The book this episode covers
Lighting Out for the Territory
Roy Morris Jr. · Reading rank 175 · in 5 other episodes
David calls it a nearly perfect biography of Mark Twain.
Founder theme · Dedicated episode · Explicit praise
Books David recommends along the way
The Lessons of History
Will Durant and Ariel Durant · Reading rank 71 · in 6 other episodes
David calls it one of his favorite books and says he thinks about it constantly.
Explicit praise
The Big Rich
Bryan Burrough · Reading rank 100 · in 6 other episodes
David calls The Big Rich excellent and amazing.
Cross-episode reference · Explicit praise
Blood and Thunder
Hampton Sides · Reading rank 408
David calls Blood and Thunder a great audiobook and a fascinating read.
Explicit praise
Invest Like the Best
Patrick O'Shaughnessy (host) · Watch & Listen · in 13 other episodes
David attributes the power-law-people idea to Sam Hinkie’s Invest Like the Best episode and applies it to Mark Twain.
Founder theme
Steve Jobs's Stanford Commencement Address
Steve Jobs · Watch & Listen · in 12 other episodes
David draws the 'you cannot connect the dots looking forward' theme from Jobs's speech and applies it to Twain's life.
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