100 Best Business Economics Books of All Time

We've ranked the best business economics books using expert recommendations, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything book cover1

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Steven D. Levitt

5.0
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime? Freakonomics will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.

These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't book cover2

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Jim Collins

4.9
To find the keys to greatness, Collins's 21-person research team read and coded 6,000 articles, generated more than 2,000 pages of interview transcripts and created 384 megabytes of computer data in a five-year project. The findings will surprise many readers and, quite frankly, upset others.

The Challenge
Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies trium
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine book cover3

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

Michael Lewis

4.8
The real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn't shine and the SEC doesn't dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower- and middle-class Americans who can't pay their debts. The smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope an
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference book cover4

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Malcolm Gladwell

4.8
An alternate cover edition exists here.

The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller,
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future book cover5

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Peter Thiel

4.8
If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets.

The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.

Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation,
Thinking, Fast and Slow book cover6

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Kahneman

4.8
Major New York Times bestseller
Winner of the National Academy of Sciences Best Book Award in 2012
Selected by the New York Times Book Review as one of the best books of 2011
A Globe and Mail Best Books of the Year 2011 Title
One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year
One of The Wall Street Journal's Best Nonfiction Books of the Year 2011
2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient

In the internatio
Outliers: The Story of Success book cover7

Outliers: The Story of Success

Malcolm Gladwell

4.7
In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses book cover8

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

Eric Ries

4.7
Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.

Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned profes
How to Win Friends & Influence People book cover9

How to Win Friends & Influence People

Dale Carnegie

4.7
You can go after the job you want—and get it!
You can take the job you have—and improve it!
You can take any situation—and make it work for you!

Dale Carnegie’s rock-solid, time-tested advice has carried countless people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. One of the most groundbreaking and timeless bestsellers of all time, How to Win Friends & Influence People will teach
The Wealth of Nations book cover10

The Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith

4.7
In his book, Smith fervently extolled the simple yet enlightened notion that individuals are fully capable of setting and regulating prices for their own goods and services. He argued passionately in favor of free trade, yet stood up for the little guy. The Wealth of Nations provided the first--and still the most eloquent--integrated description of the workings of a market economy.
The Intelligent Investor: The Classic Text on Value Investing book cover11

The Intelligent Investor: The Classic Text on Value Investing

Benjamin Graham

4.7
The greatest investment advisor of the twentieth century, Benjamin Graham taught and inspired people worldwide. Graham's philosophy of "value investing" -- which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies -- has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication in 1949.
Steve Jobs book cover12

Steve Jobs

Walter Isaacson

4.6
From the author of the bestselling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, this is the exclusive, New York Times bestselling biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveti
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change book cover13

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

Stephen R. Covey

4.6
When Stephen Covey first released The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, the book became an instant rage because people suddenly got up and took notice that their lives were headed off in the wrong direction; and more than that, they realized that there were so many simple things they could do in order to navigate their life correctly. This book was wonderful education for people, education
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable book cover14

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

4.6
A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was.

The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9/11. For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from t
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions book cover15

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Dan Ariely

4.6
Why do our headaches persist after taking a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a 50-cent aspirin?

Why does recalling the Ten Commandments reduce our tendency to lie, even when we couldn't possibly be caught?

Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup?

Why do we go back for second helpings at the unlimited buffet, even when our stomachs are a
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers book cover16

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

Ben Horowitz

4.6
A lot of people talk about how great it is to start a business, but only Ben Horowitz is brutally honest about how hard it is to run one.

In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley's most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, draws on his own story of founding, running, selling, buying, managing, and investing in technology compa
Think and Grow Rich book cover17

Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill

4.6
One of the most popular personal development and self-improvement books of all time, Think and Grow Rich has sold over 100 million copies worldwide since its first publication during the Great Depression. In this hardcover edition, Napoleon Hill presents a "Philosophy of Achievement" in 13 principles drawn from the success stories of such greats as Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and o
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup book cover18

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

John Carreyrou

4.5
The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face of pressure and threats from the CEO and her lawyers.

In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup "unicorn" pr
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE book cover19

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE

Phil Knight

4.5
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.

In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-q
Capital in the Twenty-First Century book cover20

Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Thomas Piketty

4.5
What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piket
The Richest Man in Babylon book cover21

The Richest Man in Babylon

George S Clason

4.5
This hardcover edition is cleanly formatted for easy reading. 12 point Garamond, 1.25 spacing. The Richest Man in Babylon is a timeless classic, revealing the secrets to making money and keeping it. This inspirational book is hailed as the greatest of books on finances. It unveils the secrets to wealth, providing priceless suggestions, advice, unforgettable parables, financial problem-solving tool
22

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Richard H. Thaler

4.5
Every day, we make decisions on topics ranging from personal investments to schools for our children to the meals we eat to the causes we champion. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. The reason, the authors explain, is that, being human, we all are susceptible to various biases that can lead us to blunder. Our mistakes make us poorer and less healthy; we often make bad decisions involving educ
23

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

Charles Duhigg

4.5
A young woman walks into a laboratory. Over the past two years, she has transformed almost every aspect of her life. She has quit smoking, run a marathon, and been promoted at work. The patterns inside her brain, neurologists discover, have fundamentally changed.

Marketers at Procter & Gamble study videos of people making their beds. They are desperately trying to figure out how to sell a new produ
Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt book cover24

Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt

Michael Lewis

4.5
Four years after his #1 bestseller The Big Short, Michael Lewis returns to Wall Street to report on a high-tech predator stalking the equity markets.

Flash Boys is about a small group of Wall Street guys who figure out that the U.S. stock market has been rigged for the benefit of insiders and that, post–financial crisis, the markets have become not more free but less, and more controlled by the big
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game book cover25

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

Michael Lewis

4.5
Moneyball is a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the front offices of major league teams and the dugouts, perhaps even in the minds of the players themselves. Michael Lewis mines all these possibilities - his intimate and original portraits of big league ballplayers are
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets book cover26

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

4.5
Fooled by Randomness is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand. The other books in the series are The Black Swan, Antifragile, and The Bed of Procrustes.

Now in a striking new hardcover edition, Fooled by Randomness is the word-of-mouth se
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty book cover27

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

Daron Acemoglu

4.5
Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine?

Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are?

Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how t
Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty book cover28

Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

Abhijit Banerjee

4.5
Winner of the 2011 Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Best Business Book of the Year Award

Billions of government dollars, and thousands of charitable organizations and NGOs, are dedicated to helping the world's poor. But much of their work is based on assumptions that are untested generalizations at best, harmful misperceptions at worst.

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo have pioneered the use of random
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future book cover29

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

Ashlee Vance

4.5
Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk's story to explo
The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail book cover30

The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

Clayton M. Christensen

4.5
The bestselling classic on disruptive innovation, renowned author Clayton M. Christensen.

His work is cited by the world’s best-known thought leaders, from Steve Jobs to Malcolm Gladwell. In this classic bestseller—now updated with a fresh new package—innovation expert Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right—yet still lose market leadership. Read th
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion book cover31

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Robert B. Cialdini

4.4
Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say "yes"—and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field of influence and persuasion. His thirty-five years of rigorous, evidence-based research along with a three-year program of study on what moves people to change behavior has resulted in this highly
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich book cover32

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

Timothy Ferriss

4.4
More than 100 pages of new, cutting-edge content.
Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, Th
Economics in One Lesson book cover33

Economics in One Lesson

Henry Hazlitt

4.4
Here is a publishing event: the new Mises Institute edition of the classic book that has taught many millions sound economic thinking. It is a hardbound volume, priced very low thanks to special benefactors, and now available in quantity discounts for distribution to your friends, family, and anyone you meet who needs to understand what economics implies for the society, government, and civilizati
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not! book cover34

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not!

Robert T. Kiyosaki

4.4
In Rich Dad Poor Dad, the #1 Personal Finance book of all time, Robert Kiyosaki shares the story of his two dad: his real father, whom he calls his ‘poor dad,’ and the father of his best friend, the man who became his mentor and his ‘rich dad.’ One man was well educated and an employee all his life, the other’s education was “street smarts” over traditional classroom education and he took the path
Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street book cover35

Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street

Michael Lewis

4.4
In this shrewd and wickedly funny book, Michael Lewis describes an astonishing era and his own rake's progress through a powerful investment bank. From an unlikely beginning (art history at Princeton?) he rose in two short years from Salomon Brothers trainee to Geek (the lowest form of life on the trading floor) to Big Swinging Dick, the most dangerous beast in the jungle, a bond salesman who coul
Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street book cover36

Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street

John Brooks

4.4
"Business Adventures remains the best business book I've ever read." --Bill Gates, The Wall Street Journal

What do the $350 million Ford Motor Company disaster known as the Edsel, the fast and incredible rise of Xerox, and the unbelievable scandals at General Electric and Texas Gulf Sulphur have in common? Each is an example of how an iconic company was defined by a particular moment of fame or no
SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance book cover37

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance

Steven D. Levitt

4.4
The New York Times best-selling Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling over four million copies in thirty-five languages and changing the way we look at the world. Now, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner return with SuperFreakonomics, and fans and newcomers alike will find that the freakquel is even bolder, funnier, and more surprising than the first.

Four years in the making, SuperFre
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking book cover38

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Malcolm Gladwell

4.4
Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology and displaying all of the brilliance that made The Tipping Point a classic, Blink changes the way you'll understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way.

Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. Blink is a bo
Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco book cover39

Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

Bryan Burrough

4.4
“One of the finest, most compelling accounts of what happened to corporate America and Wall Street in the 1980’s.”
—New York Times Book Review



A #1 New York Times bestseller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of investigative journalism by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, it includes
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies book cover40

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Jim Collins, Jerry I. Porras

4.4
"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies." So write Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in this groundbreaking book that shatters
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration book cover41

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Ed Catmull

4.4
“What does it mean to manage well?”
From Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios, comes an incisive book about creativity in business—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who strives for originality, and t
Principles: Life and Work book cover42

Principles: Life and Work

Ray Dalio

4.4
Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.

In 1975, Ray Dalio founded an investment firm, Bridgewater Associates, out of his two-bedroom apa
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder book cover43

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

4.3
From the bestselling author of The Black Swan and one of the foremost philosophers of our time, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a book on how some systems actually benefit from disorder.

In The Black Swan Taleb outlined a problem; in Antifragile he offers a definitive solution: how to gain from disorder and chaos while being protected from fragilities and adverse events. For what he calls the "antifragile"
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity book cover44

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

David Allen

4.3
"The Bible of business and personal productivity" —Lifehack

"A completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from 'the personal productivity guru'"—Fast Company


Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago, David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. “GTD” is now sh
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon book cover45

The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

Brad Stone

4.3
The definitive story of Amazon.com, one of the most successful companies in the world, and of its driven, brilliant founder, Jeff Bezos.

Amazon.com started off delivering books through the mail. But its visionary founder, Jeff Bezos, wasn't content with being a bookseller. He wanted Amazon to become the everything store, offering limitless selection and seductive convenience at disruptively low pri
46

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

Thomas L. Friedman

4.3
One mark of a great book is that it makes you see things in a new way, and Mr Friedman certainly succeeds in that goal," the Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz wrote in the New York Times reviewing The World is Flat in 2005. In this new edition, Thomas L. Friedman includes fresh stories and insights to help us understand the flattening of the world. Weaving new information into his overall thesis,
Never Split the Difference book cover47

Never Split the Difference

Chris Voss

4.3
A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new, field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations—whether in the boardroom or at home.

After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacl
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die book cover48

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Chip Heath, Dan Heath

4.3
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The instant classic about why some ideas thrive, why others die, and how to improve your idea's chances--essential reading in the "fake news" era.

Mark Twain once observed, "A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on." His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus news stories circulate effortlessly. Mean
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It book cover49

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

Michael E. Gerber

4.3
E-Myth \ 'e-,'mith\ n 1: the entrepreneurial myth: the myth that most people who start small businesses are entrepreneurs 2: the fatal assumption that an individual who understands the technical work of a business can successfully run a business that does that technical work

Voted #1 business book by Inc. 500 CEOs.

An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dis
Who Moved My Cheese? book cover50

Who Moved My Cheese?

Spencer Johnson

4.3
Who Moved My Cheese? is a simple parable that reveals profound truths. It is an amusing and enlightening story of four characters who live in a "Maze" and look for "Cheese" to nourish them and make them happy.

Two are mice named Sniff and Scurry. And two are "Littlepeople"—beings the size of mice who look and act a lot like people. Their names are Hem and Haw.

"Cheese" is a metaphor for what you wan
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing book cover51

A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing

Burton G. Malkiel

4.3
Today’s stock market is not for the faint of heart. At a time of frightening volatility, what is the average investor to do?


The answer: turn to Burton G. Malkiel’s advice in his reassuring, authoritative, gimmick-free, and perennially best-selling guide to investing. Long established as the first book to purchase before starting a portfolio or 401(k), A Random Walk Down Wall Street now features ne
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think book cover52

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

Hans Rosling

4.3
Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.

When asked simple questions about global trends—what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently o
Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy book cover53

Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy

Thomas Sowell

4.3
Basic Economicsis a citizen's guide to economics, written for those who want to understand how the economy works but have no interest in jargon or equations. Bestselling economist Thomas Sowell explains the general principles underlying different economic systems: capitalist, socialist, feudal, and so on. In readable language, he shows how to critique economic policies in terms of the incentives t
Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics book cover54

Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics

Richard H. Thaler

4.3
Nobel laureate Richard H. Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans—predictable, error-prone individuals. Misbehaving is his arresting, frequently hilarious account of the struggle to bring an academic discipline back down to earth—and change the way we think about economics, ourselves, and our world.

Traditional economics assumes rati
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action book cover55

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Simon Sinek

4.3
Why do you do what you do?

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?

People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they a
The 48 Laws of Power book cover56

The 48 Laws of Power

Robert Greene

4.3
This amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive book synthesizes the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz with the historical legacies of statesmen, warriors, seducers, and con men throughout the ages.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us book cover57

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Daniel H. Pink

4.3
The New York Times bestseller that gives readers a paradigm-shattering new way to think about motivation

Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That's a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others). In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret t
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism book cover58

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Naomi Klein

4.3
In her ground-breaking reporting from Iraq, Naomi Klein exposed how the trauma of invasion was being exploited to remake the country in the interest of foreign corporations. She called it "disaster capitalism." Covering Sri Lanka in the wake of the tsunami, and New Orleans post-Katrina, she witnessed something remarkably similar. People still reeling from catastrophe were being hit again, this tim
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead book cover59

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Sheryl Sandberg

4.3
Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious deb
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life book cover60

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

Alice Schroeder

4.3
Here is THE book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. The result is the personally revealing
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in book cover61

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in

Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, Bruce Patton

4.2
The key text on problem-solving negotiation-updated and revised

Getting to Yes has helped millions of people learn a better way to negotiate. One of the primary business texts of the modern era, it is based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution.

Getting to Yes offers a proven, step-by-step strategy for coming to mut
62

Rework

Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson

4.2
Most business books give you the same old advice: Write a business plan, study the competition, seek investors, yadda yadda. If you're looking for a book like that, put this one back on the shelf.

Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business. Read it and you'll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don't need outside investors, and why you're better off ignoring the c
Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success book cover63

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success

Adam Grant

4.2
Give and Take highlights what effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills have in common.

For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers.
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World book cover64

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

Cal Newport

4.2
One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you'll achieve extraordinary results.

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide th
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement book cover65

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox

4.2
Written in a fast-paced thriller style, 'The Goal' contains a serious message for all managers in industry and explains the ideas which underline the Theory of Constraints developed by the author.
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies book cover66

Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Jared Diamond

4.2
Explaining what William McNeill called The Rise of the West has become the central problem in the study of global history. In Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond presents the biologist's answer: geography, demography, and ecological happenstance. Diamond evenhandedly reviews human history on every continent since the Ice Age at a rate that emphasizes only the broadest movements of peoples and ide
The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy book cover67

The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy

William D. Danko

4.2
-Why aren't I as wealthy as I should be?- Many people ask this question of themselves all the time. Often they are hard-working, well educated middle- to high-income people. Why, then, are so few affluent. For nearly two decades the answer has been found in the bestselling The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy, reissued with a new foreword for the twenty-first cent
68

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness (Classic Edition)

Dave Ramsey

4.2
If you will live like no one else, later you can "live" like no one else.

Build up your money muscles with America's favorite finance coach.

Okay, folks, do you want to turn those fat and flabby expenses into a well-toned budget? Do you want to transform your sad and skinny little bank account into a bulked-up cash machine? Then get with the program, people. There's one sure way to whip your finance
Capitalism and Freedom book cover69

Capitalism and Freedom

Milton Friedman

4.2
Selected by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the "hundred most influential books since the war"

How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom? In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of his immensely influential economic philosophy—one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achie
The Art of War book cover70
For more than two thousand years, The Art of War has stood as a cornerstone of Chinese culture-a lucid epigrammatic text that reveals as much about human psychology, politics, and economics as it does about battlefield strategy. The influence of Sun-tzu's text has grown tremendously in the West in recent years, with military leaders, politicians, and corporate executives alike finding valuable ins
The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success book cover71

The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success

William Thorndike

4.2
”It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different.” — John Templeton

What makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise. Others might point to the qualities of today’s so-called celebrity CEOs—charisma, virtuoso communication skills, and a confident management style. But what really matters w
Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs book cover72

Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs

John Doerr

4.1
Legendary venture capitalist John Doerr reveals how the goal-setting system of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) has helped tech giants from Intel to Google achieve explosive growth--and how it can help any organization thrive.

In the fall of 1999, John Doerr met with the founders of a start-up whom he'd just given $12.5 million, the biggest investment of his career. Larry Page and Sergey Brin h
When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management book cover73

When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management

Roger Lowenstein

4.1

With a new Afterword addressing today’s financial crisis

A BUSINESS WEEK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

In this business classic—now with a new Afterword in which the author draws parallels to the recent financial crisis—Roger Lowenstein captures the gripping roller-coaster ride of Long-Term Capital Management. Drawing on confidential internal memos and interviews with dozens of key players, Lowenstein expla

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right book cover74

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

Atul Gawande

4.1

The New York Times bestselling author of Better and Complications reveals the surprising power of the ordinary checklist

We live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies‚neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer

Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers book cover75

Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers

Geoffrey A Moore

4.1
The bible for bringing cutting-edge products to larger markets--now revised and updated with new insights into the realities of high-tech marketing

In Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey A. Moore shows that in the Technology Adoption Life Cycle--which begins with innovators and moves to early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards--there is a vast chasm between the early adopters and the ea
The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron book cover76

The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind

4.1
There were dozens of books about Watergate, but only All the President's Men gave readers the full story, with all the drama and nuance and exclusive reporting. And thirty years later, if you're going to read only one book on Watergate, that's still the one. Today, Enron is the biggest business story of our time, and Fortune senior writers Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind are the new Woodward and B
Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction book cover77

Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction

Philip E. Tetlock, Dan Gardner

4.1
A New York Times Bestseller

An Economist Best Book of 2015

"The most important book on decision making since Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow."
—Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal

Everyone would benefit from seeing further into the future, whether buying stocks, crafting policy, launching a new product, or simply planning the week’s meals. Unfortunately, people tend to be terrible foreca
The Undercover Economist book cover78

The Undercover Economist

Tim Harford

4.1
An economist's version of The Way Things Work, this engaging volume is part field guide to economics and part expose of the economic principles lurking behind daily events, explaining everything from traffic jams to high coffee prices.
The Undercover Economist is for anyone who's wondered why the gap between rich and poor nations is so great, or why they can't seem to find a decent second-hand car
79

Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

Charles T. Munger

4.1
EXPANDED THIRD EDITION includes Charlie's 2007 USC Law School Commencement address. Edited by Peter D. Kaufman. Brand New.
Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right book cover80

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right

Jane Mayer

4.1
Who are the immensely wealthy right-wing ideologues shaping the fate of America today? From the bestselling author of The Dark Side, an electrifying work of investigative journalism that uncovers the agenda of this powerful group.

In her new preface, Jane Mayer discusses the results of the most recent election and Donald Trump's victory, and how, despite much discussion to the contrary, this was a
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World book cover81

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

Niall Ferguson

4.1
Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it’s the sinews of war. To revolutionarie
Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist book cover82

Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist

Kate Raworth

4.1
Economics is the mother tongue of public policy. It dominates our decision-making for the future, guides multi-billion-dollar investments, and shapes our responses to climate change, inequality, and other environmental and social challenges that define our times.

Pity then, or more like disaster, that its fundamental ideas are centuries out of date yet are still taught in college courses worldwide
The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents--The Definitive Edition book cover83

The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents--The Definitive Edition

F. A. Hayek

4.1
An unimpeachable classic work in political philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, and economics, The Road to Serfdom has inspired and infuriated politicians, scholars, and general readers for half a century. Originally published in 1944—when Eleanor Roosevelt supported the efforts of Stalin, and Albert Einstein subscribed lock, stock, and barrel to the socialist program—The Road to Serfdom
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail - But Some Don't book cover84

The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail - But Some Don't

Nate Silver

4.1
One of Wall Street Journal's Best Ten Works of Nonfiction in 2012

New York Times Bestseller

"Not so different in spirit from the way public intellectuals like John Kenneth Galbraith once shaped discussions of economic policy and public figures like Walter Cronkite helped sway opinion on the Vietnam War…could turn out to be one of the more momentous books of the decade."
-New York Times Book Review

"Na
Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System from Crisis — and Themselves book cover85

Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System from Crisis — and Themselves

Andrew Ross Sorkin

4.1
Andrew Ross Sorkin delivers the first true behind-the-scenes, moment-by-moment account of how the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression developed into a global tsunami. From inside the corner office at Lehman Brothers to secret meetings in South Korea, and the corridors of Washington, Too Big to Fail is the definitive story of the most powerful men and women in finance and politics
Blue Ocean Strategy: How To Create Uncontested Market Space And Make The Competition Irrelevant book cover86

Blue Ocean Strategy: How To Create Uncontested Market Space And Make The Competition Irrelevant

W. Chan Kim

4.1
Winning by not competing! This international best seller upends traditional thinking with principles and tools to make the competition irrelevant.
In an audiobook that challenges everything you thought you knew, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne assert that tomorrow's leading companies will succeed, not by battling their rivals for market share in the bloody "red ocean" of a shrinking profit pool, bu
Good Economics for Hard Times book cover87

Good Economics for Hard Times

Abhijit V. Banerjee

4.1
Two prize-winning economists show how economics, when done right, can help us solve the thorniest social and political problems of our day

The experience of the last decade has not been kind to the image of economists: asleep at the wheel (perhaps with the foot on the gas pedal) in the run-up to the great recession, squabbling about how to get out of it, tone-deaf in discussions of the plight of Gr
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less book cover88

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Greg McKeown

4.1
Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin?

Do you simultaneously feel overworked and underutilized?

Are you often busy but not productive?

Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked by other people’s agendas?

If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the Way of the Essentialist.

The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only
Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers book cover89

Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers

Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur

4.0
Business Model Generation is a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers striving to defy outmoded business models and design tomorrow's enterprises. If your organization needs to adapt to harsh new realities, but you don't yet have a strategy that will get you out in front of your competitors, you need Business Model Generation. Co-created by 470 -Business Model Canvas- practitione
The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done book cover90

The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done

Peter F. Drucker

4.0
A handsome, commemorative edition of Peter F. Drucker’s timeless classic work on leadership and management, with a foreword by Jim Collins.

What makes an effective executive?

For decades, Peter F. Drucker was widely regarded as "the dean of this country’s business and management philosophers" (Wall Street Journal). In this concise and brilliant work, he looks to the most influential position in mana
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future book cover91

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

Chris Guillebeau

4.0
In The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead of life of adventure, meaning and purpose – and earn a good living.

Still in his early thirties, Chris is on the verge of completing a tour of every country on earth – he’s already visited more than 175 nations – and yet he’s never held a “real job” or earned a regular paycheck. Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into incom
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants book cover92

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

Malcolm Gladwell

4.0
In his #1 bestselling books The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell has explored the ways we understand and change our world. Now he looks at the complex and surprising ways the weak can defeat the strong, the small can match up against the giant, and how our goals (often culturally determined) can make a huge difference in our ultimate sense of success. Drawing upon examples from
The Communist Manifesto book cover93

The Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

4.0
"A spectre is haunting Europe," Karl Marx and Frederic Engels wrote in 1848, "the spectre of Communism." This new edition of The Communist Manifesto, commemorating the 150th anniversary of its publication, includes an introduction by renowned historian Eric Hobsbawm which reminds us of the document's continued relevance. Marx and Engels's critique of capitalism and its deleterious effect on all as
The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds book cover94

The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds

Michael Lewis

4.0
Forty years ago, Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky wrote a series of breathtakingly original papers that invented the field of behavioral economics. One of the greatest partnerships in the history of science, Kahneman and Tversky’s extraordinary friendship incited a revolution in Big Data studies, advanced evidence-based medicine, led to a new approach to government regulation
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City book cover95

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

Matthew Desmond

4.0
In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur "Genius" Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of 21st-century America's most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World book cover96

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

Adam Grant

4.0
In Originals the author addresses the challenge of improving the world from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions. How can we originate new ideas, policies, and practices without risking it all?

Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertai
Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life book cover97

Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

4.0
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan, a bold new work that challenges many of our long-held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance and personal responsibility

In his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just so
One Up On Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market book cover98

One Up On Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market

Peter Lynch

4.0
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLING BOOK THAT EVERY INVESTOR SHOULD OWN

Peter Lynch is America's number-one money manager. His mantra: Average investors can become experts in their own field and can pick winning stocks as effectively as Wall Street professionals by doing just a little research.

Now, in a new introduction written specifically for this edition of One Up on Wall Street, Lynch gives his take on th
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World book cover99

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

David Epstein

4.0
What's the most effective path to success in any domain? It's not what you think.

Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you'll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research
The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business book cover100

The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business

Josh Kaufman

4.0
Master the fundamentals, hone your business instincts, and save a fortune in tuition.

The consensus is clear: MBA programs are a waste of time and money. Even the elite schools offer outdated assembly-line educations about profit-and-loss statements and PowerPoint presentations. After two years poring over sanitized case studies, students are shuffled off into middle management to find out how bus