Alex Dean

There's nothing quite like a book that changes how you see the world. There's nothing quite like perceiving life through some unspoken lens, and then having some elegant idea change that perception. Books like that are the stuff of magic.

The purpose of this page is to serve as a resource for others hoping to be transformed. For each year, I selected the top five books that have influenced me the most. While my selections are susceptible to my inherent biases of what is important, as well as my prevailing interests and attitudes of the time, I hope this page will be useful for others willing to indulge their curiosities to the furthest extent.

---

2025

1. The Extinction of Experience by Christine Rosen — A thoughtful examination of how, more and more, individuals in modern society interact with the world through information about it rather than direct experience with it. A great pitch for the book was given by the author in this podcast episode. A strong critique was given in this book review.
2. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller — A fascinating glimpse into the thrill, terror, tyranny, and tragedy of antiquate Greek life, drawing inspiration from the Illiad, and showcasing the everlasting human desire for love and glory. The author gave a wonderful overview of the book in this interview and this talk. A critique of the book was given in this book review.

2024

1. The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop — The thrilling story behind DARPA, the life of J. C. R. Licklider, and the development of the modern internet; This book provides an unusual glimpse into how government can uniquely build and accelerate the development of far-fetched new technologies.
2. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf — Set in Victorian Scotland, this book is one of the most unique books I've ever read; It showcases the subtle and invisible triumphs and tragedies of mundane daily life, making visible thoughts and feelings we frequently fail to notice.
3. The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis — A beautiful book about the cognitive biases we all subconsciously harbor and the myriad ways our perceptions misrepresent reality; Central to the book is the friendship between psychologists Amos Tvsersky and Daniel Kahneman, who uncover much of the research behind human judgement and decision-making.
4. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl — Set in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, this book is about what allows humans to endure some of the harshest traumas and realities imaginable; Their enduring connection to the lives they left behind plays an important role.
5. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer — An exploration of how modern livestock is transformed into the meat we consume, the emotional role food occupies in the human experience, and the ethics and quandaries of meat consumption and vegetarian diets.

2023

1. A Thousand Brains by Jeff Hawkins — A thoughtful exploration of how the brain stores and reconstructs information, the research behind it (the brain uses references frames through thousands of cortical columns!), connections to recent developments in artificial intelligence, and the possibility of merging human brains with computers.
2. Strangers Drowning by Larissa MacFarquhar — A gripping dive into the innate human drive to help others, the moral questions raised in the pursuit of altruism, the narrative blankets we cling to, and what happens in a world where pure altruism is taken to its logical ends.
3. The Canceling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott — An urgent examination of the degradation of free expression, particularly on college campuses, through the use of cheap rhetorical tricks and ad hominem attacks; An outline of the steps needed to build a resilient and open minded society.
4. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris — Teddy Roosevelt is my favorite President; This book tells the wonderful story of his ascent, his many setbacks and tragedies, his quintessential boundless energy, and what it meant to be an ambitious public servant at the turn of the 20th century.
5. Paved Paradise by Henry Grabar — A hair-pulling account of the environmental, social, and economic cost of parking, the myriad challenges facing the American city, and the question of who owns public space in a dense urban setting.

2022

1. Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman — A prescient critique of how television and entertainment media undermine serious public discourse; Postman's warnings about the transformation of news, politics, and education into entertainment feel remarkably relevant in our social media age.
2. The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt — A groundbreaking exploration of the psychological foundations of morality and political division; Haidt reveals how our moral intuitions, not rational reasoning, drive our judgments, offering insights into why people disagree so fundamentally about right and wrong.
3. American Pharaoh by Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor — The definitive biography of Richard J. Daley, the legendary Chicago mayor who wielded unprecedented political power; A fascinating portrait of machine politics, urban development, and the complex legacy of one of America's most influential political bosses.
4. Pacific by Simon Winchester — A sweeping history of the Pacific Ocean and its role in shaping the modern world; Winchester weaves together stories of exploration, war, trade, and environmental change to reveal how this vast body of water became the center of global power and conflict.
5. Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv — A compassionate examination of mental illness and the stories we tell about psychological suffering; Aviv challenges conventional narratives about mental health, exploring how cultural context shapes our understanding of madness and recovery.

2021

1. When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut — A haunting blend of fact and fiction exploring the dark side of scientific discovery; Labatut weaves together the stories of brilliant minds whose groundbreaking work led them to the edge of madness, revealing how the pursuit of knowledge can become a descent into chaos.
2. This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends by Nicole Perlroth — A chilling exposé of the global cyber arms race and the vulnerability of our digital infrastructure; Perlroth reveals how governments and hackers exploit software flaws as weapons, threatening everything from power grids to democratic elections.
3. The Second Founding by Eric Foner — A masterful examination of how the Reconstruction amendments fundamentally transformed the Constitution and American democracy; Foner shows how the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments created a new birth of freedom while revealing the ongoing struggle to fulfill their promise.
4. The Price of Peace by Zachary D. Carter — A brilliant biography of John Maynard Keynes that doubles as a history of economic thought; Carter traces how Keynes's revolutionary ideas about government intervention shaped the modern world, from the New Deal to contemporary debates about inequality and climate change.
5. The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian — An essential exploration of how to ensure artificial intelligence serves human values; Christian examines the challenge of creating AI systems that do what we want them to do, not just what we tell them to do, as machines become increasingly powerful and autonomous.

2020

1. The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio — A powerful, intimate portrait of undocumented immigrants across America; Villavicencio combines personal narrative with investigative journalism to reveal the human stories behind political debates, challenging readers to see beyond statistics and stereotypes.
2. Conditional Citizens by Laila Lalami — A thoughtful examination of what it means to belong in America when your citizenship feels perpetually questioned; Lalami weaves together personal experience and historical analysis to explore how race, religion, and origin shape the American experience.
3. A Promised Land by Barack Obama — The former president's candid and introspective account of his early political career and first term in office; Obama offers unprecedented insight into presidential decision-making during pivotal moments including the financial crisis and healthcare reform.
4. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff — A groundbreaking analysis of how tech giants extract value from human experience itself; Zuboff reveals how surveillance capitalism threatens democracy and human autonomy, offering a urgent warning about our digital future.
5. Politics Is For Power by Eitan Hersh — A provocative critique of modern political engagement that prioritizes consumption over action; Hersh argues that true political participation requires local organizing and relationship-building, not just following news and expressing opinions.

2019

1. Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool — One of my favorite books of all time; The definitive guide to deliberate practice and the science of expertise; Ericsson debunks the myth of natural talent and reveals how anyone can achieve extraordinary performance through focused, deliberate practice in any field.
2. Incognito by David Eagleman — A fascinating journey into the hidden workings of the unconscious mind; Eagleman reveals how much of our behavior, decisions, and perceptions happen below the threshold of awareness, challenging our assumptions about free will and consciousness.
3. Range by David Epstein — A compelling argument for the power of broad experience over narrow specialization; Epstein shows how generalists often outperform specialists in complex, unpredictable fields by drawing connections across diverse domains of knowledge.
4. Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker — An eye-opening exploration of sleep's critical role in health, learning, and performance; Walker, a leading sleep scientist, reveals the devastating consequences of sleep deprivation and the transformative benefits of prioritizing rest.
5. Make It Stick by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, and Mark McDaniel — Notable insights into how we actually learn and remember; The authors debunk popular study methods and reveal evidence-based techniques that make learning more effective and durable.

2018

1. So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport — A compelling argument against the popular "follow your passion" advice, advocating instead for developing rare and valuable skills that lead to work you love; Newport's practical approach to career satisfaction challenges conventional wisdom about finding fulfilling work.
2. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie — The timeless classic on human relations and communication; Carnegie's principles for connecting with others, building genuine relationships, and becoming a more persuasive person remain as relevant today as when first published in 1936.
3. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford — A poignant tale of friendship and forbidden love set against the backdrop of Japanese American internment during World War II; Ford weaves together past and present in this moving story of loyalty, loss, and the enduring power of memory.
4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald — The quintessential American novel about the hollow pursuit of the American Dream; Fitzgerald's masterpiece captures the excess, disillusionment, and moral decay of the Jazz Age through the tragic figure of Jay Gatsby and his impossible love for Daisy Buchanan.
5. Othello by William Shakespeare — Shakespeare's devastating tragedy of jealousy, manipulation, and racial prejudice; The noble Othello's downfall at the hands of the scheming Iago remains one of literature's most powerful explorations of how destructive emotions can corrupt even the greatest souls.