Joe Rogan has a self-diagnosed IQ of 127, which admittedly was much higher than he thought it would be. And as an avid reader, books are a big part of his growth and development and play a key role his daily lifestyle.
This article will highlight the books that Joe Rogan has read and highly recommended, using sources from his Instagram, Twitter, and JRE podcast. Enjoy!
Empire of the Summer Moon
I’ve never heard Joe Rogan recommend a book more than Empire of The Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne. He talked about the book so much that the author, Gwynne, got word of it and the two agreed to do a podcast shortly thereafter.
The podcast episode #1397 was especially insightful, detailing the brutal ways of the Comanche Indian tribe of the Wild West. The tribe was caught in the middle of the Western expansion era of the United States during the 1800s, not that long ago.
The book also details the life of Cynthia Ann Parker, a white American woman who was kidnapped by the Comanches at age 10 and ended up adopting to their ways, preferring to stay with the tribe rather than return to Western civilization. She later gave birth to the tribe’s most famous war chief – Quanah Parker.
Rogan was so obsessed with this book and it’s real-life characters that he had a picture of Quanah Parker made out of brass bullets put in his JRE podcast studio:
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Can’t Hurt Me
David Goggins, a supreme tough guy and former Navy SEAL, appeared on the JRE podcast in episodes #1080 and #1212. On the podcast he talks to Rogan about his book Can’t Hurt Me, specifically on “taking souls.”
Consider this book a must have for Rogan listeners.
If you’re feeling kind of lazy, just watch a few clips from Goggins Instagram account and it’s guaranteed you will be inspired. WARNING: You can’t “unwatch” any of his videos. There is no turning back.
“I firmly believe people like [Goggins] can change the course of the world just by inspiring people to push harder and dig deeper,” said Rogan. Sourced from David Goggins website.
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American Buffalo
Steven Rinella is a hunting connoisseur and host of the Netflix show MeatEater. When Rogan first went hunting, he chose Rinella to be his guide and the two have been friends ever since.
Rinella is one of the best hunters on the planet and has been on the JRE podcast numerous times, in episodes 1559, 1341, 1204, 971, 879, 709, 176, and more.
Rinella has also written several books and one in particular is a favorite of Joe Rogan, called American Buffalo. The book is an Amazon bestseller.
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Permanent Record
Permanent Record is a book written book Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower famous for exposing the secret government surveillance program that spied on American citizens without warrant or reason. The book details his unique experience with that and the noble reasons for doing it.
The U.S. government tried hard to block Snowden from releasing the book but was unsuccessful and immediately became a New York Times bestseller. Also, on the day it was released it reached #1 on Amazon bestsellers rank.
He appeared on the JRE podcast in episodes (1368, 1536), with #1368 being the 5th most watched episode of all time.
Also see: Top 10 Ideas from JRE #1536 with Edward Snowden
The Four Agreements
Rogan is a big fan of The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and called it a “seriously powerful book.”
A New York Times bestseller for over 10 years, the book takes you on a journey of four principles for living your best life:
- Be Impeccable With Your Word.
- Don’t Take Anything Personally.
- Don’t Make Assumptions.
- Always Do Your Best.
*Source: Don Miguel Ruiz’s website.
Although Ruiz has yet to appear on the JRE podcast, Onnit’s founder Aubrey Marcus is also a big fan his work and made a YouTube video about it.
This is a seriously powerful book. Especially potent for someone like me who talks for a living and often talks too much. There’s some amazing points and valuable lessons in it. https://t.co/YdW77qs2tS
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) February 25, 2019
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Jack Carr’s Fiction Thrillers
When it comes to fiction, Joe Rogan’s go to books are anything by author Jack Carr. In May of 2020, Rogan went on a binge of Carr’s books, including True Believer, The Terminal List, and Savage Son.
Carr, a former Navy SEAL, specializes in special ops thrillers and is a USA Today bestselling author. Rogan actually consumed these books in audio form, read by Ray Porter, and called his audio voice “f***ing great.”
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One of Carr’s books, The Terminal List, is set to be executive produced and acted by Chris Pratt.
Rogan had Jack Carr on his podcast in episode #1467 and is a huge fan of his work, and he’s also been on the Jocko Podcast in episode #183.
The Journey of Crazy Horse
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To continue Rogan’s fetish for Native American history, he fell in love with The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III.
The book dives into the life of Crazy Horse, a famous Lakota Indian leader, and details his legacy, culture, battles, and remarkable leadership skills against the expansion of white settlement.
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Discipline Equals Freedom
Continuing his trend of consuming books from former Navy SEALs, Rogan likes to consume books from Jocko Willink who has appeared on the JRE podcast episodes 729, 962, 1391, and 1492.
Disciple Equals Freedom details the ways that Jocko pushes through mental and physical aspects of life. The book includes strategies and tactics for overcoming laziness, procrastination and fear, and even goes into details on designing a physical training regimen for you, no matter where you currently stand.
On his Instagram, Rogan said, “I got the ‘discipline equals freedom’ field manual from the great and powerful @jockowillink and it is predictably awesome. Go change your life!”
Way of The Warrior Kid (children’s series)
Interestingly, Jocko Willink wanted to create a children’s book series that wasn’t all about rainbows and lollipops. The book series, Way of The Warrior Kid, teaches kids important values about overcoming obstacles, pushing through challenges, leadership, and integrity. The theme of the book series is “From Wimpy to Warrior the Navy SEAL Way.”
Rogan got his copy:
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Highly rated and reasonably priced on Amazon, the book series would make a phenomenal gift to a young kid.
Sapiens
Both Rogan and Barack Obama are huge fans of the book Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.
A New York Times bestseller, it takes a bird’s eye view of how homo sapiens have been successful on planet Earth and what measures need to be taken to ensure longtime success of our species.
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Obama describes how we take so many things for granted and this book has helped him grow his appreciation for both what humans have overcome and for how amazing our planet is.
Rogan said about the book: “It really puts in perspective how bizarre human beings are. It’s an awesome overview of our species.”
Tribe
Sebastian Junger has been on the JRE podcast in episodes #975 and #1034, and has written several bestselling books, including Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging.
Rogan posted on Instagram his love of this book, calling it “epic” and “can’t recommend it enough.”
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Tribe highlights the idea of how important it is to belong to a tribe, something lost in today’s culture, because of the cultural values such as loyalty, belonging, purpose, meaning and working together on a common goal.
Fingerprints of the Gods | Magicians of the Gods
Graham Hancock is absolutely one of the most fascinating guests from Joe Rogan’s podcast, talking about ancient civilizations. He has been on the podcast many times, including episodes #725 and #1284, which are highly recommended.
On Twitter, someone asked Rogan which book he would recommend on the topic of ancient civilizations, and Rogan responded with Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock.
@mike_colella Read “Fingerprints of the Gods” by Graham Hancock. Best book on the subject.
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) March 18, 2011
Another book that Rogan loves by Hancock is Magicians of the Gods, which discusses his theory that a massive, advanced, ancient civilization was wiped out by a global disaster and became lost in history. He details the evidence and hypothesis for his theory.
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Sex At Dawn
Authored by Christopher Ryan, Sex At Dawn is a long-standing best selling book in the category of human sexuality.
The book dives into how humans were thought to be monogamists, although due to a declining number of marriages and increased divorce rates, this thought appears to be collapsing.
.@ChrisRyanPhD Dude, Sex At Dawn is incredible. I’m reading it right now. We’ve got to sit down and do a podcast together.
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) December 6, 2012
After this tweet from Rogan in 2012, Ryan has been on the JRE podcast over 10 times.