Stories of The Ambitious

Genesis

This list of 400+ books is a collection of personal favorites and suggestions from an Austen Allred tweet including recs from Paul Graham, Palmer Luckey, Ryan Petersen, and David Senra.

Non-Fiction

3G Capital: DREAM BIG: How the Brazilian Trio behind 3G Capital acquired Anheuser-Busch, Burger King and Heinz

50 Cent: From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens

Abraham Lincoln: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Adi Dassler (Adidas): Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and the Family Feud That Forever Changed the Business of Sports

A.G. Gaston (20th c. construction entrepreneur): Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire

Airbnb: The Airbnb Story: How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions . . . and Created Plenty of Controversy

Akio Morita (Sony co-founder): Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony

Alan Turing ("Father of computer science"): Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges

Albert Einstein: Einstein: His Life and Universe

Albert Champion (ACDelco founder, acquired by GM): The Fast Times of Albert Champion: From Record-Setting Racer to Dashing Tycoon, An Untold Story of Speed, Success, and Betrayal

Albert D. Lasker ("Father of Modern Advertising"): The Man Who Sold America: The Amazing (but True!) Story of Albert D. Lasker and the Creation of the Advertising Century

Alexander Graham Bell: Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander The Great: Alexander the Great: The Brief Life and Towering Exploits of History's Greatest Conqueror

Alfred Lee Loomis (inventor, investment banker): Tuxedo Park: A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II

Ali Al-Naimi: Out of the Desert: My Journey From Nomadic Bedouin to the Heart of Global Oil

Allan Mullally (turned Ford around after '08): American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company (rec. by @kpaxs)

American Pioneers:‍

The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West

Andrew Carnegie:

Andrew Carnegie by Joseph Frazier Wall
The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America

Andrew Mellon (banker and “architect of the roaring 20s”): Mellon by David Cannadine

Andrew Wilkinson (Tiny): Never Enough: From Barista to Billionaire

Andy Grove (Intel CEO, played a role in dev. of microprocessor):

Swimming Across: A Memoir by Andy Grove
The Intel Trinity: How Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Built the World's Most Important Company

Aristotle Onassis (shipping magnate, largest private fleet, married JFK's widow):

‍‍Aristotle Onassis: An Extravagant Life
Onassis: The Definitive Biography

Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story
Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Astronauts:

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon

Atari: Atari Inc.: Business is Fun

Banana Republic:

‍‍The Republic of Tea: How an Idea Becomes a Business
Wild Company: The Untold Story of Banana Republic

Bell Labs: The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation

Ben Franklin:

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership

Bernard Arnault ($370B LVMH): The House of Arnault

Bill Campbell: Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell

Bill Gates and Microsoft:

‍‍Source Code: My Beginnings
Showstopper!: The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft
Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire
Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace

Billy Durant (GM founder): Billy Durant: Creator of General Motors by Lawrence Gustin

Brad Jacobs (XPO trucking): How to Make a Few Billion Dollars

Brooklyn Bridge: The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge

Bruce Lee: The Warrior Within: The Philosophies of Bruce Lee

Brunello Cucinelli (famed clothier of Chamath Palihapitiya): The Dream of Solomeo: My Life and the Idea of Humanistic Capitalism

Bugatti: The Bugatti Story by L'Ébé Bugatti

Carl Bosch and Fritz Haber (chemists responsible for revolutionizing fertilizer production): The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler

Carl Icahn: King Icahn: The Biography of a Renegade Capitalist

Carroll Shelby (created the Cobra and the Mustang, racecar driver): Carroll Shelby: The Authorized Biography by Rinsey Mills

César Ritz ("king of hoteliers and hotelier to kings"): Ritz and Escoffier: The Hotelier, The Chef, and the Rise of the Leisure Class

Charles Goodyear (rubber & tire tycoon): The Goodyear Story: An Inventor's Obsession and The Struggle For A Rubber Monopoly

Charles Kettering (prolific inventor - mainly automotive): Professional Amateur: The Biography of Charles Franklin Kettering by Thomas Boyd

Charles de Gaulle (led the free French forces during WWII, later president): Charles de Gaulle by Julian Jackson

Charles Lindbergh (first solo trans-Atlantic flight): Lindbergh by A. Scott Berg

Charlie Munger:

Damn Right!: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger
Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
Tao of Charlie Munger: A Compilation of Quotes from Berkshire Hathaway's Vice Chairman

Chick-fil-A and Truett Cathy (founder): How Did You Do It, Truett?: A Recipe for Success

Chuck Feeney (started and sold company to LVMH for $2.2B, donated almost everything): The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune

Chuck Yeager (first to break sound barrier, fighter pilot): Yeager: An Autobiography

Chung Ju Yung (founded Hyundai): Born of This Land: My Life Story

Claude Hopkins ("father of 'scientific' advertising"): ‍‍My Life in Advertising by Claude Hopkins

Claude Shannon ("father of the information age" and inventor of a flame-throwing trumpet): A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age

Coco Chanel (French fashion designer, revolutionized women's fashion):

Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie
Coco Chanel: Her Life, Her Secrets

Conrad Hilton (hotels): The Hiltons: The True Story of an American Dynasty

Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroad tycoon):

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt
Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer

Craig Venter (genomics pioneer): The Genome War: How Craig Venter Tried to Capture the Code of Life and Save the World

Cristóbal Balenciaga: The Master of Us All: Balenciaga, His Workrooms, His World

Daniel Lewin (Akami Technologies founder, CDN creator): The Brief, Remarkable Life of Danny Lewin, the Genius Who Transformed the Internet

Daniel Ludwig (big shipping guy): The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig

Data Domain (sold to EMC for $2.4B): TAPE SUCKS: Inside Data Domain, A Silicon Valley Growth Story

David Geffen: The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood

David Hitz (NetApp): How to Castrate a Bull: Unexpected Lessons on Risk, Growth, and Success in Business

David Ogilvy (British "father of advertising"):

‍‍The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising
The Unpublished David Ogilvy by David Ogilvy
Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy
Ogilvy on Advertising

Dee Hock (VISA founder):

‍‍One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization
Autobiography of a Restless Mind: Reflections on the Human Condition

Delta Airlines: Glory Lost and Found: How Delta Climbed from Despair to Dominance in the Post-9/11 Era

Deng Xiopeng (modernized China): Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

Dodge: The Dodge Brothers: The Men, the Motor Cars, and the Legacy

Douglas Bader (legless fighter pilot): Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader, Legless Ace of the Battle of Britain

Ed Catmull (Pixar Co-Founder): Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Edward Bernays ("Father of public relations"): The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relations

Edward O. Thorp (Hedge fund manager, blackjack whiz):

Fortune's Formula: The Untold Story of the Scientific Betting System That Beat the Casinos and Wall Street
A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market

Edwin Land (Polaroid founder, inventor):

‍‍A Triumph of Genius: Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War
Land’s Polaroid: A Company and The Man Who Invented It by Peter C. Wensberg
The Instant Image: Edwin Land and the Polaroid Experience by Mark Olshaker

Elon Musk:

Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX
The Elon Musk Post Series by Tim Urban
The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos

Enzo Ferrari:

‍‍Enzo Ferrari: The definitive biography of an icon
Enzo Ferrari: Power, Politics, and the Making of an Automobile Empire
Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans
Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine by Brock Yates

Estée Lauder: A Success Story by Estee Lauder

Evan Spiegel and Snapchat: How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars: The Snapchat Story

Ernest Shackleton (Explorer): Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage

Facebook:

The Inside Story
The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal

Franz Liszt (19th c. virtuoso pianist, famous for "Lisztomania"): Franz Liszt Biography (Trilogy) by Alan Walker

Frederick Smith (FedEx founder): Overnight Success: Federal Express and Frederick Smith, Its Renegade Creator

Georges Doriot ("father of venture capital"): Creative Capital: Georges Doriot and the Birth of Venture Capital by Spencer Ante.

George Lucas: George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones

George Washington:

‍‍Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

George Westinghouse: Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World

Glock: Glock: The Rise of America's Gun by Paul Barrett

Gordon Moore (Intel co-founder, Moore's Law):

The Intel Trinity: How Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Built the World's Most Important Company

Grace O'Malley (Irish "Pirate Queen" who challenged the British Navy): Grace O’Malley: The Biography of Ireland’s Pirate Queen 1530–1603

Grupo Bimbo ($15B bakery): Bimbo. Al grano / From the Grain (Spanish)

Hans Wilsdorf and Rolex: The Rolex Story by Franz-Christoph Heel

Harry Snyder (In-N-Out founder):

Risk Game: ‍Self Portrait of an Entrepreneur
In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules

Hedy Lamarr (invented spread spectrum radio, enabling GPS, cell, etc.): Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World

Henry Flagler (partner to J.D. Rockefeller): Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean

Henry Ford:

My Life and Work: The Autobiography of Henry Ford
I Invented the Modern Age: The Rise of Henry Ford
Today and Tomorrow by Heny Ford
Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans
The Vagabonds: The Story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's Ten-Year Road Trip

Henry Frick (steel magnate, Carnegie partner): Henry Clay Frick: The Life of the Perfect Capitalist

Henry Goldman (Goldman Sachs founder): When Money Was In Fashion: Henry Goldman, Goldman Sachs, and the Founding of Wall Street

Henry J Kaiser (WWII shipbuilder, Kaiser Permanente): Henry J. Kaiser: Builder in the Modern American West

Henry Leland (Cadillac): Professional Amateur: Master of Precision: Henry Leland by Ottilie Leland

Henry Singleton (Founded $15B Teledyne): A Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man Who Created It

Herbert Simon ("Father of AI"): Models of My Life

Herb Kelleher (Southwest co-founder): Nuts!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success

Hernan Cortes (Spanish Conquest): Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs

Hetty Green: Hetty: The Genius and Madness of America's First Female Tycoon

Home Depot: Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion

Howard Hughes (billionaire manufacturer, aviator, film producer):

‍‍Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness
Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters: The Definitive Biography of the First American Billionaire

HP: The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company by David Packard

Ibn Saud: Ibn Saud: The Desert Warrior Who Created the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Indian Independence: Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre

Infosys and Narayana Murthy ($100B company): NR Narayana Murthy - A Biography by Ritu Singh

Ingvar Kamprad (Ikea founder): Leading By Design: The Ikea Story

Isadore Sharp (Four Seasons Hotels founder): Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy

Isambard Kingdom Brunel (British engineer, revolutionized transport with pioneering steamships and railways): Isambard Kingdom Brunel: The Definitive Biography of The Engineer, Visionary, and Great Briton

Ivar Kreuger: The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals

Jack Ma and Alibaba: Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built

Jacob Fugger (16th c. German banker worth 2% of European GDP): The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: The Life and Times of Jacob Fugger

James Cameron (filmmaker): The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron by Rebecca Keegan

James J. Hill (railway magnate, expanded Great Northern Railway, opened U.S. Northwest to trade and development): James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest

‍Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata: A Chronicle of His Life (founded $400B conglomerate, Tata Group): Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata: A Chronicle of His Life by Frank Harris

Jay Gould (American financier and railroad baron):

‍‍Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons
American Rascal: How Jay Gould Built Wall Street's Biggest Fortune

Jim Casey (UPS founder): Big Brown: The Untold Story of UPS

Jim Clark (Netscape, Silicon Graphics, WebMD): The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Stoy

Jim Simons (Renaissance Technologies): The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution

J. C. R. Licklider (Personal computing pioneer and visionary): The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop

Jeff Bezos and Amazon:

Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos
Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire
The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos

John Boyd (Pilot and father of F-15 and F-16): Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War

John Malone ("the cable Cosa Nostra", Liberty Media):

Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the Rise of the Modern Cable Business

Joseph Pulitzer: Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power by James McGrath Morris

J. D. Rockefeller:

Random Reminiscences of Men and Events by John D. Rockefeller
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
John D: The Founding Father of the Rockefellers

J. P. Morgan:

The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance

James Dyson (Vacuum guy):

Against the Odds: An Autobiography
Invention: A Life by James Dyson

J. Paul Getty (oil tycoon):

As I See it: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty
How To Be Rich by J. Paul Getty

Jay Z:

Empire State of Mind: How He Went from Street Corner to Corner Office

Jennifer Doudna (CRISPR co-inventor): The Code Breaker: Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

Joe Coulombe (Trader Joes founder): Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys

Joe Simpson and Simon Yates (mountaineers): Touching the Void

John Bogle (Vanguard founder):

Stay the Course: The Story of Vanguard and the Index Revolution
Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life

John Carmack and John Romero (creators of Doom and Quake): Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

John von Neumann: The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann

Julio Lobo (20th c. Cuban sugar magnate, one of the largest sugar producers globally): The Sugar King of Havana: The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba's Last Tycoon

Julius Ceasar: Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome

Ken Allen (DHL CEO): Radical Simplicity: How simplicity transformed a loss-making mega brand into a world-class performer

Ken Langone (funded Home Depot): I Love Capitalism: An American Story by Ken Langone

Kirk Kerkorian (casino tycoon, "father of the mega-resort"): The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History

Kobe Bryant:

The Mamba Mentality
Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant

Larry Ellison:

Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle
The Billionaire and the Mechanic: How Larry Ellison and a Car Mechanic Teamed up to Win Sailing's Greatest Race
The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison: God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison by Mike Wilson

Laird Hamilton (Big wave surfer + inventor): Force of Nature: Mind, Body, Soul, And Of Course, Surfing

Larry H Miller (richest man in Utah-mainly car dealerships, Utah Jazz Owner): Driven: An Autobiography by Larry Miller

LEGO: Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry

Les Schwab: Les Schwab Pride in Performance: Keep It Going

Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore:

From Third World to First: The Story: 1965-2000
The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew

Leo Marks (genius cryptographer): Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945

Leonardo da Vinci: Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

Levi Strauss: Levi Strauss: The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World

Lewis and Clark: Undaunted Courage

Li Lu And Himalayan Capital (defector and "Chinese Warren Buffett"): Moving the mountain: My life in China from the cultural revolution to Tiananmen Square

Linus Torvalds (Linux creator): Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary

Louis B. Mayer (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer): Hollywood Rajah: The Life and Times of Louis B. Mayer

Louis Zamperini (Olympian, WWII Airman & POW): Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Lyndon B. Johnson: Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson" by Robert A. Caro

Malcom McClean ("father of containerization" - revolutionized shipping): The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger

Manhattan Project: The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes

Marc Rich: The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich

Mark Benioff and Salesforce.com: Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company-and Revolutionized an Industry

Michael Bloomberg: Bloomberg by Bloomberg

Michael Dell: Direct From Dell

Michael Faraday and James Maxwell: Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field: How Two Men Revolutionized Physics

Michael Jordan: Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby

Michael Ovitz (CAA co-founder, shaped careers from Spielberg to Letterman): Who Is Michael Ovitz?

Milton Hershey (Hershey's chocolate): Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams

Miscellaneous:

Dynasties: Fortunes and Misfortunes of the World's Great Family Businesses by David Landes
Brave Companions: Portraits in History by David McCullough
The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes
Creators: From Chaucer and Durer to Picasso and Disney

Muhammad Ali: The Greatest: My Own Story

Napoleon Bonaparte:

Napoleon: A Concise Biography by David Bell
The Mind of Napoleon: A Selection of His Written and Spoken Words

Netflix: No Rules Rules: and the Culture of Reinvention

Neall Ellis (craziest mercenary story you've never heard): Gunship Ace: The Wars of Neall Ellis, Gunship Pilot and Mercenary

Nikola Tesla: Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World

Nims Purja (mountaineer, climbed 14 highest peaks in 6 months): Beyond Possible: One Man, Fourteen Peaks, and the Mountaineering Achievement of a Lifetime

Nobel Family (Nobel Prize):

‍‍The Russian Rockefellers: The saga of the Nobel family and the Russian oil industry
Alfred Nobel: A Biography by Kenne Fant.

Panama Canal: The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914

Paul Allen: Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft by Paul Allen

Paul English (Kayak): A Truck Full of Money: Coding, Mania, Love, Genius: The Life of an American Entrepreneur

Paul Orfalia and Kinkos: Copy This!: Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic Who Turned a Bright Idea into One of America's Best Companies

Paul Van Doren (Vans founder - shoes): Authentic: A Memoir by the Founder of Vans

PayPal / PayPal Mafia:‍

The Founders: The Story of and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley
The PayPal Wars: Battles with Ebay, the Media, the Mafia, and the Rest of Planet Earth by Eric M Jackson

Plymouth Colony: Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

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

P.T. Barnum: Barnum: An American Life by Robert Wilson

Ralph Lauren:

Ralph Lauren: Revised and Expanded Anniversary Edition
Ralph Lauren: The Man Behind the Mystique

Ray Kroc and McDonald's: Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's

Reddit: Without Their Permission: The Story of and a Blueprint for How to Change the World

Richard Branson:

Losing my Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way
Finding My Virginity: The New Autobiography
Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life

Richard Garriott (early game dev, private astronaut): Richard Garriott: My Life in Pursuit of New Frontiers, Hidden Worlds, and the Creative Spark

Robert Friedland (mining billionaire): The Big Score: Robert Friedland and The Voisey’s Bay Hustle

Robert Goddard ("American father of rocketry"): Rocket Man: Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age

Robert J Oppenheimer:

‍‍American Prometheus
The General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer—The Unlikely Partnership that Built the Atom Bomb

Robert Kierlin ($40b Fastenal founder): The Power of Fastenal People

Robert Moses: The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York

Robert Noyce (co-founded Fairchild and Intel, helped create first silicon chip):

‍‍The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley
The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce: How the Sun Rose on Silicon Valley
The Intel Trinity: How Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Built the World's Most Important Company

Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen: The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole

Rolls Royce: Rolls-Royce: The Magic of a Name: The First Forty Years of Britain's Most Prestigious Company

Rothschilds:

Founder: A Portrait of the First Rothschild
The House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets

Sam Bronfman (founded Seagrams, sold $8B): Mr. Sam : The Life and Ttimes of Samuel Bronfman

Sam Colt: Revolver: Sam Colt and the Six-Shooter That Changed America

Samuel Goldwyn (of Metro-Goldwn-Mayer): Goldwn by Scott Berg

Sam Walton and Walmart:

Made In America: My Story
Sam Walton: The Inside Story of America's Richest Man

Sam Zell (real estate tycoon, self-made billionaire): Am I Being Too Subtle?: The Adventures of a Business Maverick

Samuel Zemurray: The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King

"Ship of Gold" Mission (SS Central America): Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea: The History and Discovery of the World's Richest Shipwreck

Sid Meier (Creator of Civilization and other games): Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Games (rec. by @boneGPT)

Sidney Harman (Harman Kardon founder): Mind Your Own Business: A Maverick's Guide to Business, Leadership and Life

Siege of Malta (tiny island force wins vs. Ottoman Empire, outnumbered 10:1): The Great Siege, Malta 1565: Clash of Cultures: Christian Knights Defend Western Civilization Against the Moslem Tide

Siggi Wilzig (oil and banking): Unstoppable: Siggi Wilzig's Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor and Penniless Immigrant to Wall Street Legend

Skunk Works / Lockheed: Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed

Sol Price (grocery innovator, created Price Mart which merged with Costco): Sol Price: Retail Revolutionary & Social Innovator by Robert E. Price.

Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician): The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan

Stan Lee (Marvel): Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee by Stan Lee and George Mair

Starbucks: Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time

Steve Jobs and Apple:

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
I, Steve: Steve Jobs In His Own Words
Revolution in The Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made by Andy Hertzfeld
Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader
Steve Jobs & The NeXT Big Thing
Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products
Inside Steve's Brain
To Pixar And Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History
Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs
The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience
Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success

Steve Ross (Time Warner): Master of the Game by Connie Bruck

Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone: King of Capital: The Remarkable Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone

Tech (Misc):

The Big Score: The Billion-Dollar Story of Silicon Valley
In the Company of Giants: Candid Conversations With the Visionaries of the Digital World (Jobs, Gates, Dell, Hewlett, etc.)
The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson

Teddy Roosevelt:

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
‍River of doubt - Teddy Roosevelt’s journey down an uncharted river in Brazil
The Hour of Fate: Theodore Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan, and the Battle to Transform American Capitalism
Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt

Thomas Edison:

Edison: A Biography by Matthew Josephson‍
‍The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Edison Invented the Modern World
Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World
The Vagabonds: The Story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's Ten-Year Road Trip

Thomas Watson (IBM): The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson, Sr. and the Making of IBM

Thor Bjorgolfsson (Entrepreneur and Investor): Billions to Bust and Back: How I Made, Lost and Rebuilt a Fortune

Thor Heyerdahl (sailed across the Pacific on a balsa wood raft): Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft

Tiger Woods: Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian

Ulysses S. Grant: American Ulysses

Vannevar Bush (analog computing pioneer, catalyzed a lot of American R&D, founded Raytheon precursor, mentor to Claude Shannon):

Pieces of Action by Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush, Engineer of the American Century

Walter and Olive Beech (aviation pioneers, founded Beech Aircraft): The Barnstormer and The Lady: Aviation Legends Walter and Olive Ann Beech

Walt Disney:

The Triumph of the American Imagination
Disney's Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World
Walt Disney: An American Original by Bob Thomas

Walter Chrysler: Life of an American Workman by Walter Chrysler

War (Misc.)

Wing Leader: Top-Scoring Allied Fighter Pilot of World War II (rec. by Paul Graham)
Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose
Rogue Heroes: The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War (rec. by Ryan Petersen)
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
The Men Who United the States by Simon Winchester
Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle
The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire
The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific by Alistair Urquhart
Agincourt: Battle of the Scarred King

Warren Buffett:

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
The Tao of Warren Buffett by Mary Buffett
Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein
The Essays of Warren Buffett
A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers From Warren Buffett

Weijian Shan (Chinese hard laborer -> billionaire investor): Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America

William Bligh (English Navigator): Men Against the Sea

William Randolph Hearst: The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst

William Shockley (transistor co-inventor): Broken Genius: The Rise and Fall of William Shockley, Creator of the Electronic Age

William Zeckendorf: Zeckendorf: The Autobiography of the Man Who Played a Real-Life Game of Monopoly and Won the Largest Real Estate Empire in History

Winston Churchill:

Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965
Memoirs Of The Second World War
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
Churchill by Paul Johnson
Young Titan: The Making of Winston Churchill

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mozart: A Life by Paul Johnson

Wright Brothers:

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies

Xenophon (ancient Greek military leader): Anabasis

Xerox: Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age by Michael A. Hiltzik

Yvon Chouinard and Patagonia:

‍‍Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
The Responsible Company: What We've Learned From Patagonia's First 40 Years

Fiction

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
The Unincorporated Man by Dani and Eytan Kollin (Rec. by Palmer Luckey)
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia: A Novel by Mohsin Hamid (Rec. by Tim Ferriss)