The As Above Library
Book Reviews
Find your next book. Search our published reviews by title, author, or idea.
The published collection
Book Reviews
21 reviews, each one a direct link.
The Creature from Jekyll Island
An As Above review of G. Edward Griffin on monetary power, banking, and trust, connected to Bitcoin, blockchain, independent verification, and human agency.
Read the review →Human Action
An As Above analysis of Ludwig von Mises on purposeful action, economic calculation, freedom, money, and the limits of economic reasoning.
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The Gospel of Thomas: The Kingdom Is Not Elsewhere
A source-conscious, deeply personal study of the Gospel of Thomas as a living text: interpretation, inner and outer coherence, the making of the two into one, and the discipline of embodied gnosis.
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Hedge Fund Market Wizards
An original Oikos study of Jack D. Schwager's Hedge Fund Market Wizards: asymmetry, position sizing, drawdown discipline, edge decay, and the different constraints facing institutions and individuals.
Read the review →Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
Comprehensive analysis of Nir Eyal's masterwork on attention management. The four-part model for becoming indistractable, practical techniques for entrepreneurs, and raising focused children in the age of distraction.
Read the review →Maps of Meaning
Deep analysis of Jordan Peterson's magnum opus on mythology, psychology, and the structure of meaning. How belief systems emerge, why they matter, and how to navigate the chaos of existence.
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Market Wizards
An original Oikos study of Jack D. Schwager's Market Wizards: risk control before edge, cutting losses, temperament, plural methods, and losing as tuition.
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The Master Key System: Attention Becomes Architecture
A rigorous As Above study of Charles F. Haanel's 24-part Master Key System: attention, concentration, visualization, agency, service, New Thought, and the boundary between practice and metaphysical claim.
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Misbehaving
An original Oikos study of Richard H. Thaler's Misbehaving: Econs and Humans, the endowment effect, mental accounting, self-control, supposedly irrelevant factors, nudges, and choice architecture.
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The New Market Wizards
An original Oikos study of Jack D. Schwager's The New Market Wizards: correctly sized conviction, process over prediction, emotional control, regime change, and independent thought.
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Poor Charlie's Almanack
An original Oikos study of Poor Charlie's Almanack: mental models, inversion, incentives, human misjudgment, patience, and concentrated action.
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The Psychology of Money
An original Oikos study of Morgan Housel's The Psychology of Money: behavior, tails, envy, room for error, freedom, and reasonable financial decisions.
Read the review →The Red Book
Analysis of Jung's Red Book ... his visionary journal recording the confrontation with the unconscious. Philemon, Salome, the rebirth of God, and the source of analytical psychology.
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The Richest Man in Babylon
An original Oikos study of George S. Clason's The Richest Man in Babylon: paying yourself first, controlling expenditure, compounding, guarding capital, and parable as financial technology.
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The Science of Getting Rich
An original Oikos study of Wallace D. Wattles' The Science of Getting Rich: creative action, gratitude, efficient work, New Thought, and the claims that survive scrutiny.
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The Singularity Is Near
Deep analysis of Ray Kurzweil's landmark 2005 book predicting the merger of human and machine intelligence. The foundational text on exponential technological change.
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Supercommunicators
Deep analysis of Charles Duhigg's exploration of human connection. The three conversations, neural entrainment, looping for understanding, and why communication is the ultimate superpower.
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Think and Grow Rich
An original Oikos study of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich: definiteness of purpose, the mastermind, autosuggestion, disputed sourcing, and what remains useful.
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Understanding Media: The Operating System Beneath the Message
A rigorous field study of Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media: what the medium changes, where the framework breaks, and how to use it on platforms, AI agents, and influence systems.
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The Way of Hermes: The Revelation That Changes the Knower
A definitive study of The Way of Hermes, the Corpus Hermeticum, the Definitions, Nous, gnosis, rebirth, the living cosmos, and authentic Hermetic practice.
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Western Esotericism: The Map Before the Mystery
A definitive guide to Hanegraaff's Western Esotericism, rejected knowledge, gnosis, practice, modernization, and disciplined occult study.
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Reading Lists & Collections
Wealth & Prosperity
Oikos ... "household, economy"
Money mindset, investing, financial freedom, and building generational wealth.
11 Published Reviews
Health & Longevity
Soma ... "body"
Optimization, nutrition, biohacking, and extending the human lifespan.
Reading List
Consciousness & Mind
Noosphere ... "sphere of mind"
Psychology, decision-making, cognitive biases, and the frontiers of awareness.
Reading List + Published Studies
Technology & Future
Techne ... "craft, art"
AI, exponential technologies, and building the systems of tomorrow.
Reading List
Hermetics & The Great Work
Hermetics ... "of Hermes"
Ancient wisdom, primary texts, and the flagship Twelve Gates curriculum.
Gates + Independent Studies
Guides to authors & traditions
Broader introductions to a body of work, with routes into individual books.
Health & longevity reading list
Recommended titles. Individual As Above book reviews are not yet published for these books.
- Outlive, Peter Attia with Bill Gifford
- Lifespan, David Sinclair with Matthew LaPlante
- How Not to Die and How Not to Diet, Michael Greger
- Don't Die, Bryan Johnson
Explore health articles in Soma →
Keep exploring
Macro & market research in Oikos →
Building Your Mental Checklist: The Munger Method for Better Decisions
From Darwin to Munger remains a reading-list recommendation. Explore related philosophy in Hermetics.
📜 Our Selection Criteria
Timeless over trendy. We favor books that have stood the test of decades or centuries over this year's bestseller. If wisdom was true in 1910, it's probably still true today.
Actionable over theoretical. Our published studies connect their ideas with practical questions and specific actions you can take immediately. Knowledge without application is entertainment.
Cross-pillar connections. The best books transcend categories. A book on wealth often teaches consciousness. A book on health illuminates philosophy. We highlight these connections.
Independent judgment. Read critically, compare perspectives, and test what an idea changes in practice. A place in the Library invites study, not unqualified agreement.
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