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This list, compiled by Chris Johnson, includes a book called "Trust Me, I'm Lying", by Ryan Holiday. One thing to note is that Chris worked with Ryan and has a

by rxl 13y ago

This list, compiled by Chris Johnson, includes a book called "Trust Me, I'm Lying", by Ryan Holiday. One thing to note is that Chris worked with Ryan and has a close relationship with him (Chris actually wrote the trailer for Ryan's book). And judging from Ryan's usual tactics, Chris wrote this list simply to push Ryan's book, which he cleverly included alongside clear classics like The Lean Startup, In The Plex, and The Innovator's Dilemma. Edit: Here are some other tactics cleverly used by Chris/Ryan in the post... 1) they mentioned Ryan Holiday in the first couple paragraphs so that the reader would have some familiarity with his name and be even more likely to click through to his book 2) they included Ryan's book early in the list but not as the first, and specifically after at least one book that you probably haven't heard of, but that seems credible 3) they marked The Innovator's Dilemma (arguably the most well known book in the list) as "optional," leading one to perceive that the other books in the list that aren't marked as optional must be even better Edit: evidence for Chris and Ryan's relationship... https://www.google.com/search?q=chris+johnson+ryan+holiday https://www.google.com/search?q=chris+johnson+ryan+holiday

simplimedia 13y ago
I sure wish I was this clever.
- solistice 13y ago
  You're being snarky, aren't you? No, wait, everyone here is snarky. So is this hidden promotion for Holiday, or isn't it? It's not bad if it is, I meant to pick the book up anyways.
- rxl 13y ago
  Perhaps, but unlikely. And regardless, I know Ryan is. Also, yes, I realize that bad press is good press and that this controversy will probably drive Ryan even more sales, just by virtue of the fact that more people are talking about his book than would have otherwise. And I don't really care either way, I'd just prefer that people be in the know.
  - simplimedia 13y ago
    So but for you, the folks that read Hacker News would have been fooled by my ruse.
mindcrime 13y ago
And judging from Ryan's usual tactics, Chris wrote this list simply to push Ryan's book, which he cleverly included alongside clear classics like The Lean Startup, In The Plex, and The Innovator's Dilemma. Trust Me, I'm Lying just might wind up as a classic itself! OK, I know it's controversial, as is the author, and I get why. But there's some solid stuff in that book. I learned a lot from reading it, and I think there's some actionable advice in there, even if you don't want to go quite as "underhanded" as Holiday may have on occasion. Note: I have no relationship with Ryan Holiday whatsoever, beyond having purchased and read a copy of his book.
- rxl 13y ago
  Well done, Ryan. Well done.
  - mindcrime 13y ago
    And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids...
    - sanderjd 13y ago
      I didn't read it as implying that you are Ryan Holiday in disguise, but rather that your sticking up for his book is evidence of the success of his clever tricks.
solistice 13y ago
Ryan Holiday is a genious in his own right. He somehow snuck into the personal circle of Robert Greene, Max Tucker, Tim Feriss. According to Neil Strauss (in an email on his personal newsletter), he was "in" with the former 3 just out of college, helping with research and marketing for Greene and Tucker, and being a guest speaker/organizer for a series of talks organized by Ferriss. I've found half a dozen guest posts by him on Ferriss's blog, including some very recent ones. I guess if there's a thread connecting "hacker-ethos" self improvement authors, it's Ryan Holiday. I have quite some respect for him.
- rxl 13y ago
  It's perfectly within reason to have respect for him. I have no reason to do otherwise and I actually think he's pretty clever. I'd just note that being in the personal circles of talented authors is quite different from being a talented author yourself. The book may be good (I haven't read it) - I'm just pointing out that you should be cautious and consider that the hype surrounding the book is artificially inflated.
ryanholiday 13y ago
Hi everyone, I wish I was clever enough to have orchestrated all this, but in fact am not. Very nice of Chris to include me in his list. Though I will say that this list is missing a few good books: 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing 48 Laws of Power Antifragile The Fish That Ate the Whale Wikinomics Contagious The Pirate's Dilemma and I think PG's book of essays is worth reading for any founder as well
- rxl 13y ago
  I appreciate your modesty Ryan, but one should consider that your book IS about manipulating the media. In fact, in the trailer for your book, you specifically detail how you can create buzz about an article or book (through these very means). Thus, this kind of planning is just par for the course for you.
bennesvig 13y ago
I was skeptical about Ryan's book. He went after HARO using the stir up waters to catch fish strategy, but I respected him more after since the owner of HARO didn't deal with it well and he made valid criticisms. I ended up buying/reading the book after seeing James Altucher recommend it and I'm happy I did. I highly recommend reading Trust Me I'm Lying if you're interested in getting any sort of press, especially for blogs. I haven't read a better book on that topic yet. I also recommend his CreativeLive course which is more thorough.

by rxl 13y ago

simplimedia 13y ago

I sure wish I was this clever.

solistice 13y ago
You're being snarky, aren't you? No, wait, everyone here is snarky. So is this hidden promotion for Holiday, or isn't it? It's not bad if it is, I meant to pick the book up anyways.
rxl 13y ago
Perhaps, but unlikely. And regardless, I know Ryan is. Also, yes, I realize that bad press is good press and that this controversy will probably drive Ryan even more sales, just by virtue of the fact that more people are talking about his book than would have otherwise. And I don't really care either way, I'd just prefer that people be in the know.
- simplimedia 13y ago
  So but for you, the folks that read Hacker News would have been fooled by my ruse.

mindcrime 13y ago

And judging from Ryan's usual tactics, Chris wrote this list simply to push Ryan's book, which he cleverly included alongside clear classics like The Lean Startup, In The Plex, and The Innovator's Dilemma. Trust Me, I'm Lying just might wind up as a classic itself! OK, I know it's controversial, as is the author, and I get why. But there's some solid stuff in that book. I learned a lot from reading it, and I think there's some actionable advice in there, even if you don't want to go quite as "underhanded" as Holiday may have on occasion. Note: I have no relationship with Ryan Holiday whatsoever, beyond having purchased and read a copy of his book.

rxl 13y ago
Well done, Ryan. Well done.
- mindcrime 13y ago
  And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids...
  - sanderjd 13y ago
    I didn't read it as implying that you are Ryan Holiday in disguise, but rather that your sticking up for his book is evidence of the success of his clever tricks.

solistice 13y ago

Ryan Holiday is a genious in his own right. He somehow snuck into the personal circle of Robert Greene, Max Tucker, Tim Feriss. According to Neil Strauss (in an email on his personal newsletter), he was "in" with the former 3 just out of college, helping with research and marketing for Greene and Tucker, and being a guest speaker/organizer for a series of talks organized by Ferriss. I've found half a dozen guest posts by him on Ferriss's blog, including some very recent ones. I guess if there's a thread connecting "hacker-ethos" self improvement authors, it's Ryan Holiday. I have quite some respect for him.

rxl 13y ago
It's perfectly within reason to have respect for him. I have no reason to do otherwise and I actually think he's pretty clever. I'd just note that being in the personal circles of talented authors is quite different from being a talented author yourself. The book may be good (I haven't read it) - I'm just pointing out that you should be cautious and consider that the hype surrounding the book is artificially inflated.

ryanholiday 13y ago

Hi everyone, I wish I was clever enough to have orchestrated all this, but in fact am not. Very nice of Chris to include me in his list. Though I will say that this list is missing a few good books: 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing 48 Laws of Power Antifragile The Fish That Ate the Whale Wikinomics Contagious The Pirate's Dilemma and I think PG's book of essays is worth reading for any founder as well

rxl 13y ago
I appreciate your modesty Ryan, but one should consider that your book IS about manipulating the media. In fact, in the trailer for your book, you specifically detail how you can create buzz about an article or book (through these very means). Thus, this kind of planning is just par for the course for you.

bennesvig 13y ago

I was skeptical about Ryan's book. He went after HARO using the stir up waters to catch fish strategy, but I respected him more after since the owner of HARO didn't deal with it well and he made valid criticisms. I ended up buying/reading the book after seeing James Altucher recommend it and I'm happy I did. I highly recommend reading Trust Me I'm Lying if you're interested in getting any sort of press, especially for blogs. I haven't read a better book on that topic yet. I also recommend his CreativeLive course which is more thorough.