The Best Book Summaries Website (in our humble opinion)

Influence is about six principles of persuasion useful for sales, marketing and negotiation. Professor Robert Cialdini says certain triggers can influence human decisions almost automatically. The six principles are: reciprocity, consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity.

Thinking, Fast and Slow is about how irrational mental shortcuts often guide our decision-making. Based on countless studies, Daniel Kahneman shows we rely on our intuitive mind (System 1) more than our lazy logical mind (System 2), and why this causes systematic errors in our judgement.

Zero to One shows why unconventional thinking lies at the heart of great startups. Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal, says entrepreneurs need to avoid competition, embrace creative monopolies, and make bold definite plans for the future.

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big is about the hilarious wisdom and many business failures of Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert. He shares pragmatic strategies for increasing our odds of success—by using systems over goals, building a talent stack and repeating (mysteriously powerful) affirmations.

The Everything Store is the story of Amazon and Jeff Bezos—one of the most successful and influential entrepreneurs today. Brad Stone explores how Amazon became the largest online retailer in the world, through a mix of customer obsession and ruthless competition.

As a Man Thinketh says our thoughts set the course our life, not our circumstances. James Allen says thoughts are seeds for actions, so our mind is a garden where we must cultivate the right seeds. This short, inspiring book still influences many modern self-help teachers.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the most popular self help books ever, selling 25 million copies. Stephen Covey explains 7 principles for becoming more effective in our personal and professional lives. These include taking responsibility, acting with long-term perspective and building mutually beneficial relationships.

Grinding It Out is about how McDonald's grew to be one of the biggest companies in the world. Ray Kroc did it through seizing the right opportunity, perfecting the fundamentals of the business, always emphasizing growth, and persisting until he found the successful strategy.

Sapiens is about how we went from being simple primates 2.5 million years ago... to walking on the moon. Yuval Noah Harari explores the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions, which made us who we are today. He says common myths like money, laws and nations hold human societies together.

The Body Keeps the Score is about fascinating new trauma treatments based on the latest research, like eye movement therapy and neurofeedback. Van der Kolk says many of us carry traces of trauma from childhood adversity or neglect. Emotional healing can happen through practices like mindfulness, yoga, play and more.

Fast Food Nation reveals how big fast food companies reshaped America in pursuit of profit. Eric Schlosser shows how marketing aimed at kids created an explosion of obesity, how big corporations have eliminated many small farmers, and why meatpacking plants can be extremely unsafe and unclean workplaces.

The Black Swan is about understanding unpredictable extreme events like the 9/11 attacks, rise of the internet, and stock market crashes. Nassim Taleb says we are unprepared for the next big event like this because we rely too much on incomplete theories, limited models and flimsy historical narratives.