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Tomasz Tunguz

Venture capitalist and founder of Theory Ventures; writes a daily blog on startups, SaaS and data.

17 things

The Complex WorldBook Boris Petrov

loved

This book goes deeper, surveying where complexity science stands today.

From “My Favorite Books of 2025”, his annual top-ten list. He compares it to Donella Meadows’ Thinking in Systems.

2025-12-29·tomtunguz.com ↗

On DemocracyBook E. B. White

loved

White, New Yorker editor, Charlotte’s Web author, Elements of Style co-creator, is among my favorite writers.

From “My Favorite Books of 2025”, his annual top-ten list.

2025-12-29·tomtunguz.com ↗

BreakneckBook Dan Wang

loved

Wang argues that the US & China each have a dominant form of government problem-solving

From “My Favorite Books of 2025”, his annual top-ten list.

2025-12-29·tomtunguz.com ↗

God Save TexasBook Lawrence Wright

loved

As a Californian, it was fascinating to see Texas through Wright’s eyes.

From “My Favorite Books of 2025”, his annual top-ten list.

2025-12-29·tomtunguz.com ↗

The NVIDIA WayBook Tae Kim

loved

Kim’s portrait reveals a CEO who spends late nights alongside his team, torturing them into greatness.

From “My Favorite Books of 2025”, his annual top-ten list.

2025-12-29·tomtunguz.com ↗

The Unaccountability MachineBook Dan Davies

loved

Davies argues that modern organizations function like runaway AIs, making decisions no human intends.

From “My Favorite Books of 2025”, his annual top-ten list.

2025-12-29·tomtunguz.com ↗

Karla’s ChoiceBook Nick Harkaway

loved

His son Harkaway picks up where his father left off, adding a bracing entry to the canon.

From “My Favorite Books of 2025”, his annual top-ten list. He says he has read every le Carré.

2025-12-29·tomtunguz.com ↗

Titanium NoirBook Nick Harkaway

loved

Curious about his earlier work, I was not disappointed.

From “My Favorite Books of 2025”, his annual top-ten list.

2025-12-29·tomtunguz.com ↗

Every Hand RevealedBook Gus Hansen

loved

A hand-by-hand narrative of Professional poker player Gus Hansen winning the 2007 Aussie Millions tournament.

From “My Favorite Books of 2024”, introduced as “Here are my favorites”.

2024-12-17·tomtunguz.com ↗

The New MapBook Daniel Yergin

loved

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Yergin explores the changing landscape of energy, geopolitics, & climate change.

From “My Favorite Books of 2024”, introduced as “Here are my favorites”.

2024-12-17·tomtunguz.com ↗

The World for SaleBook Javier Blas and Jack Farchy

loved

This book delves into the secretive world of commodity traders

From “My Favorite Books of 2024”, introduced as “Here are my favorites”.

2024-12-17·tomtunguz.com ↗

The Seventh FloorBook David McCloskey

loved

one in a series about the CIA’s efforts to subvert Russian spies

From “My Favorite Books of 2024”, introduced as “Here are my favorites”. The post gives the author’s name as “Richard D. McCloskey”; the book is by David McCloskey.

2024-12-17·tomtunguz.com ↗

How to Build a CarBook Adrian Newey

loved

He is the single most successful car designer in the history of Formula One, having won many championships.

From “My Favorite Books of 2024”, introduced as “Here are my favorites”.

2024-12-17·tomtunguz.com ↗

StoryworthyBook Matthew Dicks

loved

Matthew Dicks is an award-winning storyteller.

From “My Favorite Books of 2024”, introduced as “Here are my favorites”.

2024-12-17·tomtunguz.com ↗

Every entry is a verbatim quote and a link to the public post it came from. Nothing is paraphrased. If it is not on record somewhere public, it is not here.

The verdict is what they actually said: loved and liked are explicit; recommended means they told others to get it; uses means they only say they use it; read is a book on their public shelf with no verdict; mixed and disliked are kept too.

A dashed affiliate link, sponsored or their own label means the post disclosed a relationship. It is shown, never hidden.

The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is for its kind of thing.

The shading behind a date shows how dated a recommendation is, for its kind of thing. Fully green is recent. It drains a quarter at a time as the post gets older, and is empty once it reads as dated.

What counts as old depends on the thing. A laptop praised four years ago has been replaced twice; a book loved twenty years ago is probably still loved. The shading is gone after about:

Stripes mean the post carries no date and the date shown is an estimate. No date at all, no shading.