Sloww is your go-to book summary website for the highest quality and most detailed free book summaries anywhere in the world.
This page is a comprehensive list of 100+ nonfiction book summaries. You may also enjoy my book recommendations and full reading list (Google Sheet). Enjoy!
“I love your work on Sloww. The book summaries are God-sent, and I appreciate how you express complex concepts with such clarity. Big Thank You.” — Sarah G, Sloww reader
Page Contents:
· Lifelong Learning Book Summaries (Sloww Stage Support)
· Intentional Living Book Summaries (Sloww Stage 1)
· Life Purpose Book Summaries (Sloww Stage 2)
· Mental Mastery Book Summaries (Sloww Stage 3)
· Spiritual Realization Book Summaries (Sloww Stage 4)
Sloww Book Summaries: High Quality, Detailed, Nonfiction (& Free!)
About the Book Summaries
What makes Sloww summaries the most useful book summaries in the world?
Author Quotes: I always use the author’s original words—not filtered by my mind. Watch out for book “summaries” that are only or mostly in the reader’s words—you’re essentially playing the “telephone game” with these (you’re reading the reader’s mind, not the author’s words).
Key Themes: I group similar quotes into key themes, so you get the gist of the main themes from a book and see direct examples of original author quotes that support the themes. Key themes can then be synthesized across books to make you more of a interdisciplinary generalist.
Visual Formatting: I do a lot of extra work to provide intuitive visual organization. This is rarely seen in other book summaries online that are often long pages of unformatted text or bullet points. I use highlighting, bolding, visuals, and infographics to bring my book summaries to life.
Appropriate Length: There are far too many short summaries out there that only give you bits and pieces of a book. My summaries are “as long as they need to be” depending on the quality of the book. I offer both free summaries and 🔒Premium summaries (further distilled and more actionable). Here are some examples of how much fluff I cut out of a book to produce my summaries (free summaries cut ~90% out of a full book on average; 🔒Premium summaries then cut the free summaries in half):
📚 Lifelong Learning & Deeper Development Book Summaries
Pair with: Sloww Stage Support: How do I learn for life?
Lifelong learning book summaries:
- ⭐ How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- ⭐ Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning by Jack Mezirow | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens | Book Summary 1, 2 | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 Make It Stick by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger III, and Mark McDaniel | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 Learning in Adulthood by Sharan Merriam & Lisa Baumgartner | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning by Patricia Cranton | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin | Book Summary
- 👍 Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies by Allen Repko, Rick Szostak, & Michelle Phillips Buchberger | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory by Allen Repko and Rick Szostak | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- A Synthesizing Mind by Howard Gardner | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- Teaching Complex Ideas by Arnold Wentzel | Book Summary
- Range by David Epstein | Book Summary
- Ultralearning by Scott Young | Book Summary
- Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte | Book Summary
- The 7 Transdisciplinary Cognitive Skills for Creative Education by Danah Henriksen | Book Summary
Deeper development book summaries:
- ⭐ Ego Development Theory by Susanne Cook-Greuter | Paper Summary 1, 2 | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 The Farther Reaches of Human Nature by Abraham Maslow | Book Summary 1, 2, 3, 4 | 🔒 How to Apply It 1, 2
- 👍 SQ21 (Spiritual Intelligence) by Cindy Wigglesworth | Book Summary
- A Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilber | Book Summary
- A Theory of Everything by Ken Wilber | Book Summary
- The Integral Vision by Ken Wilber | Book Summary
- Transcend by Scott Barry Kaufman | Book Summary 1, 2
🌎 Intentional Living Book Summaries
Pair with: Sloww Stage 1: How do I design a lighter lifestyle?
Slow living book summaries:
- 👍 In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim | Book Summary
- Slow by Brooke McAlary | Book Summary
- Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner | Book Summary
- Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist | Book Summary
- The Slow Fix by Carl Honoré | Book Summary
- In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell | Essay Summary
- Conspicuous Consumption of Time by Bellezza, Paharia, & Keinan | Research Summary
Simple living book summaries:
- 👍 Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin | Book Summary
- 👍 The Quest of the Simple Life by William J. Dawson | Book Summary 1, 2
- 👍 The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo | Book Summary
- The Value of Voluntary Simplicity by Richard Gregg | Essay Summary
- Voluntary Simplicity: Listening to the Quiet Revolution by Katie Barton | Thesis Summary
- Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki | Book Summary
- Simplify by Joshua Becker | Book Summary
- The Blue Zones Cookbook by Dan Buettner | Book Summary
Lifestyle design book summaries:
- ⭐ Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fisker | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel | Book Summary
- 👍 Atomic Habits by James Clear | Book Summary | 🔒 How To Apply It
- 👍 Essentialism by Greg McKeown | Book Summary | 🔒 How To Apply It
- 👍 The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman | Book Summary
- Die With Zero by Bill Perkins | Book Summary
- When by Daniel Pink | Book Summary
- Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren by John Maynard Keynes | Essay Summary
🧭 Life Purpose Book Summaries
Pair with: Sloww Stage 2: How do I find deeper purpose?
Meaning book summaries:
- ⭐ Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl | Book Summary 1, 2 | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 Yes to Life by Viktor Frankl | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch | Book Summary
Purpose book summaries:
- 👍 A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle | Book Summary 1, 2, 3 | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho | Book Summary 1, 2
- The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren | Book Summary
- Find Your Why by Simon Sinek | Book Summary
- Ikigai by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles | Book Summary | My Ikigai 2.0 eBook
- Awakening Your Ikigai by Ken Mogi | Book Summary | My Ikigai 2.0 eBook
- The Path Made Clear by Oprah | Book Summary
- The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna | Book Summary
- The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Riso & Hudson | Book Summary 1, 2
🧠 Mental Mastery Book Summaries
Pair with: Sloww Stage 3: How do I master the mind?
Brain & biology book summaries:
- ⭐ The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist | Book Summary
- ⭐ Livewired by David Eagleman | Book Summary
- 👍 Conscious by Annaka Harris | Book Summary
- 👍 Whole Brain Living by Jill Bolte Taylor | Book Summary
Mind & psychology book summaries:
- ⭐ The Art of War by Sun Tzu (Michael Nylan Version) | Book Summary
- ⭐ Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows | Book Summary | 🔒 Premium Summary
- ⭐ Creating Freedom by Raoul Martinez | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 Free Will by Sam Harris | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant | Book Summary 1, 2 | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey | Book Summary | 🔒 Premium Summary
- 👍 Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Peter Kaufman & Charlie Munger | Book Summary
- 👍 Super Thinking by Gabriel Weinberg & Lauren McCann | Book Summary | 🔒 Premium Summary
- 👍 The Great Mental Models Volume 1 by Farnam Street | Book Summary
- 👍 The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella | Book Summary | 🔒 Premium Summary
- 👍 The Extended Mind by Annie Murphy Paul | Book Summary
- Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin | Book Summary
- The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli | Book Summary | 🔒 Premium Summary
- Sum by David Eagleman | Book Summary
- The Grand Redesign by Sam McRoberts | Book Summary
- Lying by Sam Harris | Book Summary
- Metathinking by Nick Shannon & Bruno Frischherz | Book Summary
Philosophy book summaries:
- 👍 A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 This is Water by David Foster Wallace | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 How to Live by Derek Sivers | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 On The Shortness Of Life by Seneca | Book Summary
- 👍 As a Man Thinketh by James Allen | Book Summary
- The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- Excellent Advice for Living by Kevin Kelly | Book Summary
- The Egg by Andy Weir | Book Summary
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius | Book Summary 1, 2
- Enchiridion by Epictetus | Book Summary
- Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday | Book Summary
- The Existentialist’s Survival Guide by Gordon Marino | Book Summary
☯️ Spiritual Realization Book Summaries
Pair with: Sloww Stage 4: How do I see beyond mind?
Spirituality book summaries:
- ⭐ Thought as a System by David Bohm | Book Summary
- ⭐ Awareness by Anthony De Mello | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- ⭐ Being Aware of Being Aware by Rupert Spira | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- ⭐ Be As You Are by Ramana Maharshi | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- ⭐ On Having No Head by Douglas Harding | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- ⭐ Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell Version) | Book Summary
- 👍 Waking Up by Sam Harris | Book Summary
- 👍 Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse | Book Summary
- 👍 The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- 👍 Be Here Now by Ram Dass | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- 👍 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It
- 👍 The Way to Love by Anthony de Mello | Book Summary
- 👍 Spiritual Enlightenment by Jed McKenna | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- 👍 Being Myself by Rupert Spira | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- 👍 Who Am I? by Sri Ramana Maharshi | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- 👍 Know Yourself by Ibn Arabi & Balyani | Book Summary
- 👍 The Science of the 1st Person by Douglas Harding | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- 👍 Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- No Self, No Problem by Chris Niebauer | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
- The Heart of Prayer by Rupert Spira | Book Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it
You May Also Enjoy:
- Full Reading List (Google Sheet)
