Books like Square and the Tower

A sweeping, analytical journey through world history that reframes human civilization as an endless tug-of-war between rigid hierarchies and fluid social networks. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Square and the Tower.

contemplative
expansive
intellectually stimulating

01
The ascent of money
Niall Ferguson
An expansive, eye-opening journey that reveals the invisible financial scaffolding holding up human history.
Shares:
- expansive
- analytical
- authoritative
- intellectual
02
Winners Take All
Anand Giridharadas
A sharp, infuriating, and deeply necessary dismantling of the billionaire savior complex.
Feels:
- indignant
- intellectually charged
- eye-opening
03
Nexus
Yuval Noah Harari
A sweeping, bird's-eye view of human history that leaves you both marveling at our ingenuity and deeply unsettled by our future.
Shares:
- contemplative
- expansive
- authoritative
- intellectual
04
Changing World Order
Ray Dalio
A sweeping, data-driven lens on the cyclical rise and fall of empires that makes the chaotic present feel historically inevitable.
Shares:
- contemplative
- analytical
- authoritative
- sweeping
05
How the World Really Works
Vaclav Smil
A bracing, data-drenched cold plunge into the physical realities and hidden infrastructures that keep modern civilization running.
Shares:
- analytical
- authoritative
06
Why the West Rules - For Now
Ian Morris
A sweeping, God's-eye view of human history that turns millennia of data into a gripping puzzle about geography, power, and our collective future.
Shares:
- contemplative
- expansive
- analytical
- authoritative
07
Skin in the Game
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
A combative, intellectually restless dismantling of modern expertise that demands you put your own neck on the line.
Feels:
- intellectually charged
- confrontational
- irreverent
08
The Attention Merchants
Tim Wu
A revelatory, slightly unsettling journey through the history of how our focus became the world's most valuable commodity.
Shares:
- intellectually stimulating
- analytical
- authoritative
09
The Dawn of Everything
David Graeber and David Wengrow
A sweeping, paradigm-shattering intellectual adventure that rewrites the story of human potential.
Feels:
- intellectually expansive
- paradigm-shifting
- hopeful
10
Empire
Niall Ferguson
A sweeping, provocative journey through the mechanics of global power that challenges how we view the foundations of the modern world.
Shares:
- contemplative
- expansive
- analytical
- sweeping
11
Enlightenment now
Steven Pinker
A sweeping, data-driven antidote to cultural pessimism that argues the world is actually getting better.
Shares:
- intellectually stimulating
- authoritative
12
Money
Jacob Goldstein (Cohost of Planet Money podcast)
A witty, globe-trotting tour through the collective hallucination that makes the modern world go round.
Shares:
- intellectual

Back to Square and the Tower