Once a month, groups of men gather across the U.S. to meet for The Marathon Book Club, a movement founded after American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist Nipsey Hussle was gunned down outside his LA clothing store last March. In the aftermath, a fan compiled a reading list of favorite books Hussle had mentioned in songs and interviews – and her Tweet quickly went viral.

Now nearly a year later, men of color from all walks of life come together in the club’s Oakland, LA, New York, and DC chapters to discuss the books that motivated Hussle. From best-selling self-help books and entrepreneur biographies to activist memoirs and lesser-known work by Black authors, the list offers a glimpse into the wide range of influences that informed Hussle’s legacy.

Find Amazon links to Nipsey Hussle’s book list below, or support Black-owned businesses by purchasing your copies through Malik Books. Complement with the reading lists of Tupac, Jay-Z and Malcolm X.


A Macat Analysis of Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks by Rachele Dini

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (also rec’d by Annie ClarkCarrie Brownstein, Gabrielle Union & Questlove)

Blood In My Eye by George L. Jackson

Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business by John E. Mackey

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda 

Culture Vultures by Kenyatta Khari Griggs

Decoded by Jay-Z

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Heal Thyself: For Health and Longevity by Queen Afua

How to Eat to Live by Elijah Muhammad

I Didn’t Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation by Michela Wrong

Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior by Jonah Berger

Law and Economics of Vertical Integration and Control by Roger D. Blair

Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude Brown

Message to the Blackman in America by Elijah Muhammad

No Man Is an Island by Thomas Merton

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam M. Grant

Political Economy: A Comparative Approach by Barry Clark

Power vs. Force by David R. Hawkins

PowerNomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America by Claud Anderson

Purple Cow by Seth Godin (also rec’d by Jay-Z)

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton

Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind, and Spirit by Queen Afua

Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton by Bobby Seale

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

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The I Ching or Book of Changes by Anonymous (also rec’d by Leonard Cohen)

The Art & Science of Respect: A Memoir by James Prince

Rework by Jason Fried

The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (also rec’d by David Bowie)

The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google by Scott Galloway

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (also rec’d by Alice Walker & Maya Angelou)

The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors by Frances Cress Welsing

The Lost Book of Enoch by David Humphreys

The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone by Brian Merchant

The Peebles Principles by R. Donahue Peebles

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

The Spook Who Sat by the Door by Sam Greenlee

The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon

The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire by David Deida

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service Into a World-Class Brand by Al Ries

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk by Al Ries

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Three Magic Words by Uell S. Andersen

Vertical Integration and Technological Innovation: A Transaction Cost Approach by Yeong Heok Lee

Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The 1% Rule: How to Fall in Love with the Process and Achieve Your Wildest Dreams by Tommy Baker 

2022 Anunnaki Code: End Of The World Or Their Return To Earth ?: Ulema Book Of Parallel Dimension, Extraterrestrials And Akashic Records by Jean-Maximillien De La Croix de Lafayette

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene 

Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver

(via Twitter)

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Nipsey Hussle's 'Marathon Book Club' Reading List

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