--- title: 14 Books That Inspired Steve Jobs description: Add these to your reading list canonical: https://time.com/4125709/books-inspired-steve-jobs/ author: Business Insider article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-24T16:26:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:07:00.922Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 14 Books That Inspired Steve Jobs og:description: Add these to your reading list og:url: https://time.com/4125709/books-inspired-steve-jobs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfe2e00adbba1b4f/69887290428a9e04a3cd0433/steve-jobs1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Steve Jobs Introduces iCloud Storage System At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 14 Books That Inspired Steve Jobs twitter:description: Add these to your reading list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfe2e00adbba1b4f/69887290428a9e04a3cd0433/steve-jobs1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 14 Books That Inspired Steve Jobs by [Drake Baer, Shana Lebowitz / Business Insider](https://time.com/author/business-insider/) ## Drake Baer, Shana Lebowitz / Business Insider Nov 24, 2015 4:26 PM UTC  Steve Jobs delivers the keynote address at the 2011 Apple World Wide Developers Conference on June 6, 2011 in San Francisco, California. Steve Jobs delivers the keynote address at the 2011 Apple World Wide Developers Conference on June 6, 2011 in San Francisco, California.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Drake Baer, Shana Lebowitz / Business Insider](https://time.com/author/business-insider/) ## Drake Baer, Shana Lebowitz / Business Insider Nov 24, 2015 4:26 PM UTC Why did Apple “think different?” Because, [Steve Jobs said while introducing the iPad](http://stratechery.com/2013/whither-liberal-arts/), the Mac maker was never just a tech company. “The reason that Apple is able to create products like the iPad is because we’ve always tried to be at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts,” he [said](http://stratechery.com/2013/whither-liberal-arts/). Jobs’ lifelong interest in the humanities gave Apple a human touch. By combining tech and the liberal arts, Jobs said that Apple was able to “to make extremely advanced products from a technology point of view, but also have them be intuitive, easy-to-use, fun-to-use, so that they really fit the users.” Jobs arrived at that perspective through a lifetime of reading, [as reviewed in Walter Isaacson’s biography and other places](http://www.businessinsider.com/the-books-that-influenced-techs-most-influencial-ceos-2013-6?op=1). We’ve put together a list of 14 books that most inspired him. ### _King Lear_ by William Shakespeare Jobs really began his literary bent in the last two years of high school. “I started to listen to music a whole lot,” [he told Isaacson](http://books.google.com/books?id=8U2oAAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=jobs+isaacson&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sts7VOemGqa1sQSlj4HYAw&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22King%20Lear%22&f=false), “and I started to read more outside of just science and technology — Shakespeare, Plato. I loved _King Lear_.” The tragedy may have provided a cautionary tale to a young Jobs, since it’s the story of an aged monarch going crazy trying to divide up his kingdom. “_King Lear_ offers a vivid depiction of what can go wrong if you lose your grip on your empire, a story surely fascinating to any aspiring CEO,” says Daniel Smith, author of [_How to Think Like Steve Jobs_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1782430687/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1782430687&linkCode=as2&tag=biarchive-20&linkId=3B5AX2VC5NBDWCVE)_._ [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A73J6J6?tag=timecom-20). ### _Moby Dick_ by Herman Melville Another epic story colored Jobs’ outlook in his adolescence: _Moby Dick_, the deeply American novel by Herman Melville. Isaacson draws a connection between Captain Ahab, who’s one of the most driven and willful characters in literature, and Jobs. Ahab, like Jobs, did lots of his learning from direct experience, rather than relying on institutions. “I prospectively ascribe all the honour and the glory to whaling,” [the captain writes early in the story](http://books.google.com/books?id=XV8XAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=moby+dick&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WfI7VNGkN4XbsASah4CgBw&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=yale&f=false), “for a whale-ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.” [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/Moby-Dick-Oxford-Worlds-Classics-ebook/dp/B0083DJVIS?tag=timecom-20). ### _The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas_ by Dylan Thomas But the intellectual flowering that Jobs had in late high school wasn’t confined to hard-charging megalomaniacs — he also discovered a love for verse, particularly Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. _How To Think Like Steve Jobs_ author Daniel Smith says that Thomas’ poems “drew him in with its striking new forms and unerringly popular touch.” “Do not go gentle” became [a reported favorite](http://www.groovypost.com/news/stevejobs-poet-dylan-thomas/): --- > “” --- [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Poems-Dylan-Thomas-Original-ebook/dp/B00EE1YB3S?tag=timecom-20). ### _Be Here Now_ by Ram Dass In late 1972, Jobs had just started at Reed College, an elite liberal arts school in Portland, Oregon. _Be Here Now_, a guide to meditation by Ram Dass, affected Jobs greatly. Born Richard Alpert, Dass offers an account of his [encounters with South Asian metaphysics](http://books.google.com/books?id=U8cGWu0uPmIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=be+here+now&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sNw7VJqLDq7esATZyIKgDQ&ved=0CCkQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22though%20I%20am%20a%20beginner%20on%20the%20path%22&f=false): --- > “” --- “It was profound,” [Jobs said](https://books.google.com/books?id=8U2oAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=It+transformed+me+and+many+of+my+friends+steve+jobs&source=bl&ots=AOaZwOBRYi&sig=wgIIVANp1h8V2bfTgZmNgAtjSZw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAGoVChMI6vPGieHlyAIVgjs-Ch2McgXw#v=onepage&q=It%20transformed%20me%20and%20many%20of%20my%20friends%20steve%20jobs&f=false). “It transformed me and many of my friends.” [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/Here-Now-Enhanced-Ram-Dass-ebook/dp/B005R9HK8O?tag=timecom-20). ### _Diet for a Small Planet_ by Frances Moore Lappe In that first year at Reed, Jobs also read _Diet for a Small Planet_, a book about protein-rich vegetarianism that went on to sell three million copies. It was a breakthrough. “That’s when I pretty much swore off meat for good,” Jobs told Isaacson. [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/Diet-Small-Planet-20th-Anniversary-ebook/dp/B003F3PLBW?tag=timecom-20). ### _Mucusless Diet Healing System_ by Arnold Ehret But Jobs’ diet grew more adventurous after reading _Mucusless Diet Healing System_ by early-20th-century German dietitian Arnold Ehret, a guy who recommends practices like “[intermittent juice fasting](http://www.mucusfreelife.com/).” “I got into it in my typical nutso way,” [Jobs told Isaacson](http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/29/health/steve-jobs-all-fruit-diet/). After getting to know Ehret’s work, Jobs became something of a nutritional extremist, subsisting on carrots for weeks at a time — to the point that his skin reportedly started turning orange. [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/Mucusless-Healing-System-Arnold-Ehret-ebook/dp/B0081AKCGS?tag=timecom-20). ### _Autobiography of a Yogi_ by Paramahansa Yogananda Jobs read _Autobiography of a Yogi_ by Indian yoga guru Paramahansa Yogananda when he was in high school. Then he reread it while [he stayed at a guesthouse in the foothills of the Himalayas in India](http://gadgets.ndtv.com/others/news/what-steve-jobs-did-in-india-35-years-ago-225246). Jobs [explained](http://books.google.com/books?id=8U2oAAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=jobs+isaacson&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sts7VOemGqa1sQSlj4HYAw&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22yogi%22&f=false): --- > “” --- The book remained a major part of Jobs’ life. He reread it every year. [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Self-Realization-Fellowship-Paramahansa-Yogananda-ebook/dp/B00JW44IAI?tag=timecom-20). ### _Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind_ by Shunryu Suzuki After Jobs got back from India, his interest in meditation continued to flourish. This is partly thanks to geography — 1970s California was the place where Zen Buddhism got its first foothold in America, and Jobs was able to attend classes led by Shunryu Suzuki, the Japanese monk who authored _Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind_. Like everything else, Jobs went hard into Zen. “He became really serious and self-important and just generally unbearable,” [says Daniel Kottke, his best friend at the time](http://books.google.com/books?id=6e4cDvhrKhgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=steve+jobs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Suk7VPKsMM%5FksASBrYH4Bg&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Zen%20Mind%2C%20Beginner's%20Mind&f=false). “Zen has been a deep influence in my life ever since,” [Jobs told Isaacson](http://books.google.com/books?id=6e4cDvhrKhgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=steve+jobs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Suk7VPKsMM%5FksASBrYH4Bg&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Zen%20Mind%2C%20Beginner's%20Mind&f=false). “At one point I was thinking about going to Japan and trying to get into the Eihei-ji monastery, but my spiritual adviser urged me to stay here (in California).” [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Shunryu-Suzuki-ebook/dp/B00I8USOM0?tag=timecom-20). ### _The Innovator’s Dilemma_ by Clayton M. Christensen Apple made a habit of disrupting itself. The iPhone, for instance, had lots of the features of the iconic iPod, thus rendering the music device obsolete. Jobs was able to see that that cannibalism was a necessary part of growth, thanks to the _Innovator’s Dilemma_ by legendary Harvard Business School professor Clay Christensen. The book posits that companies get ruined by their own success, staying committed to a product even after technology (and customers) move on, like Blockbuster did with physical movie rentals. Jobs made it clear that the same thing wouldn’t happen to Apple, [as he said in his explanation of why it needed to embrace cloud computing](http://books.google.com/books?id=6e4cDvhrKhgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=steve+jobs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Suk7VPKsMM%5FksASBrYH4Bg&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Innovator's%20Dilemma&f=false): --- > “” --- [Read more on Christensen](http://www.businessinsider.com/clayton-christensen-responds-to-new-yorker-2014-6). [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/King-Lear-Dover-Thrift-Editions-ebook/dp/B00A73J6J6?tag=timecom-20). ### _Cosmic Consciousness_ by Richard Maurice Burke Kottke recently [shared a list](https://medium.com/life-learning/steve-jobs-dan-kottke-s-spirit-bookshelf-92e6f51e95be#.nh3yjr7x6) of the books he and Jobs read around their time at Reed — ones that inspired Jobs’s travels across the globe as well as his professional pursuits. One of the most influential works on that list is _Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind_, originally published by a Canadian psychiatrist in 1901. Based on his own supposed experiences with enlightenment, Burke makes the case for a higher form of consciousness than the normal person possesses. He outlines three forms of consciousness: the simple consciousness of animals and humans; the self-consciousness of humans, which includes reason and imagination; and cosmic consciousness, which transcends factual understanding. You can [read the full text online](http://sacred-texts.com/eso/cc/index.htm). [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578989620?tag=timecom-20). ### _The Way of the White Clouds_ by Lama Anagarika Govinda Buddhism was a [tremendous influence in Jobs’s life](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/steve-jobs-buddhism-guided-life-mantra-focus-simplicity/story?id=14682458), and it’s said that Zen philosophy helped inspire the simplistic design of Apple products. Around the time they were beginning to explore Buddhism, [Kottke said](https://medium.com/life-learning/steve-jobs-dan-kottke-s-spirit-bookshelf-92e6f51e95be#.gp4f7bqgn) he and Jobs read this spiritual autobiography by a Buddhist who was one of the last foreigners to travel through Tibet before the Chinese invasion of 1950\. Here the author recounts his experiences learning about Tibetan culture and tradition. [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0877730075?tag=timecom-20). ### _Ramakrishna and his Disciples_ by Christopher Isherwood Kottke and Jobs’ literary exploration also included this biography of the 19th-century Hindu saint Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, originally published in 1965. [Fans of the book](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/821171.Ramakrishna%5Fand%5FHis%5FDisciples) say Isherwood refrains from preaching and from passing judgment on Ramakrishna’s teachings. Instead, he helps readers understand how the saint became so widely influential and revered by taking them on a journey from Ramakrishna’s childhood through his spiritual education. You can [read the full text online](https://archive.org/stream/sriramak00deva/sriramak00deva%5Fdjvu.txt). [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087481037X?tag=timecom-20). ### _Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism_ by Chogyam Trungpa This book was among those that Kottke and Jobs read while exploring Buddhist religion and philosophy. It’s a transcript of two lectures the author gave, between 1970 and 1971, on common traps in spiritual journeys. The main idea is that the ego, or the sense of self, is only an illusion. Instead of trying to _improve_ themselves through spirituality, Trungpa urges readers to just let themselves _exist_. You can [read the full text here](https://archive.org/stream/pdfy-WB1Fzh%5Fm8LjpIk16/Cutting%20Through%20Spiritual%20Materialism%5Fdjvu.txt). [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570629579?tag=timecom-20). ### _Meetings with Remarkable Men_ by George Ivanovich Gurdjieff On their personal spiritual journeys, Jobs and Kottke derived inspiration from others who had embarked on similar quests for knowledge. The second volume of the [All and Everything trilogy](http://www.amazon.com/All-Everything-Georges-Ivanovitch-Gurdjieff/dp/B0007DLPPY), originally published in 1963, features the author’s recounting of people he met during his travels across Central Asia. Gurdjieff, a Greek-Armenian spiritual teacher, sought spiritual and existential fulfillment in everyone from his father to a Persian dervish. [One reader compares the work](http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24290084?book%5Fshow%5Faction=true&from%5Freview%5Fpage=1) to a 20th-century version of the allegory [Pilgrim’s Progress](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/131/131-h/131-h.htm). In 1979, the book was [adapted into a film](http://www.amazon.com/Meetings-Remarkable-Men-Dragan-Maksimovic/dp/B013VVQUQ2/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1446055991&sr=1-1&keywords=meetings+with+remarkable+men) by the same name. [Buy it here](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578988934?tag=timecom-20). _This_ [_article_](http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-reading-list-favorite-books-2015-10) _originally appeared on_ [_Business Insider_](http://www.businessinsider.com/) _More from Business Insider:_ * [25 books that will blow your mind](http://www.businessinsider.com/books-to-read-in-your-lifetime-2015-10) * [20 books Mark Zuckerberg thinks everyone should read](http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-book-recommendations-2015-10) * [21 books by billionaires that will teach you how to run the world](http://www.businessinsider.com/best-books-by-billionaires-2015-11) * [6 books that will change the way you think for the better](http://www.businessinsider.com/books-that-change-the-way-you-think-2015-8) * [The 10 best books of the year, according to Amazon](http://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-best-books-of-the-year-2015-11) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4125709/books-inspired-steve-jobs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4125709/books-inspired-steve-jobs/"},"headline":"14 Books That Inspired Steve Jobs","datePublished":"2015-11-24T16:26:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:07:00.922Z","description":"Add these to your reading list","url":"https://time.com/4125709/books-inspired-steve-jobs/","keywords":["Books","Tech","Steve Jobs"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfe2e00adbba1b4f/69887290428a9e04a3cd0433/steve-jobs1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Drake Baer, Shana Lebowitz / Business Insider"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcfe2e00adbba1b4f/69887290428a9e04a3cd0433/steve-jobs1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Steve Jobs Introduces iCloud Storage System At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference","caption":"Steve Jobs Introduces iCloud Storage System At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—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/4125709/books-inspired-steve-jobs/","name":"14 Books That Inspired Steve Jobs"}}]}] ```