The World's Best Book Summaries
Is wealth a zero-sum game with few winners? How can you continuously build wealth? Traditional wisdom tells us to maximize 401(k) contributions, avoid debt, and save diligently for a distant retirement. Garrett Gunderson’s book Killing Sacred Cows breaks down his alternative view of wealth creation and financial freedom: one that promotes strategic planning and empowerment. Read more in our Killing Sacred Cows book overview.
How does the brain create that sweet feeling of happiness? Why is happiness defined as a survival mechanism? Loretta Breuning says that by understanding how your brain achieves happiness, you can rewire it to build positive, sustainable happiness habits. In Habits of a Happy Brain, Breuning discusses the brain chemistry of happiness, how harmful happiness-seeking patterns develop, and her methods for building and maintaining healthier happiness habits. Read more in our Habits of a Happy Brain book overview.
Do your negative thoughts control you? Do you feel unfulfilled in life? In Quantum Accountability, Kelley and Kevin Kramer explain what quantum accountability is and how it’s linked to your mindset and reality. They also discuss how to practice quantum accountability so you can create a positive mental and physical world that enables you to flourish. Read more in our overview of Quantum Accountability.
Have you ever wondered why some things bend under pressure while others break? How do some buildings remain standing for centuries? In Structures, scientist and engineer James Edward Gordon reveals why some materials and structures can withstand forces like gravity and wind while maintaining their form and stability, while others collapse under pressure. Read more in our Structures book overview.
How do you decide who to select as a cofounder of a company? What are the benefits and drawbacks of venture capital funding? As an entrepreneur, you’ll need to consider the tradeoffs that come with each decision you make—and how each decision, in turn, creates new decisions that you’ll have to consider. In The Founder’s Dilemmas, Noam Wasserman explores the critical choices entrepreneurs face, including the fundamental tradeoff between wealth creation and maintaining control. Read more in our overview of The Founder’s Dilemmas.
What is the relationship between skill and chance in life? What can we control, and what must we leave up to luck? In a world obsessed with certainty, Maria Konnikova’s book The Biggest Bluff reveals how poker—with its blend of skill and chance—teaches invaluable lessons about decision-making in uncertain conditions. A psychologist turned professional poker player, Konnikova demonstrates that while we can’t control life’s outcomes, we can master the decisions we make. Read more in our overview of The Biggest Bluff.
Do you lose sleep thinking about other people’s opinions of you? How can you let go of this worry and start living your life? The First Rule of Mastery examines the high price you pay for worrying about what others think, including missed opportunities, anxiety, and depression. Michael Gervais and Kevin Lake present a comprehensive framework for escaping the prison of other people’s opinions. Read more in our overview of The First Rule of Mastery.
Do you want to become more comfortable with who you are? Do you struggle to speak up, even if it’s the right thing to do? In her book Professional Troublemaker, Luvvi Ajayi Jones argues that challenging the status quo is scary. Still, it’s worth doing because it’s a powerful way to improve our lives and the lives of others. Read more in our overview of Professional Troublemaker.
Do you want to improve the way your teams work in the office? How can you get complete strangers to work together effectively? Working with teams today in a constantly changing environment demands a flexible approach that traditional teamwork can’t provide. In Teaming, Amy C. Edmondson offers a solution: dynamic collaboration that brings together diverse expertise without requiring years of shared work history. Read more in our overview of Teaming.
How has tuberculosis shaped human history? Why is tuberculosis—a completely curable disease—still killing over 1.6 million people annually? Best-selling novelist and YouTube educator John Green’s Everything Is Tuberculosis confronts this troubling paradox, revealing how social inequality, stigma, and systemic failures allow a preventable tragedy to continue. After meeting a teenage TB patient in Sierra Leone, Green embarked on a mission to understand and combat humanity’s deadliest infectious disease. Read more in our overview of Everything Is Tuberculosis.