Read by Phil Knight
What books does Phil Knight recommend?
Grit, strategy, and adventure define the book recommendations of Phil Knight. The co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Nike, who built the company from shoes sold out of his car into a global brand, points to four titles across his acclaimed memoir Shoe Dog and press interviews, weighted toward history, biography, and military philosophy. His most personal pick is T. E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which he rereads and calls "an exquisite lyric of derring-do" and "the best book ever written about leading people from atop a camel." The list runs through Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings and Sun Tzu's The Art of War, strategic texts that shaped his thinking, and Winston Churchill's My Early Life, which stirred his own hunger for adventure: "He'd lived a life of adventure, and I wanted that for myself."
Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
A Triumph
byT. E. Lawrence
1926784 Pages“I re-read from time to time T. E. Lawrence's 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom,' an exquisite lyric of derring-do, the navigation of strange places and the imaginative ruses of a peculiar character. It has to be the best book ever written about leading people from atop a camel.”
— Phil Knight
Source: New York Times, 'C.E.O. Libraries Reveal Keys to Success'
The Book of Five Rings
The Classic Text of Samurai Sword Strategy
byMiyamoto Musashi
1645160 PagesSource: Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Read by Marc Benioff, Phil Knight, Larry Ellison and 7 others
The Art of War
The Essential Translation of the Classic Book of Life
bySun Tzu
2009384 PagesSource: Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Read by Phil Knight
My Early Life
A Roving Commission
byWinston Churchill
1930396 Pages“I’d recently read Winston Churchill’s My Early Life, the story of his years as a young war correspondent, and I was struck by how much he’d enjoyed himself. He’d lived a life of adventure, and I wanted that for myself.”
— Phil Knight
Source: Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Also recommends books in
Frequently asked questions
What books does Phil Knight recommend?
Phil Knight's four recommendations are T. E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, and Winston Churchill's My Early Life.
What is Phil Knight's favorite book?
Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence. Knight rereads it from time to time and describes it as "an exquisite lyric of derring-do," calling it "the best book ever written about leading people from atop a camel."
Where do Phil Knight's book recommendations come from?
They are drawn from his memoir Shoe Dog, which cites The Book of Five Rings, The Art of War, and Churchill's My Early Life, and from a New York Times feature on C.E.O. libraries, where he described Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
Has Phil Knight written a book?
Yes. His memoir Shoe Dog (2016) chronicles the early, precarious years of building Nike, and is widely praised for its candid account of the risk and luck behind the company's rise.
What genres does Phil Knight read most?
His recommendations favor history and biography, with a strong strand of strategy and military philosophy — from Sun Tzu and Musashi to Lawrence and Churchill — reflecting a builder drawn to leadership under pressure.