Books like Better

01

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Atul Gawande · Health

Being Mortal is Atul Gawande's investigation into why modern medicine is so bad at helping people die well.

A kindred health read.

02

The Checklist Manifesto

Atul Gawande · Health

The Checklist Manifesto is Atul Gawande's argument that the single most underused tool for preventing catastrophic failure in complex fields is also the simplest: a well-designed checklist.

Both dig into systems.

03

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

Siddhartha Mukherjee · Science

The Emperor of All Maladies is Siddhartha Mukherjee's account of cancer from antiquity to the present — its biology, its treatments, its false dawns, and the scientists and patients caught in the middle of each.

A kindred health read.

04

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Tracy Kidder · Biography

Tracy Kidder's portrait of Paul Farmer — the physician and anthropologist who co-founded Partners in Health and spent decades treating tuberculosis, AIDS, and cholera in rural Haiti and among the poorest communities of the world — is one of the most compelling biographies of a contemporary American figure.

A kindred health read.

05

Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life

Nassim Nicholas Taleb · Philosophy

Skin in the Game is Taleb's argument that people who don't bear the consequences of their decisions should not be trusted, respected, or given power over others.

Shares ethics and accountability with Better.

06

Chaos: Making a New Science

James Gleick · Science

Chaos: Making a New Science, published in 1987, tells the story of how a loose network of scientists working across meteorology, mathematics, biology, and physics in the 1960s and 1970s developed chaos theory — the study of systems that are deterministic but unpredictable because tiny differences in initial conditions produce wildly different outcomes.

Both dig into systems.

07

Crucial Accountability

Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler · Business

Crucial Accountability is the sequel to Crucial Conversations, narrowing its focus from high-stakes dialogue to one specific problem: what to do when someone fails to meet an expectation.

Both dig into accountability.

08

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

Patrick Radden Keefe · History

Empire of Pain is Patrick Radden Keefe's account of the Sackler family — the dynasty behind Purdue Pharma and the opioid crisis — told across three generations.

Both dig into accountability.

09

Expert Political Judgment

Philip Tetlock · Psychology

Expert Political Judgment is Philip Tetlock's report on a twenty-year study of political forecasters.

Both dig into accountability.

10

Extreme Ownership

Jocko Willink and Leif Babin · Business

Extreme Ownership is former Navy SEAL commanders Jocko Willink and Leif Babin's argument that the single most important principle in leadership is taking total responsibility for everything that happens under your command — not just your own actions but your team's performance, your mission's failure, and the behavior of those above you when it doesn't support your mission.

Both dig into accountability.

11

Fear and Trembling

Søren Kierkegaard · Philosophy

Fear and Trembling was published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio, and it is Kierkegaard's most sustained meditation on the nature of faith through the lens of the story of Abraham and Isaac.

Both dig into ethics.

12

Good Authority

Jonathan Raymond · Business

Good Authority is Jonathan Raymond's argument that the real job of a manager is not to produce results directly but to use the work as a vehicle for people's personal and professional development.

Both dig into accountability.