Overall, Jordan Bernt Peterson is a Canadian media personality, clinical psychologist, author, and an emeritus professor at the University of Toronto. In this article, we will list inspiring and recommended books by Jordan Peterson that surely will change your life.
He is well known for 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos which has sold more than five million copies worldwide and become a best-seller, with his vast expertise in building a life and adopting responsibility for your well-being.
#1 Affective Neuroscience by Jaak Panksepp
About the book
Title: Affective Neuroscience
Author: Jaak Panksepp
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Pages: 480
Goodreads ratings: 4.39/5
Some investigators have argued that emotions, especially animal emotions, are illusory concepts outside scientific inquiry. However, with advances in neurobiology and neuroscience, researchers are demonstrating that this position is wrong as they move closer to a lasting understanding of the biology and psychology of emotion. So, in Affective Neuroscience, Jaak Panksepp provides the most up-to-date information about the brain-operating systems that organize the fundamental emotional tendencies of all mammals.
Jordan Peterson’s Opinion:
This book is the most recommended; after all, Peterson ranked “Affective Neuroscience” as number four and commented that it is the best book on neuroscience that he’s read and a very informative read, recommended by Jordan.
Buy Affective Neuroscience by Jaak Panksepp Now:
#2 Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
About the book
Title: Beyond Good and Evil
Author: Friedrich Nietzsche
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages: 420
Goodreads ratings: 4.02/5
Beyond Good and Evil confirmed Nietzsche’s position as the towering European philosopher of his age. Surely, the work dramatically rejects the tradition of Western thought with its notions of truth and God, good and evil. But Nietzsche demonstrates that the Christian world is steeped in false piety and infected with a ‘slave morality’. Also, with wit and energy, he turns from this critique to a philosophy that celebrates the present and demands that the individual imposes their own ‘will to power’ upon the world.
Jordan Peterson’s Opinion:
Jordan Peterson considers this an enduring literature and philosophy work among his favorites.
Buy Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche Now:
#3 East of Eden by John Steinbeck
About the book
Title: East of Eden
Author: John Steinbeck
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 601
Goodreads ratings: 4.40/5
In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” and indeed, it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. While set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.
Jordan Peterson’s Opinion:
Jordan Peterson considers this an enduring work of literature and philosophy and, of course, his favorite.
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#4 Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker
About the book
Title: Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
Author: Steven Pinker
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 576
Goodreads ratings: 4.21/5
If you think the world is ending, think again: people are living longer, healthier, freer, and happier lives, and while our problems are formidable, the solutions lie in the Enlightenment ideal of using reason and science. So, is the world falling apart? Also, is the idea of progress obsolete? Certainly, in this elegant assessment of the human condition in the third millennium, cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urge us to step back from the gory headlines and prophecies of doom, which play to our psychological biases. Instead, follow the data: In seventy-five jaw-dropping graphs, Pinker shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are rising, not just in the West but worldwide. But this progress is not the result of some cosmic force. Also, it is a gift of the Enlightenment: the conviction that reason and science can enhance human flourishing.
Jordan Peterson’s Opinion:
Likewise, Jordan Peterson considers this an endearing work on the current state of world affairs among his favorites.
Buy Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker Now:
#5 Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
About the book
Title: Man’s Search for Meaning
Author: Viktor E. Frankl
Publisher: Beacon Press
Pages: 165
Goodreads ratings: 4.37/5
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir, has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Based on his own experience and the stories of his patients, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering, but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. At the heart of his theory, known as logotherapy, is a conviction that the primary human drive is not pleasure but the pursuit of what we find meaningful. Certainly, Man’s Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential books in America; it continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living.
Jordan Peterson’s Opinion:
So, we have seen this book many times in his recommended list. Also, Jordan Peterson considers this an enduring work on psychology from his favorite book list.
Buy Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl Now:
#6 The Great Code: The Bible and Literature by Northrop Frye
About the book
Title: The Great Code: The Bible and Literature
Author: Northrop Frye
Publisher: Mariner Books
Pages: 284
Goodreads ratings: 4.07/5
An examination of the influence of the Bible on Western art and literature and the Western creative imagination in general. Indeed, Frye persuasively presents the Bible as a unique text distinct from all other epics and sacred writings. “No one has set forth so clearly, subtly, or with such cogent energy as Frye the literary aspect of our biblical heritage” (New York Times Book Review).
Jordan Peterson’s Opinion:
Likewise, Jordan Peterson considers this an enduring work on religion and religious history.
Buy The Great Code: The Bible and Literature by Northrop Frye Now:
#7 The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
About the book
Title: The Gulag Archipelago
Author: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Publisher: Éditions du Seuil
Pages: 704
Goodreads ratings: 4.32/5
The Gulag Archipelago is Solzhenitsyn’s masterwork, a vast canvas of camps, prisons, transit centers, and secret police, of informers and spies and interrogators, and also of heroism, a Stalinist anti-world at the heart of the Soviet Union where the key to survival lay not in hope but in despair. Surely, the work is based on the testimony of some two hundred survivors and the recollection of Solzhenitsyn’s eleven years in labor camps and exile. Hence, it is a thoroughly researched document and a feat of literary and imaginative power. Also, his edition has been abridged into one volume at the author’s wish and with his full cooperation.
Jordan Peterson’s Opinion:
Dr. Peterson ranked “The Gulag Archipelago” as the No. 1 book that influenced him. Peterson constantly shares stories from the book during his lectures and talks about Solzhenitsyn’s other great books. Another fascinating fact is Peterson even wrote the foreword to the new 50th-anniversary edition of “The Gulag Archipelago.”
Buy The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Adaisa A. Jesus (Translator) Now:
#8 The Neuropsychology of Anxiety by Jeffrey Gray
About the book
Title: The Neuropsychology of Anxiety
Author: Jeffrey Gray
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Pages: 448
Goodreads ratings: 4.13/5
So, The Neuropsychology of Anxiety first appeared in 1982 as the first volume in the Oxford Psychology Series, and it quickly established itself as a classic work on the subject. Certainly, this updated and revised edition is essential for postgraduate students and researchers in experimental psychology, neuroscience, and all clinical psychologists.
Jordan Peterson’s Opinion:
Jordan Peterson considered this an enduring work on neuroscience and his favorite neuroscience book and also mentioned it in his recommended books list.
Buy The Neuropsychology of Anxiety by Jeffrey Gray Now:
#9 The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski
About the book
Title: The Painted Bird
Author: Jerzy Kosinski
Publisher: Grove Press
Pages: 234
Goodreads ratings: 3.91/5
A harrowing story that follows the wanderings of a boy abandoned by his parents during World War II, The Painted Bird is a dark novel that examines the proximity of terror and savagery to innocence and love.
Jordan Peterson’s Opinion:
Jordan Peterson has ever encountered, he considers this read particularly influential in his intellectual development. Also, he listed this book among the most terrifying books.
Buy The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski Now:
#10 The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley
About the book
Title: The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
Author: Matt Ridley
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Pages: 448
Goodreads ratings: 3.98/5
Life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Also, food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down — all across the globe. Though the world is far from perfect, necessities and luxuries alike are getting cheaper; population growth is slowing; Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching people’s lives as never before. The pessimists who dominate public discourse insist that we will soon reach a turning point, and things will start to get worse. But they have been saying this for two hundred years.
Jordan Peterson’s Opinion:
Jordan Peterson considers this an endearing work on the current state of world affairs, so he listed it among his favorite books.
Buy The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley Now:
Without any doubt, Jordan Peterson recommended books are worth reading and so informative and inspiring. I hope it will inspire you to read more and become a better person.
| 1. | Affective Neuroscience by Jaak Panksepp | Buy Now |
| 2. | Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche | Buy Now |
| 3. | East of Eden by John Steinbeck | Buy Now |
| 4. | Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker | Buy Now |
| 5. | Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl | Buy Now |
| 6. | The Great Code: The Bible and Literature by Northrop Frye | Buy Now |
| 7. | The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn | Buy Now |
| 8. | The Neuropsychology of Anxiety by Jeffrey Gray | Buy Now |
| 9. | The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski | Buy Now |
| 10. | The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley | Buy Now |
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