The Unusual Books That Shaped Billionaires, Mega-Bestselling Authors, and Other Prodigies

Tim Ferriss pulls a recurring question from The Tim Ferriss Show, “what book have you gifted most often, and why,” and compiles the answers from guests like Peter Thiel, Tony Robbins, Ed Catmull, and chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin.

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• Peter Thiel names a single title: René Girard’s Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World.
• Tony Robbins lists a mix of self-development classics (As a Man Thinketh, Man’s Search for Meaning) alongside William Strauss’s generational-cycle books, The Fourth Turning and Generations.
• Peter Diamandis, of the X Prize, favors books tied to frontier ambition: Lindbergh’s The Spirit of St. Louis, Atlas Shrugged, and Kurzweil’s The Singularity Is Near.
• Josh Waitzkin’s list leans heavily on Kerouac and Hemingway, plus the Tao Te Ching and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, reflecting the same restless, on-the-road sensibility across authors.
• Ed Catmull’s picks trace back to Joseph Campbell’s hero’s-journey books, consistent with how Pixar builds its stories.
• Kevin Kelly, founding editor of WIRED, mixes Vonnegut and psychedelics (The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide) with career advice (So Good They Can’t Ignore You).