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Fred Wilson

Venture investor and Flatiron Partners founder

A venture investor who founded Flatiron Partners and invests through Union Square Ventures. His original reading posts recommend history and books about perseverance.

Investing Technology

3Books recommended

Books Fred Wilson recommends

3 books, each linked to the source where Fred Wilson recommended it.

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First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (And Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents

by Gary Ginsberg

Fred Wilson recommends First Friends to readers interested in history and the American presidency.

Recommended · Wording not verified Source: AVC / Fred Wilson

Evidence details

First Friends

Catalog summary of his own reading recommendation; no source excerpt copied.

This text documents what the source says, but it is not verified as a word-for-word quote.

AVC / Fred Wilson · 2021-07-06 · accessed 2026-10-01

Article · Own reading recommendation

Own post reports reading an advance copy and explicitly urges interested readers to read it. His friendship with the author is disclosed in the source.

Bookshop.org

Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History’s First Global Manhunt

by Steven Johnson · 2020

Fred Wilson recommends Enemy of All Mankind after reading it for the USV book club.

Recommended · Wording not verified Source: AVC / Fred Wilson

Evidence details

Enemy Of All Mankind

Catalog summary of his own reading recommendation; no source excerpt copied.

This text documents what the source says, but it is not verified as a word-for-word quote.

AVC / Fred Wilson · 2020-06-16 · accessed 2026-10-01

Article · Own reading recommendation

Own positive reader-facing book post, not the comment section. His connection to the author as a former portfolio-company founder is disclosed in the source.

Bookshop.org

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

by Angela Duckworth · 2016

Fred Wilson recommends Grit to people who hire, manage, build companies or invest.

Recommended · Wording not verified Source: AVC / Fred Wilson

Evidence details

Grit

Catalog summary of his own reading recommendation; no source excerpt copied.

This text documents what the source says, but it is not verified as a word-for-word quote.

AVC / Fred Wilson · 2017-05-15 · accessed 2026-10-01

Article · Own reading recommendation

Own explicit instruction to readers after the author spoke at a CEO summit; not a claim that Wilson completed the book or that its research conclusions were independently validated.

Bookshop.org