Best Books on Taoism
There are hundreds of books on Taoism in English, and most of them will waste your time. This list skips the filler and focuses on books that actually reward reading — organized by where you are, not by what sells. Each entry includes an honest note on what the book genuinely offers and which reader it serves best.
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Start Here: For Beginners
Tao Te Ching
Mitchell takes liberties with the original Chinese — he works from existing translations rather than the source text — but he captures the spirit of the Tao Te Ching better than almost anyone. The language is clean, contemporary, and unexpectedly powerful. For most readers coming to Taoism for the first time, this is the right place to start.
The Tao of Pooh
Uses Winnie-the-Pooh to explain Wu Wei and Pu — the uncarved block — and does it with genuine philosophical clarity. It looks like a light read, but the ideas it conveys are substantive and accurate. Particularly good for readers who are skeptical of philosophy books or who want to see Taoist concepts demonstrated rather than argued.
Change Your Thoughts — Change Your Life
One chapter per verse of the Tao Te Ching, each focused on practical application to modern life. The tone is more self-help than the other books on this list, and Dyer is not a scholar — but the book is accessible, consistent, and genuinely useful for readers who want to understand how the Tao Te Ching might apply to daily decisions and attitudes. A good companion to Mitchell's translation rather than a replacement for it.
Going Deeper
Tao: The Watercourse Way
Watts' final and most comprehensive treatment of Taoism, left unfinished at his death. It covers the philosophy with greater depth and precision than his earlier work, moving through the nature of the Tao, wu wei, and the Chinese world-view with care and sustained intelligence. Essential reading for anyone who has worked through the introductory material and wants a writer who truly understood what he was describing.
365 Tao: Daily Meditations
One page per day, grounded in actual Taoist practice tradition rather than Western interpretation. Deng Ming-Dao writes from within a living tradition, and it shows — the entries feel different from most Western Taoism books. Excellent for readers who want to build a daily rhythm of engagement with the philosophy rather than reading it cover-to-cover once and setting it aside.
The Primary Texts
Tao Te Ching
Le Guin read the Tao Te Ching as philosophical anarchism and her translation reflects that — literary, unexpected, and often more illuminating than conventionally scholarly versions. She works from multiple existing translations and is transparent about her choices. Worth reading alongside Mitchell's version rather than instead of it; the two translators bring out different facets of a genuinely difficult text.
The Essential Writings of Zhuangzi
The standard scholarly translation, and also genuinely readable — Watson manages to preserve Zhuangzi's humor and strangeness rather than flattening them. The Zhuangzi is essential for anyone serious about understanding Taoism beyond the Tao Te Ching; it is weirder, funnier, and in some ways more practically instructive than Laozi's text. The butterfly dream, Cook Ding, and the death of Hundun are all here.
Taoism Applied: Work and Leadership
The Tao of Leadership
Heider rewrites each chapter of the Tao Te Ching as a direct address to a group facilitator or leader, and it works better than the concept suggests. The book is used in leadership training programs worldwide and holds up because the underlying ideas — acting without dominating, creating conditions for others to flourish, knowing when to step back — are genuinely drawn from the text. Not a substitute for reading the Tao Te Ching itself, but a useful bridge between the philosophy and daily professional life.