Modern Wisdom
Book Recommendations

Modern Wisdom

Life is hard. This podcast will help. Lessons from the greatest thinkers on the planet with Chris Williamson. Including guests like David Goggins, Dr Jordan Peterson, Naval Ravikant, Sam Harris, Jocko Willink, Dr Andrew Huberman, Dr Julie Smith, Steven Bartlett, Ryan Holiday, Robert Greene, Matthew...

Episodes 547
Books 625
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Latest Recommendations

Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization cover

Transcend

Scott Barry Kaufman

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1062 - Dave Evans - It’s time to rethink your entire life plan

This book was mentioned as being a nice work by Scott Barry Kaufman, who is noted for being big into Maslow's stuff.

Scott Barry Kaufman did a good job on that. His book, Transcend, was real nice. And he's big into Maslow's stuff.

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How to Live a Meaningful Life: Using Design Thinking to Unlock Purpose, Joy, and Flow Every Day cover

How to Live a Meaningful Life

Bill Burnett

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1062 - Dave Evans - It’s time to rethink your entire life plan

Dave Evans mentioned that he and his partner wrote this book as a direct response to what people meant when they talked about lacking meaning, primarily focusing on impact and fulfillment.

Get Dave Evans' new Book - 'How to Live A Meaningful Life' here: https://designingyourlife.link/how-to-live-a-meaningful-life/chris

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Transitions (40th Anniversary Edition): Making Sense of Life's Changes cover

Transitions (40th Anniversary Edition)

William Bridges

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1062 - Dave Evans - It’s time to rethink your entire life plan

This book was mentioned as an eighties self-help classic explaining that transitions are three steps: an ending, a neutral zone, and then a new beginning.

William Bridges wrote the book, transitions, making life, making sense of life's big changes. So he posits years ago is an eighties self-help classic. It's a good book. Um, based on Erickson's work that, um, uh, changes are outside in realities that happen to you. Transitions are the internal experience of managing them.

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If You're In My Office, It's Already Too Late: A Divorce Lawyer's Guide to Staying Together cover

If You're In My Office, It's Already Too Late

James J. Sexton

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1059 - James Sexton - Divorce Lawyer: “Give her a prenup on the 3rd date”

The book was mentioned as the speaker's work, providing advice on how to be good at love and stay in a relationship. It was suggested that seeing this book in someone's home might indicate things are going well, unlike books focused solely on self-improvement or business.

You can get How to Stay in Love anywhere where fine books are sold. You can listen to it on Audible or download that.

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 30th Anniversary Edition (The Covey Habits Series) cover

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1059 - James Sexton - Divorce Lawyer: “Give her a prenup on the 3rd date”

This book was mentioned as an example of something one might see in the home of a successful person who seems to be 'crushing it,' implying it's associated with high achievement.

If you walk into Galloway's home and you see Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, you would go, look at this guy.

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The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business cover

The Power of Habit

Charles Duhigg

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1059 - James Sexton - Divorce Lawyer: “Give her a prenup on the 3rd date”

This book was mentioned alongside 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' as something associated with someone who is highly successful and disciplined.

you see Power of Habit by Dering, you see, you would go, look at this guy.

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Notes on Being a Man cover

Notes on Being a Man

Scott Galloway

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1059 - James Sexton - Divorce Lawyer: “Give her a prenup on the 3rd date”

The speaker noted that he liked this book but felt it could have been half the length if the author had omitted the 'throat clearing and land acknowledgements' from every chapter.

I loved Notes on Being a Man. Like, I think it's a great book. But I said that if you removed the throat clearing and land acknowledgements from every chapter, it would have been like half the length.

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Anxiously Attached: Becoming More Secure in Life and Love cover

Anxiously Attached

Jessica Baum LMHC

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1057 - Matthew Hussey - How to Know When to Leave a Relationship

It was mentioned as Jessica Baum's first book, in the context of her having a new book out called 'Safe'.

I learned from Jessica Baum's first book, Anxiously Attached. She's got a new one out called Safe.

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Safe: An Attachment-Informed Guide to Building More Secure Relationships cover

Safe

Jessica Baum LMHC

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1057 - Matthew Hussey - How to Know When to Leave a Relationship

This was mentioned as Jessica Baum's new book, following her first one, 'Anxiously Attached'.

She's got a new one out called Safe. You should bring her on the show.

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Hacking the Human Mind: The behavioral science secrets behind 17 of the world's best brands cover

Hacking the Human Mind

Richard Shotton

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1053 - Richard Shotton - 11 Psychology Tricks From the World’s Best Brands

This book co-authored by Richard Shotton and Michael Aaron Flickr examined 17 different brands, with each chapter dedicated to one brand and the behavioral science principles it utilized for success.

A new book, yeah. So co-authored with Michael Aaron Flickr, it's called Hacking the Human Mind. 17 brands, each chapter is about a brand. And then we look at two, maybe three behavioral science principles that brand has used to power its success.

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Junglekeeper: What It Takes to Change the World cover

Junglekeeper

Paul Rosolie

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1052 - Paul Rosolie - Uncontacted Tribes, Jungle Warfare & Being Eaten Alive

The speaker mentioned this book detailed his entire journey, from being a frustrated kid to achieving massive conservation goals, including meeting uncontacted tribes and protecting large tracts of rainforest. He shared how Jane Goodall endorsed the book, which he felt helped launch his career and his conservation organization.

This is the whole story. This is from the frustrated kid to... And it's crazy because I wish I had a time machine now to go back because, you know, 18 years old, getting on the plane for the first time, leaving for the Amazon, never in a million years would I imagine that we would have, you know, caught the biggest anaconda and met the uncontacted tribes.

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What We Owe the Future cover

What We Owe the Future

William MacAskill

Mentioned 5 months ago

#1052 - Paul Rosolie - Uncontacted Tribes, Jungle Warfare & Being Eaten Alive

The speaker mentioned this book by William McCaskill discusses the philosophy of long-termism and an ethical inheritance owed to unborn humans, noting the author is perhaps the youngest tenured philosophy professor.

William McCaskill, who was the youngest tenured philosophy professor in history, I think. He's a Scottish guy. Youngest maybe that was alive right now. He wrote a book called What We Owe the Future.

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Most Recommended

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman Cover

Richard P. Feynman

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman

The host said he had read *The Pleasure of Finding Things Out* and enjoyed it.

"

I have read The Pleasure of Finding Things Out.

— Episode: #1036 - The Best Moments of Modern Wisdo...

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Episode: #1036 - The Best Moments of Modern Wisdom (2025)

The host said he had read *The Pleasure of Finding Things Out* and enjoyed it.

"

I have read The Pleasure of Finding Things Out.

Seveneves: A Novel Cover

Neal Stephenson

Seveneves

A Novel

The host praised it as a highly recommended scifi novel with an attentiongrabbing opening about the moon exploding and notable for its realistic orbitaldynamics background.

"

Have you ever read Seven Eves by Neil Stevenson? No, heard of it. Really cool, really cool book. Great. Anyone that wants a scifi recommendation should read it. The moon explodes in the first line, it...

— Episode: #1035 - Mark Rober - How to Engineer a L...

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Episode: #1035 - Mark Rober - How to Engineer a Life You Lo...

The host praised it as a highly recommended scifi novel with an attentiongrabbing opening about the moon exploding and notable for its realistic orbitaldynamics background.

"

Have you ever read Seven Eves by Neil Stevenson? No, heard of it. Really cool, really cool book. Great. Anyone that wants a scifi recommendation should read it. The moon explodes in the first line, it's a hook. And during that, you learn a lot about orbital dynamics because they repurpose the ISS into what will be the habitat for Earth.

Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are Cover

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Everybody Lies

Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are

It was mentioned as the first book written by the former Google data scientist.

"

he wrote first book was Everybody Lies ... and then his next one was Don't Trust Your Gut

— Episode: #1043 - Arthur Brooks - 14 Habits for an...

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Episode: #1043 - Arthur Brooks - 14 Habits for an Optimised...

It was mentioned as the first book written by the former Google data scientist.

"

he wrote first book was Everybody Lies ... and then his next one was Don't Trust Your Gut

Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life Cover

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Don't Trust Your Gut

Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life

It was referenced as the followup to his first book.

"

he wrote first book was Everybody Lies ... and then his next one was Don't Trust Your Gut

— Episode: #1043 - Arthur Brooks - 14 Habits for an...

Get on Amazon
Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: #1043 - Arthur Brooks - 14 Habits for an Optimised...

It was referenced as the followup to his first book.

"

he wrote first book was Everybody Lies ... and then his next one was Don't Trust Your Gut

The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness Cover

Arthur C. Brooks

The Meaning of Your Life

Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness

He announced that his new book would be released in March under that title.

"

i've got a big book coming out in March um called The Meaning of Your Life finding purpose in an age of emptiness

— Episode: #1043 - Arthur Brooks - 14 Habits for an...

Get on Amazon
Listen on Audible 7-day free trial

Episode: #1043 - Arthur Brooks - 14 Habits for an Optimised...

He announced that his new book would be released in March under that title.

"

i've got a big book coming out in March um called The Meaning of Your Life finding purpose in an age of emptiness

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.