What books does Ben Shapiro recommend?
Ben Shapiro, co-founder of The Daily Wire and host of the largest conservative podcast in the US, reads across political philosophy, economics, and classic fiction, and his book recommendations reflect that range. The 12 titles here come from his Lex Fridman Podcast appearance, his own Daily Wire+ book club, episodes of The Ben Shapiro Show, and Twitter. Philosophy, society and politics, and history lead, with a substantial fiction thread. He names Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson as a starting text for anyone "15 and up," and calls Carl Trueman's The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self "the best book of the last 10 years." On the fiction side he is emphatic, dubbing T.H. White's The Once and Future King "the best fantasy book of all time."
Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
Economics in One Lesson
The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics
byHenry Hazlitt
1979218 Pages“I recommend it to everybody sort of 15 and up. It's easier than say Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics... If you read this book and Basic Economics you'll know more than all of your classmates combined about the basic workings of free markets and economics.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: Lex Fridman Podcast #336
Read by Ben Shapiro
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution
byCarl R. Trueman
2020432 Pages“I think is the best book of the last 10 years. That's been sort of impactful on some of the thoughts I've been having lately.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: Lex Fridman Podcast #336
Read by Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Jordan Peterson and 11 others
byGeorge Orwell
1949328 Pages(4,800,000)
“Arguably the most important dystopian fiction of our century.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: Ben Shapiro's Book Club (Daily Wire+)
byT.H. White
1958640 Pages(117,671)
“The best fantasy book of all time.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: Ben Shapiro's Book Club (Daily Wire+)
Read by Ben Shapiro
Basic Economics
A Common Sense Guide to the Economy
byThomas Sowell
2014704 Pages“If you read this book and Economics in One Lesson you'll know more than all of your classmates combined about the basic workings of free markets and economics.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: Lex Fridman Podcast #336
Read by Oprah Winfrey, Ben Shapiro, Pedro Pascal and 1 others
byJohn Steinbeck
1952640 Pages“A story about what it means to be an American, but it's about much more than that.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: Ben Shapiro's Book Club (Daily Wire+)
The Screwtape Letters
Letters from a Senior to a Junior Devil
byC.S. Lewis
2001224 Pages“Imaginative and redemptive and beautiful and sort of playful the way that he dealt with Christ and God.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: Ben Shapiro's Book Club (Daily Wire+)
byArthur C. Clarke
1953256 Pages“The best science fiction book probably ever.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: The Ben Shapiro Show
Read by Jordan Peterson, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Ben Shapiro and 4 others
byAldous Huxley
2006288 Pages“Obviously quite prophetic [in] how modern society treats pleasure and hedonism and sex.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: Ben Shapiro's Book Club (Daily Wire+)
Hillbilly Elegy
A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
byJ. D. Vance
2016264 Pages“A very well-written book. The whole thing is a critique of individual decisions.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: The Ben Shapiro Show
Read by Tucker Carlson, Piers Morgan, Ben Shapiro and 2 others
The War on the West
How to Prevail in the Age of Unreason
byDouglas Murray
2022320 Pages“Excellent tome.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: Twitter
Read by Ben Shapiro
Modern Times
The World from the Twenties to the Nineties
byPaul Johnson
1992880 Pages“People always ask me about history books. I think I've mentioned Modern Times.”
— Ben Shapiro
Source: The Ben Shapiro Show
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Ben Shapiro recommend?
His 12 recommendations include Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman, 1984 by George Orwell, Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell, and East of Eden by John Steinbeck.
What is Ben Shapiro's most recommended book?
A top pick is Carl Trueman's The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, which Shapiro calls "the best book of the last 10 years... impactful on some of the thoughts I've been having lately."
Which economics books does Ben Shapiro recommend?
He pairs Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson with Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics, saying that if you read both, "you'll know more than all of your classmates combined about the basic workings of free markets."
Has Ben Shapiro written any books?
Yes, nine in the data, including The Right Side of History (2019), American Marxism-era titles like The Authoritarian Moment (2021), How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps (2020), and the novel True Allegiance (2016).
What fiction does Ben Shapiro recommend?
He calls T.H. White's The Once and Future King "the best fantasy book of all time" and Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End "the best science fiction book probably ever," alongside 1984 and Brave New World.
All 12 Books Ben Shapiro Has Recommended
- Economics in One Lesson · Henry Hazlitt
- The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self · Carl R. Trueman
- 1984 · George Orwell
- The Once and Future King · T.H. White
- Basic Economics · Thomas Sowell
- East of Eden · John Steinbeck
- The Screwtape Letters · C.S. Lewis
- Childhood's End · Arthur C. Clarke
- Brave New World · Aldous Huxley
- Hillbilly Elegy · J. D. Vance
- The War on the West · Douglas Murray
- Modern Times · Paul Johnson