BUSINESS

5 great business books to read

By Rediff Business Desk
October 30, 2009 16:32 IST

There are thousands of 'business' books adorning hundreds of bookstore shelves across the world, and new ones keep being written practically everyday. Given this problem of plenty, how do you select the best business books to read? Well, here's help....

 

Here are five of the best business books -- in no particular order -- that will hold you enraptured, broaden your outlook, and give you a fine insight into great business minds.

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life - by Alice Alice Schroeder

The book gives direct access to the American icon's life. It will take you through Buffett's financial deals, his childhood and his unconventional marriage.

The book tells you, in great detail, the many deals he made, giving readers the opportunity of working out the investment principles for themselves.

This book tells you about the big and well publicised deals  like Coca-Cola, Washington Post, Salomons. It also details the many smaller and lesser known ones -- the shirt factories, the share-an-airplane company and others.

One of the best biographies that you must read!

The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash - By Charles R. Morris

The book explains the sub-prime mortgage crisis that affected countless families in the United States and the economy as a whole. It explains in great length and description, where the market went wrong and the economic downfall.

A great book for those who are not in the financial services industry but want to understand why the economy melted.

"Crazy Bosses" - By Stanley Bing

The book deals with the interpersonal dynamics of working with a crazy boss.

The author describes the various kinds of bosses -- the boss with the five brains, the bully, the paranoid boss, the narcissist, the 'bureaucrazy' and the disaster hunter -- with each chapter ending with concrete strategies to cope with each type of crazy boss.

The book could be helpful throughout your corporate life!

"In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies" - By Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman

The book, based on case studies, describes eight common themes used by leading companies to become successful.

The eight attributes are: Bias for action, close to the customer, autonomy and entrepreneurship, productivity through people, hands on, value driven, stick to the knitting (focus on what you do best), simple form lean staff, and simultaneous loose-tight properties (balance between centralized/decentralized organization).

The book, published in 1982, is one of the biggest selling and widely read business books ever.

"A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing- By Burton G. Malkiel

The updated version of this book walks readers through all the investment vehicles available and explains in great detail the options preferable for specific age groups with their unique financial objectives. The author also illustrates in clear terms how and why markets respond to news and events.  A book any investor should read before starting a portfolio!

We will periodically bring you more on great books to read. . .


Meawnhile, if you have read any good book on business, investing, management, strategy, technology, leadership, etc, please do share its name and your thoughts on it with other readers on the discussion board below.

Rediff Business Desk

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