31 Books recommended by Steve Jobs

Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism
Author :Chogyam Trungpa

Steve Jobs shared this book with Daniel Kottke. [Source]

Be Here Now
Author :Ram Dass

"[This book] was profound. It transformed me and many of my friends." - Steve Jobs [Source]

Songs of Milarepa
Author :Milarepa

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]
The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment
Author :Thaddeus Golas

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

Das Energi
Author :Paul Williams

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

Cosmic Consciousness
A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind
Author :Richard Maurice Bucke

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism
Author :Lama Anagarika Govinda

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

On the Road
Author :Jack Kerouac

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

Hindu Mysticism
Author :S. N. Dasgupta

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

Ramakrishna and His Disciples
Author :Christopher Isherwood

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

The Essene Gospel of Peace
Author :Edmond Bordeaux Szekely

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

The Dharma Bums
Author :Jack Kerouac

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

The Way of White Clouds
Author :Lama Anagarika Govinda

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
Author :Shunryu Suzuki

Brent Schlender said Steve Jobs reread this book several times. [Source]

The Innovator's Dilemma
When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
Author :Clayton M. Christensen

Walter Isaacson said Steve Jobs was deeply influenced by this book. [Source]

The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
Author :Dylan Thomas

Walter Isaacson said this was one of Steve Jobs' favorite books growing up. [Source]

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Author :Thomas S. Kuhn

Michael S. Malone said the first time he sat down with Steve Jobs, Steve immediately asked him if he had read this book. Michael thinks Steve was assimilating into this personality, this notion that he found in this book. [Source]

High Fidelity
Author :Nick Hornby

"Guys can get an illness in which they believe there can always be a better girl around the next corner. [In this book, the author] calls it 'death by small increments.'" - Steve Jobs [Source]

Diet for a Small Planet
Author :Frances Moore Lappe

"[After reading this book] I swore off meat pretty much for good." - Steve Jobs [Source]

Meetings with Remarkable Men
Author :G. I. Gurdjieff

Inc.com said this book influenced Steve Jobs. [Source]

Only the Paranoid Survive
How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company
Author :Andrew S. Grove

"This book is about one super-important concept. You must learn about Strategic Inflection Points, because sooner or later you are going to live through one." - Steve Jobs [Source]

The Dhammapada
Author :Eknath Easwaran

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

Atlas Shrugged
Author :Ayn Rand

Steve Wozniak said he thinks Steve Jobs mentioned this book and it really was a guide in his life. [Source]

Mucusless Diet Healing System
Scientific Method of Eating Your Way to Health
Author :Arnold Ehret

Walter Isaacson said Steve Jobs' dietary habits became even more obsessive when he read this book. [Source]

Autobiography of a Yogi
Author :Paramahansa Yogananda

Marc Benioff said everyone at Steve Jobs' memorial service got a copy of this book. [Source]

The Diamond Sutra and The Sutra of Hui-neng
Author :Wong Mou-Lam

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

The Way of Zen
Author :Alan Watts

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]

The Business Value of Computers
An Executive's Guide
Author :Paul A Strassmann

"There’s some incredible stuff in it." - Steve Jobs [Source]


Meditation in Action
Author :Chogyam Trungpa

Daniel Kottke said he and Steve Jobs definitely read this book prior to the India trip. [Source]
FAQs
Q1: What books did Steve Jobs recommend?
Steve Jobs was an advocate for always continuing to learn, grow, and challenge yourself. He recommended a wide variety of books including autobiography and biographies, documentaries, literature, history, philosophy, among others.
Q2: How often did Steve Jobs recommend books?
Steve Jobs had a great appreciation for reading and literature and he often spoke about his favorite titles on various occasions. He said of books that you should “never stop learning new things and always be reading.”
Q3: What types of books did Steve Jobs recommend?
Steve Jobs recommended a wide variety of books including autobiography and biographies, documentaries, literature, history, philosophy, among others.
Q4: What did Steve Jobs say about books?
Steve Jobs said of books that you should “never stop learning new things and always be reading.” He also often encouraged people to challenge themselves and explore new ideas.
Q5: What value did Steve Jobs see in reading?
Steve Jobs was an advocate of lifelong learning and often spoke about the importance of books as a way to foster that. He believed that books were “a window into different worlds,” and that by reading we could “open up new places to explore and new ideas to ponder.”