About the Book Club
We select books from all genres that we believe will have an impact on our 250+ constituents: founders, CEOs, LPs, and beyond. We believe that understanding comes from the pursuit of knowledge, and thanks to our partner, Merrill, we're proud to provide free copies of each book to our members.
Currently Reading
That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea
In the tradition of Phil Knight's Shoe Dog comes the incredible untold story of how Netflix went from concept to company-all revealed by co-founder and first CEO Marc Randolph. Once upon a time, brick-and-mortar video stores were king. Late fees were ubiquitous, video-streaming unheard was of, and...
Past Reads
Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind
Burn Rate is an unconventional entrepreneurial memoir, a parable for the twenty-first-century economy, and a revelatory look at the prevalence of mental illness in the startup community. With intimate prose, Andy Dunn fearlessly shines a light on the dark side of success and challenges us all to...
The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America
The popular mythology of Silicon Valley tends to focus on the swashbuckling entrepreneur who defies all odds to bend the arc of history to his or her will. Based on a half-decade of pioneering research, The Code reminds us that the true story of Silicon Valley isn’t just about the visionaries, but...
Zone to Win
From the critically acclaimed author and speaker, Geoffrey Moore, comes his latest book that explores what it takes for companies to transform themselves in the face of disruptive competition. This book can help any founder better understand the mentality of the incumbents against which they...
The Score Takes Care of Itself
Bill Walsh is a towering figure in the history of the NFL. His advanced leadership transformed the San Francisco 49ers from the worst franchise in sports to a legendary dynasty. In the process, he changed the way football is played. He taught that the requirements of successful leadership are the...
Wonder Boy: Tony Hsieh, Zappos, and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley
Tony Hsieh revolutionized both the tech world and corporate culture. He was a business visionary. He was also a man in search of happiness. So why did it all go so wrong? At its peak, Zappos’s employee-friendly culture was so famous across the tech industry that it inspired copycats and earned a...
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
Barbarian Days is William Finnegan’s memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates, it is something else: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life. Raised in California and Hawaii, Finnegan...
Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company
Named by both The New York Times and The Economist as one of the best books of the year so far, this “scrupulously reported” (The New Yorker) and “astonishing” (The Daily Telegraph, London) book rivets with its portrayal of how Apple allowed itself to become dependent on China for a huge percentage...
Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter
The billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become inextricable from the social media platform that until 2023 was known as Twitter. Musk joined the platform in 2010 and, by 2022, had become one of the site’s most influential users, hooking over 80 million followers with a mix of...
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
Come inside a jury room as one juror leads a starkly divided room to consensus. Join a young CIA officer as he recruits a reluctant foreign agent. And sit with an accomplished surgeon as he tries, and fails, to convince yet another cancer patient to opt for the less risky course of treatment. In...
The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean
From bestselling author Susan Casey, an awe-inspiring portrait of the mysterious world beneath the waves, and the men and women who seek to uncover its secrets “An irresistible mix of splendid scholarship, heart-stopping adventure writing, and vivid, visceral prose.” —Sy Montgomery, New York Times...
Containing Big Tech: How to Protect Our Civil Rights, Economy, and Democracy
This richly detailed book exposes the consequences of Big Tech’s digital surveillance, exploitative use of AI, and monopolistic and anticompetitive practices. It offers actionable solutions to these problems and a clear path forward for individuals and policymakers to advocate for change. By...
Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963
In the first of three installments chronicle the history of the civil rights movement, Taylor Branch has created an unparalleled epic of America in the midst of change, poised on the threshold of its most explosive era. Here is a vivid, panoramic portrait of America divided, at war with itself, and...
Lost in Startuplandia
As investors, we know better than most that the thrilling adventure of entrepreneurship never goes exactly as planned. In this brave account of her personal entrepreneurial journey, E. Keller Fitzsimmons shares the dark side of running a company. What many founders experience, and few openly...
Alone on the Wall
The book chronicles Alex Honnold's path to the legendary accomplishment of being the first person to free-solo El Capitan in Yosemite, detailing the seven most astonishing achievements of his life and career. In this new edition, Alex tells, for the first time in his own words, the story of his 3...
Rocket Men
In 1968, the United States, fractured by setbacks in the Vietnam War and the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, found itself falling behind in the space race. The Soviet Union became the first nation to loop around the moon with an unmanned spacecraft. Rocket Men tells the heroic...
Unlimited Memory
Memory Grandmaster Kevin Horsley shares the techniques he's used to break world records for human recollection. This book helps people break through the preconceived notion that they have "bad memories" to create better recall and live more efficient lives.
Dollars and Sense
Blending humor and behavioral economics, New York Times bestselling author and world renowned economist Dan Ariely delves into the truly illogical world of personal finance to help people better understand why they make bad financial decisions, and gives them the knowledge they need to make better...
Masters of Doom
Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream,...
Extreme Ownership
In Extreme Ownership, authors Babin and Willink share the leadership lessons they learned during their time as commanders of SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser in the Battle of Ramadi. In battle, they learned that leadership—at every level—is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds...
The Digital Doctor
Written with a rare combination of compelling stories and hard-hitting analysis by one of the nation’s most thoughtful physicians, The Digital Doctor examines healthcare at the dawn of its computer age. It tackles the hard questions, from how technology is changing care at the bedside to whether...
Shoe Dog
In Shoe Dog, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight illuminates his company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands. Fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his father and...
The Medici Effect
Frans Johansson's The Medici Effect shows how breakthrough ideas most often occur in 'The Intersection'—the place where where ideas and concepts from diverse industries, cultures, and disciplines collide. The book offers concrete examples of how we can turn the ideas we discover into path-breaking...
What is the JSV Book Club?
The JSV Book Club is a community of founders, investors, operators, and readers who gather to discuss ideas that shape how companies are built and how culture evolves.
Who is the Book Club for?
The community includes founders, CEOs, investors, and operators across the startup ecosystem.
How are books selected?
Books are selected by the JSV team from across genres including business, history, biography, and literature.
How do I join?
Membership typically comes through invitations within the Jackson Square Ventures community. If you're interested in joining, reach out to books@jsv.com.
Are meetings in person?
Discussions take place in person in San Francisco and are also recorded and shared through the JSV Book Club YouTube channel.
How often does the Book Club meet?
The Book Club hosts author conversations and discussions throughout the year.
What is the JSV Book Club?
The JSV Book Club is a community of founders, investors, operators, and readers who gather to discuss ideas that shape how companies are built and how culture evolves.
Who is the Book Club for?
The community includes founders, CEOs, investors, and operators across the startup ecosystem.
How are books selected?
Books are selected by the JSV team from across genres including business, history, biography, and literature.
How do I join?
Membership typically comes through invitations within the Jackson Square Ventures community. If you're interested in joining, reach out to books@jsv.com.
Are meetings in person?
Discussions take place in person in San Francisco and are also recorded and shared through the JSV Book Club YouTube channel.
How often does the Book Club meet?
The Book Club hosts author conversations and discussions throughout the year.