Saylor's Reading List: 38 Books for Bitcoin Leaders

Michael Saylor has compiled a list of 38 books that he believes every Bitcoin leader should read. The reading plan, which spans 755 to 953 hours, covers eight core themes including civilizational history, geography, military strategy, uncertainty, liberty, capital, energy, and sound money.

The curriculum groups the 38 books into these categories, with each section addressing recurring mistakes leaders often make, such as misunderstanding risk or wasting capital. Saylor recommends that readers view every book critically rather than seeking ideological confirmation, comparing authors against competing scholarship and testing their arguments.

The reading plan begins with works by Will and Ariel Durant, including The Lessons of History and The Story of Civilization, before moving through Jared Diamond, John Keegan, Livy, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Murray Rothbard, Ron Chernow, Daniel Yergin, David Deutsch, and concluding with books centered on technology and Bitcoin.

The final section connects the earlier themes with digital money, including Saifedean Ammous' The Bitcoin Standard, which Saylor describes as a study of Bitcoin within the wider history of monetary systems. He recommends that readers read Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin white paper after completing The Bitcoin Standard to understand the network's technical specification.