Charlie Munger's Recommended Books (Farnam Street)

David Nasaw

Munger studied Carnegie alongside the Mellons as first-generation industrialists who built durable institutions and then gave them away—biographies of practical builders rather than mere speculators.

John Gribbin

“It's just the best book of its kind I have ever read, and I just hugely enjoyed it.”

Nancy Forbes, Basil Mahon

“It's just the best book of its kind I have ever read, and I just hugely enjoyed it.”

Frank Partnoy

Munger recommended it as a shocking case study in incentive-driven institutional corruption—the same misalignment of incentives he warned against in his speeches on human misjudgment.

Robert B. Cialdini

Munger's single most-gifted book; he named it a frequent and persistent recommendation and treated Cialdini's six principles as core entries in his latticework of mental models.

Herbert A. Simon

Munger cited Simon's autobiography as a model for the polymath life—genuine contributions across economics, cognitive science, and computer science from a single inquiring mind.

Benjamin Franklin

Franklin was one of Munger's all-time heroes—proof that relentless self-education, practical virtue, and multidisciplinary curiosity compound over a lifetime.

Richard Dawkins

“Dawkins explains how the selfish gene can also be a subtle gene. The world of the selfish gene revolves around savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit, and yet, Dawkins argues, acts of apparent altruism do exist in nature.”

Jared Diamond

“What is it about that two percent difference in DNA that has created such a divergence between evolutionary cousins?”

David S. Landes

Munger valued Landes's historical sweep as evidence that culture and institutions are the decisive variables in economic outcomes—a lesson he applied to evaluating business moats.

Andrew S. Grove

Farnam Street's compiled Munger reading list confirms this title (also in Poor Charlie's Almanack).

William Thorndike

“A book that details the extraordinary success of CEOs who took a radically different approach to corporate management”

Matt Ridley

Confirmed Munger recommendation on Farnam Street; also in Poor Charlie's Almanack reading list.

James Wallace

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

Garrett Hardin

Confirmed on Farnam Street; appears in Poor Charlie's Almanack reading list.

Steven Levy

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

Roger Fisher

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

Kurt Eichenwald

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

Istvan Hargittai

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

William Poundstone

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

Connie Bruck

Munger praised Connie Bruck's Steve Ross biography; confirmed via his own quote and Farnam Street.

George Roberts

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

Frank Ryan

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

Judith Harris

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

Robert Wright

Confirmed on Farnam Street; also in Poor Charlie's Almanack reading list.

Gino Segre

Munger called Gino Segre's book 'perfectly marvelous' at the 2003 Wesco meeting; confirmed on Farnam Street.

Arthur Herman

Confirmed Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

John Gribbin

“Best work of science exposition and history that I've read in many years!”

Bryan Burrough

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

Steven Pinker

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.

Jared Diamond

Munger endorsed it as a masterclass in using a single cross-disciplinary thesis to illuminate the whole arc of human civilization.

Ron Chernow

Munger recommended it as the biography of a supremely rational, disciplined builder—someone who used organizational innovation, not just financial leverage, to reshape an industry.

Viktor E. Frankl

Listed as a Munger recommendation on Farnam Street's curated list.