MS
M. Sanjayan

Conservation scientist; chief executive of Conservation International

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here
Yeah. Tim and I have talked about this a little bit. So, for me, books are all about the moment and the emotion that I’m in and the person I’m giving it to is in. and so, I can’t tell you that there’s one book that has predominated how I give because I love books, and I love to give books. And I carry books around. Even today, I brought two books for you to autograph that I’m giving away. So, there’s an act of giving. And a book is a wonderful way to convey something to another person. Books that I’ve loved giving away, Norman McClain’s A River Runs Through It . I read that book in so many different ways, in so many pieces. It totally influenced my life in terms of fly fishing and finding magic in words and that quiet space. He also wrote that book when he was 71 years old. Kind of only the really big book he wrote. It was at 71. And you think about all of this sort of bullshit about creative genius being in the young and all of that. As you get older, you start appreciating it. If Norman could do it at 71, maybe I could do it not quite at 71 yet. Another book I really liked, a more recent book, is Stanley McChrystal’s Team of Teams . Completely different reason. Just a really clever, smart book about how to organize businesses and enterprises for today’s world. And he takes this experiential army in Afghanistan and brings it over to sort of your life or my life and makes it kind of relevant and meaningful. I found it very influential. I’ve given away quite a few copies of James Nester’s book, The Deep, which you might have read, right. You’ve read his book.

Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 4 February 2018 source ↗

Others on this question

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Phil Keoghan Television presenter; host of The Amazing Race
Yeah. Every year, I read The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway.
Recorded Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 5 June 2018 source ↗
Terry Real Family therapist and author
I’m a big fan of Jim Gilligan’s book Violence . It’s not an easy read.
Recorded Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 10 May 2025 source ↗
Larry King Broadcaster; host of Larry King Live on CNN, 1985–2010
I guess, through life, it’s Catcher in the Rye . I love that book. I read it at four different times in my life. Teenager and later.
Recorded Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 30 May 2018 source ↗
Peter Attia Canadian-American author
That’s sort of pushed Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) into the now number three spot, just ahead probably of Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! It’s weird, isn’t it? It says something about us, the books we like to give people, doesn’t it? You thanked Michael Pollan at the end of your interview or maybe it was somewhere in the midst of it, but I thought it was at the end of the interview for writing the book that he did because you said it was the book you wanted to read and that you wish you could have written, but you’re no slouch yourself when it comes to writing books. Is there anything that if Michael hadn’t had done that and you would have been writing that book in addition to all the stuff we’ve talked about today, is there anything else that you would have included in that book that wasn’t included? He’s a tough act to follow.
Recorded Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 20 December 2018 source ↗

More from M. Sanjayan

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Question What purchase of $100 or less has most improved your life in the last six months? Money & investment
That’s a really hard question for me because I don’t buy a lot of stuff. I’m a total snob when it comes to the stuff I own. And the reason for that is because I travel incessantly. And when I travel, I just have one bag, and I have to take it. So, everything I own has to do like double duty. ... So, I can’t think of something really easy that comes to mind under $100.00 that I could just name. Ice Breaker Underwear.
Recorded Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 4 February 2018 source ↗

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