Shane Parrish is the creator of Farnam Street (fs.blog), one of the world's most influential blogs on clear thinking, decision-making, and continuous learning. Drawing on his background in intelligence and security, he developed his own method of intellectual curation based on mental models and the reading of humanity's great works of knowledge.
His reading recommendations reflect this obsession with quality and depth: Parrish tends to recommend timeless works on psychology, philosophy, strategy, and science — books that build reasoning rather than merely transmitting information. For those who want to read less and think better, his list is a reliable starting point.
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”As hard as you think your life is, it pales in comparison to Auschwitz.”
”Reading these guys, along with Seneca, has really helped foster my interest in philosophy.”
”If it’s knowledge and not credentials you’re after, save your money and read these two.”
”This book changed how I see the world.”
”Inspired by Munger, he’s put together a book of the big ideas that carry a lot of weight in life.”
”Her previous books — Wild and Dear Sugar — ran me through the range of emotions from happy to crying.”
”Her previous books — Wild and Dear Sugar — ran me through the range of emotions from happy to crying.”
”The big lesson I took away from Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, is that you don’t need to come up with all the ideas yourself.”
”It’s amazing. But it’s not a light read.”
”Hardin focused primarily on ideas related to overpopulation, but like Charlie Munger or Nassim Taleb, you need to read the source material over and over in order to soak up the available wisdom.”
”By pure luck I came across this book and it introduced me to the thinking of Warren Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger.”
”If you believe that you’re not getting everything out of your reading that you should, this book is awesome.”
”Not as boring as it sounds but not as thoughtful as I had hoped.”
”And if you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading his two books (Think Twice and The Success Equation ) before listening to the episode .”
”Way more useful than I would have guessed based on the title.”
”This is one man’s attempt to answer the question of how we, as laymen, can survive in a world increasingly dominated by experts.”
”While I’d read When Genius Failed before, it was great to re-read this.”
”This was the most referenced book I could find and it did not disappoint.”
”Consider this a smart primer on visual thinking.”
”Originally published in 1950, the book endeavors to understand the methods by which discoveries have been made and form some general observations.”
”This book has less to do with investing and more to do with decision making than the title suggests.”
”Reading these guys, along with Seneca, has really helped foster my interest in philosophy.”
”The book, which I’m working my way through after the recommendation of an incredibly smart friend, explains the four laws and how they work in relatively accessible language.”
”This book was exceptional and very much along the lines of other business fables such as: The Goal , The Five Dysfunctions of a Team , and Death by Meeting .”
”Griffin does an extraordinary job of curating, synthesizing, and organizing the vast wisdom Munger has left for humanity.”
”This is an excellent short read.”
”Anyway, Bion is a pretty hard dude to track down which is why I picked up this book as there is a small section on him.”
”I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the first book I ever read cover to cover for pleasure: The Stopwatch Gang .”
”This is a fascinating look at our own propensity to cheat and rationalize our dishonesty.”
”Inspired by Ambrose Bierce’s masterpiece The Devil’s Dictionary, Jason Zweig takes an equally beautiful and cynical view of the entire finance industry.”
”An interesting history of our relationship with time that tackles some consequences.”
”It’s clear he’s honed his persuasion skills over many years and he’s one of the best.”
”I thought I’d skim this book but I had a hard time putting it down.”
”This book deepens our understanding of the nuts-and-bolts of meditation including the how, what, where, when and why but also how to deal with distractions and common challenges people face along the way.”
”A worthwhile chronicle of Thoreau’s formative years that acts as a rich backdrop to deepen our understanding of Walden and Civil Disobedience .”
”The book is a reflection on simplicity.”
”An interesting take that creative decay is normal a la revision to the mean.”
”Richard Nisbett, a world-renowned psychologist, explores how scientific and philosophical concepts change the way we solve problems by helping us think better.”
