Read by Morgan Housel
What books does Morgan Housel recommend?
Few writers connect money to behavior as plainly as Morgan Housel, and the book recommendations from the Collaborative Fund partner behind The Psychology of Money read like a case for behavior over intelligence. His picks, 30 in all, are curated from his own reading essays for the Collaborative Fund, including the widely shared list of 23 Books That Changed My Life. The selections lean into history, biography and memoir, and psychology, prizing narrative accounts of human behavior over conventional finance texts. His top pick is Benjamin Roth's The Great Depression: A Diary, which Housel calls the best economics book he has read, written by a person who didn't know he was writing one. The list gathers other overlooked treasures too, from William Dawson's 1907 The Quest of the Simple Life, which he says totally changed how he thinks about personal finance and life goals, to Steven Pressfield's Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t, which he credits with the biggest influence on how he writes.
Last updated March 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
The Great Depression: A Diary
Notes from the 1930s
byBenjamin Roth
2009256 Pages“The best economics book I've read, written by a person who didn't know he was writing one.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
byWilliam J. Dawson
1907145 Pages“Written in 1907, totally changed how I think about personal finance and life goals.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
The Big Change
America Transforms Itself, 1900–1950
byFrederick Lewis Allen
2021328 Pages“A look at how life in America changed from 1900-1950, got me interested in the social and cultural part of economic growth.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
byJohn Train
1984112 Pages“One of the best investing history books that few people have heard of.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t
Why That Is And What You Can Do About It
bySteven Pressfield
2016208 Pages“Had the biggest influence on how I write.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
The Science of Fear
Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't--and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger
byDaniel Gardner
2008339 Pages“The first book that opened my eyes to how poor we are at interpreting risk.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Sam Altman, Ray Dalio, Ryan Holiday and 4 others
byAlfred Lansing
1959416 Pages“The best example of how far people can be pushed when the stakes are high.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
The Patriarch
The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
byDavid Nasaw
2012868 Pages“A biography of Joseph Kennedy, shows Kennedy to be one of the most fascinating people in American history even if his son had never became president.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
byRobert G. Hagstrom
2013224 Pages“The most underappreciated investment book.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
byDavid McCullough
19921120 Pages“A biography of the 33rd president, is an incredible story of the world's biggest problems falling into the lap of someone who never thought he'd face them.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
The Choice: Embrace the Possible
Escaping the Past and Embracing the Possible
byDr. Edith Eger
2017304 Pages“Maybe the best book I've read in years. Just epic writing and storytelling, hard to put down.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, 'A Few Good Books'
Read by Tim Cook, Eric Topol, Fei-Fei Li and 2 others
byPaul Kalanithi
2016256 Pages(1,300,000)
“Will make you reexamine what's important in life and make you appreciate each day you're here.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
byB.H. Liddell Hart
1972104 Pages“Shows why people keep screwing up after others before them did the same thing.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
byDavid McCullough
2015320 Pages“One of the best business and innovation stories of all time.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
byRobert Coram
2002504 Pages“An excellent story on brute-force learning, focus, and bureaucracy.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
The Frugal Housewife
Dedicated to those who are not ashamed of economy
byLydia Maria Child
182996 Pages“Written in 1833, shows how primitive everyday life was not that long ago.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
byHa-Joon Chang
2012304 Pages“Will make half of readers angry, but the other half will be better able to realize that no system for organizing an economy is perfect.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
The Guns at Last Light
The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945
byRick Atkinson
2013896 Pages“The best World War II book I've read, and explains the most important event in modern history through human stories rather than bland statistics.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Manson and 4 others
The Better Angels of Our Nature
Why Violence Has Declined
bySteven Pinker
2011832 Pages“Taught me that you can be a long-term optimist even when things around you look pretty bad.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
30 Lessons for Living
Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans
byKarl Pillemer
2011288 Pages“A collection of life advice from very old people who have seen it all.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
This Will Make You Smarter
New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking
byJohn Brockman
2012448 Pages“A series of short essays by brilliant people in a book that lives up to its title.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
The Birth of Plenty
How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created
byWilliam J. Bernstein
2004420 Pages“The best explanation of how and why economies grow.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
Read by Morgan Housel
The Wisdom of Psychopaths
What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success
byKevin Dutton
2012288 Pages“Shows how big an advantage you have when you're unemotional about emotional topics.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
byDarrell Huff
1993144 Pages“Will make you laugh and be skeptical of almost everything in one sitting.”
— Morgan Housel
Source: Collaborative Fund, '23 Books That Changed My Life'
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Morgan Housel recommend?
Among his 30 picks are The Great Depression: A Diary by Benjamin Roth, The Quest of the Simple Life by William J. Dawson, The Big Change by Frederick Lewis Allen, Famous Financial Fiascos by John Train, and Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t by Steven Pressfield.
What is Morgan Housel's favorite book?
His top pick is The Great Depression: A Diary by Benjamin Roth, which he describes as "the best economics book I've read, written by a person who didn't know he was writing one."
Where do Morgan Housel's book recommendations come from?
They come from his essays for the Collaborative Fund, notably lists titled "23 Books That Changed My Life," "A Few Good Books," and "Good Books," where he reflects on the reads that shaped his thinking on money and history.
Has Morgan Housel written any books?
Yes. He is the author of three books listed here: the international bestseller The Psychology of Money, on how behavior shapes financial outcomes, Same as Ever, on the things that never change, and The Art of Spending Money.
What genres does Morgan Housel read most?
His recommendations favor history, biography and memoir, and psychology, alongside economics and science, reflecting his belief that financial success is driven more by how you behave than by what you know.
All 30 Books Morgan Housel Has Recommended
- The Great Depression: A Diary · Benjamin Roth
- The Quest of the Simple Life · William J. Dawson
- The Big Change · Frederick Lewis Allen
- Famous Financial Fiascos · John Train
- Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t · Steven Pressfield
- The Science of Fear · Daniel Gardner
- Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage · Alfred Lansing
- The Patriarch · David Nasaw
- Investing: The Last Liberal Art · Robert G. Hagstrom
- Truman · David McCullough
- The Choice: Embrace the Possible · Dr. Edith Eger
- When Breath Becomes Air · Paul Kalanithi
- Why Don't We Learn from History? · B.H. Liddell Hart
- The Wright Brothers · David McCullough
- Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War · Robert Coram
- The Frugal Housewife · Lydia Maria Child
- 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism · Ha-Joon Chang
- The Guns at Last Light · Rick Atkinson
- The Better Angels of Our Nature · Steven Pinker
- 30 Lessons for Living · Karl Pillemer
- This Will Make You Smarter · John Brockman
- The Birth of Plenty · William J. Bernstein
- The Wisdom of Psychopaths · Kevin Dutton
- How to Lie with Statistics · Darrell Huff
- A Man on the Moon · Andrew Chaikin
- The Molecule of More · Daniel Z. Lieberman
- Destiny of the Republic · Candice Millard
- Breath · James Nestor
- The Science of Storytelling · Will Storr
- The Body · Bill Bryson