An Updated Canon: 72 Books Every Man Should Read
This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.
About this list
InsideHook, 72 Books
This list is a curated guide from InsideHook that presents an “updated canon” of 72 books intended to refresh the tired, traditional “books every man should read” bailiwick by spotlighting contemporary or newly framed works paired with older classics as thematic or spiritual complements; selections were made not as a definitive must-read syllabus but as an intensely edited bookshelf of staff recommendations, with each entry accompanied by a short staff note explaining why it was chosen and how it links to a classic predecessor. The Editors at InsideHook oversaw the project and the methodology is explicit: pick 72 new (broadly defined) titles, pair each with a classic that shares a theme or lineage, have members of the editorial team write the recommendation blurbs, and vet product links independently (affiliate links disclosed), with interactive UI features to expand each recommendation on the site.
Who Voted: 12 people voted -- Hanna Agro, Tobias Carroll, Amanda Gabriele, Tanner Garrity, Alex Lauer, Zoe de Leon, Logan Mahan, Kirk Miller, Lindsay Rogers, Paolo Sandoval, Joanna Sommer, Bonnie Stiernberg
This list was originally published in 2025 and was added to this site about 1 year ago.