Eric-Jorgenson The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant indd

The Beginning of Infi nity: Explanations That Transform the 
World by David Deutsch
Not the easiest read, but it made me smarter. [79]
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
by Yuval Noah Harari
A history of the human species. The 
observations, frameworks, and mental 
models will have you looking at history 
and your fellow humans diff erently. [1]
Sapiens is the best book of the last decade I have read. He had 
decades to write Sapiens. There are lots of great ideas in there 
and it’s just full of them, chock-full per page. [1]
The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley
The most brilliant and enlightening book I’ve read in years. He 
has writt en four of my top twenty books. [11]
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N A V A L ’ S R E C O M M E N D E D R E A D I N G · 209
Everything else writt en by Matt Ridley. 
Matt is a scientist, optimist, and forward 
thinker. One of my favorite authors. I’ve 
read everything of his, and reread every-
thing of his. [4]
→ Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters
→ The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
→ The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution 
of Cooperation
→ The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge
Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb
The best book I read in 2018, I highly 
recommend it. Lots of great ideas in 
there. Lots of good mental models and 
constructs. He has a bit of an att itude, 
but he has that because he’s brilliant, and it’s okay. So just look 
past the att itude and read the book, learn the concepts. It’s one 
of the best business books I’ve ever read. And luckily, it doesn’t 
masquerade as a business book. [10]