500+ Books Reviews in One Page

The focus of my book reviews is psychology, social skills, influence & persuasion, and, of course, power and power dynamics.

This is the biggest editorial book reviews page on the web. But my focus is on quality more than quantity.
I pride myself on approaching reviews with a gold-seeker spirit and a “BS detector on”.

This is where you separate the book wheat from the book chaff.

The Pareto Law applies to books as well: 20% of the books give you 80% of all the information you need.
This page helps you get to the 20% faster and more efficiently.

Social Skills Book Reviews

• People Skills (10/10) It’s mostly on assertive communication, but assertiveness is such a fundamental skill, and Burton is so good tt it deserves the top spot of all communication books I have read.
  |by R. Burton

• The Social Skills Guidebook (10/10) Possibly the best book I have read on social skills for beginners.
  |by C MacLeod

• Thanks For The Feedback (10/10) Albeit the name would suggest it’s “just” about feedback, Stone and Heen go so in-depth to make it an overall treasure throve of social psychology.
  | by Stone, Heen

• There Is No Good Card For This (10/10) What do you say when tragedy strikes and you’re at a loss of words? This book gives you the words and, most of all, the mindset. Great stuff.
  | by Crowe, McDowell

• The Power of a Positive No (10/10) In between an assertiveness text on how to defend our boundaries to a proper communication skills book, Ury delivers at full marks on both fronts.
  |by W Ury

• I’m OK – You’re OK (10/10) How is this clinical psychology-heavy text a 10/10 social skills book? It simply taught me more about emotional and social intelligence than any other book.
  | by T Harris

• Emotional Vampires (9/10) This book marries the information and knowledge of a professional with the writing format to make that knowledge easy and accessible to anyone. If you want to learn how to deal with personality disorders, this is your book.
  |by A Bernstein 

• Improve Your Social Skills (9/10) Daniel Wendler learned social skills as a boy with Asperger’s syndrome. He knows what it means to learn the ropes from scratch. If you’re experienced, this might be too basic for you. If not, go for it.
  | by D Wendler

• How to Win Friends & Influence People (9/10) Does this one need any intro? The reason I give it 9 instead of 10 is that I wished for a chapter that said: “but sometimes you just need to be direct and tell it how it is, without saving anyone’s face”.
  Other than that: a must read.
  | by D Carnegie

• The Like Switch (9/10) Two things I will never forget from this book: to send a sign of friendliness slightly tilt your head and raise your eyebrows when meeting someone as a sign of friendliness.
  But there is much more here. Good stuff.
  | by J Schafer

• 8 Keys to Eliminating Passive-Aggressiveness (9/10) Great examples, deep psychological analysis and explanations, great tips to dealing with passive-aggressiveness.
  | by A Brandt

• The Charisma Myth (8/10) Tons of great wisdom and insights with both good psychology and lots of practical tips
  | by O Cabane

• How to Talk to Anyone (8/10) Lots of good stuff here. Just watch out how you deploy some of these tips. Asking someone what they’d like written on their tombstone early in a conversation can easily scream of “weeeirdo”).
  | by L Lowndes

• The Laws of Human Nature (7/10) A wonderful book from Robert Greene. Some very good ideas on improving social skills as well, but it doesn’t rate higher than 7 because social skills is only a tiny fraction of the book.
  | by R Greene

• Dangerous Personalities (7/10) Imprecise when it comes to correct psychological diagnosis, but good to spot a few toxic personalities. And with a few good suggestions on dealing with them.
  | by J Navarro

• Charisma University (7/10) It’s a great course… If you are extrovert, want to become more extrovert or want to become like the author. But if you are interested in social power or different styles of being good with people, it loses some appeal. At 600 USD is also very pricey.
  | by C Houpert

• 25 Ways To Win With People (7/10) Very good suggestions. My only gripe with it is that it’s fully based on making people feel good. And sometimes not all people deserve your best treatment.
  | by J Maxwell

• Conversation Confidence (7/10) It’s a collection of tips rather than a unified system on how to level up your social skills. Many of the “tips” are good though.
  | by L Lowndes

• Small Talk Hacks (6/10) A couple of parts I disagree with, but overall it’s solid material for beginners. And it’s short and to the point.
  | by A Karia

• The Art of People (6/10) It’s actually very good on the basics and fundamentals. Yet a few details, in my opinion, were not how high quality individuals would behave.
  |by D Kerpen

• Enchantment (6/10) It’s very good information, just nothing new or groundbreaking. And maybe too big a scope with social skills and charm and then adding marketing and influencing as well.
  |by G Kawasaki

• Assertiveness: How to Stand Up For Yourself (6/10) Brief and to the point, it’s good with some great points but not memorable. I also didn’t agree with some of the examples.
  |by J Murphy

• Boundaries (6/10) It’s your book on assertiveness and drawing boundaries… If you are Christian. If not, it will be off-putting.
  |H Cloud

• Captivate (5/10) There is some very good wisdom mixed with some information that I found to be quite counterproductive (captivating too often means “try hard” here).
  | by V van Edwards

• Emotional Intelligence (5/10) It can be useful to think of emotional intelligence as a separate cognitive skill, but the book adds little value on top of its highly marketable (and dubious) assertion that “EI accounts for 80% of success”.
  | by D Goleman

• The 5 Essential People Skills (4/10) Good on assertiveness, but overall meh.
  | by D Carnegie Training

• Social Intelligence (3/10) I read it a couple of years back and I don’t remember much, except that it must have been a way to cash in on the previous book’s success.
  | by D Goleman

The best social skills books here:

Communication Skills Book Reviews

• Thanks For The Feedback (10/10) The best book on how to give and receive feedback, including some great psychology
  | by Stone, Heen

• Difficult Conversations (10/10) The best book I have read on broaching difficult topics and negotiating interpersonal conflicts. With great psychology and awesome examples.
  | by D Stone

• There Is No Good Card For This (10/10) If “normal” conversation can be difficult at times, what about when tragedy strike and there are no words? This book will help.
  | by Crowe, McDowell

• Crucial Conversations (9/10) One of the most popular books on verbal communication. And for good reasons.
  | by Patterson, Grenny, McMillian, Switzler

• 8 Keys to Eliminating Passive-Aggressiveness (9/10) Focused on passive-aggressive conversations, but since passive aggression is so widespread, anyone can learn from Brandt’s work.
  | by A Brandt

• Verbal Judo (8/10) If you learn how not to take things personally, you’re at 80% of controlling verbal interactions. The other 20%? Thompson shares it as a cop who has had plenty of street experience with verbal judo.
  | by G. J. Thompson

• How to Talk to Anyone (8/10) Lots of good stuff here. Just watch out how you deploy some of these tips. Asking someone what they’d like written on their tombstone early in a conversation can easily scream of “weeeirdo”).
  | by L Lowndes

• How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere (8/10) Short and to the point, all the fundamentals of listening, caring and being genuine are here.
  |by L King

• The Art of Mingling (7/10) Mostly conversation for parties. Including for crashing parties :).
  | by J Martinet

• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Verbal Self-Defense (7/10) Some very good idea on how to deal with verbal abuse.
  | by L Glass

• Nonviolent Communication (7/10) a good resource for conflict resolution and effective communication based on empathy and non-judgment
  | by M Rosenberg

• How to Talk So Kids Will Listen (7/10) Parents should definitely read this. Especially parents who haven’t been reading on communication and psychology.
  | by Faber, Mazlish

• The Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense (7/10) Good from a social skills point of view, but to become a proper social master you need a bit more.
  | by S Elgin

• Conversation Confidence (7/10) It’s a collection of tips rather than a unified system on how to level up your social skills. Many of the “tips” are good though.
  | by L Lowndes

• Small Talk Hacks (6/10) A couple of parts I disagree with, but overall it’s solid material for beginners. And it’s short and to the point.
  | by A Karia

• How to Argue and Win Every Time (6/10) Good for the basics, but don’t expect power moves and deep techniques here. It’s more about mindsets.
  |by G Spence

• Powerful Phrases For Dealing With Difficult People (4/10) Some good ideas but didn’t stick with me.
  | by R Evenson

Power Moves Book Reviews

• The Prince (10/10) Il Principe is not an easy read. But it’s a classic. It will teach you a low about how people operate. To me, The Prince has the keys to save the world: developing people who fundamentally good but who know how to be bad.
  | by N Machiavelli

• Workplace Poker (10/10) The best book I have read on office politics. A real diamond in the rough.
  | by D Rust

• The Art of Seduction (10/10) Not just about seduction, but social seduction as well. With his usual beautiful prose and deep understanding of human nature, Greene reviews charm, charisma and the use of flattery to ingratiate people.
  | by R Greene

• In Sheep’s Clothing (10/10) If you want to understand the psychology of power-hungry individuals, this is one of the best books.
  |by G Simon

• Game Theory Bargaining and Auction Strategies (9/10) A book on game theory taught me more on power moves than most books on social skills. And these are the real power moves that matter: the negotiation power moves that move millions (or even billions). So very worth learning.
  |by G Berz

• The 33 Strategies of War (9/10) The Art of War of our times.
  | by R Greene

• Secrets to Winning at Office Politics (9/10) Albeit not fully focused on power moves and games people play, it is a very good overview on power dynamics and how to navigate and leverage office politics
  | by M McIntyre

• The Art of The Deal (9/10) Trump is not fully forthcoming here because, just like everyone else, he tries to look better. A funny example: he says that he wanted to get homeless people into one of his buildings to help them. That left me wondering. And then I found out it was a move to push low paying tenants out (LOL so typical Trump). However, this is still a great book and it’s a great resource to understand the mindset of ruthless overachievers.
  | by D Trump

• The Laws of Human Nature (9/10) Albeit not fully dedicated to “power moves” as much as The 48 Laws of power is, I actually rate it even higher. The depth of psychological analysis of Greene is astounding and as good as in The Art of Seduction.
  | by R Greene

• What Would Machiavelli Do? (9/10) This is more of a satire type of book. Yet, some people do function and think like the author humorously portray, and it can be a great text to open people’s eyes to the reality of business (and life). Whether it’s humor or self-help, is up to you.
  |by S Bing
  

• The 48 Laws of Power (8/10) On the dark side of the human socialization, The 48 Laws of Power is an engaging read on games people play (or should avoid being played by)
  | by R Greene

• Power Cues (8/10) Some great wisdom on power dynamics.
  |by N Morgan

• The 50th Law (8/10) Not too heavy on power moves, but great stuff anyway.
  | by R Greene

• The Psychopath Whisperer (8/10) A couple of interesting games psychopath prisoners play to manipulate and dominate others (one is a sort of good cop, bad cop in the can, and the other is an inmate walking naked to catch everyone off guard).
  |by K Kiehl

• The Social Climber’s Bible (7/10) It’s 40% serious, 60% satire. But there is plenty to learn from, both in techniques and in mindsets.
  |by Wittenborn & Johnson

• The Art of Mingling (7/10) Funny and irreverent, The Art of Mingling is its own version of socializing power moves. It makes no qualms about lying though, and some might not find it ideal. But it has plenty more great tips.
  | by J Martinet
  

• The Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense (7/10) Good from a social skills point of view, but to become a proper social master you need a bit more.
  | by S Elgin

• Trust Me I’m Lying (7/10) Best book to understand the current digital media landscape. And to leverage it.
  |R Holiday

• Power moves (6/10) Some good ideas, but it’s not meant to be a deep analysis on power
  | by A Grant

• Games People Play (5/10) I had sky high expectation for this. And albeit there were some awesome insights on human relation dynamics, it was way too complex and convoluted and way too Freudian.
  | by E Birne

• Powerful Phrases For Dealing With Difficult People (4/10) Some good ideas but didn’t stick with me.
  | by R Evenson

• How to Argue and Win Every Time (3/10) The title an the author’s credentials promised an epic power moves books, but it wasn’t.
  |by G Spence

Best books on power:

Persuasion & Manipulation Reviews

• Methods of Persuasion (10/10) Kolenda makes it very clear he writes about persuasion and he opposes manipulation. However, how people use the information is up to them, and when it comes to information this one is a treasure trove: both to persuade and to defend yourself against manipulation.
  |by N Kolenda

• In Sheep’s Clothing (10/10) Simon explains how manipulators are aggressors in disguise, often hiding their egotistical thirst for power behind ideals and shared values.
  A seminal book for the philosophy behind this website and one of the best books to understand both manipulation and psychology in general.
  |by G Simon

• 30 Covert Emotional Manipulation Tactics (10/10) The best mix of quality and brevity to understand, as soon as possible, if you are are in a manipulative and abusive relationship
  |by A Birch

• How to Lie with Statistics (10/10) A great primer on how statistics can be willfully abused to sway us
  | by D Huff 

• Creating Lasting Change (10/10) Robbins’ recipe to influence people for the better. Plenty of NLP of course and a huge amount of examples. Good stuff, just too bad that it lacks in structure as Robbins jumps left and right. He opens new topics, but then doesn’t finish explaining them, which can leave the listener frustrated.
  |by T Robbins

• Don’t Think of An Elephant (10/10) How the political class swayed poor and middle class voters to vote against their own interest. Plus much wisdom on frames and how to use frames to influence others
  |by G Lakoff

• The Art of Seduction (10/10) Deep and highly advanced wisdom on charm, social seduction, psychology and the use of sex and the allure of sex as a weapon for influence and manipulation.
  |by R Greene

• Propaganda (9/10) Holy cow, what a sacred cow of persuasion and manipulation. Propaganda is a huge classic and basically gave birth to the literature on persuasion and manipulation. Bernays didn’t have access to advanced researches and studies, yet he drops knowledge left and right.
  I loved it.
  |by E Bernays

• Influence (9/10) It’s a huge classic and trendsetter. Most more modern and recent books on persuasion draw heavily from Influence’s 6 principles.
  | by R Cialdini

• The Art of Deception (9/10) Best book on social engineering.
  |by K Mitnick
  

• Get Anyone to Do Anything (8/10) Two takeaways: 1. When someone’s being rude, never use “I” or you take ownership of the issue. 2. To make people forgive you, give them power over you. High level social finessing.
  | by D Lieberman

• Bad Blood (8/10) The story of a real-life sociopath who manipulated the media, professional investors, Rupert Murdoch, Henry Kissinger, Forbes and much public opinion for a decade.
  |by J Carreyrou 

• Ho Tactics (8/10) Some of the dialogues and techniques were really good. Lambert has also written some more books on dating with lots of golden nuggets within.
  |by J Lambert

• A Gold Diggers Guide (8/10) The manual of the most astute gold diggers out there. If you plan on getting rich guys… Read up 🙂
  |by B Fletcher

• Controlling People (8/10) One of the highest quality books in this list when it comes to actual psychology. It explains the psychology of controlling people (mostly men), but it has fewer practical application
  |by P Evans

• The Psychopath Whisperer (8/10) One of the best books I have read on psychopaths. The author dealt with the most dangerous of them in high-security prisons and shares several anecdotes of games prisoners play.
  |by K Kiehl

• Psychopath Free (8/10) This is focused on psychopaths, controlling individuals and abusive individuals in relationships. Could have been shorter and less repetitive and the author, at the time of writing, was a somewhat easier victim. He also has little knowledge of correct terminology and no proper psychology training, but it’s very high-quality information.
  |by J MacKenzie 

• Pre-Suasion (8/10) High-quality Cialdini work, a perfect prequel to Influence
  |by R Cialdini

• Maximum Influence (8/10) Great overview on well-researched influencing principles in what’s a very highly underrated text.
  |by K Mortensen

• Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want (8/10) No new ground was broken here, but Dave Lakhani gets a huge boost for focusing on the persona who actually delivers the message, which is indeed your 80% when it comes to persuasion.
  |by D Lakhani

• The Like Switch (7/10) A couple of good ideas, including to flash your eyebrow up to send a signal of friendliness and giving a warm drink to make them feel warmer towards you. But doesn’t explain the underlying principles to help you generalize on those good tips, like some other deeper books here do
  |by J Schaefer

• Snakes in Suits (4/10) I had high expectation for this one, but it was only OK-ish in terms of theory and poor in terms of practical applications
  |by Babiak, Hare

• Social Engineering (5/10) A very good overview of the social engineering discipline. I was expecting more from the psychological point of view though. Too much on the technical side for our scope.
  |by C Hadnagy 

• Instant Influence (4/10) Not the worst, but pales in comparison to his other work.
  | by R Cialdini

• Win Bigly (4/10) The author brags a lot and has some good ideas for his Trump campaign analysis. But it’s too deterministic and, overall, does not deliver a high-quality analysis.
  |by S Adams

• The Straight Girl’s Guide to Sleeping with Chicks (4/10) I was hoping for some good psychology and techniques that lesbians use with straight (or curious) women.
  But this is not the book for that.
  |by J Sincero

• The Science of Likability (4/10) There are actually some good parts. But there are also some major mistakes that weigh the book down.
  |by P King

• Dark Psychology 202 (2/10) some interesting ideas and reflection but too much filler content in between to make it worth it.
  | by M Pace 

• Dark Psychology 101 (0/10) Skip.
  | by M Pace

Click here or the image for the best books on manipulation:

Dark Triad Book Reviews

• Casanova’s Memoirs (10/10) An adventurer high in Machiavellianism, power, and both romanticism and unrestrictedness (ie.: with a short-term sexual strategy). That’s a powerful, rare mix.
  But it’s not a book for everyone. It’s long, and you must be able to read between the lines and across culture to tease out mindset and techniques.
  |by G Casanova

• The Dictator’s Handbook (10/10) The best analysis of the techniques and power dynamics of dictatorship, with dictatoss usually men high in dark triad traits and power
  |by B Bueno de Mesquita

• Bad Blood (10/10) This is how white collar sociopaths operate when they got power (teaser: not in the best interest of investors, employee, society and, often, not even in their own best long-term interest)
  |by J Carreyrou 

• Confessions of A Sociopath (10/10) If you want to learn how a female, high-functioning sociopath thinks, feels, and act, this is a good one.

• The Art of Seduction (9/10) A book fully dedicated to seduction Machiavellianism, with the typical Robert Greene’s high quality
  | by R Greene

• Psychopath Free (9/10) How it feels to be the victim of a dark-triad man (spoiler: it sucks). On the negative side, it could have been briefer and better structured.
  | by J MacKenzie

• The Psychopath Whisperer (9/10) Highly entertaining and highly informative Kiehl’s work focuses omstly on low-functioning psychopaths think and behave
  |by K Kiehl

• Women Who Love Psychopaths (8/10) There seems to be a myth that psychopaths are “particularly good with women”. In truth, they are good with a certain subset of women. This book is partially successful in shedding some light on who those women are. But you need to read between the lines because the author fails to connect some dots (also see: why psychopaths are sexually successful).
  | by S Brown

• What Would Machiavelli Do? (8/10) A humorous take on Machiavellianism. But, perversely, also partially realistic: this is how some high in power, Machiavellian men think (also see “office power moves“).
  |by S Bing

• 30 Covert Emotional Manipulation Tactics (8/10) Dark triad in relationships is not all brawn and strength, and Birch does a good job at providing an overview of the sneakier aspects of manipulation.
  |A Birch

• Without Conscience (8/10) Robert Hare is one of the most famous names when it comes to psychopathy, and this is his best book
  |R Hare

• Ho Tactics by Lambert (8/10) A guide for the most Machiavellian women looking to exchange sex and companionship for power and money
  | by G.L. Lambert

• In Sheep’s Clothing (8/10) One of the best books to understand the psychology of individuals who score high in power -and who end up being highly Machiavellian to get it-.
  |by G Simon

• A Gold Diggers Guide (7/10) A self-professed former gold-digger writes what she learned milking men for money.
  |by B Fletcher

• Snakes in Suits (6/10) Good book on the phenomenon of psychopaths on the workplace. The rating could actually be higher, but I wanted to see more examples, and instead it remains a bit fluffy
  | by Hare & Babiak 

Click the image for the best dark triad books:

Leadership Books Reviews

• The New Psychology of Leadership (10/10) The only leaadership book I’ve read to actually leverage science and research. And it shows. It stands on a category of its own and makes all other books look like simplistic space-fillers (and I based on this book much of my article “how to be a leader“)
  | by A Haslam

• 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (8/10) My favorite book by John Maxwell. Biggest takeaway: refuse to work for people you don’t respect. They can’t be your leaders. And if you want to lead: gain people’s trust and respect.
  | by J Maxwell

• Leaders Eat Last (8/10) Leadership is not about being responsible for the numbers. It’s about being responsible for the people, who are responsible for the numbers.
  Nice in theory. Except sometimes you are also directly responsible for the numbers.
  But it’s a must read for any business leader and this is the mindset that will make you a beloved, enlightened leader.
  | by S Sinek

• The Charisma Myth (8/10) One of the best books on charisma. Especially important is the concept that there are different styles of charisma, including the quiet, slow moving and little-talking one (I’m looking at you, high-energy charisma coaches 🙂
  | by O Cabane

• The Leadership Challenge (8/10) I love this book because it’s based on years of research and observations. It only shows one type of leadership, though, mostly good for peaceful and stable times and bigger companies.
  | by Kouzes & Posner

• Primal Leadership (8/10) It becomes verbose and flufly in the second part. But the first part is key to understand two important leadership concepts: the different styles of leadership and when to use which, and the importance of mastering more than one style of leadership
  |by D Goleman

• The Truth About Leadership (8/10) Based on data from a large survey, Kouzes and Posner go at core of the key characteristics of a great leader.
  | by Kouzes, Posner

• A Higher Loyalty (8/10) The story of a leader who got sacked by a bigger leader when he refused to pledge allegiance. This a story of power moves and intrigues, and a man who decided to stay true to his values.
  This is a leader we can learn from (minus all the PC BS though :).
  |by J Comey

• Onward (8/10) Giving up leadership of your company. Then coming back in to bring your company back from the brink by going it back to your love and mission. That’s the story of Onward.
  | by H Schultz

• The Dichotomy of Leadership (7/10) I have a lot of reserves on the close-minded, guns-loving military mindsets here.
  But I also have a lot of respect for a few fundamental truths of great leadership, including loving the team but making the difficult decisions that put team and mission above any single individual.
  |by Babin, Willink

• The Culture Code (7/10) Wonderful book for one main concept all leaders should double down: top performing teams feel a sense of belonging.
  |by C Doyle

• First Break All The Rules (7/10) I didn’t like this “contrarian marketing ploy”. But the findings of the Gallup survey is something that anyone in leadership (or HR) positions should know about
  |M Buckingam

• Eleven Rings (7/10) If you are planning to hire and lead a team of superstars, you might want to look into a guy who’s trained plenty of superstars in the same team.
  | by P Jackson 

• Creativity Inc. (7/10) A must read if you are a leader in a creative field -or aspire to be one-. And a good wake up call on power moves and human nature: after all the sweet talk about the importance of the employees, the author was indicted for wage-fixing (also see: “corporate lies“).
  |by E Catmull

• Extreme Ownership (6/10) It’s very popular for navy seals to write book and people love a good war story. The concept of extreme ownership (ie.: take responsibility for everything) is super powerful. Beyond that, militarism, jingoism, and fluff.
  We’ve alrady heard the bit of “taking extreme ownership” and “following orders”, haven’t we?
  | by Willink & Babin

• Developing the Leader Within You (5/10) Good, but not great or groundbreaking.
  | by J Maxwell

• Leadership and Self-Deception (4/10) A bit one dimensional and simplistic. And I didn’t really like this “in the box”/”outside the box” frame of reference.
  | by Arbinger Institute

Dating Reviews For Women

• Attached (9/10) eye-opening, it will change how you look at partners, dating and relationships -and it will give you a couple of reasons why dropping the “unavailable games” might be a good idea-
  | by A Levine

• Date-onomics (9/10) How the laws of economics and supply and demand affect dating. Another eye-opening book not just for dating but to understand humans in general.
  | by J Birger

• The Tao of Dating (9/10) One of the best dating book for women I have read -if not the best-.
  | by A Binazir

• Attraction Explained (9/10) One of the few books to actually look into science and research. The only limitation is the author’s limited experience with women and, I felt, a leftist bias in wanting to see men and women as the exact same (they’re not)
  | by V Swami

• Act Like a Lady Think Like a Man (8/10) The idea that men need to achieve a minimum level of achievement before settling was a groundbreaking one in the literature. It’s mostly true for driven men, but something to keep in mind when dating.
  | by S Harvey

• Never Chase Men Again (8/10) The author has a very good grasp on how high quality men think and react to certain types of women’s behavior. It’s information that I haven’t seen in most other resources.
  | by B Bryans

• Men Don’t Love Women Like You (8/10) This one is all about dating aggressively, making the first step and grilling him to really go to the core of who he is.
  I think it might be a bit too dominant at times and it might not be easy to deploy, but there is some good stuff here.
  | by G.L. Lambert

• Ho Tactics by Lambert (8/10) This is how to date for women seeking a sugar daddy. Some very good psychology here. It won’t work with the most shrewd men, but you might get yourself some dumber deep-pocked one to bankroll your life.
  | by G.L. Lambert

• Get the Guy (7/10) The most peculiar approach in the women’s dating arena. I especially like the invite to women to take a more active role and men make it happen.
  | by Matthew Hussey

• A Goal Diggers Guide (7/10) This isn’t just dating, this is dating for women who want to get stuff from men. And if that’s your goal, this is a great book -including the final suggestion that is to eventually work on making yourself independent-
  | by B Fletcher

• The Straight Girl’s Guide to Sleeping with Chicks (7/10) If you’re looking for girl on girl action, you might find something here (but mostly for a laugh).
  |by J Sincero

• To Date a Man You Must Understand a Man (7/10) Brief and to the point, a good overview.
  | by G Michaelsen

• Straight Talk, No Chaser (6/10) Harvey says that nope, your it’s not your success that “intimidates men”. Stops using that as an excuse.
  | by S Harvey

• He’s Just Not That Into You (6/10) It’s a funny read, but if you’re reading it to get some actionable advice there is little beyond “move to the next one”.
  | by G Behrendt, L Tuccillo

• The Power of the Pussy (6/10) I personally found it a bit too combative and bitter towards men. Make sure you don’t pick that mindset, and otherwise is has some good recommendation (including the basics).
  | by K King

• Why Men Love Bitches (6/10) It’s a great read for women who are too nice. Don’t go too overboard though or it becomes counterproductive.
  | by S Argov

• Why Men Marry Bitches (6/10) Some suggestions I don’t agree with, but also some good advice I haven’t seen anywhere else (ie.: don’t make him feel marriage is a financial risk)
  | by S Argov

• FUCK Him! Nice Girls Always Finish Single (6/10) Repeats some information from a couple different books. But it purges the combativeness and the worst mind games. And it’s brief and to the point.
  | by B Nox

• Ignore the Guy, Get the Guy (5/10) The title says it all and there is little more. It’s mostly for women who want to get back with an ex.
  | by L Braswell 

• Modern Romance (4/10) A mix of satire and dating advice. Good idea on the paradox of choice applied to dating, but not much more.
  | by A Ansari

• How to Make Someone Love You Forever in 90 Minutes or Less (2/10) What I remember from this book is that you should repeat “me too” as often as possible in the beginning. I think there are more grown-up ways to convey like-mindedness
  | by N Boothman

Dating Reviews For Men

• What Women Want / Mate (9/10) This is slightly more geared towards long-term relationships and to those who want to date as providers (ie.: the majority of guys).
  And it’s possibly the best one at that.
  But it’s also top-notch for more lover types, since they will learn what’s attractive based on science, instead of what the authors think.
  | by G Miller & Tucker M

• The System (9/10) Books are great, but to learn the art seeing is much better. That’s why I feature video-products very high in this list, and Todd Valentine is one of the good guys to learn from
  | by T Valentine

• Date-onomics (9/10) If you want to understand dating, you must read this (but there are no seduction techniques)
  | by J Birger

• The Man’s Guide to Women (9/10) In an industry with little science, Gottman is one of the few researchers that writes with some more research-backing.
  This is not for pick up and seduction, but if you’re interested in long-term relationship you should read it.
  | by J Gottman

• Attraction Explained (9/10) One of the few books to actually look into science and research. The only limitation is the author’s limited experience with women and, I felt, a little leftist bias in wanting to see men and women as the exact same (they’re not)
  | by V Swami

• The Art of Seduction (9/10) It’s by far the best one to understand some psychology of attraction. I don’t give it a 10/10 because it’s not the best on actual techniques and it’s more geared towards old school slower game (Greene is maybe not a seducer himself).
  | by R Greene

• Fundamentals of Female Dynamics (9/10) In between a dating text and a self-help book, it makes the valid point that success in dating equates success in life. The author has a good grasp of dating and psychology and what I enjoyed most is how he debunks many myths of poorer -but more widespread- pick-up literature.
  |by M Knight

• How to Make Girls Chase (9/10) No made up evolutionary psychology, no self-help rehash, no “you can do it” pep talk: just lots of high quality techniques and processes.
  | by C Amante

• One Date (9/10) It’s lower compared to “The System” because of the delivery, which is in the format of two guys talking to each other. On the other hand, the information is top notch.
  |by C Amante 

• Invincible (8/10) It draws heavily from Robbins and The Art of Seduction, which I felt were unnecessary (or at least some credit was due to the latter).
  A bit too long but it’s solid material and a valuable focus on the fundamentals.
  | by D Tian

• Models (8/10) A wholesome approach to dating that merges dating advice with self-improvement aimed at making you a high value man. I find it a bit too “media friendly” with its safe messages of “drop games”, “be vulnerable” and “relationships trump sleeping around”, but it’s nonetheless quality information.
  | by M Manson

• Day Game (8/10) It’s a video product. Not super long so it doesn’t go deep in mindsets and psychology, but it’s solid information.
  | by T Valentine

• Undercover Sex Signals (7/10) Some good body language of attraction here. However, the book format when it comes to learning and understanding body language is a big disadvantage.
  | by L Lowndes

• Alpha Male Strategies (7/10) If it weren’t for some typical red pill stuff  I disagree with (ie.: manipulate women because they manipulate you & women can’t love men), this would be much higer.
  |by AMS

• Practical Female Psychology (7/10) Some great ideas here. I couldn’t get over the made up psychology and evolutionary psychology though and, for me, all those mistakes polluted the otherwise great ideas.
  |by Various Authors

• The Dating Playbook for Men (7/10) A mix of self-development and dating guide. The dating part is of mixed quality but the good parts outweigh the not so good ones.
  | by A Ferebee

• The Rational Male (7/10) Some solid, time-tested advice and an age-based overview of the sexual market value for both men and women. But also some unhelpful sweeping generalization and some incorrect assumption and theories.
  | by R Tomassi

• How to Be a 3% Man (7/10) Very good on general mindsets, loses some points on the technicalities and nuances of dating’s psychology.
  |C Wayne

• The Noble Art of Seducing Women (7/10) Contrary to lots of male coaches Kezia explains that the dichotomy is not nice guys finishing last and bad boys getting the girls. Good guys are equally, and often more successful than all (but bad boys have appeal on the younger girls).
  | by K Noble

• The Way of The Superior Man (6/10) Some good advice like animalistic ravishing, not making women your only life priority and women testing men. But also some bad advice with operant conditioning done wrong by rewarding bad behavior. All delivered in New-Agey format which you will either love or hate.
  | by D Deida

• The Book of Pook (6/10) This is the collection of all of Pook’s posts. Mindset gold nuggets though are disseminated in a sea of long rants and sometimes generic and imprecise advice. The biggest takeaway for me are these: build the life you want to have without making women the center of it.
  | by Pook

• The Manual: What Women Want (6/10) Some good stuff mixed with some bad manosphere content, mixed with some bad dating advice. But if you know how to separate the wheat from the chaff, it can add value.
  | by W Anton

• Conversation King (6/10) Fully focused on conversation.
  | by T Torero

• Body Language of Love & Dating (6/10) Some good scientific research in here. Two takeaways: approach from the side and use lots of interjections.
  | by V van Edwards

• The Mystery Method (5/10) Some good ideas but also some not so good ones. Overall, the system is too complex and many steps are often unneeded to provide real value.
  | by Mystery

• The Text and Phone Game (4/10) I found the recommended texts to be mostly on the playful side. Maybe not bad if you’re part of a younger crowd. But if you’re aiming to be a high-quality dude I wouldn’t use these texts.
  | by K Noble

• Transformation Mastery (4/10) Woo-woo self-help based on “Letting Go” and targeted to red pill and PUAs communities. I actually liked the main idea, but it could have been condensed in a 10 minutes video.
  | by J Blanc

• Advanced Dating Techniques (3/10) Long winded, thin content and much of that content I didn’t even find effective.
  | by D DeAngelo

• The Game (3/10) Entertaining story, but not nearly as good when it comes to dating techniques.
  | by N Strauss

Too much to read? Check out the best dating resources for men:

Manosphere, Feminism, Red Pill, MRA, etc.:

• Dating Power Dynamics (10/10) combines both first-hand experience and the best of the best scientific research to provide you with a neutral overview of the sexual marketplace, sexual market value, tools to boost your value, and sexual power dynamics.
  | by L Buffalmano

• The Evolution of Desire (10/10) One of the few texts to shed some scientific light into the sexual marketplace.
  | by D Buss

• The Mask of Masculinity (8/10) The different types of masks that men wear in society to look stronger, cooler, smarter and… Generally trying hard to look better than they are (also see “alpha male posturing“).
  | by  L Howes

• The Rational Male – Preventive Medicine (7/10) This might be the book that made me think and learn the most from Tomassi’s trilogy.
  | by R Tomassi

• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism (7/10) Such a pity for the feminist and leftist bias, because her analysis on the male-female conflict for political and cultural control is spot-on. The analysis on sexual economics is OK, but lacking.
  | by K Ghodsee

• 12 Rules For Life (6/10) Awesome first chapter, but loses the plot and becomes a charicature of Jordan Peterson. Aesthetics are a nice touch to a good book, but at times it felt Peterson’s prose built so much upon itself that aesthetics became the message instead of supporting the message.
  | by J Peterson

• The Rational Male (6/10) Some great foundational concepts, but when it goes deeper, it’s a a bit too one-sided to provide a scientific, or even simply just neutral analysis. The sexual market value analysis is mostly based around age, which is somewhat limiting.
  | by R Tomassi

• The Manipulated Man (6/10) “Women are leechers”, could be this book’s supreme summary.
  I think Vilar misses out on the fact that reproduction puts most of the strain on women, so it’s only normal that they work somewhat less than men do (yeah, that too, she generalizes a lot). She also misses on more basic biology and evolutionary psychology, but it’s an interesting -and very controversial- take.
  | by E Vilar

• Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging (7/10) Very good to understand the sociology and the groups’ influence on human’s mind and behavior. But very poor in its idealization of tribes. I basically found myself to be on the opposite side of Sebastian’s arguments all book long.
  | by S Junger

• Men on Strike: Why Men Are Boycotting Marriage (6/10) Much more balanced than The Feminist Lie. It really hit when the author asked if it’s normal that men today feel they shouldn’t be around children. I do feel that way indeed. And probably it’s not normal indeed.
  | by H Smith

• The Feminist Lie (6/10) It makes very good points. My only issue with it is that it frames the whole thing as “men against women”.
  | by B Lewis

• The Way of Men (5/10) It’s an interesting read and Donovan is not wrong. But I fundamentally disagree with its main message.
  Donovan says a man needs a gang of other men to fully develop his masculinity. To me, that sounds like promoting groupthink and irrational herd behavior (hooliganism anyone?).
  Instead, I believe a man needs to find himself first before joining any group -or he’s going to be at the group’s mercy-.
  | by J Donovan 

• The Feminine Mystique (5/10) An historical landmark and a wake up call for men who thought all women were the happiest staying at home and being housewives. A bit light on actual data, but a good eye for catching human sentiment. It features lower here because times changed and you’re not going to learn nearly as much today.
  |by B Friedan

• Men Explain Things to Me (5/10) Some good ideas and reflections, but lacks in real depth.
  |by R Solnit

• The Way of The Superior Man (4/10) It’s popular and well acclaimed, but it didn’t speak to me. Cloaking sexual dominance with spiritualism helped the book’s popularity, but it didn’t make the message clear or precise.
  The sweeping generalizations and poor psychology and relationship advice also didn’t help.
  | by D Deida

• The Rational Male – Positive Masculinity (4/10) Of Tomassi’s three books, this was the most rant-like and sectarian, more about “joining the gang” than on actual content. On the positive side, great advice on vetting her based on her past (and I agree on the ridiculousness of the media framing the “first time a woman did X..” as if it were a win for all women)
  | by R Tomassi

• Lean In (1/10) “Lean In” would be deemed as “toxic masculinity” if it were written by a man.
  Sandberg calls on women to “unite” and “help each other”, going as far as complaining aout other women who didn’t help her out.
  This book manages to be at the same time elitist, divisive, and shallow. And, finally, it’s also wrong and misleading in its analysis of sexual dynamics.
  |S Sandberg

Click here or the image below for the best red pill books:

Relationships Book Reviews

• The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work (10/10) If you had to read one single book of Gottman’s deep well of research, go with this one.
  | by J Gottman

• Not Just Friends (10/10) If you are looking for information on emotional infidelity, on preventing infidelity and on mending a relationship after infidelity, look no further (or look at my post based on this book).
  | by S Glass

• Attached (10/10) Necessary read to understand relationship and must read if you are an anxious attachment
  | by A Levine

• Why Does He Do That? (10/10) Deep, eye-opening account of abusive men and the relationships they form. BUT, it’s not equally deep in the psychology of WHY women often stick with abusive men anyway.
  | by L Bancroft

• Hold Me Tight (9/10) Simple, yet profound message: great relationships are not built on great communication. Great couples don’t communicate any better than poor ones.
  The difference is all in emotional intimacy (boom).
  | by S Johnson

• The Man’s Guide to Women (9/10) Great stuff for men. Many men badly need it.
  | by J Gottman

• The 5 Love Languages (9/10) You can both love each other, but you can fail to communicate it properly if you don’t use the same language. This book will rescue you. It’s a very simple concept, you can read the summary and skip the book to be honest.
  | by G Chapman

• Too Good to Leave Too Bad to Stay (9/10) If you are ambivalent and not sure whether you should breakup or work on your relationship, this book is for you.
  | by M Kirshenbaum

• 8 Keys to Eliminating Passive-Aggressiveness (9/10) Passive aggression must be cured or it breeds resentment
  | by A Brandt

• The Relationship Cure (8/10) Highly specific on how small daily acts of “turning towards” build emotional intimacy. Must read for anyone who’s serious about improve his relationship. | by J Gottman

• Men Are From Mars Women are From Venus (8/10) One of the most hated and criticized relationship book in the world. Feminists hate it, researchers hate for having no data and many hate it for implying women and men are completely different.
  And still, it does get a lot of stuff right.
  | by J Gray

• Why Marriages Succeed or Fail (8/10) It’s not true that great relationships have little arguing. Argumentative couples can get along as much as peaceful ones. But they must avoid the four horsemen of the apocalypse and keep a ratio of 5 positives to 1 negative.
  | by J Gottman

• Psychopath Free (8/10) There are a few very nasty individual out there. People who can fake love just for the sake of taking from you. Or for the feeling of power of destroying you. Psychopath Free will help you identify them.
  | by J MacKenzie

• Codependent No More (7/10) It was the first book who popularized the dependent/codependent dysfunctional dynamic. Must read if you tend to end up in such relationships, otherwise you can skip it -unless you want to get deep into psychology-.
  | by M Beattie

• The Science of Trust (7/10) Wanna hear a shocker? Gottman couldn’t believe when abused women told him the best sex they had was right after a beating.
  There are some pearls, but it’s too long and technical.
  | by J Gottman

• Getting the Love You Want (7/10) Highly informational and some deep psychology. But a bit too Freudian in my opinion. It’s good for troubleshooting, but if you’re you’re looking to actually improve your relationship, you might want to start with something else.
  | by H Hendrix

• Ten Lessons to Transform Your Marriage (7/10) A good primer into Gottman’s research.
  | by J Gottman

• The Mastery of Love (6/10) You need to love yourself before you can love someone else. And the best relationships are about accepting our partners as they really are. Those are the most relevant bits of information.
  | by M Ruiz

• Straight Talk, No Chaser (5/10) To improve relationship women could pick their battles, avoid constant nagging and don’t go wild crazy. What research doesn’t say, any sensible man could tell you. And it’s not any less true :).
  | by S Harvey

• The Way of The Superior Man (4/10) Some good advice for men -like women testing men and not wanting to be their only priority mixed with generic content and some poor advice -operant conditioning done wrong by rewarding bad behavior, for example-.
  | by D Deida

• Real Love (3/10) Way too much woo-woo. When a book tells me to “love everybody” I shut off. It’s not about being cynic, it’s about knowing that not everyone is worthy of your love.
  | by S Salzberg 

Body Language Book Reviews

• Power Cues (10/10) Every good body language book repeats you shouldn’t generalize beliefs and attitudes from single signs and poses. But Only Power Cues walks that talk to deliver a truly holistic approach to both body language and self-development.
  |by N Morgan

• The Definitive Book of Body Language (10/10) The golden standard of body language
  | by A Pease

• What Every BODY Is Saying (9/10) The second best body language book I have ever read.
  | by J Navarro

• Winning Body Language (8/10) Mostly geared for speakers and presentations, there is lots of wisdom here.
  | by M Bowden
• Body Language of Love & Dating (6/10) It’s a video course, which gives it some huge advantage over body language books.
  | by V van Edwards

• The Body Language Project (7/10) Lots of pictures, which is awesome.

• Undercover Sex Signals (6/10) Mostly focused on women’s attraction signals
  | by L Lowndes

• Body Language (4/10) Overall meh.
  |by D Cohen

Influence & Sales Book Reviews

• Influence (10/10) It’s a huge classic and trend setter. Most books on influence will draw heavily from this one.
  | by R Cialdini
  

• Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive (10/10) I usually don’t like “lists” posts or books. They are often click-baits with shallow content and ankle-deep analysis. But, obviously, this is an exception.
  |by Cialdini et All
  

• Pre-Suasion (9/10) The sequel to Influence. Explains that what comes before your pitch is often what makes the difference. Must read as well if you’re into people’s skills and influence.
  | by R Cialdini

• The Social Animal (9/10) Albeit this is a social psychology book for universities and not a book on influencing, it talks at length on influence and changing people’s minds and opinions. Being based all on science and research makes it one of the best resource available.
  | by E Aronson

• To Sell Is Human (9/10) Not your “how to sell manual”, but by far my favorite book on selling. It’s one of the few sales books with some good research and psychology behind and it debunks quite a few sales myths (ie.: “overcome objections”, “tell yourself you can do it”, “extroverts sell better”)

• The Power to Influence (8/10) This is more sales oriented compared to creating lasting change which is more holistic. It’s a great product for sales manager and sales professionals.
  | by T Robbin

• Straight Line Persuasion (8/10) This is a video series by Jordan Belfor, who is the guy in The Wolf of Wall Street. The mindsets and sales is good (but not great). But the part on voice tonality is the best I’ve ever heard.
  | by J Belfort

• Pitch Anything (8/10) This is The Power Moves applied to pitching. However, it’s too aggressive and can be very off-putting.
  However, do read it, you will learn a lot about power dynamics
  | by O Klaff

• The Art of Closing The Sale  (8/10) If you had to pick one sales product from Tracey, go for this one.
  | by Brian Tracy

• The Charisma Myth (8/10) A very good resource to learn how to become more persuasive from a personality point of view.
  | by O Cabane

• Charisma on Command (7/10) One of the best books on social skills. I can’t rate it higher though because the author pitches high energy, loudness and charisma as the only way to be charismatic and socially skilled -which is obviously not true-.
  |C Houpert

• Be a Sales Superstar  (7/10) Good overview by a giant in the sales industry
  | by B Tracy

• The Greatest Salesman in the World (7/10) I love the idea of becoming better salespeople by becoming better persons and loving our customers. However, it’s a bit light on actual techniques.
  | by O.G. Mandino

• Persuasive Selling & Power Negotiation (6/10) This is a mix audiobook of various authors and coaches. It has some great tracks mixed with some other “soso” tracks.
  |by Various Authors

• The Go Giver (5/10) The mindset of asking without giving is bankrupt and won’t budge you in life of an inch. But the Go Giver with its emphasis on giving, giving, giving, is too prone to abuse in my opinion.
  | by Burg & Mann

• Sell or Be Sold (4/10) Some good points in the midst of lots of fluff.
  | by Grant Cardone

Negotiation Book Reviews

• Negotiation Genius (10/10) If you had to pick one single book on negotiation, go for this one. It provides the best overview, and the best techniques to reach win-win
  | by D Malhotra

• Secrets of Power Negotiation (10/10) This is The Power Moves of negotiating. Learn what tricks the most shrewd (and sometimes sneaky) negotiators play and learn to play the game. Eye opening.
  | by R Dawson

• Game Theory Bargaining and Auction Strategies (10/10) After tens of books on negotiation, this is the first and so far only one that actually taught how it’s best to sell your house (ie.: with a Dutch auction).
  Plus of course, I will add my own power moves to it (which I share in the Social Power course).
  Oh yeah, and it also taught me about psychology, abuse and manipulation.
  Invaluable.
  |by G Berz

• Getting Past No (9/10) All the basics of dealing with difficult negotiators are here.
  |by W Ury

• Getting to Yes (8/10) A huge classic of negotiation. And for good reasons: all the basics of positive and constructive negotiation are here. One or two points less because it was a bit weaker when it comes to power moves.
  |by Ury & Fisher

• Never Split The Difference (8/10) Many (poor) resources focus on “getting to yes” (no matter what). The biggest pearl of this book is that to get powerful yeses you have to empathize, listen and empower them to say no.
  | by C. Voss

• The Art of The Deal (8/10) I absolutely loved this book. Not so much in terms of actual techniques (and Trump pisses off people too much anyway), but a few power moves and mindsets will help you understand how sharks think.
  |D Trump

• Persuasive Selling & Power Negotiation (7/10) This is a mix audiobook of various authors and coaches. It takes “a lot of leaves” from Power Negotiating book but also adds some great insights from other negotiators. Including a woman “power negotiating” her marriage proposal :)has some great tracks mixed with some other “soso” tracks.
  |by Various Authors

• Pitch Anything (6/10) Good to understand power dynamics, but I’m not sure you want to use these techniques. They are at high risk of rubbing decisions makers the wrong way.
  | by O Klaff

Sociology & Psychology Book Reviews

• The Social Animal (10/10) The most complete, extensive and high-quality overview of (social) psychology I have read so far.
  | by E Aronson

• I’m OK – You’re OK (10/10) If you have or if you know anyone who has issues with authorities, this book can help (hint: it can be a parent-child dynamic). It certainly did help me to better understand social dynamics, to troubleshoot some of my relationships and to further improve my social skills.
  | by T Harris

• Will I Ever Be Good Enough?  (10/10) Even if you didn’t have a narcissistic mother you will learn hugely on how parents impact children’s psyche. Including how demand and expectations of parents can weigh negatively on the children’s whole life.
  It should be mandatory reading for parents.
  | by K McBride

• In Sheep’s Clothing (10/10) All psychologists should read this.
  |by G Simon

• Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty (10/10) If you want to understand the dark side of human nature, look no further.
  |by R Baumeister

• Attached (10/10) Possibly the best book on relationships’ and attachment’s psychology.
  | by Amir Levine

• The Body Keeps the Score (10/10) If you’re interested in trauma, PTSD and trauma recovery, this is your resource.
  | by B van der Kolk

• The Laws of Human Nature (10/10) It’s debatable if one single book is enough to detail human nature, but if there is one author who is going to make it both entertaining, deep and chock-full of wisdom, that’s Mr. Greene.
  | by R Greene

• Mindset (10/10) Must read, both for personal self-development and for understanding people and psychology.
  |  by C Dweck

• Man’s Search for Meaning (10/10) Albeit not strictly a psychology book, Frankl tells you all you need to know about humans: the same species that built gas chambers, walked upright into gas chambers and gave their last morsel of bread to a dying comrade.
  | by V Frankl 

• I Hate You Don’t Leave Me (9/10) Best book to understand and deal with BPD
  | J Kreisman

• The Lucifer Effect (9/10) Long and too detailed. But the key message can change us -and the world- for the better: to resist the perpetration of evil, we must empower ourselves.
  | by P Zimbardo

• Nudge (9/10) The Bible of Libertarian Paternalism and how psychology can help policymakers and government develop better societies.
  Any psychologist and social scientist should read it.
  |by Sunstein & Thaler

• The Highly Sensitive Person (9/10) For anyone interested in psychology, learning about highly sensitive people is a must.
  |E Aron
  

• Drive (9/10) Daniel Pink is the more scientific version of Malcolm Gladwell. He has a knack for turning research into simple and applicalbe concepts that business owners and influencers alike can use in their daily lives. And he does a great job here focusing exlusively on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
  | by D Pink

• Predicatbly Irrational (9/10) Yes, our mind is irrational, we know that, buy Ariely gives us practical examples and applicable corollaries.
  | by D Ariely 

• The Paradox of Choice (9/10) I have a personal soft spot for The Paradox of Choice because it helped improve my level of happiness and fulfillment. If you tend to spend lots of time choosing what to buy and if you regret your decisions, you must read this book.
  | by B Schwartz

• Quiet: The Power of Introverts (9/10) Don’t skip it thinking you already know what’s introversion/extraversion is. If you are into psychology this is a muster read.
  | by S Cain

• The Sociopath Next Door  (9/10) Not everything is relative: there really are mean and evil people. And there are enough of them that you will eventually meet a few. Be ready.
  | by M Stout

• Why Does He Do That?  (9/10) A seminal book on the psychology of abusive men.
  | by L Bancroft

• The Brain That Changes Itself  (9/10) This book both explains neuroplasticity and underpins much of the self-development industry by confirming that yes, we can change. And we can change a lot.
  | by N Doidge

• 30 Covert Emotional Manipulation Tactics (9/10) Brief and to the point. The quickest and one of the best books to troubleshoot if you are in a manipulative relationship.
  |A Birch

• Misbehaving (9/10) If you want to understand the history of behavioral economics, look no further. If you want to understand behavioral economics in general, look no further. And it’s also great to understand how new theories emerge (and the human drives to power they need to overcome).
  |by R Thaler

• To Sell Is Human (8/10) A scientific and psychological look at selling and persuading. A bit of a mixed bag as it doesn’t focus on anything specific, but it has plenty of good insights (and I personally learned a couple of important new things).
  |D Pink

• Brandwashed (8/10) One of the best books to understand the manipulations of marketing. Must read for any marketer.
  |M Lindstrom

• The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump (8/10) Bit repetitive and political, but a highly instructive read. You get 27 accredited mental health professionals analyzing one single individual. No matter your political views, that’s a great opportunity to learn.
  | by Various Authors

• Whoever Fights Monsters (8/10) One of the most successful serial killers’ profilers takes you on a (rather disturbing) voyage at the intersection of psychology, criminology and psychiatry.
  |by R Ressler

• Emotional Vampires (8/10) If you want to learn how to learn about personality disorders in an easily accessible format, this is your text. But it’s not for professionals looking for case studies and researches.
  | by A Bernstein 

• Incognito  (8/10) Not only we are governed in large part by our subconscious, but our brain has also different “camps”, all pulling us in different directions. That makes a lot of sense when you think about it…
  | by D Eagleman

• The Red Queen (8/10) A few imperfections -like sperm wars presented as scientific truth-, but otherwise a very, very good text to understand both sexual evolution and human nature -humans are sexual maximizing machines after all-.
  | by M Ridley
• The Undoing Project (8/10) The history of Tversky and Kahneman’s friendship, the two men who the most contributed to the birth of behavioral economics.
  Don’t worry, it’s not just biography: lots of great psychology as well.
  |by M Lewis

• Stop Walking on Eggshells (8/10) If you want to learn about borderline personality disorder, this is your book. If you’re living with, or have a relationship with people who threaten suicide or go on an emotional roller coaster, read this book.
  | by Mason & Kreger

• No Logo (8/10) It might seem a stretch to put No Logo into a psychology books list. But the stories of how brands and marketing get into some people’s heads is psychology at its finest. Fascinating -and a bit sad- stuff.
  | by N Klein 

• Thinking Fast and Slow  (8/10) We have two ways of thinking: slow and logical and quick and illogical. We use the latter most of the times, and it’s full of psychological biases. And Kahneman lists them all.
  Good stuff.
  | by D Kahneman

• Flourish (8/10) It presents some mistakes and some debunked psychology myths, but it remains one of the best overviews of positive psychology (and the studies behind it).
  |by M Seligman

• Flow (8/10) So much has been written about “flow” that I felt compelled to pick up a copy. I find the “flow” to have been over-hyped and to present many limitations for those who seek performance. But it remains and important psychological concept.
  |by M Csikszentmihalyi

• The Happiness Hypothesis (7/10) By the title you would think it’s a “met too” positive psychology book. But it’s much more, and much better. I particularly enjoyed the “nature matters more than people think” and “we’re all programmed to by hypocrites” bits.
  |by J Haidt

• The Power of Habit (7/10) A good overview to understand the theory behind habits.
  | by C Duhigg
  

• The Wisdom of Crowds (7/10) I don’t believe much in the author’s main takeaway and it’s not very scientific. And yet, it softened my typical group-skeptic stance. And that’s quite something.
  |by J Surowiecki

• Whoever Fights Monsters (7/10) More based on experience rather than on science. That’s not bad per se, but I prefer both experience and science. Still, a must read for everyone working with the worst criminals and with serial killers.
  |by R Ressler

• Blink (7/10) Once we become good at something we learn to make snap decisions that are right a surprising number of times. It’s long and mostly theoretical though, if you’re looking for applicable insights, this is not your cup of tea.
  | by M Gladwell 

• The Female Mind (7/10) Maybe it stressed the differences a bit too much, but overall it’s a very good text to understanding the overall differences between genders.
  | by L Brizendine

• Freakonomics (7/10) Good for a relaxed and entertaining book at the beach, but to me it’s just little more than a collection of curiosities and a mixed bag of interesting theories.
  | by Levitt & Dubner

• Hooked (6/10) I gave an 8/10 to Hooked in the business category. It’s because it’s very helpful for business. But not deep enough for a psychologist in my opinion.
  | by N Eyal

• Outliers (6/10) Pop psychology at its finest. Do read it, but don’t believe that all you need to do to achieve greatness is logging 10.000 rules (it depends on the discipline, your initial talent, how you train, who you train with).
  | by M Gladwell

• When (6/10) An important different look at psychology: how the time of the day influences our cognitive processes. When something happens might not always be the most important variable, but it’s important to know and understand.
  |by D Pink

• Sway (6/10) On the same wave of Predictably Irrational, but it’s not a copy cat: adds original thought and
  |by Brafman

• The Social Animal (6/10) I learned quite a few things from Brooks, but I find the structure of following the entire life of two people a bit too tedious and scatterbrained. If you are looking for an overview and tidbits it can be good, if you are looking for specific information about a specific topic, then it’s less good.
  | by D Brooks

• Phantoms in the Brain (7/10) A good book to better understand the inner workings of the brain.
  | by V. S. Ramachandran 

• Eichmann in Jerusalem (6/10) This book has become a symbol for the “banality of Evil”, but albeit it’s historically good, it’s not nearly as good when it comes to psychology. Go for “Evil” instead or the “Lucifer Effect”.

• The Tipping Point (6/10) The concept of a few powerful connectors that drive most of the spreading is an important one. Except of that, it’s a typical Gladwell book: easy to read, lots of curiosities and interesting stories but little science, little practical applications and little added value.
  | by M Gladwell

• The 2008 Financial Crisis: A Social & Psychological View (6/10) Some excerpts of my master thesis. I picked the topic to understand the financial crisis and deepen my psychological knowledge. I didn’t care about the final grade, so the writing is mediocre to poor.
  | by Lucio

• The Marshmallow Test (6/10) History of the test with all the implications on self-control and delayed gratification. The test has been criticized -and for good reasons- but the book has a few great ideas to increase our self control
  | by W Mischel

• The Invisible Gorilla (5/10) A book on the limitations of our cognitive abilities. It’s not bad, but there are a lot of similar books around these days.
  | by Chabris, Simons

• David and Goliath (4/10) Easy and entertaining to read, but doesn’t add much value.
  | by M Gladwell

• Talking to Strangers (4/10) Another pop-psyhcology book with the typical Gladwell’s stamp: grab attention with stories, and seek what’s shocking, not what’s true.
  | by M Gladwell

• The Psychopath Test (4/10) Calls into question the reliability of psychiatry. But it’s otherwise fuzzy and confusing and doesn’t go anywhere.
  | by J Ronson

• Stumbling on Happiness (4/10) A patchwork mix of a few psychological biases. Little connection to happiness and incoherent for someone looking to deepen his understanding of psychology.
  | by D Gilbert
  

• Emotional Intelligence 2.0 (3/10) Emotional intelligence is key in life. But the author misinterprets the data and fails to recognize that sometimes low agreeableness and maybe even aggression can get you further. Read the book, but keep in mind the data interpretation issue.
  | by T Bradberry

• Dangerous Personalities (1/10) The book is not bad, but it’s bad for people who want to deepen their understanding of psychology. Trying to appeal to a mass market, the author bundles different and distinct pathologies together. Then slaps them with catchy and marketable labels -ie. “the predator”-. Avoid if you want to learn the correct diagnosis and nomenclatures, do read it if you’re interested in more practical ways of spotting and recognizing “not perfectly identified dangerous personalities”.
  | by J Navarro

• Dark Psychology 101 (0/10) Contentless, I wouldn’t even call it a book.
  | by M Pace

Evolutionary Psychology Book Reviews

• Evolutionary Psychology (10/10) Simply the manual of evolutionary psychology, good for both students and laymen alike. It leaves out a few important aspects of sexual selection, but the next book takes care of that.
  | by D Buss

• The Mating Mind (10/10) It fleshes out Miller’s theory of intelligence through sexual selection. You might agree or disagree with that -I agree-, but even beyond that central theory, if you truly want to understand evolutionary psychology, this is your book.
  | by G Miller

• The Evolution of Desire (10/10) One of the most scientifically sound analysis of the sexual marketplace.
  | by D Buss

• Behave (9/10) A long but great overview of people and psychology. The only thing missing for a 10/10 is that Sapolsky has strong political views which tinge his work with some of the typical leftist-leaning biases
  | by R Sapolsky

• The Moral Animal (9/10) The first time I read this book I was in awe at how everything was finally becoming clear. It’s a bit old and there is been a lot of new research, and that’s why not 10/10. But all the major tenets of the books have not changed since then.
  | by R Wright

• The Selfish Gene (8/10) A seminal book that spread the ideas of Williams and Hamilton, replacing group selection with the gene-centered view of selection. Make sure to get the latest version of the books where Dawkins said that humans are also altruistic, or you might get the wrong idea of huma nature.
  | by R Dawkins

• The Origins of Virtue (8/10) The best analysis of how we developed altruism and caring. Too bad it lacks two crucial tools for the development of altruism: a review of kin altruism, and the impact of sexual selection
  | by M Ridley

• The Red Queen (7/10) A few imperfections -like sperm wars presented as scientific truth- and a bit too on the nature side (VS nurture) in my opinion. But otherwise, a very, very good text to understand both sexual evolution and human nature.
  | by M Ridley

• Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters (7/10) A good entry book for those who are just starting out with evolutionary psychology, presented in fun Q&A format. Some imperfections though, and a bit too much on the nature and deterministic side. But I still learned a lot from it.
  | by S Kanazawa

• The Blank Slate (7/10) A book fully dedicated to some of the biggest enemies of evolutionary psychology: feminists, left-wing ideologues, and cultural determinists.
  I think we need to stand against idelogies, but sometimes I feel that Pinker becomes a bit of an ideologist himself and, at times, he denies the influences of culture a bit too strongly.
  | by S Pinker

• How the Mind Works (6/10) Pinker considers this his “Magnus opera”, and for good reasons: it’s a great overview of the mind, including also evolutionary psychology.
  But I’m not too fond of his love for the computational theory of mind (ie.: the mind presented as a machine). Plus it’s long and convoluted, dealing with a bit too many topics.
  | by S Pinker 

• Sperm Wars (3/10) Some good points, but imprecise and unscientific.
  | by R Baker

• The Third Chimpanzee (3/10) Rather unscientific. And heavily based on personal idelogy.
  | by J Diamond

• Sex At Dawn (2/10)  The authors describe what they wish were true (ie.: hippy sex), instead of what is true (somewhat nastier reality). I actually enjoyed, but I can’t give any higher ratings to what’s driven by idelogy instead of truth.
  | by C Ryan, C Jetha

Click here or the picture below for the best evolutionary psychology books:

Money & Wealth Book Reviews

• MONEY Master the Game (10/10) The best resource on investing for the layman
  | by T Robbins

• The Intelligent Investor (9/10) Buffet’s favorite book. It’s old but the principles are the same that most other books just repeat
  | by B Graham

• The Little Book of Common Sense Investing (8/10) Simple and effective
  | by John C. Bogle

• Unshakable (8/10) Good but go for Money Master the Game
  | by T Robbins

• The Millionaire Mind (8/10) A survey on millionaires teach us ow they think and behave (hint: they’re frugal)
  | by T Stanley

• The Millionaire Next Door (8/10) A study on millionaires to extrapolate a few common trends, mindsets and behavior. Very interesting.
  | by Stanley & Danko

• Think and Grow Rich (7/10) This is about the mindset of wealth. Skip the law of attraction though and replace it with hard work and knowledge accumulation
  | by N Hill

• The Automatic Millionaire (7/10) Make investing automated and then let compound interest make you rich when you retire.
  | by David Bach

• The Total Money Makeover (7/10) Good for basic personal finance
  | by D Ramsey

• The Richest Man in Babylon (7/10) Cap your downside and buy instead of renting. The rest is basic personal finance
  | G Clason 

• A Random Walk Down Wall Street (7/10) Don’t try to time the market: it moves randomly in the short term.
  | by B Malkiel

• Secrets of the Millionaire Mind  (7/10) Being rich is about mindsets. A good overview and some good ideas (ie.: switch mindset from saving for rainy days to saving for your freedom)
  | by H Eker

• I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi (6/10) Save and automate investment. OK but nothing groundbreaking.
  | by Ramit Sethi

• The Science of Getting Rich (2/10) The title is a misnomer because the law of attraction is not science
  | by W Wattles

Self-Help Book Reviews

• The War of Art (10/10) Let dreams guide you, but focus on the process. Day in, day out.
  That’s it. The “secret” to making your dreams come true. Doesn’t even need the whole book, to be honest. But it’s still wonderfully written.
  Skip the third part with divine and woo-woo theories and the rest is golden (but if you’re a woo-woo artist you’ll probably love the third part too)
  | by S Pressfield

• I’m OK – You’re OK (10/10) It helped me troubleshoot some of my relationships and further improve my social skills. Can also help you fix issues with authority figures and, if you are still dependent on your parents’ approval, help fix those issues with your parents.
  |by T Harris

• The Laws of Human Nature (10/10) Greene mixes psychology, social skills and self-help. And albeit the focus is not self-help, the depth of wisdom and psychological vision that Greene masters in his work puts it at the top of the pile.
  | by R Greene

• Essentialism (10/10) Another book with a single, simple concept. Focus on less to do more and better. So simple, yet so life changing and revolutionary.
  | by G McKeown

• The Happiness Advantage (10/10) Self-help book the way I like them: empowering, full of applicable wisdom and backed by ample research. In a nutshell: you don’t chase success to be happy. You should rather work on being happier and that will help you achieve success. Great great stuff!
  | by S Achor

• The Perfect Voice (10/10) I wished for more clarity on the difference between chest and head voice in the exercises. Otherwise, great stuff.
  | by R Love 

• Peak (10/10) The best book on what the author says is a new branch in psychology which he calls “the science of expertise”
  |by A Ericsson

• Man’s Search for Meaning (10/10) A huge classic. Don’t get lost just in the story though, the takeaways are life-changing.
  The biggest ones: 1. pick a big WHY in your life to bear any how; 2. you can’t pursue success and happiness: they must ensue from your WHY. Deep deep stuff.
  | by V Frankl 

• Principles: Life and Work (10/10) “build your own reality” and law of attraction thinking are popular in the self help. Here is it is a billionaire instead who built his fortune on uncertainty and hyper-realism. Let’s take a leaf out of his book.
  | by R Dalio 

• Personal Power II (10/10) Except for the lack of structure and the law of attraction, this is one of the best self-development audio programs. In my opinion, people only need two programs on self-help. This is one of them.
  | by T Robbins

• Awaken the Giant Within (9/10) A summary of most of Robbins’ teachings in a single book. Great stuff.
  | by T Robbins

• Ego Is the Enemy (9/10) Ego has long been a pet peeve of mine. I don’t think ego is the enemy and I believe our ego can be a powerful tool to move us forward. But Ryan focuses on how ego can impair us here, and he does it very well.
  | by R Holiday

• Deep Work (9/10) Similar to The Talent Code in some ways, but with a broader appeal: it’s not mostly for athletes but also for writers, researchers and any type of office worker.
  | by C Newport

• The Talent Code  (9/10) A roadmap to training for mastery. A must read if you’re an athlete, coach, instrument player or any endeavor that require lots of repetition.
  A bit less relevant if you’re in a more brainy or artistic field.
  | by D Coyle

• Daring Greatly (9/10) All the talk on self acceptance, “feelings” and accepting imperfections might sound weak. But force yourself to approach it with an open mind, vulnerability is a game changer.
  | by B Brown

• The One Thing (9/10) Not too dissimilar from Essentialism, but adds enough more wisdom to make it worth your time (ie.: visualize the process instead of the final goal)
  | by Keller & Papasan 

• Meditations (9/10) It’s funny how the top people are pretty much the same wherever or whenever you are. A book of 2.000 years ago condenses 60% of modern self-help literature.
  | by M Aurelius

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (9/10) Huge classic. A bit of a mixed bag going from communication to mindset, but they are all fundamentals of self-development.
  | by S Covey

• So Good They Can’t Ignore You (9/10) That title is so good that it has become a catchphrase of mine. I strongly disagree with Newport’s idea that realizing and following our passions should not be a high priority early on in life, but you should still read this book.
  | by C Newport 

• The Compound Effect (9/10) It’s the small daily action that will compound over the long run into runaway success. So simple, yet so true.
  | by D Hardy

• The 50th Law (9/10) Acknowledge death as inevitable, act fearlessly to make the most out of life and adjust purely on reality’s crudest feedback. Great stuff.
  | by R Greene

• The Untethered Soul (9/10) A simple, yet important switch of perspective: stop changing the world around you and make the shift within you for happiness and peacefulness. Feel the pain and let it go. Good stuff.
  | by M Singer

• The Obstacle Is the Way (9/10) Inspired by stoic philosophy and Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, Holiday still adds plenty of value to make this book a must read.
  The best book on (holistic) problem solving available.
  | by R Holiday 

• Relentless (9/10) Have you ever thought of leveraging your anger, and dark side instead of moving past it like most other books advise you to? No? Then you must read this masterpiece.
  A truly one of a kind book.
  | by T Grover

• The Slight Edge (9/10) It’s not new information in any way, yet it simply embodies the real “secret” to becoming wealthy and successful: work hard every single day. The difference between successful people and unsuccessful ones is just there: simple daily habits.
  |by J Olson
• When (8/10) If you’re into bio-hacking and peak performance, you gotta get this book (it will explain how to plan your days around your peak hours and troughs and how to maximize naps and breaks).
  |by D Pink

• The Little Book of Stoicism (8/10) If you’re looking for an overview on stoicism, look no further. Brief and packed with actionable and life-changing advice.
  |by J Salzbeger

• Linchpin (8/10) I used to love this book until I realized it basically took most of its best bits from The War of Art. Still great, but read The War of Art first.
  | by S Godin 

• Pussy: A Reclamation (8/10) I absolutely love the interpretation self-development through pleasure that Regena espouses. Too bad it had a lot of self-help myths and a poor understanding of social psychology and sociology (plus it’s incredibly narcissistic).
  |by R Tomashauer

• As a Man Thinketh (8/10) The idea behind, such as that our thoughts determine our life -and that we control our thoughts!- is a fundamental tenet of self-development.
  But you can save time with the summary and then apply the concept.
  | by J Allen

• Can’t Hurt Me (8/10) There is too much darkness in my opinion but it’s a wonderful text on transforming pain into motivation and pushing our limits.
  | by D Goggins

• The Power of Now (8/10) Get the audiobook if you can, Tolle’s soothing voice will help you get in the now.
  | by E Tolle

• A New Eart (8/10) In some ways similar to The Power of Now. It contains potentially enlightening and life-changing concepts. I took away a couple of points because of Tolle’s bad interpretation of evolution, some historical facts and some made up opinion pitched as gospel.
  |by E Tolle
  

• No More Mr Nice Guy (8/10) Sometimes it feels like it adds all kind of negative traits to the nice guy and lacks some psychological depth. But it’s a must read for nice guys nonetheless.
  | R Glover 

• Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff… And It’s All Small Stuff (8/10) the title itself is a pearl of wisdom.
  | by R Carlson

• StrengthsFinder 2.0 (8/10) Talent and potential matter. In an era of feel-good self development mantras of “you can do anything”, it’s good to be realists too.
  And if you work equally hard while playing your strengths you’ll go farther while having more fun.
  Note: I took one point off because of the pricey, sneaky test upsell.
  | by T Rath

• How to Read a Book (8/10) If you are read for efficiency, then it makes sense to make your reading more efficient. Also check how to absorb knowledge effectively.
  | by Adler & van Doren

• The Magic of Thinking Big (8/10) Make your dreams, goals and targets big. Believe you can and you’re more likely to make it happen. The size of your success is proportional to the size of your beliefs. A classic.
  | by D Schwartz

• Big Magic (8/10) A book on living a creative life. What was huge for me was this concept: everything’s already been done, don’t try to be unique. strive to be authentic instead.
  | by E Gilbert

• The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth (8/10) Some “laws” are obvious, but for me it was a powerful reminder that it all starts with who you are. Everything you build, rests on your character. Your first priority should always be to work on your character.
  | by J Maxwell

• The Power of Habit (8/10) I might be a white swan here, but I think this book is overrated. It has awesome information, but it’s very diluted and quite thin when it comes to applicable information
  I would still recommend you read it, but if you’re short on time consider the summary.
  | by C Duhigg

• How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (8/10) A few good strategies to stop worrying and better enjoy life.
  | by D Carnegie

• Mastery (8/10) Not one of my favorites from Greene. It has his magical touch when it comes to social psychology and power dynamics. But if you want to learn how to master a discipline, it’s a bit light in actual science.
  | by R Greene

• Grit (8/10) Duckworth’s re-marketing conscientiousness was a major scientific blunder. But part of the content is still powerful and valid. In a nutshell: hard work and consistency trumps talent.
  | by A Duckworth 

• Brian Tracy Books: a Summary of Lessons Learned (8/10) This is not a real book or resource, but a summary of what I learned from several different Tracy’s resources.

• Think and Grow Rich (8/10) My favorite part is the sex transmutation chapter: information that I have never found anywhere else. I’m not a big fan of some other unscientific claims sold as scientific.
  | by N Hill

• Mindsight (8/10) How meditation and mindfulness can help with painful memories, traumas and OCD.
  | by D Sieel

• Make it Stick (8/10) If you have never thought of how to learn, then you have some catching up to do. Make It Stick is possible the best book to start from.
  |by Various Authors

• First Things First (7/10) A powerful reminder of giving priorities to what really matters to us in life instead of following what everyone else does or what society or parents deem as important for us. If you haven’t done this type of introspection already, this is an absolute must.
  | by S Covey

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck (7/10) Some good self-development concepts repackaged in a coarse, “bro” language. Nice marketing move. But the content is not bad.
  | by M Manson

• Tao Te Ching (7/10) If you like factual and precise information, you might not love the Tao Te Ching. Otherwise, there is much food for thought here.
  |Laozi

• How to be a Bawse (7/10) In a way, similar to The Subtle Art: a good self help book told in an informal, Generation Y tone.
  | by L Singh

• Sometimes You Win Sometimes You Learn (7/10) Great treaty on the mindsets (and importance) of learning no matter whether you win or lose.
  | by J Maxwell

• Braving the Wilderness (7/10) I find Brene Brown’s books to be rather self-referential and, behind the message and semblance of “acceptance”, even narcissistic. The content and the message is good, but not to the point where it can be therapeutic in my opinion
  | by B Brown

• 10% Happier (7/10) The only non-woo-woo book on meditation I have read so far. Indeed, it’s a driven man who explains how meditation and mindfulness helped him in his life and career
  | by D Harris

• What I Know for Sure (7/10) Oprah’s autobiographical story. Oprah jumps to conclusions, but overall it seems like she gets it right for her life. It can be helpful to develop some self awareness. The most powerful message to me was: whenever a system is against you, your best weapon is the pursuit of excellence.
  | by O Winfrey

• Act Like a Success Think Like a Success  (7/10) Steve Harvey autobiographical rise to success and fame. A typical rug to riches in a way, but rug to riches are inspiring and powerful stories.
  | by S Harvey

• Make Your Bed (7/10) Start the day with a win, however small. And build a team, you won’t go nearly as far on your own.
  | by W McRaven

• Who Moved My Cheese (7/10) I’m not big into fables and parables. Give me the facts, straight, no coating, no fluff. BUT this one is not bad.
  | by S Johnson 

• The Happiness Project (7/10) “Happiness cannot be pursued, it must ensue”, said Frankl. But Gretchen proves that you do can do a lot to increase your happiness level.
  | by G Rubin

• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (7/10) You might think it’s inconsequential, but a tidier place, a leaner wardrobe and no clutter around the house will make you feel better.
  | by M Kondo

• The Gifts of Imperfection (7/10) It takes courage to be yourself but it pays off: don’t conform to the mass. It’s a bit too typical Brene Brown “accept yourself” style though.
  | by B Brown

• Manage Your Day to Day (7/10) Productivity book with a few good concepts. For example: do the most important task first thing when you’re fresh and energized.
  | by 99u

• #AskGaryVee (7/10) Gary’s best book. Not groundbreaking, but good. It stresses how big goals and visions help you stay motivated and the important of “loving it all”, including the daily grind.
  | by G Vaynerchuck 

• Be Obsessed or Be Average (7/10) I’m a big believer that to reach greatness obsession is, if not required, at least extremely beneficial. However, you probably don’t need the whole book to get that concept.
  | by G Cardone 

• Gorilla Mindset (7/10) It spreads itself very thing trying to cover all topics of an empowered life and doesn’t get deep enough in any of them. But it can serve as a good overview and entry-level book for a beginner of self-development.
  |M Cernovic

• Letting Go (7/10) The crazy thing about this book is that I actually love its main idea. And It’s also been super useful for me.
  At the same time, except for the super useful main concept, the author is also full of sh*t.
  Yes, apparently great life-changing content and being full of sh*t are not mutuallu exclusive.
  | by D Hawkins

• The Four Agreements (6/10) Two rules are great (don’t take anything personally and always do your best). But the wrapping of “ancient Toltec wisdom” puts me off.
  Overall, not bad, but go with the top priority books first.
  | by M Ruiz 

• The 10X Rule (6/10) Make your thoughts, action and consistency 10x bigger. That’s the book in a nutshell. Save that time to actually do 10x more (instead of reading about it).
  | by G Cardone 

• A Return to Love (6/10) Very new-agey and with strong religious undertones. If that’s not you, you can skip. If it’s you, you will love it. And if it’s not you but you can master a radical open-mindedness it can be a value-added reading.
  | by M Williamson

• The Artist’s Way (6/10) “help yourself and God will help you”. I love that quote. It’s a good book, but the fact that it encourages people to store positive reviews to stay positive is a big negative for me (antifragile ego, anyone?)
  | by J Cameron 

• The Book of Joy (6/10) Not bad, I find there are more powerful resources around even if your only goal is joy.
  | by Dalai Lama, D Tutu

• The Power of Positive Thinking (6/10) This is Tony Robbin’s favorite book. It resembles a bit too much the law of attraction for me, but the principle of thinking positively for a more positive life holds.
  | by N Peale 

• How Successful People Think (6/10) Easy read, but not life changing.
  | by J Maxwell

• When Things Fall Apart (6/10) Good on meditation practices and acceptance.
  But I didn’t like how it ostracizes aggression as a poison. You can harness aggression for great inspiration and positive action, me thinks.
  | by Chodron

• The Miracle Morning (6/10) From this book I learned and implemented, to great effect, the full glass of water in the morning. That’s worth 5 points all by itself. Telling yourself you slept enough is worth another point. Then… Little else.
  | by H Elrod

• Tools of Titans (6/10) A mixed bag of “hacks”. I’m not a big fan of “hacks” and “tips” and prefer a more holistic, character-based approach to self-development.
  | by T Ferris 

• Everything is Fucked (6/10) A mix of philosophy and self-help. I like Manson’s approach to self-help and the book is OK.
  |by M Manson

• The Way of The Superior Man (5/10) Some good life advice finding your life priority and prioritizing around it… All delivered in New-Agey format which you will either love or hate. I didn’t like it.
  |by D Deida

• Girl Wash Your Face (5/10) A bit too much “feel-good” type of self-help in my opinion.
  | by R Hollis

• The Motivation Manifesto by (5/10) Nothing new.
  | B Burchard

• High Performance Habit (5/10) The new idea I got was that high performers take micro-breaks to recharge their batteries and do more throughout the day. The rest was meh.
  | B Burchard

• The Purpose Driven Life (5/10) It does have some good ideas for everyone, but I only recommend it to Christians
  | by R Warren

• You Are a Badass (5/10) Good idea on the subconscious mind driving us. But all the rest is rehash or average to poor quality self-development.
  | by S Sincero

• The 4 Hour Body (4/10) If you’re a geek, you’ll love it. If you’re not into supplements and measuring stuff down to the last milligram and millimeter, skip it.
  | by T Ferris 

• Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself (4/10) I actually loved listening to Breaking The Habit, but the science it claims is so spotty -and plainly wrong- that I can’t rate it any higher.
  |by J Dispenza

• The Power of Your Subconscious Mind (4/10) Your subconscious mind makes a reality of what you believe, and this book explains how to influence your subconscious mind.
  I don’t believe this is the key to success -or happiness and fulfillment, for that matter-
  | by J Murphy

• You Can Heal Your Life (4/10) There is some good stuff like removing “should” from your self-talk. But overall too fluffly, woo-woo and unscientific.
  | by L Hay 

• The 5 Second Rule (4/10) The 5-second rule might be helpful, but you don’t need a book for it.
  | by M Robbins

• The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success (3/10) Unpalatable mix of spirituality and materialism. With the law of attraction as icing on the cake.
  | by D Chopra

• Becoming Supernatural (2/10) Too much unscientific claims presented as scientific and too much upsell ruin the otherwise good ideas that are present in Dispenza’s work
  | by J Dispenza

• The Secret (0/10) Law of attraction, and to add insult to injury recommends you don’t work hard at what you want or the universe will take it to mean that you don’t really believe in it.
  If life wasn’t short, you could read it for laugh’s sake. But just skip it.
  | by R Byrne

Business Book Reviews

• Principles: Life and Work (10/10) The best book on company’s culture and a roadmap to institutionalize efficiency and effectiveness.
  Applicable both to business and personal life.
  | by R Dalio

• Winning (10/10)  Warren Buffet said you won’t need any further book after Winning. Welch, the author, is a controversial figure. As a vociferous Republican and espouser of a rather Darwinian view on HR, it couldn’t be otherwise. But whatever you think of Welch, this book is really good.
  | by J Welch

• The Art of The Deal (10/10) Two things: first, there is controversy on whether Trump wrote it and whether it offers an embellished view of him; second, my review is not a political statement. The book is awesome. It has great mindsets and it will teach you how some sharks think and act.
  | by D Trump

• Sam Walton: Made in America (9/10) I used to think biographies and autobiographies weren’t too helpful in building a business. I was wrong. So many lessons learned in the making of Walmart. And yes, even for tech entrepreneurs and solo-preneurs
  | by S Walton

• Deep Work (9/10) A great overview of the art -and science- of personal productivity. But also on business productivity, and here’s the main tip there: ditch the open office concept.
  | by C Newport

• Good to Great (9/10) Collins takes a few years off to examine exactly what differentiates great companies from sub-par ones. Albeit the methodology is far from perfect from a scientific standpoint, the results are helpful and very instructing for anyone who wants to build a great business.
  | by H Collins

• Quiet: The Power of Introverts (9/10) will teach you how to get the most of introverts & extroverts. Since nobody does, this is a huge competitive opportunity to attract, retain and get the most out of a large chunk of the population.
  | by S Cain

• Drive (9/10) If you have employees or plan to have employees, you must read Drive.
  | by D Pink

• Start With Why (9/10) To have a strong culture, you should have a strong WHY. To market well, you should always go back to your WHY. Applicable to both business and life.
  | by S Sinek  

• Web Copy That Sells (9/10) Great stuff and best copywriting book I’ve read so far.
  | by M Veloso 

• Crossing the Chasm (9/10) A huge classic on the adoption curve of new technologies. It’s less applicable to incremental improvements and B2C, but I would take a look at it in any case.
  | by G Moore
• The Hard Things About Hard Thinds (9/10) Mix of autobiography and management book. My #1 lesson: stop trying to be too positive and hiding flaws, everyone will know the truth through the grapevine and it will erode your trust. Mostly useful to CEOs.
  | B Horowitz 

• Secrets to Winning at Office Politics (9/10) If you’re in big business you can definitely stand to gain by reading this good overview on office power and power politics.
  | by M McIntyre

• Lean In (8/10) A must read for women who plan on having a successful career. Just make sure you skip the feminist bias and the calls on joining forces
  |S Sandberg

• The One Minute Manager (8/10) I didn’t expect it to be good to be honest. But it is :). Three simple ideas that will improve most managers’ managerial skills
  | by Blanchard, Johnson

• The Millionaire Fastlane (8/10) Not much information on actually starting a business, but if you want to switch from employee mentality to entrepreneur mindset this provides a great kick in the ass.
  | by MJ DeMarco

• Onward (8/10) If you want to learn how culture can go awry and ruin an excellent business, read Onward. If you want to learn how to go back to the roots, read Onward. If you want to learn what it means to love one’s business, read Onward.
  | by H Schultz

• No Logo (8/10) How’s this anti-capitalist book in a business book summaries list? Well, if you want to learn how powerful brands and marketing can be on people’s psyche, this is one of the best books available.
  | by N Klein

• Steve Jobs  (8/10) A glimpse of Steve Jobs’ personality and some of the social power moves he deployed.
  | by W Isaacson

• Never Eat Aloney (7/10) People are your key to business success. And Never Eat Alone shares some lessons on how to improve your networking skills. I’m not a huge fan of “hunting for connections”, if you are, this book is for you.
  | by K Ferrazzi  

• Shoe Dog (7/10) Autobiographical story of Phil Knight founder of Nike. #1 lesson learned for me: pick a cofounder who can open some doors for you and not just a friend.
  | by P Knight

• The Everything Store (7/10) I have some doubts on the reliability and quality of information since the author didn’t have access to Bezos. But I still learned a lot here. Two major takeaways: 1. invest for growth early instead of hoarding cash; 2. do consider taking a loss if it can help you establish early market domination
  | B Stone

• Built to Last (7/10) Good theory on what differentiates companies that deliver long-lasting superior performance -albeit with some reserves on research methodology-. I find it less straightforward when it comes to the application of that theory.
  | by P Collins, Porras

• The Effective Executive (7/10) The Effective Executive is a big classic. It’s a great book and it all says is true, it just didn’t resonate much with me. Most of its teaching are well known in this day and age to everyone who’s into self-development.

• The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team (7/10) A bit simplistic on how personal drive “stands in the way of great team work” and how trust is the key to open communication (there’s more than that). But all the rest is golden.
  | by P Lencioni

• The No As**ole Rule (6/10) Should you retain highly capable individual whom otherwise disrupt and poison the workplace with as**ole behavior? Sutton says you shouldn’t. I generally agree, but find that a blanket “no” is more of a moralistic stance than a highly realistic one.
  | by R Sutton

Entrepreneurship Book Reviews

• The Lean Startup (10/10) by now it’s considered mandatory reading in startup circles, and for a good reason: launching early can save tons of money and time. Plus make your product ultimately better with early feedback.
  | by E Ries

• The 4 Hour Work Week (10/10) The solopreneurship bible that got hundreds of thousands of idiots with a money-losing blog to call themselves “entrepreneurs” and “digital nomads. But it’s a wonderful book 🙂
  | by T Ferris

• Start With Why (10/10) To attract talent and motivate yourself, the people around the customers, a strong WHY is a must. Applicable to both business and life.
  | by S Sinek  

• The $100 Dollar Startup (9/10) Like The 4h Workweek, it’s targeted to solopreneurs. Great stories coming from this beautiful world of possibilities and opportunities.
  Just don’t forget that the focus is on the work, not on the digital nomad-dness.
  |C Guillebenau

• Delivering Happiness (9/10) Can you marry happiness, fulfillment and business success? Not only you can, but you probably should. That’s how Hsieh built a billion dollar business.
  | by T Hsieh

• Crossing the Chasm (9/10) A huge classic on the adoption curve of new technologies. Even more relevant to startups than to established businesses.
  | by G Moore

• The E-Myth Revisited (9/10) If you want to build a business to become free and be independent of your own business, then you should take a look at this. Because many employees chasing freedom only end up more enslaved.
  | by M Gerber 

• Zero to One  (9/10) Pick founders and employees who share your same vision, dream big and think value-adding instead of disruption. Just three big ideas from this staple of entrepreneurship.
  | by P Thiel

• Anything You Want (9/10) A mix of philosophy, entrepreneurship and digital nomad bible. I found it very captivating, useful and on point.
  | by D Sivers 

• Hooked (8/10) A great way to launch a successful app or product is to make people hooked to it. This book will help by explaining what exactly is that makes people hooked. Now go ahead and make your millions you pirate 😛
  | by N Eyal

• Disrupt You! (8/10) The story of an entrepreneur at heart going from small business to in-house entrepreneur in a big corporation. Some awesome stories on what it means to never give up and the right mindsets for startup founders (just one: don’t fall in love with your ïdea: it’s a dime in a dozen)
  | by J Samit

• Bold (8/10) A good mix of inspiration, cycle and theory of disruptive technologies and the mindset of success (think big). Good stuff.
  | by P Diamandis 

• The Entrepreneur Mind (8/10) I didn’t expect much by a book with a list of 100 “mindsets bullet points”. But I was wrong, there is lots of good stuff.
  | by K Johnson 

• The Third Wave (8/10) If you’re a tech entrepreneur or plan to be one, this is a great read. The main point is that new disruption won’t happen in a college dorm or coding away in a room. But will require government and buy-in from human gatekeepers.
  | by S Case 

• Launch (7/10) A roadmap to launch a product. I haven’t personally tried it yet and will read more and update this part once I’ll launch The Power Moves product a few months down the road.
  | by J Walker 

• Pitch Anything (7/10) Great to understand power dynamics. But unless you’re a fine connoisseur of human nature, you can easily piss your possible investors off with Klaff’s techniques are at high risk of rubbing decisions makers the wrong way.
  | by O Klaff

• #Girlboss (7/10) It’s good to understand how a rebel streak can sometimes be an asset for entrepreneurs and how unconventional behavior can lead to success
  | by S Amoruso

• Go Pro (6/10) The network marketers’ Bible. But network marketing might be a waste of time -unless you start it or jump in super early-. I actively discourage the readers to go into network marketing.
  | by E Worre

• The Power of Broke (6/10) Being broke can be an advantage if you leverage it to get hungrier
  | by D John

• Elon Musk (6/10) Good to better understand Musk’s personality and history, but I’m not sure it can help you with your business.
  | by A Vance
• Stealing Fire (6/10) Interesting, for sure. But a bit too light on details & analysis and too on hyperboles for my taste.
  |by Kotler & Wheal

• Originals (5/10) The idea is to show readers how to produce more original and creative work. There are a few good ideas, especially if you were doing a few things wrong (ie.: focusing on one great idea). But not enough to make it to the Olympus of life-changing books in my opinion.
  | by A Grant

Marketing Book Reviews

• Start With WHY (9/10) not tricks or fancy techniques: just a big WHY and value to underpin all your marketing efforts.
  | by S Sinek  

• Methods of Persuasion (8/10) Not strictly about business marketing but plenty of insight you can apply to your marketing, both in writing and in words
  |by N Kolenda

• Brandwashed (8/10) One of the best books to understand the manipulations of marketing. Must read for any marketer.
  |M Lindstrom

• Made to Stick (8/10) Let me be clear: I don’t think you can make anything viral just by reading a book. However, you can maybe increase your chances. And you can learn about psychology. It’s good enough for me.
  | by Chip & Heath

• Hooked (8/10) Internet 3.0 marketing style of making people addicted to apps and digital services
  | by N Eyal

• Triggers (8/10) Legendary copywriter Sugarman shares 30 triggers to influence people’s buying decisions (print and written marketing, not one on one marketing).
  | by J Sugarman

• Contagious: Why Things Catch On (7/10) Same for Made to Stick, you won’t go viral because you read a book on going viral. But you can better understand the phenomenon and maybe increases your chances a bit.
  | by J Berger

• Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook (7/10) A good strategy for social media marketing: give, give, give and only then ask.
  | by G Vaynerchuck 

• How to Write Seductive Web Copy  (7/10) Copywriting for freelancers and small business owners. Good.
  | by H Duistermaat 

• Buyology (7/10) Similar to Brandwashed and from the same author. Good but not equally good as the sequel.
  |by M Lindstrom

• Crushing It! (6/10) Mostly for those looking to build a personal brand. This type of content ages rapidly as it’s very medium-dependent and much of this information you can find it online.
  | by G Vaynerchuk

• Word of Mouth Marketing  (6/10) In my opinion this is interesting but not highly applicable information. #1 lesson: deliver outstanding service and products and make your customers your best marketing tool.
  | by A Sernovitz

• Words That Sells  (6/10) It’s a dictionary-style of copywriting words and expressions. Maybe good for actual copywriters, but not for freelancers and small business owners who want to learn or troubleshoot their copies.
  | by R Bayan

• Kick-Ass Copywriting Secrets (6/10) Not enough data-driven in my opinion and too much time was taken by the “how to launch a product in a weekend”.
  | by J Carlton 

• Crush It  (5/10) Theoretically about building your (influencer) business it has lots of inspirational talk and little details. A quick Google search will give you the same info for less time and less money.
  | by G Vaynerchuk

• Purple Cow (3/10) Be remarkable to stand out from the market noise. Except that’s what everyone else is trying to do? An OK concept for a speech maybe, but doesn’t cut it as a whole book.
  | by S Godin

Critical Thinking Book Reviews

“The reason that ‘guru’ is such a popular word is because ‘charlatan’ is so hard to spell.”
– William Bernstein

• The Black Swan (10/10) One of Taleb’s best works.
  |by N Taleb

• The Believing Brain (10/10) Have you ever wondered why people seem to believe in irrational things for which they have little or no proof? Michael Shermer delivers a beautiful and credible answer (and a wonderful treaty on scientific skepticism)
  |by M Shermer

• How to Lie with Statistics (10/10) A great primer on how statistics can be willfully abused to sway us (and will also increase your critical thinking to understand how data can lead us astray)
  | by D Huff 

• Fooled by Randomness (10/10) Great book on the human tendency to see trends and seek order where there is only randomness and chaos. I can’t count how many times I have referenced this book while reviewing other resources.
  | by N Taleb

• Behave (10/10) Behave’s taglines, “it depends” and “it’s complicated” should form part of the “critical thinking manifesto”. Do yourself a favor and get this one in audio format, because it’s long, but it’s great.
  | by R Sapolsky

• Enlightnment Now (9/10) The manifesto of humanism, reason , and science. Helpful to think critically behind the news and behind “what people say”. You know, like looking at the data behind the noise..
  | by S Pinker

• The Millionaire Fastlane (9/10) It will help radesr to think more critically, and be less trustworthy, of any “get rich” author
  | by MJ DeMarco

• The Blank Slate (9/10) Are we mostly nature or nurture?
  And why is it so difficult in our current cultural climate to admit that yes, genes do matter? Those are the question that a critical thinker will ponwer. And that’s what Steven Pinker addresses here, demoloshing the politically biased leftist idelogy.
  |by S Pinker

• No Logo (9/10) Capitalism has done a lot of good for the world. But the next time you’re about to overpay for some sweatshop-made garment, you’ll be at least more aware of what goes behind the scene (and possible decide not to buy it)
  | by N Klein 

• The Signal and The Noise (9/10) Possibly the best books on statistics, forecasting and common human errors that is easily accessible to the large public.
  | by N Silver

• Skin In The Game (8/10) Typical Nassim Taleb: iconoclastic, angry, and intelligent. Some pearl of wisdom on limousine liberals, jealous intellectuals and “naive empiricism” of “intellectuals yet idiots” (ie.: Steven Pinker”)
  |by N Taleb

• Thinking Fast and Slow  (8/10) Kahneman lists all major psychological biases, so that you can be more aware of our own brain’s limitations, starting to think critically about your own thoughts.
  | by D Kahneman

• The Antidote (8/10) Great book to call out much of the BS in the self-help literature
  | by O Burkeman

• A Random Walk Down Wall Street (7/10) Helps people to understand that we all see more trends than there actually are, and that we shouldn’t jump to conclusions
  | by B Malkiel

• Antifragile (7/10) A bit disorganized, but antifragility is an extremely powerful concept with a few practical applications as well.
  | by N Taleb

• The God Delusion (7/10) A bit too vitriolic towards believers and opinion and sometimes resorts to strawmanning. Ultimately, it didn’t convince that we can exclude a God with reason, but it’s still a good book.
  |by R Dawkins

• The Better Angels of Our Nature (7/10) News would want us to believe the world is getting worse, but if you take a larger view, you will realize the world is actually getting better.
  | by S Pinker

• Guns, Germs, and Steel (5/10) Jared Diamond is driven by idelogy more than truth. But this book helps people to look at all possible causes instead of the most immediate one.
  | by J Diamond

Non-Categorized Book Reviews

• Eating Animals (9/10) A deep, well-researched analysis of the meat industry.

• How to Retire Happy Wild and Free (7/10) Retirement can be the beginning of a new beautiful phase of life. Indeed. Si\mple and powerful concepts, but it could have been shorter.
  | by E Zelinski

• Sapiens (3/10) Everyone loves this book. Except for those who want history without ideologies. The author mixes opinions with facts and makes several flawed interpretations. Pop history with not much critical thinking and not great scientific research.
  | by Y Harari

• The Art of War (8/10) Huge classic. But time, language and culture make it a difficult reading.
  | by S Tzu

• Steal Like an Artist (8/10) I loved the idea that everything’s already been done, so you might stop your fool’s quest of being original. Take (steal) from all different sources instead and inject your own personality into the new mix.
  | A Kleon 

• Endurance (8/10) Crazy adventure and a good tale to learn leadership. Especially, the keystone of leadership: taking responsibility.