Books recommended by Sam Harris
Sam Harris is a neuroscientist and author known for his outspoken God Is Not Great, which sparked a national debate on the role of religion in public life. His writing style often explores the intersection of science, philosophy, and politics, frequently challenging traditional notions and advocating for reason and evidence-based inquiry.
Harris’s book recommendations generally lean towards philosophical and intellectual works that promote critical thinking, skepticism, and a more nuanced understanding of human nature, morality, and the history of Western thought.
- Reasons and Persons: (by Derek Parfit). Recommended by Patrick Collison , Sam Harris , Will MacAskill
- Humiliation: (by William Ian Miller). Recommended by Sam Harris
- The Last Word: (by Thomas Nagel). Recommended by Sam Harris
- God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (by Christopher Hitchens). Recommended by Sam Harris
- History of Western Philosophy: And Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day (by Bertrand Russell). Recommended by Sam Harris
- The Anatomy of Disgust: (by William Ian Miller). Recommended by Sam Harris
- I Am That: (by Nisargadatta Maharaj). Recommended by Sam Harris
- The Flight of the Garuda: The Dzogchen Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism (by Keith Dowman). Recommended by Sam Harris
- Hitch-22: A Memoir (by Christopher Hitchens). Recommended by Sam Harris
- Mortal Questions: (by Thomas Nagel). Recommended by Sam Harris
- The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World (by David Deutsch). Recommended by Chris Anderson , Mark Bell , Mark Zuckerberg , Naval Ravikant , Patrick Collison , Ryan Shea , Sam Harris , Steven Pinker
- In Cold Blood: (by Truman Capote). Recommended by Ben Shapiro , Sam Harris , Tim Draper
- On Having No Head: (by Douglas Edison Harding). Recommended by Jack Dorsey , Sam Harris
- Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak (by Jean Hatzfeld). Recommended by Jocko Willink , Sam Harris
- Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era (by James Barrat). Recommended by Elon Musk , Sam Harris , Tim Urban
- Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies (by Nick Bostrom). Recommended by Elon Musk , Marc Goodman , Naval Ravikant , Sam Altman , Sam Harris , Will MacAskill
- Stumbling on Happiness: (by Daniel Todd Gilbert). Recommended by Derek Sivers , Ev Williams , Maria Popova , Sam Harris , Andrew Wilkinson , Mark Manson
- One Blade of Grass: Finding the Old Road of the Heart, a Zen Memoir (by Henry Shukman). Recommended by Kevin Rose , Sam Harris , Tim Ferriss
- What We Owe the Future: (by William MacAskill). Recommended by A.J. Jacobs , Elon Musk , Ezra Klein , Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Julia Galef , Liv Boeree , Sam Harris , Stephen Fry
- Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress (by Steven Pinker). Recommended by A.J. Jacobs , Bill Gates , Jordan Peterson , Sam Harris , Yuval Noah Harari , David Deutsch , David Friedberg , Michael Mauboussin , Richard Dawkins
- The Qur'an: (by -). Recommended by Ayaan Hirsi Ali , Kevin Kelly , Sam Harris , Tim Draper
- Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (by Robert M. Sapolsky). Recommended by Bryan Johnson , Keith Rabois , Marc Andreessen , Sam Harris , Vinod Khosla , Michael Mauboussin