The book this episode covers
Bloomberg by Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg · Reading rank 88 · in 3 other episodes
David explicitly recommends reading the whole book.
Cross-episode reference · Explicit praise · Dedicated episode · Founder theme
Books David recommends along the way
Jeff Bezos' Shareholder Letters
Jeff Bezos · Reading rank 4 · in 32 other episodes
David attributes Bezos's avoid-a-fair-fight principle to the shareholder letters and compares it with Bloomberg.
Founder theme
Zero to One
Peter Thiel with Blake Masters · Reading rank 5 · in 48 other episodes
David applies Peter Thiel's differentiation idea to explain Bloomberg's conviction that his company was doing something no one else was.
Founder theme
Made in Japan
Akio Morita with Edwin M. Reingold and Mitsuko Shimomura · Reading rank 21 · in 21 other episodes
David recounts the anecdote of Sony hiring a demanding music-student critic who later became company president.
Cross-episode reference · Founder theme
Let My People Go Surfing
Yvon Chouinard · Reading rank 31 · in 12 other episodes
David calls Yvon Chouinard's book amazing.
Explicit praise · Founder theme
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Eric Jorgenson · Reading rank 33 · in 18 other episodes
David applies the book's leverage-versus-unleveraged-work framing to explain how Bloomberg gained leverage through media.
Cross-episode reference · Founder theme
The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie · Reading rank 49 · in 13 other episodes
David recommends Carnegie's autobiography among the books from his earlier Carnegie/Frick coverage.
Cross-episode reference · Explicit praise · Founder theme
The General and the Genius
James Kunetka · Reading rank 133 · in 6 other episodes
David draws a leadership parallel between General Leslie Groves and Bloomberg's Salomon Brothers bosses withholding routine congratulations.
Founder theme
Sid Meier's Memoir!
Sid Meier with Jennifer Lee Noonan · Reading rank 148 · in 3 other episodes
David says he loves Sid Meier's book and that it teaches how to build a highly leveraged business.
Explicit praise · Founder theme
Also mentioned
Total Recall
Arnold Schwarzenegger with Peter Petre · Reading rank 55 · in 11 other episodes
David applies Arnold's construction-company urgency to Bloomberg's work ethic.
Founder theme
The Operator
Tom King · Reading rank 160 · in 4 other episodes
David applies Geffen's tactic of building relationships with decision makers to Bloomberg's early relationship with Salomon's leadership.
Cross-episode reference · Founder theme
Steve Jobs's Stanford Commencement Address
Steve Jobs · Watch & Listen · in 12 other episodes
David applies the address's firing-and-renewal lesson to Michael Bloomberg losing the only full-time job he had known.
Founder theme
Each note is a short paraphrase of why David brings the book up. Book pages show every piece of evidence and its review status. How ranking works