--- title: Reading: 39 Books to Help You Make Decisions in Life description: Because there are just so many decisions to make canonical: https://time.com/3971930/decision-making-books/ author: Shane Parrish article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-29T11:00:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:38:17.602Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 39 Books to Help You Make Decisions in Life og:description: Because there are just so many decisions to make og:url: https://time.com/3971930/decision-making-books/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe3eae6b6a20acb7/69885c6b428a9e93b8cce555/footprints-two-way.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: footprints-two-way og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 39 Books to Help You Make Decisions in Life twitter:description: Because there are just so many decisions to make twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe3eae6b6a20acb7/69885c6b428a9e93b8cce555/footprints-two-way.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 39 Books to Help You Make Decisions in Life ## Video: Best Free and Cheap Ebooks Sites [Watch (HLS stream): Best Free and Cheap Ebooks Sites](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/35n2mZWt.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2014-06-25. Some of our favorite places to go for summer reading on the cheap._ by [Shane Parrish](https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/) ## Shane Parrish Jul 29, 2015 11:00 AM UTC  Diverging line of footprints Diverging line of footprintsGetty Images by [Shane Parrish](https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/) ## Shane Parrish Jul 29, 2015 11:00 AM UTC At Re:Think Decision Making in February, I asked participants to offer up some books on decision making. _(If you’d like to be one of the first to know when I open up registration for Re:Think Decision making 2016 in Austin, TX , join the_ [_list_](http://rethinkworkshops.com/)_.)_ The crowd at the event was, in the words of one participants, the finest crowd you’ll find at a public event. These people are paid to make decisions for a living and want to find every edge they can. So when I asked them what books on decision making they read and recommend, you can bet they had a lot to say. Here’s the list: [Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307956393/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307956393&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=OBBY5OXN7U6T6D7U) By: Chip & Dan Heath [How to Measure Anything ](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1118539273/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1118539273&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=PZAKHL2T4HICWAYK) By: Douglas Hubbard [How to Make Sense of Any Mess: Information Architecture for Everybody](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500615994/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1500615994&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=4MAM6MLWJLVMHLEH) By: Abby Covert [Wiser: Getting Beyond Groupthink to Make Groups Smarter ](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1422122999/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1422122999&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=YIWNEKBGTVY3IGKQ) By: Cass Sunstein & Reid Hastie [The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures: Simple Rules to Unleash A Culture of Innovation ](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615893376/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0615893376&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=MIARGIESCQ4BCLEJ) By: Henri Lipmanowicz & Keith McCandless [Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596804172/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0596804172&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=CEDPT27VHJQBENTS) By: Dave Gray, Sunni Brown & James Macanufo [The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion ](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307455777/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307455777&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=7FS2PQHEDP2P7ROZ) By: Jonathan Haidt [Yes or No: The Guide to Better Decisions ](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887306314/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0887306314&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=OKTNYC2N7MQ6HAM3) By: Spencer Johnson [The Little Book of Talent ](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034553025X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=034553025X&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=OCZFGIPU6KY4CNV3) By: Daniel Coyle [The Worry Solution: Using Breakthrough Brain Science to Turn Stress and Anxiety into Confidence and Happiness](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307718247/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307718247&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=IKFE3LPUBAA7CMDS) By: Martin Rossman [Shantaram: A Novel](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312330537/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312330537&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=FY64VW3GRQPJX2J6) By: Gregory David Roberts [The Art of Living](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061286052/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0061286052&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=FWL5ZTNS7S5TOBOI) By: Epictetus [The Education of a Value Investor](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1137278811/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1137278811&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=GFISGZFLOINWUH6H) By: Guy Spier [Devil Take the Hindmost: a History of Financial Speculation](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452281806/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0452281806&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=CIDCTQ7O3NCXJNEE) By: Edward Chancellor [Click: The Art and Science of Getting from Impasse to Insight](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613430647/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1613430647&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=BPWKWDSEXLZA3TEI) By: Eve Grodnitzky [The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics ](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610391845/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1610391845&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=5DEENCBSJE2Q7BQD) By: Bruce Bueno de Mesquita [The Back of the Napkin & How to Solve Problems and Sell Ideas](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591842697/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1591842697&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=5MXJW64554KTRFJC) By: Dan Roan [Crossing to Safety](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037575931X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=037575931X&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=DANWYET5WUOMXUHY) By: Wallace Stegner [Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060005696/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0060005696&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=D4MUSSY556IECSSG) By: Barry Schwartz [Streetlights and Shadows: Searching for the Keys to Adaptive Decision Making](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262516721/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0262516721&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=5FXIZR5VKHAQW7TG) By: Gary Klein [The Social Animal](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812979370/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812979370&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=YLEEFDRJIJC7KI7T) By: David Brooks [The Laws of Simplicity](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262134721/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0262134721&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=K3Y7VLHEASXNRTH3) By: John Maeda [Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014311526X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=014311526X&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=5N6GBDYYI6ZXRZRQ) By: Richard H. Thaler [Reminiscences of a Stock Operator](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471770884/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0471770884&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=CTKFFWAN3CFHONCW) By: Edwin Lefevre & Roger Lowenstein [This Will Make You Smarter](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062109391/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062109391&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=L27YKIS27A43PJ5J) By: John Brockman [A more Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1620401452/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1620401452&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=KLLI6TEBC36S4TDR) By: Warren Berger [Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/147675571X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=147675571X&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=SJKTEM4D274OGO4F) By: Bill Browden [The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684853949/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0684853949&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=COYICDBL6UUYAZ45) By: Oliver Sacks [Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300196539/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0300196539&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=DS5DI7KTET77P6OQ) By: Geoffrey Parker [Seeking Wisdom](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578644283/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1578644283&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=27D37KKSQDUETFWM) By: Peter Bevelin [Mastery](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/014312417X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=014312417X&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=PBZ72IXNQ7K6QP7A) By: Rober Greene [Synchronicity: The Innes Path of Leadership](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051ANRBI/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0051ANRBI&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=4RX3DVICAZEXR4WR) By: Joseph Jaworski [The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610392507/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1610392507&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=BLVAJARONSY6L4JH) By: Erin Meyer [Ubiquity: Why Catastrophes Happen](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0609809989/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0609809989&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=EH6B72ACX7VDXKZD) By: Mark Buchanan [Family Fortunes](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1118171411/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1118171411&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=AZLTFL6JFHWKOHDG) By: Bill Bonner [Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006124189X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=006124189X&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=2EGF7UY2AGS3AYOB) By: Robert Cialdini [Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812979680/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812979680&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=VQDDGLO3U6LDZ6IJ) By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb [Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578645018/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1578645018&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=XFBFQSGIQYDIPWGI) By: Peter D. Kaufman & Charlie T. Munger [The Brain that Changes Itself](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143113100/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143113100&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=RP77FVXM7P56FDKQ) By: Norman Doidge And there you have it — a list of books on decision making that should give you a great starting point. **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Farnam Street_**](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2015/06/books-on-decision-making/)**_._** **Join over 60,000 readers and get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/newsletter/)**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3971930/decision-making-books/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3971930/decision-making-books/"},"headline":"39 Books to Help You Make Decisions in Life","datePublished":"2015-07-29T11:00:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:38:17.602Z","description":"Because there are just so many decisions to make","url":"https://time.com/3971930/decision-making-books/","keywords":["Books","Psychology","Brain","reading","decision-making"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe3eae6b6a20acb7/69885c6b428a9e93b8cce555/footprints-two-way.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shane Parrish","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe3eae6b6a20acb7/69885c6b428a9e93b8cce555/footprints-two-way.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"footprints-two-way","caption":"footprints-two-way","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3971930/decision-making-books/","name":"39 Books to Help You Make Decisions in Life"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Best Free and Cheap Ebooks Sites","description":"Some of our favorite places to go for summer reading on the cheap.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/35n2mZWt/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-06-25T15:53:11.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/35n2mZWt.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3971930/decision-making-books/","duration":"PT1M42S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3971930/decision-making-books/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```