Best Business Books Ever? (Non-fiction, non-how-to division)
New York Times business columnist Joe Nocera, following up on his declaration that Bryan Burrough and John Helyar's Barbarians at the Gate was "one of the greatest business books ever written," posted an annotated list of his top 15 business books, after first narrowing the field to eliminate fiction (he's still looking for enough good ones) and management and advice books. So these are, I guess, the best nonfiction business narratives (still a pretty healthy subgenre), in no particular order (via Shelf Awareness):
- Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
- Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
- The Devil's Candy: Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco by Julie Salamon
- The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger by Marc Levinson
- Indecent Exposure: A True Story of Hollywood and Wall Street by David McClintick
- The Go-Go Years: The Drama and Crashing Finale of Wall Street's Bullish 60s by John Brooks
- The Kingdom and the Power: Behind the Scenes at the New York Times by Gay Talese
- Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow
- Do You Sincerely Want to Be Rich?: The Full Story of Bernard Cornfeld and I.O.S. by Charles Raw, Bruce Page, and Godfrey Hodgson
- Disney War by James B. Stewart
- The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald
- Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond by Thomas J. Watson and Peter Petre
- When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management by Roger Lowenstein
- Greed and Glory on Wall Street by Ken Auletta
- The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron by Peter Elkind and Bethany McLean
What do you think? It's not a genre I know that well, but I am a big fan of The Smartest Guys in the Room (although a few of his commenters prefer Eichenwald's Enron book, Conspiracy of Fools). The commenters make many more suggestions. Among the most frequent: Den of Thieves, The Prize, Fooled by Randomness, The Soul of a New Machine, The Reckoning, and American Steel, along with Nocera's own A Piece of the Action.
On the fiction side, Nocera says he was underwhelmed by some of the best-known business novels (I agree with one commenter: stick with Gaddis's JR, although it's true it might take a week of your life to do so), although he did like (as did I) Steven Millhauser's Martin Dressler. The commenters suggest Babbitt, Gatsby, some naturalist classics by Frank Norris and Theodore Dreiser, The Godfather, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (I second that one!), Joseph Heller's Something Happened, Atlas Shrugged (how could it have taken until the 63rd comment for that one?), the recent And Then We Came to the End, and a couple from the SF side, Space Merchants and Cryptonomicon. One of my favorites is Abraham Cahan's The Rise of David Levinsky, a great novel and portrait of an era. And I'm not sure anything gets at a certain sad variety of small business like Ben Katchor's Julius Knipl comics, Cheap Novelties, The Beauty Supply District, and Stories.
Any other favorites? --Tom
ktegels on July 21, 2008 at 06:05 PM
Suggest you consider adding Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.
Mike on July 22, 2008 at 06:20 AM
How about "The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement" by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox? Although process management may not be as "sexy" as John Merriwether blowing up LTCM, the principles described here can benefit many different types of companies.
Michael Murphy on July 22, 2008 at 06:24 AM
Joseph Heller's SOMETHING HAPPENED is dead on accurate portrayal of life in a big company circa 1970
Dave P. on July 22, 2008 at 06:47 AM
Robert J. Ringer's "Winning Through Intimidation".
J Random American on July 22, 2008 at 06:52 AM
Despite the title all the books seem relatively recent. How about:
My Life and Work by Henry Ford, Shop Management by Frederick Winslow Taylor, or Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by E. Lefevre. Some of the older books are ignorant of modern innovations but they are also ignorant of modern delusions and can provide honest insights that would never be published in today's more polite society.
Scott on July 22, 2008 at 06:55 AM
How about "Predator's Ball" by Connie Bruck?
JohnMc on July 22, 2008 at 07:07 AM
Its an old tome but Alvin Tofflers 'Third Wave' should be on this list. If you go back and reread the book you soon realize that it had about an 80% hit rate. Its not about business but the changes that have occured have reshaped business like no other book describes.
Jack Coles on July 22, 2008 at 07:13 AM
'Liar's Poker' is definitely a keeper. Great read.
I started into 'Soul of a New Machine', but only got about 2/3 of the way thru before it lost me. Just couldn't keep me interested.
'Winning Through Intimidation' is a great book. I stayed away from it at first because I thought it was a book about how to be an a**hole, but it's not. It is more of a book about being professional, assertive, prepared, and having legal talent in reserve (because you'll need it) when approaching negotiations.
Mike on July 22, 2008 at 07:14 AM
It seems to me that the majority of works cited here concern scandals and spectacular financial collapses. Why is that? And what does that say about the underlying biases of the list maker? These "den of thieves" narratives don't really capture the culture of normal business life.
Most companies go quietly about the business of making goods and services that people want. Boring, but true.
Kurmudge on July 22, 2008 at 07:38 AM
Yes, when I hear the description "business books" I think of books that are actually useful for business, not scandal investigations suitable for PrimeTime NBC.
I much prefer the best business book written, Townsend's "Up the Organization", and different types of non-fiction, such as Yergin's "The Prize" about oil, and "Hackers" about the computer industry. Other seminal works include anything by Peter Drucker, and "Crossing the Chasm" on start-up formation.
SMSgt Mac on July 22, 2008 at 07:39 AM
Highly recommend John Byrnes' "The Whiz Kids: The Founding Fathers of American Business - and the Legacy they Left Us". In addition to an amazingly long title, I think it provides great insight into the roots of everything that is right and wrong with modern American business. Given the absolute miserable lives most of the 'whiz kids' lived, it is also a powerful morality tale about arrogance and the pursuit of power.
Sarah Rolph on July 22, 2008 at 07:46 AM
Best book about marketing: Relationship Marketing by Regis McKenna. Best books about technology marketing: Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado by Geoffrey Moore. (I have reviews of these at my website.)
The Goal is a classic, too--I was pleased to see that suggestion here.
Andrew Mercer on July 22, 2008 at 08:03 AM
"A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative" by Roger von Oech. This classic in the creativity field has just been published in an updated and revised 25th Anniversary Edition. Its ideas, stories, and principles extend far beyond business. Fun and provocative.
Bruce on July 22, 2008 at 08:04 AM
I keep a business and investing book list here:
http://pink-sheets.blogspot.com/2005/10/reading-list.html
Steven M on July 22, 2008 at 08:27 AM
I second the nomination of Taleb's The Black Swan, and recommend his prior book, Fooled by Randomness, just as much. These books offer profound re-workings of how we perceive pivotal events in business, and the causes that drive them. They offer sweeping insights into how the rest of life works, too. Also essential is Robert Shiller's Irrational Exuberance. Eamon Butler's The Best Book on the Market is exactly that.
J Paul Getty The Original on July 22, 2008 at 08:32 AM
Sir:
You have omitted several books that provide anecdotes and insight superior to the tomes listed. Examples:
1. The Reckoning-Halberstam's excellent chronicle of the failure of Ford and the Rise of Nissan--I know this sounds improbable, but its impossible to put down; with the current oil crisis, it also sounds like history foretold;
2. "On a Clear Day you can see General Motors" the Delorean insider's view of GM
3. Getty's book "How To be Rich" anyone who hasn't read it has failed himself (or herself);
4. "Predator's Ball," noted above by some other perceptive soul;
5. "Breaking the Bank," The rise and fal of Bank of America.
Jeff Z on July 22, 2008 at 08:33 AM
Understandable that fiction is underrepresented, but as an MFA/MBA, I have a few late-19th century nominations:
"The Brothers Ashkenazi," by IJ Singer (IB's big bro): A small, poor, sleepy city in Poland turns into a frenzied industrial metropolis with the metroric rise of the garment industry. Change the names, and it could be any of a dozen cities in the third-world today.
"L'Assommmoir," Emile Zola. Poor woman struggles, but eventually succeeds in building a profitable laundry, then her husband destroys the business.
"A Harlot High and Low," Honore de Balzac. Poor woman builds a really, really successful business, but rapid asset depreciation and bad financial planning leave her destitute.
"A Hazard of New Fortunes," William Dean Howells. Small literary editor gets big-time job in NYC. You can guess the rest.
Sudsy on July 22, 2008 at 08:41 AM
The New New Economy works for me, but at a far far different level...
Jim on July 22, 2008 at 08:46 AM
Oh, you mean books about businessES--especially those that failed spectacularly--not books about how to, you know, run a business.
John B on July 22, 2008 at 08:56 AM
I'll second Halberstam's The Reckoning. Twenty years later and Detroit is still making the same mistakes.
dbower on July 22, 2008 at 09:32 AM
A must read:
Poor Charlie's Almanack - The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
edited by Peter Kaufman
then start on the reading list in the back
also:
Fortune's Formula: The Untold Story of the Scientific Betting System That Beat the Casinos and Wall Street by William Poundstone
on July 22, 2008 at 09:55 AM
The Scarlet Woman of Wall Street: Jay Gould, Jim Fisk, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the Erie Railway Wars is a graet read
Gary Pullar on July 22, 2008 at 10:21 AM
"Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Steve Covey has been on the WSJ Top 15 Business Books forever. It is still a top seller after 19 years (copyright 1989).
yehudit on July 22, 2008 at 11:10 AM
"Age of Heretics" by Art Kleiner. History of "industrial psychology" and its transformation into the profession of "organizational development." and the "learning organization" movement (Peter Senge et al) and corporations affected by same. Fascinating.
yehudit on July 22, 2008 at 11:16 AM
there was a novel about Silicon Valley by some well-known 90s novelist but I forget the author and the name.
Russell on July 22, 2008 at 12:42 PM
A best business books list that doesn't include at least one of the following is surely suspect:
-Fooled by Randomness
-Black Swan
-Misbehavior of Markets
All three cover a lot of the same terrain, but in satisfyingly different ways, and all three are absolutely terrific at shredding much of the conventional wisdom that most people continue to cling to for dear life.
srp on July 22, 2008 at 05:22 PM
Sticking to the "narrative" type business books, Richard Preston's American Steel about Nucor is gripping and informative. Max Holland's When the Machine Stopped, about how a conglomerate took over and ruined a machine-tool company and then begged for protection from foreign competition is still relevant even though it depicts events from more than twenty years ago. Thomas Schatz's The Genius of the System is an engrossing and clear account of how the movie moguls of the Thirties and Forties developed methods for integrating commercial and artistic considerations. David Owen's Copies in Seconds is very good on Xerox and its competitors.
BD on July 22, 2008 at 07:54 PM
The Greatest Salesman in the World still brings a tear to my eye when I read it. The Richest Man in Babylon is a good primer for "youngsters". Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is not a business book per se but his analysis of paradigms is critical for recognizing seminal changes within industries. Joel Barker made a short business film applying Kuhn's theories that I watch 3-4 times per year. If you have a creative thought process the film will truly have you thinking outside the box and not in the typical cliched way most management bloviates on it.
Dan on July 23, 2008 at 08:38 PM
Mike Myatt's "Leadership Matters...The CEO Survival Manual" is well worth the read...
Dan on July 23, 2008 at 08:39 PM
Mike Myatt's "Leadership Matters...The CEO Survival Manual" is well worth the read...
nora on July 24, 2008 at 02:05 PM
I love Max Barry's novel "Company" for its vivid send-up of cubicle culture driven to its extreme uselessless in service of a manaical corporation.
nora on July 24, 2008 at 02:05 PM
I love Max Barry's novel "Company" for its vivid send-up of cubicle culture driven to its extreme uselessless in service of a manaical corporation.
Theresa Banks on August 10, 2008 at 05:42 PM
Here's another great new non-fiction book readers need to check out: "Surviving a Layoff" by Theresa Banks. The book is available for ordering through Amazon.com, as well as the following additional titles by the author: "Becoming a Published Author", "BARRENhood", and "Woman of Integrity".
Far too many Americans are being laid off their job. Most without warning, and almost all without guidance on how they can live from day to day after they receive the news they're no longer with the company. Everyone should purchase a copy of "Surviving a Layoff" today, because the truth is... no job is safe!