a16z's Heavy Recommendation: 10 Must-Read Books for This Summer to Expand Your Horizons

Compiled by: Shenchao TechFlow

From Beach Reads to Basic Economics: 10 Books Recommended for Your Long Weekend

Here are some books that the a16z crypto team is reading and recommending this summer. Our latest reading list includes true stories, speculative fiction, and poetry, showcasing some clear themes: the pursuit of excellence, understanding edge cases (whether human, legal, or technical), and embracing unconventional thinking.

Here are 10 recommended books, but there are many more exciting titles waiting for you in the complete list.

Business, Economics and Strategy

Focus: The ASML Way – Inside the Power Struggle over the Most Complex Machine on Earth (Author: Mark Hijink)

Focus: The ASML Way – Inside the Power Struggle over the Most Complex Machine on Earth "ASML is a company that is both peculiar and fascinating – it is a quietly powerful giant that manufactures the large and complex machines that produce the vast majority of chips globally. This book offers an interesting perspective on its history and internal dynamics." – Arianna Simpson (Investment Sector)

Basic Economics (by Thomas Sowell) "Perhaps no one can write a more concise and powerful explanation of the basic economic principles that govern human behavior than this book. It is filled with fundamental thinking models that reveal many of the core logics driving the world." - Ali Yahya (Investment Field)

Nearly Perfect ("近乎完美", Author: Thomas Drach) "Just published this summer, this book explains the relationship between competitive advantage and product design almost perfectly. Without a doubt, this is the best work I have read in this field in recent years." — Scott Duke Kominers (Research Field)

Biography, History, and Memoirs

A Cracking of the Heart ("The Crack of the Heart", Author: David Horowitz) "On the surface, this book talks about sadness, reflections on regrets, the power of family bonds, and the emotional healing through the stories and truths of deceased loved ones. But it is also a book about how to live on your own terms, finding meaning and purpose in life, and understanding and connecting with each other amid differences in ideology, politics, and communication styles." — Sonal Chokshi (Editorial Team)

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey (《疑惑之河：西奥多·罗斯福最黑暗的旅程》，作者：Candice Millard) "Founders deeply immersed in the challenges of entrepreneurship can find inspiration from the story of Theodore Roosevelt and his son exploring the unknown rivers of the Amazon. It is a journey filled with trials and resilience." — Jason Rosenthal (Operations Team)

Tunnel 29: The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall ("29号隧道：一场非凡逃离柏林墙的真实故事", Author: Helena Merriman) "This almost unbelievable true story tells how a group of young and untrained students dug a tunnel across the Berlin Wall to rescue dozens of people from East Germany. What makes this book unforgettable is not only the danger and ingenuity involved, but also the clarity of purpose: a small team risking everything to create freedom for others." — Conner Brown (Technical Operations Team)

The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World ("完美主义者：精密工程如何创造了现代世界", Author: Simon Winchester) "I really enjoyed this book; it tells the story of how precision engineering has shaped the world we live in. Each chapter by Winchester follows a thread of increasing precision, depicting the evolution of accuracy from steam engines to silicon chips." — Robert Hackett (Editorial Team)

Science and Philosophy

Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance ("Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance," Author: Alex Hutchinson) "This book delves into the history and evolution of exercise science and its impact, showcasing through numerous real-world examples how and why we can tap into better performance than we imagine by tricking our brains and bodies." — Jay Drain Jr. (Investment Field)

Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life (《开放的苏格拉底：哲学生活的倡导》，作者：Agnes Callard) "If you dare to face the consequences, this book will tell you how to truly live a profoundly examined life. Callard, a philosopher at the University of Chicago, passionately advocates interacting with others through the Socratic method to break your ingrained assumptions." — Tim Sullivan (Editorial Team)

novel

Glorious Exploits ("The Glorious Adventures", by Ferdia Lennon) "The story is set in Sicily after the Peloponnesian War, but the narration is in modern Irish dialect. It begins with two unemployed potters going to the local quarry to deliver meals to prisoners, and then the plot unexpectedly develops into a high-quality Euripides play performance. This book is both humorous and touching, with a hint of magical color." —Stephanie Zinn (Editorial Team)

Books recommended for entrepreneurs and more people

If your reading list seems a bit thin, you can refer to a16z's previous seasonal reading lists, including the summer lists from 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2019, as well as the winter lists from 2024, 2023, 2022, 2018, 2017, and 2016. Additionally, you can check out the specially curated reading list for members of the Crypto Startup Accelerator, as well as the recommended reading list from the a16z Crypto Founders Summit. These books are suitable not only for entrepreneurs and founders in the crypto space but also cover biographies, company building and organizational history, creative inspiration, science fiction, and more.

Additional recommendation: You can also try using forage.com, a tool developed by Chris Dixon, founder and general partner of a16z in the crypto space, for discovering new books.

——a16z Crypto Editorial Team

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