A Bear Market Reading List from the a16z Crypto Team

Original title: "Some Books We're Reading This Summer"

Original author: a16z crypto editorial

Original translation: 0x9F, wzp, BlockBeats

Here is a recommended reading list from the a16z Crypto team, covering everything from algorithms, cryptography, markets, system design to time travel, space, food and philosophy. Whether learning or entertainment, non-fiction or fiction, this list of books is suitable for everyone.

Michael Blau, Investment and Engineering Team

Brian Christian & Tom Griffiths: "Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions"

"Even if you didn't take algorithms and data structures courses in college, you will love this book. It applies well-known algorithms and data structures to things in our daily lives."

Sam Broner, Intern, Investment Team

Michael Chabon: "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay”

“A beautiful book that is both a comedy and an epic, telling the story of two young men discovering themselves as they try to build a comic book empire in New York. It’s a worthwhile read in its own right, but I also observed some themes that seem relevant to crypto right now: creators are stripped of ownership of their characters; location has historically been an unfortunate constraint on success; comic books have some of the earliest decentralized communities.”

Editorial Team

Emily St. John Mandel: Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel, and Sea of Tranquility

“Read these works in order to experience the brilliant ‘multiverse’ (or alternatively, simulated) reality that Mandel stitches together across several characters and time periods. I also loved the HBO miniseries adapted by producer Patrick Somerville and his team from the first book, which is one of the best novel adaptations I’ve seen on screen, and is probably more true to the original in essence. (I saw many Crypto themes in Station Eleven, such as DAOs as micro-communities around common interests, diverse governance models, decentralization; experts’ reputations cannot be earned, they need to be earned, etc.)

Chuck Klosterman: The Nineties: A "I can't stop recommending this book. Not only does it speak to so many things in art and business—how culture is produced, how nostalgia is fueled, how generations reference the past and create new futures—but as an editor I was intrigued by the process behind the result: how did Klosterman research, write, edit, and re-edit? Because it's a masterpiece, somehow distilling an entire generation into a very readable book with a clear structure and a strong curatorial point of view, while still having a sense of comprehensiveness. I'm in awe of this work!" Chris Dixon, Founding Partners, Ann VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer: The Time Traveler's Almanac: A Time Traveler's Almanac. "I've always found time travel fascinating. In addition to the interesting philosophical questions it raises, time travel taps into powerful human emotions like nostalgia, regret, and hope. This anthology collects many of history's great time travel short stories. In addition to being great reads, it's also a great way to discover authors you might not have heard of before."

Trading Team Sam Gelt

Jo Merchant: The Human Cosmos: Civilization and the Stars

“If you like human history, the evolution of religion and society, and the development of astronomy, you’ll enjoy this book. Although a little superficial, it’s a brilliant summary of humanity’s relationship with the stars and how that has influenced society over the years (only discussing astrology and the zodiac in a historical context).”

HR Team Emily Graff

Albert Einstein: The World As I See It "The world only focuses on the science that Einstein pioneered, but is largely unaware of the good deeds he did to help others; this little book shows another side of him. It is an eclectic collection of notes and letters that touch on a wide range of topics such as life, love, happiness and death."

William Irvine: A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

"A great book about how the ancient Stoic philosophy applies to modern times. This book shows the wisdom of the ancient philosophers and how they dealt with similar problems we still face today. Some of us completely ignore the power of tranquility and virtue, which add meaning to our lives."

Kathryn Rogers Merlino: Building Reuse: Sustainability, "A terrific book for architecture and sustainability enthusiasts. The author outlines the green case for reusing and redesigning existing buildings (all of the case studies she describes are located in my hometown in the Pacific Northwest)."

Editorial Team Robert Hackett

Yuval Noah Harari: Homo Deus

“After chronicling the long arc of human history in Sapiens, Harari turns his sights to our as-yet-unwritten future. He argues that we live in an epochal age.”

George Saunders: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life

“Enchanting the reader from line to line, subverting expectations, achieving timelessness through concreteness… These are just some of the lessons Saunders imparts in his MFA ‘Workbook,’ which touches on classic works by four great Russian writing masters. The analysis and wisdom of Saunders (and his teachers) will enhance anyone’s appreciation and application of the art of storytelling.”

Marketing Team Maggie Hsu

Priya Parker: The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters

“Gathering is a basic human need in real life, but it’s often wasted. This book offers ways to gather more meaningfully.”

Investment Team Intern Brett Kim

Jostein Gaarder: Sophie’s World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy》

“This book inspired one of my favorite songs, Spiritualized’s “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space,” and it also introduced me to philosophy. Filled with secret letters, retro metaphors, and shifting egos, this dreamy journey of discovery is both lighthearted and substantive.”

Research Group Scott Duke Kominers

Charles Smith: Auctions: The Social Construction of Value

“This classic and vivid work of sociology explores how auctions have emerged throughout society as a way to build community consensus around value. (Sound familiar?)”

Ray Fisman& Tim Sullivan: The Inner Lives of Markets: How People Shape Them—And They Shape Us"

"Ray Fisman and a16z Crypto Research Editor Tim Sullivan provide a deft and intuitive look at how technology and smart design are transforming markets by optimizing underlying incentives."

Alvin Roth: Who Gets What—and Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design

"Alvin Roth's book is the perfect intellectual complement: a combination of memoir and a compendium of real-world market design case studies."

Catherine Yeo: The Creator Revolution: How Today's Creative Talents Are Shaping Our Tomorrow

“Drawing on her own experiences as a creator, as well as a range of interviews and other sources, my (undergraduate) student Catherine Yeo documents the rise of the creator economy and the extraordinary opportunities it has created, as well as the challenges around labour, community, and burnout. Yeo provides hands-on tips and, particularly exciting for a crypto audience, investigates the many different ways in which web3 offers potential for a more inclusive and rewarded creator future.”

Alfred Bester: The Demolished Man

“The first science fiction novel to win the Hugo Award, this is a classic and a fascinating meditation on the mechanics of law in a society where telepathic beings exist. Although fictional, the questions and challenges raised in this book are relevant to a future world where law increasingly relies on artificial intelligence.”

Peter Winkler: Mathematical Puzzles: A Connoisseur's Collection

"This is my favorite math puzzle book of all time. Q.E.D."

General Partner Sriram Krishnan

Daniel Suarez: Daemon

"An amazing modern science fiction novel that partially inspired Vitalik's DAO idea."

Research Team Valeria Nikolaenko

Justin Thaler: Proofs, Arguments, and Zero-Knowledge》"An in-depth discussion of zero-knowledge proofs."

Ross Shuel, Network Team

James Gleick: Chaos: Making a New Science

“This book introduces the science of nonlinear dynamical systems, which contains brilliant and wonderful ideas. When I first read Chaos in college, it fundamentally changed my perspective on observing and analyzing the world. If you are not familiar with chaos theory, it may reshape your view of the world today.”

Security Team Justin Simcock

Dee Hock: One from Many: Visa and the Rise of Chaordic Organization

“A philosophical reflection on the origins and development of the Visa financial network.”

JMR Higgs: KLF: Chaos Magic Music Money

"The story of the music band The KLF and the powerful, must-do ideas that drove them"