I encourage people to read a lot of books. Try to ingest as much information as you can, and try to also develop a good general knowledge, so you at least have a rough lay of the land, of the knowledge landscape. Try to learn a little bit about a lot of things, because you might not know what you're really interested in. How would you know what you're really interested in if you at least aren't like doing a peripheral exploration broadly of the knowledge landscape?
— Elon Musk
This list is curated from 167 mentions and sorted by most mentioned, then by date of most recent mention. The more a book is mentioned, the more likely it's recommended and a favorite... or they just like talking about it a lot!
Last updated: .
Foundation (7 books)
by Isaac Asimov
In terms of sci-fi books, I think Isaac Asimov is really great. I like the Foundation series, probably one of the all-time best.
— Elon Musk
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
I read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and basically what Douglas Adams was saying is: we don't really know what the right questions are to ask. The question is not "What's the meaning of life?" [...] In that book, which is really sort of an existential philosophy book disguised as as humor, they come to the conclusion that the real problem is trying to formulate the question. And to really have the right question you need a much bigger computer than earth. I think one way of characterizing this would be: The universe is the answer. What are the questions? The more we can expand the scope and scale of consciousness the better we can understand what questions to ask about the answer that is the universe. The more we expand consciousness to become a multi-planet species and ultimately a multi-stellar species, the more we have a chance of figuring out what the hell is going on.
— Elon Musk
The Story of Civilization (11 books)
by Will Durant, Ariel Durant
Age of Napoleon [is my favorite], so far. The first books are a little dry. Gets much better when Ariel is co-author.
— Elon Musk
Culture (10 books)
by Iain Banks
If you must know, I am a utopian anarchist of the kind best described by Iain Banks
— Elon Musk
The Illiad
by Homer
For maximum alpha, complete with fighting for princesses, the Iliad. Penguin audiobook at 1.25X speed is best. It was meant to be a spoken, not written, story. https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-odyssey/id1479199452
— Elon Musk
Lord of the Rings (3 books)
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Lord of the Rings [was my favorite book growing up]
— Elon Musk
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
by Robert A. Heinlein
I think [The Moon is a Harsh Mistress] is Heinlein's best book, honestly.
— Elon Musk
Dune (6 books)
by Frank Herbert
Dune series by Herbert also brilliant. He advocates placing limits on machine intelligence.
— Elon Musk
Benjamin Franklin
by Walter Isaacson
I really liked [Isaacson's] biography of Benjamin Franklin who I would say is certainly one of my heroes. He seemed like a really great guy. I think in the case of Franklin he did what needed to be done at the time it needed to be done, so he was in different fields. He sort of thought about what's the most important thing that needs to be accomplished right now and then worked that.
— Elon Musk
The Machine Stops
by Edward Morgan Forster
Worth reading The Machine Stops, an old story by E. M. Forster
— Elon Musk
Ignition!
by John Drury Clark
There is a good book on rocket stuff called 'Ignition!' by John Clark, that’s a really fun one.
— Elon Musk
Lying
by Sam Harris
Sam Harris is a pompous hypocrite (writes book about how lying is terrible and then advocates lying to keep Trump from being elected) who is visibly and audibly detached from reality. How far he has fallen.
— Elon Musk
Masters of Doom
by David Kushner
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
Storm of Steel
by Ernst Jünger
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
The fifteen decisive battles of the world
by Creasy, Edward Shepherd Sir
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green
Must admit to liking "The Fault in Our Stars" too. Sad, romantic and beautifully named
— Elon Musk
The Road to Serfdom
by Friedrich A. von Hayek
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
American Caesar
by William Manchester
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
Wages of Destruction
by Adam Tooze
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
Twelve Against the Gods
by William Bolitho
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
Stalin
by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Stalin: Court of the Red Czar by Montefiore (If you want some real nightmares)
— Elon Musk
Bad Therapy
by Abigail Shrier
Every parent should read this https://twitter.com/anymanfitness/status/1765817754538348633
— Elon Musk
The Wealth of Nations
by Adam Smith
Marx vs Adam Smith -> Adam Smith for the win. Not even close.
— Elon Musk
Catherine the Great
by Robert K. Massie
Just finished Massie's book on Catherine. An amazingly expansive and compelling portrait of an incredible woman. Highly recommend.
— Elon Musk
Elon Musk
by Ashlee Vance
I actually asked Ashlee Vance not to write the book several times. Inevitably, some things are wrong and then those errors are repeated for years.
— Elon Musk
The Guns of August
by Barbara W. Tuchman
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
De bello Gallico
by Gaius Julius Caesar
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
by Jack Weatherford
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
The Encyclopedia of Military History
by Richard Ernest Dupuy
Some audiobook recommendations: The Story of Civilization by Durant Iliad (Penguin Edition) The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester Masters of Doom by Kushner The Wages of Destruction by Tooze The Storm of Steel by Junger The Guns of August by Tuchman The Gallic Wars by Caesar Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho Genghis Khan by Weatherford The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.
— Elon Musk
Homage to Catalonia
by George Orwell
It is interesting to read Orwell’s account of the Spanish civil war. He started out fighting for the communists …
— Elon Musk
Facing Up to Scarcity
by Barbara H. Fried
SBF’s Mom wrote a book about how being a moral squiggly worm is ok and his Dad teaches people how to avoid taxes while simultaneously writing Sen Karen’s evil tax policy! pic.twitter.com/Xq17G5J0Cv
— Elon Musk
The Capitalist Manifesto
by Johan Norberg
This book is an excellent explanation of why capitalism is not just successful, but morally right, especially chapter 4 https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAudiobook?id=1688749502
— Elon Musk
Quran
by Anonymous
I read a translation of the Quran when I was around 12. Helpful to understand.https://quran.com/en
— Elon Musk
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
by Richard P. Feynman
People should read Feynman’s books
— Elon Musk
Destined For War
by Graham Allison
Again, could not recommend this book more. Audio version is great. https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAudiobook?id=1641134711
— Elon Musk
Elon Musk
by Walter Isaacson
Walter is incredibly thorough in his research. Highly recommend his other books! https://twitter.com/walterisaacson/status/1659246428164587545
— Elon Musk
Not Much of an Engineer
by Stanley Hooker
Rereading The Life of Greece by Durant. In recent months, read American Caesar, Masters of Doom, Not Much of an Engineer, Wages of Destruction and Storm of Steel. Not much book fiction lately. Video games seem to have better stories these days.
— Elon Musk
The Quickening
by Talulah Riley
Congratulations on your new book! pic.twitter.com/rSVM7zRBAh
— Elon Musk
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
by Britannica Editors
Maybe read through the condensed version of the Encyclopedia Britannica, I'd recommend that. You can always skip subjects, so you read a few paragraphs, and if you know you're not interested, just jump to the next one.
— Elon Musk
Founders
by Jimmy Soni
I haven’t read the book, but Soni’s questions were incredibly insightful & his attention to detail was superlative
— Elon Musk
The Art of War
by Sun Tzu
There is no chapter on technology. I mean that's an interesting book. I've read that many times. Lots of interesting elements to it. Lot of wisdom there. [...] There should be a chapter saying that if you have a decisive technology advantage you can actually win with minimal casualties, to your side at least.
— Elon Musk
Only the Paranoid Survive
by Andrew S. Grove
If a severe global recession were to dry up capital availability / liquidity while SpaceX was losing billions on Starlink & Starship, then bankruptcy, while still unlikely, is not impossible. GM & Chrysler went BK last recession. “Only the paranoid survive.” – Grove
— Elon Musk
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
by Edward Gibbon
There's obviously Gibbon's famous book about the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and how they had advanced technology in terms of roads, aqueducts, plumbing and so forth and then they basically forgot about it.
— Elon Musk
Stainless Steel Rat
by Harry Harrison
A bit more obscure, but [I recommend] Starhammer & Stainless Steel Rat
— Elon Musk
Starhammer
by Christopher B. Rowley
A bit more obscure, but [I recommend] Starhammer & Stainless Steel Rat
— Elon Musk
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte
by Karl Marx
In his 18th Brumaire essay (in which he does make some good points), Marx famously said history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. This is now ironically happening with Marxism.
— Elon Musk
The Selfish Gene
by Richard Dawkins
Most people don't realize that the origin of the word meme is the, I believe, 1976 book by Richard Dawkins "The Selfish Gene" in which he coined the word "meme". Ideas propagate like genes, based on the survival of the fittest paradigm. Only the strongest memes survive.
— Elon Musk
Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand
Very appealing if you’re a sophomore in college. It’s a counterpoint to communism and useful as such, but should be tempered with kindness.
— Elon Musk
If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens… Where Is Everybody?
by Stephen Webb
Great book. Read it when it came out.
— Elon Musk
Life 3.0
by Max Tegmark
Worth reading Life 3.0 by @Tegmark. AI will be the best or worst thing ever for humanity, so let’s get it right.
— Elon Musk
Deep Learning
by Ian Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, Aaron Courville
Written by three experts in the field, Deep Learning is the only comprehensive book on the subject. It provides much-needed broad perspective and mathematical preliminaries for software engineers and students entering the field, and serves as a reference for authorities.
— Elon Musk
The Big Picture
by Sean Carroll
Highly recommend anything by Sean Carroll https://twitter.com/seanmcarroll/status/728599116456984577
— Elon Musk
Waiting for Godot
by Samuel Beckett
Have recently come to appreciate the awesome, absurdist humor of Waiting for Godot. We so often wait, without knowing why, when or where.
— Elon Musk
The Lost Planet
by Rachel Searles
My kids love "The Lost Planet" by @RachelSearles. Now on a rare second read!
— Elon Musk
Rocket Propulsion Elements
by George P. Sutton
Musk had spent months studying the aerospace industry and the physics behind it. From Cantrell and others, he’d borrowed Rocket Propulsion Elements, Fundamentals of Astrodynamics, and Aerothermodynamics of Gas Turbine and Rocket Propulsion, along with several more seminal texts.
— Elon Musk
Fundamentals of Astrodynamics
by Roger R. Bate
Musk had spent months studying the aerospace industry and the physics behind it. From Cantrell and others, he’d borrowed Rocket Propulsion Elements, Fundamentals of Astrodynamics, and Aerothermodynamics of Gas Turbine and Rocket Propulsion, along with several more seminal texts.
— Elon Musk
Aerothermodynamics of Gas Turbine and Rocket Propulsion
by Gordon C. Oates
Musk had spent months studying the aerospace industry and the physics behind it. From Cantrell and others, he’d borrowed Rocket Propulsion Elements, Fundamentals of Astrodynamics, and Aerothermodynamics of Gas Turbine and Rocket Propulsion, along with several more seminal texts.
— Elon Musk
Stranger in a Strange Land
by Robert A. Heinlein
I like Stranger in a Strange Land, although it kind of goes off the rails at the end.
— Elon Musk
Structures
by J. E. Gordon
There’s a good book on structural design called Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down. It is really, really good if you want a primer on structural design.
— Elon Musk
Zero to One
by Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel has built multiple breakthrough companies, and Zero to One shows how.
— Elon Musk
Human Compatible
by Stuart Russell
Worth reading “Human Compatible” by Stuart Russell (he’s great!) about future AI risks & solutions
— Elon Musk
Superintelligence
by Nick Bostrom
Worth reading Superintelligence by Bostrom. We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes.
— Elon Musk
Our Final Invention
by James Barrat
While on the subject of AI risk, Our Final Invention by @jrbarrat is also worth reading
— Elon Musk
Steve Jobs
by Walter Isaacson
I read Isaacson's biography of Jobs which I thought was quite interesting.
— Elon Musk
Merchants of Doubt
by Erik M. Conway, Naomi Oreskes
Worth reading Merchants of Doubt. Same who tried to deny smoking deaths r denying climate change
— Elon Musk
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
by Benjamin Franklin
Franklin's biography, both his autobiography and the biography by Isaacson, is really good and you can sort of see how he, cause he was an entrepreneur, started from nothing, he was just a runaway kid, and created his printing business and how he went about doing that and and then over time he also did science and politics. Certainly he's one of the people I most admire. Franklin is pretty awesome.
— Elon Musk
Modern Engineering for Design of Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines
by Dieter K. Huzel, David H. Huang
Ignition by John Clarke, Huzel & Wang book on propulsion, Asimov's Foundation, [and] Heinlein's MiaHM [are my favorite books about space.]
— Elon Musk
Screw Business As Usual
by Richard Branson
Liked "Screw Business as Usual" a lot. This approach should be taken to heart by all, as it really is the smart move.
— Elon Musk