Read by Sheryl Sandberg, Sundar Pichai, Reid Hoffman and 1 others
What books does Larry Page recommend?
An engineer who organized the world's information, Larry Page brings that same mind to his book recommendations, gravitating toward science, invention, and the hard truths of building companies. Co-founder of Google, co-creator of the PageRank algorithm, and later CEO of Alphabet, he has left a shelf of 8 titles sourced from forewords he has written, conference talks, and interviews, and its themes are science and technology, biographies and memoirs, and leadership and management. His signature endorsement is John Doerr's Measure What Matters, for which he wrote the foreword and admitted, "I wish I had had this book nineteen years ago, when we founded Google." Just as revealing is his reaction to Nikola Tesla's autobiography, which he says made him "just about cry" at the end, prompting the resolution: "I don't want to be like Tesla, I want to have an easy time getting things out into the world and make a real impact."
Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
Measure What Matters
How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs
byJohn Doerr
2018320 Pages“I wish I had had this book nineteen years ago, when we founded Google. Or even before that, when I was only managing myself!”
— Larry Page
Source: Foreword to 'Measure What Matters' (2018)
Read by Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Andreessen and 4 others
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
byBen Horowitz
2014304 Pages“Ben's book is a great read — with uncomfortable truths about entrepreneurship and how to lead to a company. It's also an inspiring story of a business rebirth through sheer willpower.”
— Larry Page
Source: Official Book Endorsement / Blurb
Read by Larry Page
byNikola Tesla
1919111 Pages“I read this autobiography and just about cried at the end, because he's basically a failure. He couldn't fund his research... I said, I don't want to be like Tesla, I want to have an easy time getting things out into the world and make a real impact.”
— Larry Page
Source: Google Zeitgeist Conference (2008)
Read by Larry Page
How Google Works
A Seasoned Executive's Guide to Google's Corporate Culture and Management Strategy
byEric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, Alan Eagle
2014320 Pages“When I was younger and first started thinking about my future, I decided to either become a professor or start a company. I felt that either option would give me a lot of autonomy—the freedom to think from first principles and real-world physics rather than having to accept the prevailing 'wisdom.'”
— Larry Page
Source: Foreword to 'How Google Works' (2014)
Read by Naval Ravikant, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page and 2 others
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
Adventures of a Curious Character
byRichard P. Feynman, Ralph Leighton
1985350 PagesSource: Academy of Achievement Interview
Read by Larry Page, Brian Cox
What Do You Care What Other People Think?
Further Adventures of a Curious Character
byRichard P. Feynman, Ralph Leighton
1988256 PagesSource: Academy of Achievement Profile
Read by Larry Page
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out
The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman
byRichard P. Feynman
1999270 PagesSource: Entrepreneur.com Featured Reading List
Read by Sam Altman, Larry Page
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter
The Alix G. Mautner Memorial Lectures
byRichard P. Feynman
2014192 Pages(18,250)
Source: Entrepreneur.com Featured Reading List
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Larry Page recommend?
His 8 recommendations include Measure What Matters by John Doerr, The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, My Inventions by Nikola Tesla, How Google Works, and Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
What is Larry Page's most recommended book?
Measure What Matters by John Doerr, for which he wrote the foreword, saying "I wish I had had this book nineteen years ago, when we founded Google. Or even before that, when I was only managing myself!"
Where do Larry Page's book recommendations come from?
They come from forewords he wrote for Measure What Matters and How Google Works, his talk at the 2008 Google Zeitgeist Conference, and Academy of Achievement interviews and profiles.
Why does Larry Page recommend Tesla's autobiography?
He read My Inventions and "just about cried at the end, because he's basically a failure," concluding that he wanted to avoid Tesla's fate and instead have "an easy time getting things out into the world and make a real impact."
What genres does Larry Page read most?
His list leans toward science and technology and biographies and memoirs, especially of scientists like Richard Feynman, along with leadership and management and business and strategy.
All 8 Books Larry Page Has Recommended
- Measure What Matters · John Doerr
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things · Ben Horowitz
- My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla · Nikola Tesla
- How Google Works · Eric Schmidt
- Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! · Richard P. Feynman
- What Do You Care What Other People Think? · Richard P. Feynman
- The Pleasure of Finding Things Out · Richard P. Feynman
- QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter · Richard P. Feynman