Read by Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Andreessen and 8 others
What books does Brian Chesky recommend?
The Brian Chesky book recommendations here come from the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, who brought a designer's eye from RISD to building a global travel platform out of three air mattresses. Sixteen titles are drawn from his Masters of Scale interview, appearances on The Tim Ferriss Show and Lenny's Podcast, LinkedIn reading, and the blurbs he has written. Business and leadership dominate, with strands of biography, psychology and philosophy. His most cited favorite is Andy Grove's High Output Management, which he says has really helped him become a better manager through its focus on systems thinking. Neal Gabler's biography Walt Disney had a huge impact on him, showing how Walt bet everything over and over, and he praises Robert Iger's The Ride of a Lifetime while calling Iger an excellent CEO. Chesky has not authored any books.
Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
byAndrew S. Grove
1995272 Pages“I'm a really big fan of High Output Management by Andy Grove... It talks about how he thinks about management and systems thinking... High Output Management in particular has really helped me become a better manager.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: Masters of Scale Interview
Read by Brian Chesky
Walt Disney
The Triumph of the American Imagination
byNeal Gabler
2006851 Pages“I was living one life, kind of going down the predictable road, and I read this biography. That had a huge impact on me... Walt bet everything over and over, was always on the brink of bankruptcy, and almost should never have been successful.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: Masters of Scale Interview
Read by Brian Chesky
Wisdom at Work
The Making of a Modern Elder
byChip Conley
2018272 Pages“Learn how to cultivate a beginner's mind... and be the sage counselor.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: Authored Foreword
Read by Brian Chesky, Michael Bloomberg, Patrick Bet-David and 1 others
The Ride of a Lifetime
Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
byRobert Iger
2019272 Pages“Bob's book is great and he's an excellent CEO.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: Official Twitter Account
Read by Sam Altman, Sheryl Sandberg, Brian Chesky and 1 others
Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies
The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies
byReid Hoffman, Chris Yeh
2018336 Pages“The book the start-up world has been waiting for. I can't think of any other that so perfectly captures the specific challenges — and opportunities — that a company faces at every stage of growth.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: Official Book Blurb
Read by Steve Jobs, Jensen Huang, Jeff Bezos and 5 others
The Innovator's Dilemma
When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
byClayton M. Christensen
1997288 Pages“The Innovator's Dilemma is the book no manager, leader, or entrepreneur should be without.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: LinkedIn Recommended Reading
Read by Brian Chesky
The Sharing Economy
The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism
byArun Sundararajan
2016256 Pages“In this book Arun explains the transition to what he describes as crowd-based capitalism... a new way of organizing economic activity that may supplant the traditional corporate model.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: Official Endorsement
Read by Brian Chesky
byAlain de Botton
2004272 Pages“In The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton writes about the problem with modern tourism. Travel is the physical pursuit of happiness, but we are so blinded by our haste that we look at everything and see nothing.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: Official Twitter Account
The Third Wave
An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future
bySteve Case
2016272 Pages“The Third Wave is an indispensable book for understanding the history of the Internet and preparing for what's next. Entrepreneurs looking to build truly transformational businesses should listen closely to Steve Case's insightful advice.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: Official Book Blurb
The Airbnb Story
How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions . . . and Created Plenty of Controversy
byLeigh Gallagher
2017256 Pages“Has some fun facts from our early days.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: Official Twitter Account
Read by Mark Zuckerberg, Brian Chesky, Chip Wilson and 2 others
byErnest Cline
2011374 Pages(1,302,519)
“I have several books to recommend right off the bat. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline...”
— Brian Chesky
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show
Nonviolent Communication
A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships
byMarshall B. Rosenberg
2015264 Pages“This is one I've listened to multiple times and right now if you're curious I'm listening to Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show
Read by Brian Chesky
byNeil Gaiman
2008312 Pages“If you're a non-fiction purist and you want something to convert you...”
— Brian Chesky
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show
Read by Brian Chesky
The Tao of Seneca
Practical Letters from a Stoic Master
bySeneca
2016966 Pages“If you want to hear my favorite letters of all time put into compilation.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show
Read by Ray Dalio, Brian Chesky, Gary Vaynerchuk and 2 others
byWalter Isaacson
2011656 Pages“For Chesky, a source may come in the form of a biography of a business hero such as Steve Jobs or Walt Disney.”
— Brian Chesky
Source: Business Insider Interview
Read by Brian Chesky
Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow
Revised and Updated
byChip Conley
2017320 PagesSource: Lenny's Podcast Interview
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Brian Chesky recommend?
His 16 recommendations include High Output Management by Andy Grove, Neal Gabler's Walt Disney, Chip Conley's Wisdom at Work, Robert Iger's The Ride of a Lifetime, and Reid Hoffman's Blitzscaling.
What is Brian Chesky's favorite book?
Chesky calls himself a really big fan of High Output Management by Andy Grove, saying it talks about management and systems thinking and has really helped him become a better manager.
Which biography influenced Brian Chesky?
Neal Gabler's Walt Disney had a huge impact on him. Chesky says reading it while going down a predictable road changed his outlook, noting Walt bet everything over and over and was always on the brink of bankruptcy.
Where do Brian Chesky's book recommendations come from?
They come from his Masters of Scale interview, appearances on The Tim Ferriss Show and Lenny's Podcast, his LinkedIn recommended reading, his Twitter account, and book blurbs and forewords he has written.
What genres does Brian Chesky read most?
His list favors business and strategy and leadership and management, alongside biographies of figures like Walt Disney and Steve Jobs, and books on psychology, philosophy and technology that inform his design-led approach to building Airbnb.
All 16 Books Brian Chesky Has Recommended
- High Output Management · Andrew S. Grove
- Walt Disney · Neal Gabler
- Wisdom at Work · Chip Conley
- The Ride of a Lifetime · Robert Iger
- Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies · Reid Hoffman
- The Innovator's Dilemma · Clayton M. Christensen
- The Sharing Economy · Arun Sundararajan
- The Art of Travel · Alain de Botton
- The Third Wave · Steve Case
- The Airbnb Story · Leigh Gallagher
- Ready Player One · Ernest Cline
- Nonviolent Communication · Marshall B. Rosenberg
- The Graveyard Book · Neil Gaiman
- The Tao of Seneca · Seneca
- Steve Jobs · Walter Isaacson
- Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow · Chip Conley