# Books for crypto builders and beyond (2024)

> In the spirit of sharing what we’re reading, a regular tradition around here — see our latest list published this summer; and also check out our podcast where we discuss not just what, but how and why we read! — below are some of the books we curated for the Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX) 2024..

- URL: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/books-for-builders-crypto-beyond-csx-2024
- Authors: [a16z crypto editorial](https://a16zcrypto.com/team/a16z-crypto-editorial)
- Published: 2024-09-06
- Updated: 2025-10-31
- Focus areas: company building, tech trends
- Tags: what we're reading, Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX), Founders Summits

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In the spirit of sharing [what we’re reading](https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/tags/what-were-reading), a regular tradition around here — see our latest list published [this summer](https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/book-recommendation-reading-list-summer-2024/); and also check out our podcast where we discuss not just what, but how and why we read! — below are some of the books we curated for the [Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX)](https://a16zcrypto.com/accelerator/) 2024 cohorts giveaway library. 

You can also see books for founders from last year’s a16z crypto [Founder Summit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdfRWdCZHYk&list=PLjQ9HCQMu_8zFcJeaphDRBEnsyPgEG-6X) as well; we’ll post this year’s curation here soon. As always: The books in this list are not just for crypto builders and founders… The list spans biographies to company building and organizational history to creative inspiration and science fiction, with something for everyone in crypto and beyond. 

## …company building & how-to

**Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future** by Peter Thiel with Blake Master

**Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building** by Claire Hughes Johnson (Stripe Press)

**High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People** by Elad Gil (Stripe Press)

**High Output Management** by Andy Grove

**The Hard Thing about the Hard Things** by Ben Horowitz  
*\[editor’s note: listen to this [related episode](https://a16z.com/podcast/culture-as-code/) on building culture, in conversation with a16z crypto’s editor in chief\]* 

**Thinking in Systems: A Primer** by Donella Meadows

**An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management** by Will Larson (Stripe Press)

**Twenty Lectures on Algorithmic Game Theory** by Tim Roughgarden

**Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems** by Martin Kleppmann

**The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Law and Strategy** by Constance Bagley and Craig Dauchy

**Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot** by Matt Abrahams *\[editor’s note: listen to this [related episode](https://web3-with-a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/communication-technical-open-source-hybrid-spontaneous-impromptu-improv-think-faster-talk-smarter) on technical and community communication, on our “web3 with 16z” podcast\]* 

**Web3 Marketing: A Handbook for the Next Internet Revolution** by Amanda Cassatt

**A Theory of Fun for Game Design** by Raph Koster

**The Art of Doing Science of Engineering: Learning to Learn** by Richard Hamming (Stripe Press)

## …builder biographies, organizations, and process of innovation

**Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology** by Chris Miller

**Coding Democracy: How Hackers Are Disrupting Power, Surveillance, and Authoritarianism** by Maureen Web

**The Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto-Hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum** by Camila Russo

**Shoe Dog: A Memoir from the Creator of Nike** by Phil Knight

**The Founders: Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and the Story of PayPal** by Jimmy Soni

**Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds** by David Goggins

## **…tech trends, history, open source/ other web3 themes**

**The Cathedral & the Bazaar: Musings On Linux And Open Source By An Accidental Revolutionary** by Eric Raymond 

**Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software** by Nadia Eghbal (Stripe Press)

**The Evolution of Cooperation** by Robert Axelrod 

**The Everything Token: How NFTs and Web3 Will Transform the Way We Buy, Sell, and Create** by Scott Duke Kominers

**Designing An Internet** by David Clark

**Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet** by Chris Dixon

## **…sci-fi, other fiction, & creative inspiration**

**Project Hail Mary** by Andy Weir

**When We Cease to Understand the World** by Benjamin Labatut

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