance that looks at common weaknesses and biases in human thinking. Peter wants to ensure he goes through life without being too sure of himeself, and this book helps him to recalibrate. (Source)

Ryan HolidayCognitive Dissonance is one of the most powerful and delusionary forces in the world. (Source)

David KramaleyWhen asked what books he would recommend to youngsters interested in his professional path, David mentioned Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me). (Source)

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2

Becoming Steve Jobs

The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader

#1 New York Times Bestseller There have been many books—on a large and small scale—about Steve Jobs, one of the most famous CEOs in history. But this book is different from all the others.

Becoming Steve Jobs takes on and breaks down the existing myth and stereotypes about Steve Jobs. The conventional, one-dimensional view of Jobs is that he was half-genius, half-jerk from youth, an irascible and selfish leader who slighted friends and family alike. Becoming Steve Jobs answers the central question about the life and career of the Apple cofounder and CEO: How...
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Bill GatesHas me thinking of my old friend. A true visionary. (Source)

Jim Collins[Gives a] fresh perspective on Steve Jobs’ journey from inspiring but immature entrepreneur into an inspired and mature company-builder. (Source)

Jack DorseySquare would not exist without the work and persistence of Steve Jobs. I am forever grateful. Amazing read. (Source)

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3

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

This is a story for people who follow their hearts and make their own rules...people who get special pleasure out of doing something well, even if only for themselves...people who know there's more to this living than meets the eye: they’ll be right there with Jonathan, flying higher and faster than ever they dreamed.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary bird. He believes it is every gull's right to fly, to reach the ultimate freedom of challenge and discovery, finding his greatest reward in teaching younger gulls the joy of flight and the power of dreams. The special 20th...
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Peter AttiaI’d encourage [young people] to read Jonathan Livingston Seagull. (Source)

Tyler CowenHonorable mentions: Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and The Joy of Sex, all given to me by my mother. I believe they helped inculcate some of the 1960s-70s ethos of individual freedom into my thinking. (Source)

Wim Hof[Wim Hof said this is one of his most-recommended books.] (Source)

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4
In the tradition of The Wisdom of Crowds and Predictably Irrational comes Being Wrong, an illuminating exploration of what it means to be in error and why homo sapiens tend to tacitly assume (or loudly insist) that they are right about almost everything. Kathryn Schulz, editor of Grist magazine, argues that error is the fundamental human condition and should be celebrated as such. Guiding the reader through the history and psychology of error, from Socrates to Alan Greenspan, Being Wrong will change the way you perceive screw-ups, both of the mammoth... more
Recommended by Peter Attia, Fabrice Grinda, and 2 others.

Peter AttiaOne of the books that considers to be an important read for people interested in his career path. (Source)

Fabrice GrindaI have lots of books to recommend, but they are not related to my career path. The only one that is remotely related is Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. That said here are books I would recommend. (Source)

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5
On its initial publication, Forgive and Remember emerged as the definitive study of the training and lives of young surgeons. Now with an extensive new preface, epilogue, and appendix by the author, reflecting on the changes that have taken place since the book's original publication, this updated second edition of Charles L. Bosk's classic study is as timely as ever. less
Recommended by Peter Attia, and 1 others.

Peter AttiaOne of the books that feels has had the single biggest impact on his life. (Source)

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6
Psychedelics for spiritual, therapeutic, and problem-solving use

- Presents practices for safe and successful psychedelic voyages, including the benefits of having a guide and how to be a guide
- Reviews the value of psychedelics for healing and self-discovery as well as how LSD has facilitated scientific and technical problem-solving
- Reveals how ultra-low doses improve cognitive functioning, emotional balance, and physical stamina


This year 600,000 people in the U.S. alone will try LSD for the the first time, joining the...
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Recommended by Peter Attia, and 1 others.

Peter AttiaOne of the books thinks humanity needs right now. (Source)

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7

The Double Helix

By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry & won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only 24, a young scientist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions & bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his & Crick's... more

Peter AttiaOne of the books that considers to be an important read for people interested in his career path. (Source)

Matt RidleyAn astonishing literary achievement, and it was about the greatest scientific discovery of the 20th century. (Source)

Matt CalkinsIt gives you an insider’s look at how innovation happens, the struggles in it and the rivalry in the race to get to the heart of molecular structures. It felt like a business story but it’s really about science and innovation. (Source)

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8
A former captain in the Marines’ First Recon Battalion, who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, reveals how the Corps trains its elite and offers a point-blank account of twenty-first-century battle.

If the Marines are “the few, the proud,” Recon Marines are the fewest and the proudest. Only one Marine in a hundred qualifies for Recon, charged with working clandestinely, often behind enemy lines. Fick’s training begins with a hellish summer at Quantico, after his junior year at Dartmouth, and advances to the pinnacle—Recon—four years later, on the eve of war with Iraq. Along the way,...
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Recommended by Peter Attia, and 1 others.

Peter Attia[One of] the books I’ve read the most. (Source)

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9
Given the tensions and demands of medicine, highly successful physicians and surgeons rarely achieve equal success as prose writers.  It is truly extraordinary that a major, international pioneer in the controversial field of transplant surgery should have written a spellbinding, and heart-wrenching, autobiography.

Thomas Starzl grew up in LeMars, Iowa, the son of a newspaper publisher and a nurse.  His father also wrote science fiction and was acquainted with the writer Ray Bradbury.  Starzl left the family business to enter Northwestern University Medical School where he earned...
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Recommended by Peter Attia, and 1 others.

Peter AttiaOne of the books that considers to be an important read for people interested in his career path. (Source)

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10
Few of the great stories of medicine are as palpably dramatic as the invention of open-heart surgery, yet, until now, no journalist has ever brought all of the thrilling specifics of this triumph to life.

This is the story of the surgeon many call the father of open-heart surgery, Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, who, along with colleagues at University Hospital in Minneapolis and a small band of pioneers elsewhere, accomplished what many experts considered to be an impossible feat: He opened the heart, repaired fatal defects, and made the miraculous routine.

Acclaimed author G....
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Recommended by Peter Attia, and 1 others.

Peter AttiaOne of the books that considers to be an important read for people interested in his career path. (Source)

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Don't have time to read Peter Attia's favorite books? Read Shortform summaries.

Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:

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  • 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
In a book that challenges readers to question the authority of scientific dogma even as it reveals the workings of an uncannily original scientific mind, Mullis, the world's most eccentric and outspoken Nobel Prize-winning scientist, relates his outrageous ideas and extraordinary adventures. less
Recommended by Ev Williams, Peter Attia, and 2 others.

Peter AttiaOne of the books that considers to be an important read for people interested in his career path. (Source)

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12
The Presidents Club, established at Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration by Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover, is a complicated place: its members are bound forever by the experience of the Oval Office and yet are eternal rivals for history's favor. Among their secrets: How Jack Kennedy tried to blame Ike for the Bay of Pigs. How Ike quietly helped Reagan win his first race in 1966. How Richard Nixon conspired with Lyndon Johnson to get elected and then betrayed him. How Jerry Ford and Jimmy Carter turned a deep enmity into an alliance. The unspoken pact between a father and son named Bush. And the... more
Recommended by Peter Attia, and 1 others.

Peter AttiaJust about to finish this book for the second time. Damn, I can’t say enough about it. If you have even a modicum of interest in US history post WWI, this is beyond required. (Source)

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13
Nightline anchor Dan Harris embarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of spirituality and self-help, and discovers a way to get happier that is truly achievable.

After having a nationally televised panic attack on Good Morning America, Dan Harris knew he had to make some changes. A lifelong nonbeliever, he found himself on a bizarre adventure, involving a disgraced pastor, a mysterious self-help guru, and a gaggle of brain scientists. Eventually, Harris realized that the source of his problems was the very thing...
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Peter AttiaModulating hormones as necessary - we’ve not really talked about that. Fixing anything that needs to be fixed, on top of that pharmacologically, and I’m a huge proponent of pharmacotherapy under the right setting. The final component is managing your stress. So as a guy who’s thinking about this, I became really interested after actually reading Dan Harris’s book. (Source)

Chris GowardI remember reading 10% Happier by Dan Harris on one of my many flights to speak at a conference a couple years ago. I had been practicing meditation for a few years, and had tried to get deeper into learning about it, I struggled with the religious aspect many Buddhist authors brought, which seemed to bring more confusion than clarity. The way Dan described his process of skepticism and discovery... (Source)

Veronica BelmontMade me totally rethink mindfulness and meditation. (Source)

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14
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2019


New York Public Library Best Books of 2019 


Kirkus Reviews Best Health and Science Books of 2019


Science Friday Best Books of 2019 


New postscript by the author

From an award-winning journalist, an explosive narrative investigation of the generic drug boom that reveals fraud and life-threatening dangers on a global...
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Peter Attia@SamHarrisOrg Thank you Sam! And thank you for pointing me in the direction of @KatherineEban's amazing book. (Source)

R. BalakrishnanRead this book. If you buy generic medicines, a must read. Hope the Government of India reads this. https://t.co/odamZEjy1i (Source)

Chiki Sarkar@swapanseth Absolutely brilliant book (Source)

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15

"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"

Adventures of a Curious Character

A series of anecdotes, such as are included in Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman, shouldn't by rights add up to an autobiography, but that's just one of the many pieces of received wisdom that Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman (1918-88) cheerfully ignores in this engagingly eccentric book. Fiercely independent (read the chapter entitled "Judging Books by Their Covers"), intolerant of stupidity even when it comes packaged as high intellectualism (check out "Is Electricity Fire?"), unafraid to offend (see "You Just Ask Them?"), Feynman informs by entertaining. It's possible to... more

Sergey BrinBrin told the Academy of Achievement: "Aside from making really big contributions in his own field, he was pretty broad-minded. I remember he had an excerpt where he was explaining how he really wanted to be a Leonardo [da Vinci], an artist and a scientist. I found that pretty inspiring. I think that leads to having a fulfilling life." (Source)

Larry PageGoogle co-founder has listed this book as one of his favorites. (Source)

Peter AttiaThe book I’ve recommended most. (Source)

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16
What is the secret of talent? How do we unlock it? In this groundbreaking work, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Coyle provides parents, teachers, coaches, businesspeople—and everyone else—with tools they can use to maximize potential in themselves and others.

Whether you're coaching soccer or teaching a child to play the piano, writing a novel or trying to improve your golf swing, this revolutionary book shows you how to grow talent by tapping into a newly discovered brain mechanism.

Drawing on cutting-edge neurology and firsthand research...
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Peter Attia[One of] the books I’ve read the most. (Source)

Rupert MurdochGreat reading. The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle. Forget genes! Greatness isn't born, it's grown - the hard way. (Source)

Jason FriedHighly recommend reading The Talent Code. Wonderful book w/ great insights. (Source)

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Don't have time to read Peter Attia'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.