Books recommended by Sam Altman from goodreads.com

Michael A. Hiltzik

Listed in Altman's 2015 Twitter AMA recommendations for founders. The Xerox PARC story is a recurring reference point for him on building research labs that ship.

Bruce Alberts

An unexpected AMA pick from Altman signaling his belief that serious technologists need fluency in biology, especially as AI and biotech converge.

Bill Walsh

Recommended in Altman's 2015 Twitter AMA. Walsh's 'Standard of Performance' philosophy is congruent with how Altman has described running OpenAI and YC.

Daniel Kahneman

Named in Altman's 2015 Twitter AMA reading list for young startup founders, alongside Plato's Republic and Newton's Principia.

Jack Welch

Included in the AMA list as a direct, executional guide to management; Altman recommends it for founders moving from early-stage scrappiness to running a real company.

Peter Thiel

Recommended in Altman's Twitter AMA as essential reading for founders; aligns with his repeated emphasis that the only real businesses are monopolies built on genuine innovation.

Charles Oman

One of the most distinctive picks in the AMA, signaling Altman's interest in competitive strategy through history; he has noted that military history is underrated reading for founders.

James Madison

Recommended in the AMA as a primary-source study in institution design under adversarial conditions—directly relevant to anyone building governance for a consequential organization.

Jonathan Weiner

Picked in the AMA for its portrait of how rigorous empirical observation produces real scientific knowledge—Altman values books that show the scientific method at its best.

Michael T. Bosworth

A surprising but characteristically practical Altman AMA pick—he surfaces sales methodology books that technical founders typically skip at their peril.