Books like Playing Big

01

Dare to Lead

Brené Brown · Business

Dare to Lead is Brené Brown's application of her research on vulnerability and courage to the specific context of leadership.

Both dig into courage.

02

Daring Greatly

Brené Brown · Health

Daring Greatly is Brené Brown's argument, drawn from twelve years of qualitative research on shame and vulnerability, that the willingness to show up without guarantees — to be seen, to risk failure, to remain open in the presence of uncertainty — is not weakness but the foundation of courage, connection, and meaningful achievement.

Both dig into courage.

03

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Carol S. Dweck · Psychology

Carol Dweck's central claim is simple but far-reaching: people hold one of two basic beliefs about their own abilities.

A kindred self-help read.

04

Big Magic

Elizabeth Gilbert · Self-help

Big Magic is Elizabeth Gilbert's manifesto for living a creative life — not as a professional artistic career but as an orientation toward existence.

A kindred self-help read.

05

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Angela Duckworth · Psychology

Duckworth's central claim is that talent is overrated.

A kindred self-help read.

06

Mastery

Robert Greene · Self-help

Mastery is Robert Greene's long account of how extraordinary human mastery develops — from childhood inclinations through apprenticeship through creative independence to the integration that characterizes true mastery.

Both dig into career development.

07

So Good They Can't Ignore You

Cal Newport · Self-help

So Good They Can't Ignore You is Newport's direct challenge to "follow your passion" as career advice.

Both dig into career development.

08

A Man on the Moon

Andrew Chaikin · History

A Man on the Moon is Andrew Chaikin's exhaustive narrative history of the Apollo program, from the first lunar orbit of Apollo 8 in 1968 through the final mission, Apollo 17, in 1972.

Both dig into courage.

09

Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission

Hampton Sides · History

Ghost Soldiers tells the story of the January 1945 raid on the Cabanatuan prisoner-of-war camp in the Philippines — a mission to rescue 513 American and Allied prisoners, survivors of the Bataan Death March, before the retreating Japanese army could execute them.

Both dig into courage.

10

I Am Malala

Malala Yousafzai · Memoir

I Am Malala is the memoir of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist who was shot by the Taliban on her school bus in October 2012 at age fifteen, and who survived to become the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Both dig into courage.

11

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

David Epstein · Science

Range is David Epstein's argument against the ten-thousand-hours gospel.

Both dig into career development.

12

The Art of Doing Science and Engineering

Richard Hamming · Science

Richard Hamming's book is based on a course he taught at the Naval Postgraduate School in the late 1980s, after a long career at Bell Labs where he made foundational contributions to information theory and computer science — the Hamming distance, Hamming codes, and various contributions to numerical methods all bear his name.

Both dig into career development.