Quick Tips

7 books Mark Zuckerberg thinks everyone should read

Mark Zuckerberg is known to pick up a new hobby or side project each year. In the past, he has built an Artificially Intelligent personal assistant, learned to speak Mandarin, and vowed to meet one new person outside of Facebook every day. Reading books is also a hobby he has picked up over the years and even formed a Facebook-based book club to read one book every two weeks.

Here are some of Mark Zuckerberg’s suggestions for books he thinks everyone should read.

1. The Muqadimmah

by Ibn Khaldun

This book strips away biases of historical records and establishes the foundations of several fields of knowledge, including the philosophy of history, sociology, ethnography, and economics. Zuckerberg is a huge fan of the book and said this about it, “While much of what was believed then is now disproven after 700 more years of progress, it’s still very interesting to see what was understood at this time and the overall worldview when it’s all considered together.”

2. The Player of Games

by Iain M. Banks


The Player of Games is the second book in the sci-fi ‘Culture’ series and Zuckerberg picked it up for a change of pace. This book explores what life would look like if extremely advanced technology became more capable than us and began serving all our needs. This book is also a favorite of Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, “due to its entertaining way of exploring plausible advancements in technology.”

3. Why Nations Fail

by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson


This book is an over of 15 years of research carried out by MIT economist Daren Acemoglu and Harvard political scientist James Robinson. Zuckerberg chose this book to better understand the origins of global poverty as it provides why some nations are extremely impoverished while others have a much better quality of life.

4. Portfolios of the Poor

by Daryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford, and Orlanda Ruthven


This book provides an interesting and deep insight to the lives of nearly three billion people who survive on less than $2 a day and was written after 10 years of studying the financial lives of the lowest classes of Bangladesh, India, and South Africa. Zuckerberg’s main reason behind suggesting this book is so that more privileged people better understand the challenges faced by people who live under $2 a day and how to help them.

5. World Order

by Henry Kissinger

The author of this book is a well-renowned American diplomat and former Secretary of State. So when a person who comes from such high ranks of power talks about the ‘world order’, people listen. So did Mark Zuckerberg. While talking about the book, he said that it is about “foreign relations and how we can build peaceful relationships throughout the world.”

6. Sapiens

by Yuval Noah Harari


If you want to understand how far humankind has come, this book will draw a brilliant picture – right from the cave man days to modern times. “Following the Muqaddimah, which was a history from the perspective of an intellectual in the 1300s, ‘Sapiens’ is a contemporary exploration of many similar questions”, Zuckerberg wrote after reading the book.

7. The Beginning of Infinity

by David Deutsch


This book is for science nerds who want to read up on the progress we have made since the Scientific Revolution. It covers diverse topics like art, science, philosophy, history, politics, evil, death, the future – everything.

[Source – Business Insider, Image Source – Amazon]

Sponsored
Maryam Dodhy

I love bringing to light stories of extraordinary people working in Pakistan's tech and startup industry. You can reach out to me through maryamdodhy@techjuice.pk.

Share
Published by
Maryam Dodhy

Recent Posts

Rumors Indicate iPhone 17 May Feature Unconventional Camera Design

Apple is reportedly preparing for a significant design overhaul with its iPhone 17 series, blending…

3 hours ago

First AI-Powered Teacher Launched in Pakistan’s Private School

Karachi: A private school in Karachi has unveiled Pakistan’s first AI-powered teacher, a groundbreaking move…

4 hours ago

Yahoo Surprises Users with Its Latest Android Launcher

Third-party apps have long been a staple of the Android ecosystem, but their appeal has…

5 hours ago

Phase-II Review of PTCL-Telenor Deal Finalized by CCP

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has completed its Phase-II review of Pakistan Telecommunication…

5 hours ago

Xiaomi’s SU7 Achieves New Production Record, Driving Q3 Growth

Xiaomi has shattered records by producing 100,000 vehicles in just 230 days. This is nearly…

7 hours ago

Teachers Can Now Access OpenAI’s Free AI Course

OpenAI, in collaboration with nonprofit organization Common Sense Media, announced on Wednesday the launch of…

8 hours ago