A serial entrepreneur called a “progressive Jordan Peterson” by Fast Company, NYU professor Galloway, host of the Pivot podcast and author of Adrift and Post Corona, presents his “best practices for succeeding” in the “rapacious beast” of capitalism. His advice, he notes, is not for those with mountains of debt, but rather for readers “who have their act together and want to ensure they make the best of their blessings.” The “algebra” of the book’s title is broken down into four components. The first part covers Stoicism, and the author examines a list of ways in which readers can develop a “strong character” that helps their journey to wealth. It’s a salad of suggestions that include exercising, working hard, and marrying “someone who is better at money than you.” The second section, “Focus,” features Galloway’s extensive career advice. “Don’t follow your passion,” writes the author, explaining that most people can’t articulate a passion and that “passion careers suck.” For example, “only 2% of professional actors make a living from their craft.” Galloway then moves on to “Time,” which covers spending, budgeting, and saving for the future. The last section, “Diversification,” is the most technical, with Galloway “coaching” readers through “strategies for investing [their] capital.” Throughout the book, the author includes the type of anecdotes that readers have come to expect in this genre of personality-driven finance book: Galloway writes frankly about his childhood growing up “without much money,” how everything changed when his first child was born, and his divorce. The author references many of the current hot ideas in the modern self-help landscape: grit, the flow state, growth mindset, Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours, and black swan theory.

An agreeably told but unoriginal entry in the field of financial self-improvement.

Best Philosophy Books Overall

1. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
2. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
3. The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday
4. The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant
5. The Republic by Plato
6. Discourses by Epictetus
7. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch Best Philosophy Books About Stoicism and Western Philosophy
8. Letters from a Stoic by Seneca
9. Meditations on First Philosophy by René Descartes
10. On the Shortness of Life by Seneca
11. A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine
12. How to Be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci
13. How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson
14. The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday Best Philosophy Books About Eastern Philosophy
15. The Bhagavad Gita by Vyasa
16. The Art of War by Sun Tzu
17. The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
18. The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu Best Books About Important Philosophers
19. Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday
20. Plato at the Googleplex by Rebecca Goldstein
21. Breakfast With Socrates by Robert Rowland Smith Best Philosophy Books About Ethics & Morality
22. The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle
23. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
24. The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir
25. The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker Best Philosophy Books for Productivity
26. Essentialism by Greg McKeown
27. Deep Work by Cal Newport
28. The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz Best Philosophy Books for Modern Life
29. Principles by Ray Dalio
30. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson
31. Minimalism by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
32. Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
33. Kaizen by Sarah Harvey
34. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
35. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle Conclusion Other Book Lists by Topic Other Book Lists by Author