Balaji S. Srinivasan

CEO and Co-Founder of 21, Board Partner at Andreessen Horowitz

We may earn commissions for purchases made via this page

Book Recommendations:

BS

Recommended by Balaji S. Srinivasan

Eric is doing a new book as a sequel to his best-selling Navalmanack on yours truly. I was tickled that someone found my internet musings of interest and sat down for a podcast. I hope you enjoy it. https://t.co/7HU9dU97gs (from X)

Getting rich is not just about luck; happiness is not just a trait we are born with. These aspirations may seem out of reach, but building wealth and being happy are skills we can learn. So what are these skills, and how do we learn them? What are the principles that should guide our efforts? What does progress really look like? Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur, philosopher, and investor who has captivated the world with his principles for building wealth and creating long-term happiness. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a collection of Naval's wisdom and experience from the last ten years, shared as a curation of his most insightful interviews and poignant reflections. This isn't a how-to book, or a step-by-step gimmick. Instead, through Naval's own words, you will learn how to walk your own unique path toward a happier, wealthier life. This book has been created as a public service. It is available for free download in pdf and 3-reader versions on Navalmanack.com. Naval is not earning any money on this book. Naval has essays, podcasts and more at Nav.al and is on Twitter @Naval.

BS

Recommended by Balaji S. Srinivasan

The book is worth reading. It’s interesting because it has the ring of truth on many issues. For example, the construction of markets is itself not entirely a free market phenomenon. Force is often involved. There is a “beyond good and evil” aspect to it. https://t.co/yLAlMwvapB (from X)

This edition of Super Imperialism is the finalized version of the analysis that Michael Hudson first published in the wake of President Nixon severing the dollar's link to gold in August 1971. Closing the gold window had been imminent since the London Gold Pool was disbanded in 1968 in response to the U.S. overseas military spending that had pushed the balance of payments into steadily deepening deficit since the Korean War (1950-51).

BS

Recommended by Balaji S. Srinivasan

@ScottFlear In the Asian theater, World War 2 arguably began in 1937 with the Japanese attack on China. One of the interesting things about McMeekin's book is that it unifies the European and Asian theaters from the Soviet perspective. https://t.co/FcahKcS7bC (from X)

A prize-winning historian reveals how Stalin—not Hitler—was the animating force of World War II in this major new history. World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia—and he was certainly dead before it ended. His armies did not fight in multiple theaters, his empire did not span the Eurasian continent, and he did not inherit any of the spoils of war. That central role belonged to Joseph Stalin. The Second World War was not Hitler’s war; it was Stalin’s war. Drawing on ambitious new research in Soviet, European, and US archives, Stalin’s War revolutionizes our understanding of this global conflict by moving its epicenter to the east. Hitler’s genocidal ambition may have helped unleash Armageddon, but as McMeekin shows, the war which emerged in Europe in September 1939 was the one Stalin wanted, not Hitler. So, too, did the Pacific war of 1941–1945 fulfill Stalin’s goal of unleashing a devastating war of attrition between Japan and the “Anglo-Saxon” capitalist powers he viewed as his ultimate adversary. McMeekin also reveals the extent to which Soviet Communism was rescued by the US and Britain’s self-defeating strategic moves, beginning with Lend-Lease aid, as American and British supply boards agreed almost blindly to every Soviet demand. Stalin’s war machine, McMeekin shows, was substantially reliant on American materiél from warplanes, tanks, trucks, jeeps, motorcycles, fuel, ammunition, and explosives, to industrial inputs and technology transfer, to the foodstuffs which fed the Red Army. This unreciprocated American generosity gave Stalin’s armies the mobile striking power to conquer most of Eurasia, from Berlin to Beijing, for Communism. A groundbreaking reassessment of the Second World War, Stalin’s War is essential reading for anyone looking to understand the current world order.

BS

Recommended by Balaji S. Srinivasan

To really learn data science, you should not only master the tools―data science libraries, frameworks, modules, and toolkits―but also understand the ideas and principles underlying them. Updated for Python 3.6, this second edition of Data Science from Scratch shows you how these tools and algorithms work by implementing them from scratch. If you have an aptitude for mathematics and some programming skills, author Joel Grus will help you get comfortable with the math and statistics at the core of data science, and with the hacking skills you need to get started as a data scientist. Packed with new material on deep learning, statistics, and natural language processing, this updated book shows you how to find the gems in today’s messy glut of data. Get a crash course in Python Learn the basics of linear algebra, statistics, and probability―and how and when they’re used in data science Collect, explore, clean, munge, and manipulate data Dive into the fundamentals of machine learning Implement models such as k-nearest neighbors, Naïve Bayes, linear and logistic regression, decision trees, neural networks, and clustering Explore recommender systems, natural language processing, network analysis, MapReduce, and databases

BS

Recommended by Balaji S. Srinivasan

Through the lens of culture, The Internet of Elsewhere looks at the role of the Internet as a catalyst in transforming communications, politics, and economics. Cyrus Farivar explores the Internet's history and effects in four distinct and, to some, surprising societies—Iran, Estonia, South Korea, and Senegal. He profiles Web pioneers in these countries and, at the same time, surveys the environments in which they each work. After all, contends Farivar, despite California's great success in creating the Internet and spawning companies like Apple and Google, in some areas the United States is still years behind other nations. Surprised? You won't be for long as Farivar proves there are reasons that: Skype was invented in Estonia—the same country that developed a digital ID system and e-voting;Iran was the first country in the world to arrest a blogger, in 2003;South Korea is the most wired country on the planet, with faster and less expensive broadband than anywhere in the United States;Senegal may be one of sub-Saharan Africa's best chances for greater Internet access.The Internet of Elsewhere brings forth a new complex and modern understanding of how the Internet spreads globally, with both good and bad effects.

BS

Recommended by Balaji S. Srinivasan

Russell Wiley is in deep trouble. A media executive for the failing Daily Business Chronicle, his career is teetering on the brink of collapse, and his sexless marriage is fast approaching its expiration date. With his professional and personal lives floundering, it’s no wonder Russell is distracted, unhappy, and losing faith in himself. Making matters worse are his scheming boss, a hot-shot new consultant determined to see Russell ousted, and the beguiling colleague whose mere presence has a disconcerting effect on Russell’s starved libido. Disaster seems imminent…and that’s before he makes a careless mistake that could cost the paper millions. Russell realizes he must take drastic action if he is going to salvage his career, his love life, and what little remains of his self-respect. Sardonic, edgy, and true to life, this gripping novel offers an insider’s view into a newspaper's inner sanctum and the people who oil the wheels of the "old media" machine.

BS

Recommended by Balaji S. Srinivasan

Bill Gates recently told Wired that if he were a teenager today, he would be hacking biology. "If you want to change the world in some big way," he says, "that's where you should start-biological molecules." The most disruptive force on the planet resides in DNA. Biotech companies and academic researchers are just beginning to unlock the potential of piecing together life from scratch. Champions of synthetic biology believe that turning genetic code into Lego-like blocks to build never-before-seen organisms could solve the thorniest challenges in medicine, energy, and environmental protection. But as the hackers who cracked open the potential of the personal computer and the Internet proved, the most revolutionary discoveries often emerge from out-of-the-way places, forged by brilliant outsiders with few resources besides boundless energy and great ideas. In Biopunk, Marcus Wohlsen chronicles a growing community of DIY scientists working outside the walls of corporations and universities who are committed to democratizing DNA the way the Internet did information. The "biohacking" movement, now in its early, heady days, aims to unleash an outbreak of genetically modified innovation by making the tools and techniques of biotechnology accessible to everyone. Borrowing their idealism from the worlds of open-source software, artisinal food, Internet startups, and the Peace Corps, biopunks are devoted advocates for open-sourcing the basic code of life. They believe in the power of individuals with access to DNA to solve the world's biggest problems. You'll meet a new breed of hackers who aren't afraid to get their hands wet, from entrepreneurs who aim to bring DNA-based medical tools to the poorest of the poor to a curious tinkerer who believes a tub of yogurt and a jellyfish gene could protect the world's food supply. These biohackers include: -A duo who started a cancer drug company in their kitchen -A team who built an open-source DNA copy machine -A woman who developed a genetic test in her apartment for a deadly disease that had stricken her family Along with the potential of citizen science to bring about disruptive change, Wohlsen explores the risks of DIY bioterrorism, the possibility of genetic engineering experiments gone awry, and whether the ability to design life from scratch on a laptop might come sooner than we think.

BS

Recommended by Balaji S. Srinivasan

Pursuit of a Legacy book cover

by Chris Schroeder·You?

My purpose for writing this book was not to make people believe that divorce and remarriage is just fine and acceptable. This is not my intention at all. In fact, my intention is the opposite. My prayer is that this book will help people. First, I want to help pre-married people think deep and hard about the decision they are making in getting married. Second, I want to help those who are in the middle of a struggling marriage. Maybe this book can help them to stop and rethink current attitudes and behaviors. Third, I want to help those who are in healthy marriages to maybe have more compassion and sympathy for those who are not as blessed in their marriage. Finally, I want to help the Christian Church around the world. In the church, we have not handled the issue of marriage, divorce, and remarriage as well as we should have through the years. Instead, the Church has mostly relied on tradition and a few verses misinterpreted or taken out of context. My personal experience has caused me to really study the Bible on this issue for myself.

BS

Recommended by Balaji S. Srinivasan

NOW BEING TURNED INTO A DOCUMENTARY TO BE AIRED ON AMC IN 2018.****New York Times Best Seller********Picked by Billboard as One of the 100 Greatest Music Books of All-Time********Pitchfork Book Club's first selection****.Here's what The Rap Year Book does: It takes readers from 1979, widely regarded as the moment rap became recognized as part of the cultural and musical landscape, and comes right up to the present, with Shea Serrano hilariously discussing, debating, and deconstructing the most important rap song year by year. Serrano also examines the most important moments that surround the history and culture of rap music--from artists' backgrounds to issues of race, the rise of hip-hop, and the struggles among its major players--both personal and professional. Covering East Coast and West Coast, famous rapper feuds, chart toppers, and show stoppers, The Rap Year Book is an in-depth look at the most influential genre of music to come out of the last generation. Complete with infographics, lyric maps, uproarious and informative footnotes, portraits of the artists, and short essays by other prominent music writers, The Rap Year Book is both a narrative and illustrated guide to the most iconic and influential rap songs ever created. It's like the gold tank from Master P's "Make 'Em Say Uhh!" video, except it's a book. It's like Kanye's verse on "Put On," except it's a book. It's like the face Biggie made when he was on the boat with Puffy in "Hypnotize," except it's a book.

BS

Recommended by Balaji S. Srinivasan

Exploring Personal Genomics book cover

by Joel T. Dudley, Konrad J. Karczewski·You?

Rapid advances in high-throughput genome sequencing technologies foreshadow a near-future in which millions of individuals will gain affordable access to their complete genome sequence. This promises to offer unprecedented insights into the fundamental biological nature of ourselves and our species: where we came from, how we begin our lives, how we develop and grow, how we interact with our environment, how we get sick, how we get well, and how we age. Personal genomics is an essential component of the inevitable transition towards personalized health and medicine. As the medical establishment begins to explore and evaluate the role of personal genomics in health and medicine, both clinicians and patients alike will gain from becoming well versed in both the power and the pitfalls of personal genomic information. Furthermore, it is likely that all students of the biomedical sciences will soon be required to gain crucial understanding in the emerging field of personal genomics. Exploring Personal Genomics provides a novel, inquiry-based approach to the understanding and interpretation of the practical, medical, physiological, and societal aspects of personal genomic information. The material is presented in two parts: the first provides readers of all backgrounds with a fundamental understanding of the biology of human genomes, information on how to obtain and understand digital representations of personal genomic data, tools and techniques for exploring the personal genomics of ancestry and genealogy, discovery and interpretation of genetic trait associations, and the role of personal genomics in drug response. The second part offers more advanced readers an understanding of the science, tools, and techniques for investigating interactions between a personal genome and the environment, connecting DNA to physiology, and assessing rare variants and structural variation. This book aims to support undergraduate and graduate studies in medicine, genetics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. Additionally, the design of the content is such that medical practitioners, professionals working in the biomedical sciences or related fields, and motivated lay individuals interested in exploring their personal genetic data should find it relevant and approachable.