Bookshelf
We’re strong believers in the power of self-education.
A friend’s explanation can spark interest, but true understanding of Bitcoin and its importance comes from learning directly from the sharpest minds in the space.
Here is a curated list of the best books we’ve read on Bitcoin, along with standout titles in economics, politics and personal sovereignty.
Books on Bitcoin
Gradually, Then Suddenly
Originally a series of essays, this book provides a clear and concise set of answers to the most asked about topics in Bitcoin; Why Bitcoin, not Blockchain? Why Bitcoin can’t be copied. Why Bitcoin does’nt waste energy. Why Bitcoin cannot be banned.
With all subject put across in an easy to understand way, this is a book we highly recommended to start with for those new to Bitcoin. It does not require technical knowledge and won’t put you to sleep like a highschool economics book.
Bitcoin: Hard Money You Can’t F*ck With
An easy read about Bitcoin as well as the problems nations are facing with ever mounting piles of debt and slowing economies. This book explains why the money is broken, as well as why Bitcoin will fix it.
A good read for basic diagnosis of the problems in the economy today and what Bitcoin is and how it will help.
The Bitcoin Standard
A more in depth look at the history of money. How it evolved over millennia, the problems of government-created money and how it has lead us to the problems we face today. A great book to get a deeper understanding of the economy and the importance of money.
This book is a harder read for those wanting to delve deeper into money before finding out why Bitcoin is the future of money.
The Sovereign Individual
We’ve placed this book in the Bitcoin section, even though it was written in 1997, a full eleven years before Bitcoin was born. Though the authors by definition then can’t have referred to it, they specifically foresaw the creation of a digital money that today we know is Bitcoin.
The book is a forward-looking and predicts how the rise of digital technology and the internet would disrupt traditional nation-states, economies, and power structures. It argues that individuals equipped with digital tools and mobile capital would increasingly detach from government control, taxation, and centralized authority - giving rise to a new class of “sovereign individuals” - a movement we see worldwide today. The book foresaw global labor arbitrage, and the decline of the welfare state - making it a foundational text for those exploring the intersection of technology, freedom, and the future of governance. A must-read for all Bitcoiners.
Books on Philosophy & Mindset
The Pocket Oracle and Art of Prudence
A book of 300 rules for life written by a Stoic Jesuit priest in the 17th Century. This book provides in list format many thought-provoking ideas and rules by which to live a fulfilling life at peace with yourself and the world around you. It forms the base for many modern day philosophy books, so much so that you’ll likely recognise at least a few of the rules. A quick read, but take your time and think about each point after you’ve read it.
Note: As with most centuries-old philosophy books, there are various translations and titles of this book, most notably The Art of Worldly Wisdom. We strongly urge the reading of the specific Penguin Classics version pictured and linked here, which in our opinion Jeremy Robbins provides the best and most concise translation.
How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World: A Handbook for Personal Liberty
A superb book on becoming free of constraint both self-imposed and by others. Live your life as you see fit and don’t let anyone stand in your way, most importantly, not even yourself. Life is full of stressful situations, but they only need be as impactful on our lives as we let them be.
Life is full of expectations, demands and obligations… or is it? Reading this book helped us realise life really is great once we conquer our thoughts and the expectations of others. Live for yourself and live for today.
Books on Politics
The State in the Third Millennium
Written by the Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, this book provides his outlook on democracy as we know it today. It’s failings and how he has structured the Liechtenstein nation and its governance as the best working model of democracy that we know of existing today.
Accountability is too rare a commodity in politics in today’s age of never-ending bureacracy that only knows how to sustain itself while the nation and it’s people are made to continually give up more of their freedoms and hard earned money.
This book has many useful lessons of how a nation could be run, if only those in charge were willing to give up some of their power and be held more accountable.
The Power of the Powerless
A seminal political essay by Václav Havel, the first President of the Czech Republic. Written in 1978, he explores how individuals can resist authoritarianism through truth, conscience, and everyday acts of dissent.
Havel illustrates how totalitarian systems rely not just on force, but on the complicity and self-censorship of ordinary people. He argues that by “living in truth” - refusing to participate in lies and rituals of the regime - even seemingly powerless individuals can reclaim their agency and undermine oppressive structures from within. The essay became a touchstone for dissidents in Eastern Europe during the Soviet Union and today we feel as governments continue to turn to opression of free speech - these lessons are just as important today as they were then.