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Sam Thomas Davies

141+ Free Book Summaries: Practical Ideas from Nonfiction Books

Welcome to the best free nonfiction book summaries resource online.

This page is a distillation of everything I’ve learned from the best non-fiction books of all time.

From business to leadership, self-help to psychology, you’ll find more than 141 good book summaries organized by category.

If you’re looking for the best book summaries online, click “Book Summaries by Title” to browse all my entries to date.

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Book summaries: table of contents, 1. book summaries by title, 2. book summaries by category, 3. top book recommendations by year.

4. My Annual Reading Lists

5. How to Remember What You Read

6. how to read more books, 7. how to get free book summaries.

Since 2015, I’ve written summaries for over 141 of the best nonfiction books of all time.

Browse all my entries below, or use Control+F (or Command+F on a Mac) if you have a particular title in mind.

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary D. Chapman
The 7-Day Startup: You Don’t Learn Until You Launch by Dan Norris
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot by Richard Wiseman
100 Great Copywriting Ideas by Andy Maslen
100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost
The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America’s Top Copywriters by Joseph Sugarman
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness by Eric Jorgenson
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine
A Manual for Living by Epictetus
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything by Chris Hadfield
Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers
The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene
The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do by Jeff Goins
Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear
Awaken The Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny! by Anthony Robbins
Become an Idea Machine: Because Ideas Are The Currency Of The 21st Century by Claudia Azula Altucher
Better Than Before: Mastering The Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
Beyond Basketball: Coach K’s Keywords for Success by Mike Krzyzewski, Jamie K. Spatola
Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body (Third Edition) by Michael Matthews
Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success by Matthew Syed
The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design by Marty Neumeier
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice by Matthew Syed
Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow
Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential by Tiago Forte
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins
Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting: Five Strategies That End the Daily Battles and Get Kids to Listen the First Time by Noël Janis-Norton
The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
Choose Yourself: Be Happy, Make Millions, Live The Dream! by James Altucher
The Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth by James Altucher
Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells by Robert W. Bly
Create or Hate: Successful People Make Things by Dan Norris
The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday
Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport
The Dip: The Extraordinary Benefits of Knowing When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin
Do The Work: Overcome Resistance and Get Out of Your Own Way by Steven Pressfield
Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In: Life Lessons from an Extraordinary Man by Louis Zamperini
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
Eat That Frog! Get More of the Important Things Done – Today! by Brian Tracy
Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown
Ego Is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent by Ryan Holiday
Essential Zen Habits: Mastering The Art of Change, Briefly by Leo Babauta
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns
Feeling Great: The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and Anxiety by David D. Burns
The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers’ Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success by Benjamin Hardy
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
The Good Life Handbook by Epictetus
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
Hack the Entrepreneur: How to Stop Procrastinating, Build a Business, and Do Work That Matters by Jon Nastor
Hell Yeah or No: What’s Worth Doing by Derek Sivers
The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor
How to Own The World: A Plain English Guide to Thinking Globally Investing Wisely by Andrew Craig
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
How to Write Copy That Sells: The Step-By-Step System for More Sales, to More Customers, More Often by Ray Edwards
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal
I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt, No Excuses – Just a 6-Week Programme That Works by Ramit Sethi
The Little Book of Yes: How to Win Friends, Boost Your Confidence and Persuade Others by Noah Goldstein
Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant
Magnetic Marketing: How To Attract A Flood Of New Customers That Pay, Stay, and Refer by Dan Kennedy
Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World by William H. McRaven
Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker
Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life by David Allen
Mastermind Dinners: Build Lifelong Relationships by Connecting Experts, Influencers, and Linchpins by Jayson Gaignard
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships by John Gray
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise
The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) by Hal Elrod
Mud, Sweat, and Tears: The Autobiography by Bear Grylls
My Philosophy for Successful Living by Jim Rohn
My Unfinished Business by Dan Kennedy
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depends On It by Chris Voss
No B.S. Time Management: The Ultimate No-Holds-Barred Kick-Butt Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Time Productivity and Sanity for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy
Notes From a Friend by Anthony Robbins
The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday
Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller
On Writing: A Memoir of The Craft by Stephen King
Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson
Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts by Ryan Holiday
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout
The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact by Chip & Dan Heath
The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life by Thomas M. Sterner
The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness by Morgan Housel
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
Reinvent Yourself by James Altucher
Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection by Jia Jiang
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
The Rich Employee by James Altucher
Scrum: A Breathtakingly Brief and Agile Introduction by Chris Sims
Secrets of The Millionaire Mind: Mastering The Inner Game of Wealth by T. Harv Eker
Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon
Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success by Shane Snow
Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change by Timothy A. Pychyl
Spark: 17 Steps That Will Boost Your Motivation for Anything by Dr. Jeremy Dean
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
Stop Asking Questions: How to Lead High-Impact Interviews and Learn Anything from Anyone by Andrew Warner
The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield
Superhuman Social Skills: A Guide to Being Likeable, Winning Friends, and Building Your Social Circle by Tynan
Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models by Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip & Dan Heath
Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey by A.J. Jacobs
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
This Is Where to Start: Find Superstar Mentors, Master All They Know, and Get Ahead in Your Career by Edward Druce
Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg
Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Decide Whether to Stay In or Get Out of Your Relationship by Mira Kirshenbaum
To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Persuading, Convincing, and Influencing Others by Daniel H Pink
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
Triggers: Sparking Positive Change and Making It Last by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter
Triggers: 30 Sales Tools You Can Use to Control the Mind of Your Prospect to Motivate, Influence, and Persuade by Joe Sugarman
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work by Steven Pressfield
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement by Anthony Robbins
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson
Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Benjamin Hardy
Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court by John Wooden
Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less by Sam Carpenter
You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) by Jeff Goins
The Ultimate Sales Letter: Attract New Customers. Boost Your Sales. by Dan Kennedy
Useful, Note True by Derek Sivers
Yes! 60 Secrets from The Science of Persuasion by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini
You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself by David McRaney

These are my book summaries, listed by category.

1. Business Book Summaries . These books offer compelling stories, intriguing insights, and fascinating takeaways from some of the biggest and brightest minds in business and beyond.

2. Biography and Memoir Book Summaries . Some of the best books available are biographies and memoirs of great people. By reading these books, you, too, can learn how to become great.

3. Health and Fitness Book Summaries . It’s easy to worry about health and fitness, isn’t it? These books suggest ideas for getting in shape and eating healthily—in a kind, effective way.

4. Leadership Book Summaries . What makes a great leader? These books—from Coach K to John Wooden—will inspire and empower you to strengthen and motivate your team.

5. Philosophy Book Summaries . It’s easy to regard philosophy as esoteric and academic. These books cut through the haze of misunderstanding and make you aware of what you value and why.

6. Psychology Book Summaries . Why do we do what we do? These thought-provoking books offer a hands-on approach to exploring the human mind and mastering the art of change.

7. My Favorite Books . In writing more than 141 book summaries, I’ve read a lot of books that left a lasting impression. These are the ten books that I return to again and again.

8. Self-Help Book Summaries . It’s easy to get caught up in the daily dramas of life. These timeless classics will help you improve your life, from boosting your confidence to realizing your ambitions.

9. Writing Book Summaries . Put your desk in the corner. The adverb is not your friend. These authors have published bestsellers and, in these books, share what they’ve learned about the craft.

Every December, I share my ten favorite books from the past year. Below are the best books I’ve read since 2015, organized in reverse chronological order.

2023 Best Books
2022 Best Books
2021 Best Books
2020 Best Books
2019 Best Books
2018 Best Books
2017 Best Books
2016 Best Books
2015 Best Books

4. My Annual Reading Lists

I keep a public reading list to ensure I achieve my annual reading goals. Below are my annual reading lists, organized in reverse chronological order.

2022 Reading List
2021 Reading List
2020 Reading List
2019 Reading List
2018 Reading List
2017 Reading List
2016 Reading List
2015 Reading List

I believe that if you want to get ahead in life and work, you need to read great books. But I also believe that it’s just as important to remember and recall what we read.

In my experience, the most effective way to do that is to keep a digital “commonplace book.” Here are a few popular articles that will help you do that:

A Peek Inside My Evernote Commonplace Book
How to Build a Notion Commonplace Book (Step-by-Step)
How to Build a Resonance Calendar in Notion (Incl. 3 Use Cases)
How to Save Twitter Threads to Notion
How to Write a Book Summary (Step-by-Step)
My Notion Note-Taking System (Or How I Read Online)

I’ve written more than 130 book summaries 📚 That’s given me a lot of time to learn how to summarize books—the right way. Here’s how I remember what I read 👇 — Sam Thomas Davies (@SamThomasDavies) November 29, 2021

There’s a lot of advice online on how to read more. But most articles, in my experience, ignore busy professionals trying to balance life and work.

Fortunately, there’s a way to read better books (even if you’re strapped for time like most people).

To learn how to read more, read my article, “How to Read More: A Busy Person’s Guide.”

Or, if you prefer to learn on the go, read my Audible review: “I Tried Audible for 30-Days. Here’s What Happened.”

Every Monday, at 8:15 Pacific Time, I publish a free email newsletter called “Words Into Works.”

In that email, I share one big practical idea from one of the best nonfiction books ever .

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Shout out to @SamThomasDavies for his excellent summary of @JamesClear ‘s Atomic Habits. Such a great quick-reference resource…I used it as my “Cliff’s Notes” for a training I led yesterday. https://t.co/yJPkfqwZbO — Adrian Chenault (@amchenault) January 12, 2021

@SamThomasDavies I just want to say, your book summaries have been so helpful. When I can’t remember key points from books I read a while ago, I always find them in your summaries – thank you! 🙏 — Tricia Maitland (@TriciaMaitland) January 4, 2021

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Thank you for the awesome book summaries, @SamThomasDavies . They are super helpful. I was trying to remember a key point from The Power of Moments, and your summary helped me remember it. Thanks! — Joshua Baron (@baronjosh) December 5, 2018

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Chapters 8-14

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Chapters 22-28

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Chapters 36-42

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Summary and Study Guide

Steve Jobs (2011) is an authorized biography written by Walter Isaacson about the life of the late Apple founder and tech revolutionary. Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs, the book is an in-depth exploration of who Jobs was, from the story of his birth and subsequent adoption to his massive success at the helm of Apple. Jobs himself personally requested that Isaacson write his biography on a phone call in 2004. By the time the book was published seven years later, Isaacson and Jobs had formed a special bond. The book went on to become a New York Times bestseller and was later adapted into a feature film in 2015 starring Michael Fassbender with a screenplay written by Aaron Sorkin.

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Isaacson introduces the book by describing how Jobs called him in 2004, requesting that he write his biography. Jobs was born to two graduate students who gave him up for adoption. His birth parents were adamant their son be raised by college graduates who would make his education a priority. Upon learning more about Paul and Clara Jobs, Steve’s adoptive parents, they agreed to allow the couple to adopt the boy with the promise that they would fund Steve’s education. Paul Jobs was a member of the US Coast Guard during the Second World War. His wife, Clara, was the daughter of Armenian refugees who fled the region during the Turkish conflict. The couple moved to San Francisco in 1952. The narrative then shifts to Jobs’s biological parents. His biological mother, Joanne Schieble, was a devout Catholic who fell in love with Abdulfattah Jandali, a teaching assistant from Syria. As her father forbade them to marry and abortion was frowned upon in their strict Catholic community, the couple decided to give their infant son up for adoption.

Isaacson chronicles Jobs’s relationship with his business partner and co-creator of Apple, Steve Wozniak (Woz). The two met while attending the same electronics class and soon realized that their ideas and goals were similar. Before long, the two developed a lasting friendship and a working relationship that would revolutionize the technology industry for decades to come.

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Chrisann Brennan became Jobs’s first girlfriend in 1972. Around this time, Jobs began experimenting with various changes to his lifestyle, including an exploration of vegetarianism and LSD. Jobs also entered college in 1972. His adoptive parents tried to convince him to attend Stanford or Berkeley, but Jobs had his eyes set on Reed College.

Jobs attended undergraduate school for two years until, in 1974, he left Reed College and began looking for work. Eventually, he landed a job at Atari. The author illustrates the somewhat flamboyant attitude that would follow Jobs throughout his life by recounting an instance at Atari where Jobs barged in and demanded he be hired. His attitude ostracized Jobs from the Atari culture; his supervisors relegated him to the night shift because of his body odor and the fact that no one wanted to work with him. However, Jobs’s time at Atari provided the blueprint for what would become a lifelong appreciation for mingling simplicity with elegant design.

The cultural climate of the early-mid 1970s had as much influence on Jobs as did his stints at various companies. Working at Hewlett-Packard gave him access to the resources and brainpower needed to perfect his initial designs. During this time, dissension began among the Apple co-founders, specifically Wozniak, whose father was concerned that his son would not receive the same equity and esteem as Jobs.

Notable in Jobs’s life at the start of Apple’s rise in the tech industry was Steve’s refusal to embrace his own daughter Lisa, who Chrisann had given birth to in 1978. Jobs denied he was the father, and ultimately was only convinced when a DNA test proved his paternity. Eventually, he would go on to have three more children during his marriage to Laurene Powell.

Despite personal and professional setbacks, Apple Computers skyrocketed in brand recognition and usability with the launch of the first Mac in 1984. Although the company experienced an initial loss of sales due to the ubiquity and market share of IBM, Jobs’s ingenuity and creative prowess provided the springboard for a marketing campaign that drastically increased the company’s popularity.

After chronicling the meteoric success that Apple would experience through the iMac, the iPod, and the iPhone , Isaacson concludes the book by reiterating Jobs’s position as one of the great innovators of the twentieth century.