Skin in the Game

By Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Self-Help

Nassim Nicholas Taleb argues that being willing to bear the risks of your own decisions is what sets apart heroes, saints, and people who thrive in any walk of life. With examples ranging from Hammurabi and Seneca to Donald Trump, he applies that idea to understanding the world, succeeding at work, spotting nonsense, and building a fair society. Along the way he challenges the values of those who push military interventions, financial investments, and religious faiths.

Recommended by 10 people

• Vinod Khosla
• Peter Mallouk
• Marc Andreessen
• Keith Rabois
• Chris Dixon
• Changpeng Zhao
• Ben Horowitz
• Patrick Bet-David: “must read book”
• Naval Ravikant: “The best book I've read in 2018, I highly recommend it. Lots of great ideas in there. Lots of good mental models and constructs.”
• Shane Parrish: “Of course I’m reading this. Love him or hate him (and no one I know is neutral), Taleb is generally worth reading even if you don’t agree with what he’s saying or how he’s saying it. I loved the part on the reliability of knowledge, which triangulates well with our approach to using time-tested mental models.”