What Books Did Peter Thiel Write About Startups?

I get asked this a lot in casual meetups: what did Peter Thiel actually write about startups? The short, practical truth is that his primary startup-focused book is 'Zero to One', the one that everyone quotes for the monopoly and contrarian ideas. It's co-authored with Blake Masters and grew out of Thiel's Stanford course, so it blends lecture-style insights with real startup stories.
Beyond that main title, most of Thiel's startup advice appears in essays, interviews, and the class notes rather than separate standalone books. He did co-author 'The Diversity Myth' years ago, but that isn't about entrepreneurship. If you're hunting for Thiel's startup thinking, dig into the recorded lectures of his CS183 course and Blake Masters' notes — those are basically the raw material that became 'Zero to One'. Also check his public talks and podcast appearances; he often expands on chapters like product vs. distribution, secrets, and how to evaluate markets.
So: read 'Zero to One' first, then track down the Stanford lecture notes and a few of his interviews if you want more context. Pairing that with some tactical reads (customer development, growth, fundraising) gives a fuller picture than Thiel's single book can on its own.

Whenever I chat with fellow startup nerds, the first book I bring up is 'Zero to One'. It's Peter Thiel's big, direct book on startups and building companies — co-written with Blake Masters and based largely on Thiel's Stanford lectures. The subtitle, 'Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future', tells you exactly what it aims for: contrarian advice about creating monopolies, finding secrets, and thinking about long-term value rather than short-term competition.
I love how the book reads like a mixture of manifesto and practical provocation. Thiel pushes ideas like 'competition is for losers', the importance of a strong founding team, and sales/distribution being as important as product. There are concrete chapters on how to think about product-market fit, technology, and scaling, but plenty of philosophical bits that make me pause and argue with myself. The original material came from the CS183 class lectures and Blake Masters' notes, which were polished into the final book — that origin shows in the conversational, sometimes aphoristic style.
If you want other Thiel material related to startups, look for the lecture videos and Blake Masters' class notes online; Thiel's blog posts and interviews also expand on the same themes. He did co-author 'The Diversity Myth' much earlier, but that's not startup-focused. For a beginner, read 'Zero to One' slowly and pair it with something tactical like 'The Lean Startup' so you get both the visionary and the practical sides. Personally, I keep revisiting chapters when I'm stuck on a product decision — it sparks ideas more than it hands out a step-by-step playbook.

If I had to put it bluntly: Peter Thiel's primary book about startups is 'Zero to One'. That single work — co-written with Blake Masters and based on his Stanford lecture series — is where he lays out his main startup philosophy: build something new, avoid head-to-head competition, and focus on long-term monopolistic advantages. He didn't publish a slew of startup-specific books beyond that; most of his other writing on businesses comes as essays, interviews, and the course notes that fed into 'Zero to One'.
For people who want more than the book's high-level thinking, I usually point them to the CS183 lecture videos and Blake Masters' comprehensive notes because they contain examples and Q&A that didn't fully make it into the printed pages. Also, reading 'Zero to One' alongside more tactical guides on product development and growth helps balance Thiel's philosophical, sometimes polemical stance with day-to-day startup work. Personally, I find his perspective invigorating even when I disagree — it forces you to justify why your startup is worth building.