What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg
What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg — This was one of the first books I read when I started working in Hollywood, and it had a powerful impact on me at 19. Yet, much of the wisdom slipped from my consciousness. I know this because as I pulled the book from my shelf while writing the last bit of Ego is the Enemy I found three handwritten pages at the back my copy of this book that expressed the exact lessons I had just painfully learned again some ten years later. What Makes Sammy Run? is a novel that reminds us that even when egotists “win,” they lose. It’s also a fascinating look at the entertainment industry and what makes hustlers and strivers do the things they do.
I’ve also put together this list of my favorite 24 fiction books.
Ryan Holiday is the bestselling author of Trust Me, I’m Lying, The Obstacle Is The Way, Ego Is The Enemy, and other books about marketing, culture, and the human condition. His work has been translated into thirty languages and has appeared everywhere from the Columbia Journalism Review to Fast Company. His company, Brass Check, has advised companies such as Google, TASER, and Complex, as well as Grammy Award winning musicians and some of the biggest authors in the world. He lives in Austin, Texas.