Best Emotional Intelligence Books: The 40 BEST Books on EQ

Looking for the best emotional intelligence books of all time?

You’re in the right place!

Here’s what you’ll find on this page…

Master Your Emotions Today!

In the ranked list of book recommendations below you’ll find the best emotional intelligence books ever written.

How do I know? Because I spent hours building a huge master list of the best emotional intelligence books from hundreds of sources before carefully curating the results with TAoL‘s data-driven, in-house ranking algorithm.

Result? Whether you’re hoping to understand your emotions, build better relationships, improve your self-management or increase self-awareness you’ll find something among the emotional intelligence books below that’ll help.

Don’t let the list overwhelm you.

Scan from the top, pick a title that excites you and start reading.

And keep an eye out for updates! I’ll be adding new book summaries and books about emotional intelligence as I find/write them in the coming months and years.

Until next time, then, embrace your emotions, lean into life’s sharp bits and go well.

The 40 Best Emotional Intelligence Books Ever Written

Why these books and not others? The best emotional intelligence books below are the top picks from my master database, ranked by a combination of Goodreads rating, the number of Goodreads reviews and first publication date. The goal is to give a good balance of what’s most loved, what’s most popular and what’s delivered timelessly relevant advice.

Think something’s missing? Email me and I’ll add it to the next round of updates. I honestly love hearing from you so please, do get in touch!

Books 1-10: The Top 10 BEST Emotional Intelligence Books of All Time

The top 10 best emotional intelligence books of all time are…

1. Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Goleman

Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

Published 1995 // 384 pages // Rated 4.0 over 99,500 reviews on Goodreads

2. Molecules of Emotion – Candace B. Pert

The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine

Published 1997 // 368 pages // Rated 4.2 over 3,800 reviews on Goodreads

3. Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child – John M. Gottman

Published 1997 // 240 pages // Rated 4.2 over 4,300 reviews on Goodreads

4. Descartes’ Error – António R. Damásio

Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain

Published 1994 // 336 pages // Rated 4.0 over 8,100 reviews on Goodreads

5. The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel A. van der Kolk (FREE Summary)

Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

The Body Keeps the Score is a fascinating dive into the hidden epidemic of trauma, what we’ve learned about it in the last 30 years and how to better diagnose, face and heal it – by psychiatrist, author and post-traumatic stress researcher, Bessel van der Kolk.

Published 2014 // 443 pages // Rated 4.4 over 72,200 reviews on Goodreads

6. Emotional Blackmail – Susan Forward

When the People in Your Life Use Fear, Obligation, and Guilt to Manipulate You

Published 1997 // 272 pages // Rated 4.1 over 2,900 reviews on Goodreads

7. Emotions Revealed – Paul Ekman

Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life

Published 2003 // 304 pages // Rated 4.0 over 6,700 reviews on Goodreads

8. Destructive Emotions – Daniel Goleman

A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama

Published 2000 // 448 pages // Rated 4.1 over 2,500 reviews on Goodreads

9. The Emotion Thesaurus – Angela Ackerman

A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression

Published 2012 // 170 pages // Rated 4.5 over 5,200 reviews on Goodreads

10. Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents – Lindsay C. Gibson

Published 2015 // 201 pages // Rated 4.4 over 14,700 reviews on Goodreads

Books 11-40: 30 Good Emotional Intelligence Books to Read Next

Here are the next 30 best emotional intelligence books from my database…

More Book Recommendations

Enjoyed this list of the best emotional intelligence books of all time?

You’ll also like TAoL‘s other book recommendations…

More Best Books of All Time (by Type)

These are some lists of overall best books to read...

More Best Nonfiction Books (by Topic)

These are some lists of best nonfiction books to read...

More Best Fiction Books (by Genre)

These are some lists of best fiction books to read...

Wish There Was a Faster/Easier Way?

Whenever you’re ready, here are four ways I can help you be more productive, find more balance and live life more on purpose…

1. Curious? Discover how productive you really are… Take this free, 2-minute assessment to unlock your PQ and discover the top 25 habits you need to get big things done. Take the 2-minute quiz →
2. Overwhelmed? Get a free chapter of my book… Let me show you how to beat procrastination, permanently, with this free sneak peek inside TAoL’s ultimate productivity primer. Download your free chapter →
3. Stuck? Grab a 90-Day TRACKTION Planner… Get the tool thousands trust to help them take control of their time, master their habits and hit goals in every part of their lives. Order your 90-day planner →
4. Burned out? Join the TRACKTION Community… Take the 6-week masterclass, get weekly group coaching, find accountability partners and connect with like-minded self-starters. Get started FREE →

Arthur Worsley
I founded TAoL to discover and share the best wisdom on how to live long and prosper. Before that I studied Psychology, Philosophy & Physiology at Oxford and consulted at McKinsey. Still curious? Learn more or take my FREE productivity quiz.