diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6f31778a..c3222df4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ uses md2man (`gem install md2man`).
 
 Linux:
 
-    sudo apt-get install libsqlite3-dev zlib1g-dev
+    sudo apt-get install build-essential libsqlite3-dev zlib1g-dev
 
 Then build: