Here are 16 books VCs are reading this summer

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Thomas Diehl, associate at Notion Capital, chose Charles Duhigg’s “Supercommunicators,” which explores the art of communication.

“For anyone who has ever wondered why certain people were so effective at communicating with others, ‘Supercommunicators’ was full of fascinating case studies and research that reveals the science behind great communication and how small changes can materially improve the way we interact and communicate,” Diehl. BI said.

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Diehl also chose “The Spy And The Traitor,” a non-fiction work by British historian Ben Macintyre.

“The amazing true story of Oleg Gordievsky who led the double life of a KGB insider recruited by MI6 during the Cold War,” said Diehl. “A real page-turner and a must-read for anyone interested in Cold War espionage!”

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Cherry Ventures partner Dinika Mahtani’s picks included “Among the Braves,” co-written by her sister, journalist Shibani Mahtani.

It focuses on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists and provides an overview of the territory’s trajectory since it was returned to China in 1997 after more than a century of British rule, culminating in the 2019 protests against China’s authoritarian crackdown.

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Mahtani also chose “Poverty, by America” ​​by sociologist Matthew Desmond.

Desmond argues that even progressive Americans who are wealthy benefit from the economic system that keeps a certain population in poverty—and the book describes the kinds of large-scale solutions needed to address this problem.

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Mahtani’s final pick was written by former Google China president Kai-Fu Lee.

It is a sci-fi novel that explores artificial intelligence that permeates every facet of human life and affects everything in the social order, from medicine to education and entertainment.

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Andreas Riegler, partner at APEX Ventures, optioned this sci-fi novel, which recently became a major Netflix series.

It describes how Earth interacts with an alien species from a nearby solar system.

“For someone who invests in deep tech startups and is also active in astronomy, this book presents a complex mix of advanced scientific concepts and the exploration of extraterrestrial life, reflecting the innovative thinking required in both fields,” Riegler told BI. “The novel’s themes are strategic planning, adaptability, and ethical consideration.”

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Riegler also picked up “Build” from engineer and investor Tony Fadell, who worked with APEX Ventures. Riegler said he gave startup founders “invaluable insight from a veteran who helped create the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat, offering practical advice on leadership, product development and navigating industry challenges technological”.

Riegler added that for investors, the book “offers a deep understanding of what makes a product and company successful, drawn from Fadell’s more than 30 years of personal experience in Silicon Valley.”

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Michael Treskow, a partner at Eight Roads Ventures, chose the 1969 novel “Ada or Ardor” by Russian-American writer Vladimir Nabokov.

Nabokov was the author of “Lolita” and is renowned as a cultural power throughout the Russian-speaking world and in the United States, where he was a professor of Russian literature at Cornell University for over a decade. In Ada or Ardor, his longest novel, he tackles themes of family, religion and sibling relationships.

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Justina Chung of Bessemer Venture Partners chose the military science fiction novel Ender’s Game, which was published in 1985 and adapted into a film starring Harrison Ford in 2013.

The book deals with humanity’s struggles against alien invasion, where children, including the eponymous Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, are trained to become military officers.

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Yusuf Ozdalga of QED Partners chose British philosopher and author Alain de Botton “The School of Life: An Emotional Education”.

In it, de Botton seeks to compile his school’s knowledge of his social media organization, School of Life, in its first decade to help better understand issues such as anxiety, work, relationships, creativity and emotional intelligence.

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Rob Moffat, partner at Balderton Capital, chose Booker T. Washington’s 1901 autobiography, Up From Slavery.

Describes Washington’s enslavement as a child and life during the Civil War. Describes how he became an educator and speaker, and eventually a key voice on African American issues.

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Moffat also chose “Wool”, a novella by American science fiction writer Hugh Howey.

It’s about a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is trying to survive by living in an underground world known as the Silo, which is also the name of Apple’s recent TV adaptation.

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Teacher’s Venture Growth’s Ara Yeromian chose Karuo Ishiguro’s latest novel, Klara and the Sun.

It is narrated by Klara, an AI “friend” who is chosen by a sick child named Josie. Klara’s point of view shows how non-human beings might see and understand the human condition, including love, mortality, and consciousness.

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Yeromian also chose historian Niall Ferguson’s “Civilization,” which traces the rise of European society and Western civilization since the Middle Ages.

It claims that the West has been able to establish itself as a global power thanks to six “killer applications”.

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Tom Mendoza, a partner at EQT Ventures in London, chose “The Power of Now,” a 2001 work by German-born author Eckhart Tolle.

The book focuses on the virtues of living in the present, providing a manual for managing the thoughts and emotions that arise from this process. Tolle’s work suggests that peace and fulfillment do not come from outside of us, but from being present in each moment.

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Mendoza also recommended Ezra Klein’s Why We Are Polarized, a 2020 work that former US President Barack Obama also chose as one of his summer reads.

The book lays out the factors behind the growing deep divide between voting groups in the US, focusing on race, religion and gender. Klein examines the history of the country’s two main political parties as a way to understand the current polarized US electoral landscape.