In honor of 2016’s World Book Day, British business magnate and investor Richard Branson took to the Virgin blog to share a list of 65 books he recommends people read over their lifetime. From childhood classics by Roald Dahl and Dr. Seuss to books on ecology, philosophy, business, and fast food, it’s an eclectic collection from a man who dropped out of high school to build an empire.
Find a list of Richard Branson’s favorite books below, and complement with the reading lists of Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Oprah Winfrey. For a deeper look at Branson’s unconventional approach to business, check out his Masterclass on the art of disruptive entrepreneurship.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (also rec’d by Michelle Obama)
Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl
George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (also rec’d by Stephen King)
Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr Seuss
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (also rec’d by Elon Musk)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (also rec’d by Anthony Bourdain, Hayao Miyazaki & Oscar Wilde)
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
1984 by George Orwell (also rec’d by David Bowie, John Lennon & Steve Jobs)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Quiet American by Graham Greene (also rec’d by Anthony Bourdain)
The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart
Shantaram by Gregory Roberts
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (also rec’d by Joan Didion)
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder
The Outermost House by Henry Beston
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege by Antony Beevor
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (also rec’d by Janet Mock & Shonda Rhimes)
Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela
Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang
A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety by Jimmy Carter
No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
Mandela’s Way: Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage by Richard Stengel
Limitless: Leadership That Endures by Ajaz Ahmed
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant
If I Could Tell You Just One Thing: 50 of the World’s Most Remarkable People Pass on Their Best Piece of Advice by Richard Reed
Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
One Hundred & One Reasons to Get Out of Bed by Natasha Milne
Letters to a Stranger: A publishing project in aid of MIND by Various
Self Belief: The Vision by Jamal Edwards
The Meaning of the 21st Century by James Martin
Time for New Dreams by Ben Okri
Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution by Frank White
Beyond the Blue by Jim Campbell
Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think by Peter Diamandis
Cosmos by Carl Sagan
The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth by Tim Flannery
Big World, Small Planet by Johan Rockstrom and Mattias Klum
An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It by Al Gore
Necker: A Virgin Island by Russell James
Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford
Arctica: The Vanishing North by Sebastian Copeland
In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules by Stacy Perman
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Ending the War on Drugs by Various
(via Virgin)