Zero to One

Why I'd hand it to you

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, argues that the most valuable businesses create something genuinely new instead of copying what exists. He makes the provocative case that monopolies, not competition, drive real progress, and he pushes readers to find truths most people miss. It grew out of a class he taught at Stanford, and it is short and full of bold opinions. Fair to say the contrarian tone can come across as arrogant, and his views on competition and politics are polarizing. It is written for startup founders, so readers in other fields will need to translate.

— Matt Jordan