Elon Musk: "I know it's cliche, but Lord of the Rings is my favorite book ever."

Naval Ravikant: "Loved Lord of The Rings and other fiction when [I was] younger."

As a teenager, Peter Thiel's favorite book was 'The Lord of the Rings,' which he read again and again.

Paul Graham's answer to "Any book recommendations for young adults?"

Reid Hoffman: "The book that I’ve most often read is Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Because it’s so important to show this journey of these hobbits, these little people in a hero’s journey about how you can change the world within a context where Tolkien is fairly sophisticated around the questions of the corruption of power, the intersection of races, and the needs for us all to work together."

Paul Graham: "It's a great book, probably in my all time top 100."

Elon Musk: "[Benjamin Franklin] was an entrepreneur. He started from nothing. Basically just a runaway kid."

Charlie Munger recommended 'The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin' in his book Poor Charlie's Almanack.

Included on Jamie Dimon's list of favorite books he sent to JP Morgan summer interns in 2010.

Fred Wilson: "A great one"

Austen Allred: "[One of the books] that has inspired me the most or changed the way I live."

Paul Graham mentioned this book on Twitter.

Paul Graham: "Hard Drive, about Microsoft, is good."

One of Elon Musk's favorite books about space.

Paul Graham: "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress made me want to work on AI, which led to Lisp."

Mark Zuckerberg: "It's a history of science book that explores the question of whether science and technology make consistent forward progress or whether progress comes in bursts related to other social forces."

Paul Graham mentioned re-reading this book on Twitter.

One of Paul Graham's answers to "What should I read to learn more about history?"

One of Sam Altman's recommended books for young startup founders.

Paul Graham: "If you want to learn more about hunter gatherers I strongly recommend Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's 'The Old Way'."

This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.

Alexis Ohanian: "A bunch of really great interviews [Jessica] did with a bunch of just OGs of entrepreneurship. I am begging her to do a second book because the first one is just a must read."

Paul Graham: "It is probably the single most valuable book a startup founder could read."

Paul Graham: "White's Medieval Technology and Social Change is the most fabulous book."

Sam Altman: "It really is great."

Paul Graham: "It is a wonderful book"

One of Matt Ridley's all-time favorite books that he recommends to everybody.

Paul Graham: "Amazing"

Sam Altman: "It was excellent!"

Paul Graham: "This is one of the great classics of computer science.

I bought my first copy 15 years ago, and I still don't feel I have learned everything the book has to teach."

Max Levchin: "Easier to read [than 'The Art of Computer Programming'] end-to-end quickly."

Fred Wilson: "I love Kidder’s book. First it is a story. Second it captures the passion of engineers who are driven to ship a revolutionary product. Great read"

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'Do you know of any good books about startups?'

Paul Graham: "The most impressive feature of The Double Helix is how much Watson admits he didn't know.

He's constantly talking about papers he couldn't understand and important concepts he didn't grasp."

Matt Ridley: "[This book] gave me the important message — which my teachers had somehow mostly missed telling me — that science is not a catalog of facts, but the search for new and bigger mysteries."

Paul Graham: "The one book we encourage startup founders to read is Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People.

It's critically important for anyone in business."

One of Sahil Lavingia's most recommended books.

Matt Ridley: "Books about science tend to fall into two categories: those that explain it to lay people in the hope of cultivating a wide readership, and those that try to persuade fellow scientists to support a new theory, usually with equations.

Books that achieve both — changing science and reaching the public — are rare. Charles Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species' was one."

Paul Graham mentioned 'The Origin of Species' on Twitter.

One of Richard Branson's top books to read in a lifetime.

Paul Graham: "[My kids and I] have already read 'The Hobbit' twice."

Paul Graham: "It's a rare combination of broad historical panorama and all-too-topical bestseller.

There are interesting insights on every page."

Paul Graham: "If you read books, read William Finnegan's Barbarian Days.

It's one of those rare books that divide your life into two parts: before you read it, and after."

Paul Graham's answer to 'What’s the most beautiful book you’ve ever read?'"

Paul Graham: "Among the most inspiring books I know."

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What should I read to learn more about history?'

Paul Graham: "While there are many popular books on math, few seem good.

The best I can think of are W. W. Sawyer's. And of course Euclid."

Paul Graham: "I know I've recommended this book already, but it's so good I have to do it again.

Bartlett brings history to life by explaining how and why the things happened that other books merely tell you happened."

Paul Graham: "Wodehouse is so good that I get distracted by his perfection. Not a word wrong."

Paul Graham mentioned 'On Bullshit' in this essay.

Paul Graham: "Banesh Hoffman's biography of Einstein is the most exciting I've read.

The author is a physicist who is genuinely excited about Einstein's discoveries, and it moves fast instead of trying to leave no detail unpublished."

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What should I read to learn more about history?'

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What should I read to learn more about history?'

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What should I read to learn more about history?'

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What should I read to learn more about history?'

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What should I read to learn more about history?'

Paul Graham: "Anjelica Huston's Story Lately Told is wonderful."

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What’s your favorite book that almost nobody else knows or talks about?'

Paul Graham: "I recommend Clocks and Culture"

Paul Graham: "I read this during dinner and laughed so much that people must have wondered what was wrong with me."

Paul Graham mentioned this book on Twitter.

Paul Graham: "I suspect if you'd read Guns, Sails, and Empires and Plagues and Peoples, little in Guns, Germs, and Steel would surprise you."

Paul Graham: "Simultaneously reading Rousseau's Confessions and No Easy Day. Triangulating..."

Paul Graham: "Trollope's Autobiography is a wonderfully candid and inspiring one"

Paul Graham: "While there are many popular books on math, few seem good.

The best I can think of are W. W. Sawyer's. And of course Euclid."

Paul Graham: "How did I not know about this book til now?"

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What should I read to learn more about history?'

Paul Graham: "Excellent biography"

Paul Graham: "Great biography of Ramanujan."

Paul Graham: "Excellent"

Paul Graham: "Few thoughts happier than realizing it's been long enough since you last read the Sherlocks Holmes stories that you can read them again."

Paul Graham: "Dog Man is aimed at 5-10 year olds."

Paul Graham: "Watterson is like Wodehouse. Because he works in an unpretentious medium, few realize how timelessly great he is."

Paul Graham: "Hugh Popham's Sea Flight is a wonderful book.

I'm looking at the few pages left and wishing there were more."

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'Are there any books on medieval history you can recommend?'

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What’s your favorite book that almost nobody else knows or talks about?'

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What’s your favorite book that almost nobody else knows or talks about?'

Paul Graham: "Flying Start is a wonderful book."

Paul Graham: "I've read Villehardouin's chronicle of the Fourth Crusade at least two times, maybe three."

Paul Graham mentioned 'Concorde: The Inside Story' on Twitter.

Paul Graham mentioned Charles Darwin's autobiography on Twitter.

Paul Graham: "Simultaneously reading Rousseau's Confessions and No Easy Day. Triangulating..."

Paul Graham: "Fletcher's 'Moorish Spain' is a great book."

Paul Graham: "My favorite books for bedtime reading to 2 year olds"

Paul Graham's answer to 'What are your favourite books with a politics very different to your own?'

Paul Graham: "Peter Connolly's The Ancient City is one of the best books I've found for explaining history to kids."

Paul Graham recommended 'Born Red' on Twitter.

Paul Graham: "A book that will be deeply pleasing to [its] respective audience"

Paul Graham: "If you want to learn more about hunter gatherers I strongly recommend Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's The Harmless People"

Paul Graham: "So good I'm reading slow to make it last."

Paul Graham: "As perfect as Wodehouse."

Paul Graham's answer to 'Examples of books that you reread years later, & found to be much better?'

Paul Graham's answer to 'Which P. G. Wodehouse book do you recommend?'

Paul Graham mentioned reading this book on Twitter.

Paul Graham: "One of the best books about the late 3rd century"

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What should I read to learn more about history?'

Paul Graham: "The writing in the novel Wodehouse left unfinished when he died at 93 is crisp as ever."

Paul Graham: "Read this book"

Paul Graham: "Kuhn was surely most influenced by the Copernican Revolution. Excellent book incidentally."

Paul Graham mentioned the Harry Potter collection on Twitter.

Paul Graham's answer to 'Which Stephen Fry book do you recommend?'

Paul Graham mentioned Edward Gibbon's autobiography on Twitter.

Paul Graham: "Salway and Blair's 'Roman and Anglo-Saxon Britain' is really excellent."

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What should I read to learn more about history?'

Paul Graham mentioned this book on Twitter.

One of Paul Graham's answers to 'What should I read to learn more about history?'

Paul Graham: "I particularly liked Sorensen's My Forty Years with Ford."

Paul Graham: "A book that will be deeply pleasing to [its] respective audience"

Paul Graham mentioned this book on Twitter.

Paul Graham: "I loved that book"

Paul Graham: "One of my favorite autobiographical works"

Paul Graham: "One of my favorite autobiographical works"

Paul Graham: "Paul Halmos's autobiography, I Want to Be a Mathematician, is a very pleasing book.

I don't understand all the math, but it's clear he'd be an amusing guy to know."

Paul Graham: "One of the best books I've read on the history of science"

Paul Graham: "Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World is great.

As well as being the first to sail single-handed around the world, he writes with such humor and directness that this may also be the best book on sailing period."