Paul Graham
Essayist and programmer; co-founder of Viaweb and of the startup accelerator Y Combinator.
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
At one extreme, something you read can change your whole way of thinking. The Selfish Gene did this to me. It was like suddenly seeing the other interpretation of an ambiguous image: you can treat genes rather than organisms as the protagonists, and evolution becomes easier to understand when you do.
on paulgraham.com · 1 Jun 2025
A Mathematician's Apology by G. H. Hardy
This idea I learned from Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology
on paulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2023
The Copernican Revolution by Thomas Kuhn
but I also recommend his Copernican Revolution
on paulgraham.com · 1 May 2021
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
AI was in the air in the mid 1980s, but there were two things especially that made me want to work on it: a novel by Heinlein called The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
on paulgraham.com · 1 Feb 2021
Hilbert by Constance Reid
A few months ago, as I was reading Constance Reid's excellent biography of Hilbert, I figured out if not the answer to this question, at least something that made me feel better about it.
on paulgraham.com · 1 Dec 2014
The Harmless People by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
If you want to learn more about hunter gatherers I strongly recommend Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's The Harmless People and The Old Way
on paulgraham.com · 1 Mar 2012
The Old Way by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
If you want to learn more about hunter gatherers I strongly recommend Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's The Harmless People and The Old Way
on paulgraham.com · 1 Mar 2012
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
If you want to learn what people want, read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People.
on paulgraham.com · 1 Apr 2005
Byrne's Euclid by Oliver Byrne
And for those interested in graphic design, Byrne's Euclid
on paulgraham.com · 1 Mar 2005
Geometry and the Imagination by David Hilbert and Stephan Cohn-Vossen
by Courant and Robbins; Geometry and the Imagination
on paulgraham.com · 1 Mar 2005
What Is Mathematics? by Richard Courant and Herbert Robbins
Other highly recommended books: What is Mathematics?
on paulgraham.com · 1 Mar 2005
Everything Paul Graham recommends — not just books — on rcmnd →