Books that changed the way I think
Reading was always a rewarding part of my life from grade school through high school, but took a big slowdown when college started up and I had to focus on my pre-med coursework and work. Over the past couple of years I’ve really been leaning back into it, and this is a running list of books that genuinely changed how I look at people, leadership, systems, and the world. This isn’t a list of the “best books ever written.” These are simply the ones that stuck with me after I finished them.
A Treatise of Human Nature
This definitely isn’t an easy read, and I don’t think it’s meant to be. What got me into enlightenment authors, honestly, was watching Madam Secretary as a kid and wanting to study philosophers and divinity as it relates to war theory and ethical human behavior, as her husband famously did. I had to slow down and reread parts of it, but it was worth the effort. Hume writes of an idea that people like to think they’re driven by pure logic, when in reality, our emotions and instincts usually get there first. I think we’ve all been there. The more I thought about it, the more I started noticing it everywhere. In politics, medicine, business, and even in myself. It made me a little more skeptical of my own opinions and a little more curious about why people believe what they do.
The Craft of Intelligence
I picked this up because it was on a required reading list, and it definitely earns a place on mine. I expected stories about spies, but the book is really about making decisions when you don’t have all the information you’d like. That lesson applies to so many components of my everyday life as it does to intelligence.
Between Two Kingdoms
This is one of the most honest books I’ve read about illness and recovery. It isn’t really about cancer but rather about trying to figure out who you are after life doesn’t go according to plan, which I believe is one of the most human experiences anyone in their 20’s can have. Recommended to me by an incredibly bright thinker who was also in the same boat, I’d encourage those who have felt that paralysis from life interruptions or their plan not working out to read this, probably twice. To me, it gave perspective and directionality, but something tells me it may strike different readers in unique ways.
The Secret World
This is probably the most complete history of intelligence I’ve read. The spy stories are fascinating, but what I kept thinking about was how governments have been making many of the same mistakes for hundreds of years. Technology changes, but people don’t change nearly as much.
The Alignment Problem
This was one of the first books that made AI feel like more than just technology. It made me realize that AI is really about people too. Figuring out what we actually want a system to do turns out to be much harder than writing the code itself, and a lot of it is learn-as-we-go. I think there are both opportunities and caution in that.
Superintelligence
This isn’t an easy book, and I definitely don’t agree with everything in it. That said, it was recommended to me by one of my favorite baristas, and it challenged me to think much more seriously about where AI could be heading over the next few decades. Even the parts I disagreed with made me think in a way that gears more towards my imagination, and while science fiction is hit-or-miss to me, Superintelligence’s effect was profoundly memorable and it had to make it on the list.
Endurance
I love adventure stories, and this was one I’ll never forget from 5th grade. I picked this one up again while in a bookstore in London, and after rereading it during a trip to the Arctic (I know, different pole), what I didn’t expect was that it would be one of the best books on leadership I’ve ever read. Everything goes wrong, yet the crew survives because Shackleton never lets panic take over. It’s an incredible story.
Travels with Charley
Given to me as a gift from my stepfather, who, as an infantryman has also traveled all over the world, this book felt written for both of us. The story of a man and his poodle exploring America by road deeply resonated with the part of me that’s always been interested in those kinds of trips, as they’re completely decentered from the destination. Steinbeck wasn’t trying to see famous landmarks, he wanted to understand America by slowing down, talking to people, and paying attention. That’s always been my favorite part of traveling too. For a book written in the 60’s, it was relevant, relatable, and sweet.
The Greatest Generation
I think everyone should read this book at least once, or at least the spark notes. It’s a collection of stories about ordinary Americans who quietly did extraordinary things during World War II. What stood out to me wasn’t just courage. It was humility, duty, and the willingness to serve without expecting recognition.
The Odyssey
It’s easy to think of this as just an old adventure story, but it’s really about coming home after you’ve changed. I read this is Middle School, but I wanted to have a nice themed journey book during some extensive international travel in 2025, and it was a great companion. Dense in parts, but because of that, every time I’ve gone back to it, I’ve noticed something different.
Invisible Man
This book challenged me more than almost anything else I’ve read. It made me think about identity, belonging, and how differently people can experience the same country. I finished it with many questions and fewer answers, and I think that’s part of what makes it so good. I will refer back to this book should I ever join the public service sphere.
The Looming Tower
This book is about much more than September 11. What stuck with me was seeing how different agencies all had pieces of the puzzle but never put them together. It made me appreciate how easily communication breaks down inside large organizations. It’s also up there with the best investigative writing I’ve ever read.
East of Eden
I’m always looking for my next favorite book. If you have a recommendation, I’d genuinely love to hear it, and what about it you’ll never forget.