

Ask YC: What are some the best business books? - wh

I am looking to read some good business books. I would really appreciate any recommendations. Thanks!
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pg
I've found the best ones are books about the history of business and
biographies of individual founders.

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wh
Thanks PG, Can you name some of the books which you found more useful ?

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petervidani
Thinking Strategically is one of my favorites. It spends each chapter
analyzing techniques of competition, trend, and innovation. It reads quite
easily and offers outside examples ranging from sports, large corporations,
and world wars.

While you may find it challenging to read straight through, it works well,
too, as something to pick up every so often or to read alongside other reading
material. Even for those of you without a peaking interest in business, the
advice presented in the book is undeniable logic that will definitely appeal
to programmers and entrepreneurs alike.

[http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Strategically-Competitive-
Bus...](http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Strategically-Competitive-Business-
Politics/dp/0393310353)

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olefoo
Information Rules (Varian and Shapiro)

Economics of network industries (Shy)

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (Mackay)

The information Rules book belongs on your bookshelf if you want to understand
how information goods are priced and how competition works in information
driven industries. (Varian is now google's chief economist.)

The second one goes deep on the math of price-setting and standards wars.

And Mackay's work is a classic study of financial bubbles and panics.

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tbrooks
The best business book I've ever read is The Seven Day Weekend by Ricardo
Semler. I was turned onto Semler after Jason Fried recommended the book on one
of 37signals live sessions.

[http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Day-Weekend-Changing-Work-
Works/...](http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Day-Weekend-Changing-Work-
Works/dp/1591840260/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221624852&sr=1-3)

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qhoxie
<http://searchyc.com/business+book>

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fusionman
For startups,

-Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki -Blue Ocean Strategy -High Tech Startup by John Nesheim -The Power of Unfair Advantage by John Nesheim -Crossing the Chasm

These are all helpful for startups.

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rodrigo
Founders at Work (completely agree w PG on this), also The Undercover
Economist, for economic indsigths. I found in this book a LOT of things to
take home, business and entrepeneurial wise.

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boardrider_99
Art of the Start- Guy Kawasaki Go It Alone- Bruce Judson (Yale professor of
Management) Mark Cuban's blog (blogmaverick or something like that) Anything
by or about Warren Buffet

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phil_KartMe
-Art of the Start

-How to win friends and influence people [this title pains me]

-Tipping point

-Design of every day things [not business..but product]

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dmix
For high-tech start-ups:

\- Innovators Dilemma

\- Finding Fertile Ground

\- Myths of Entrepreneurship

\- Blue Ocean Strategy

\- Made to Stick

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known
<http://personalmba.com/recommended-business-books/>

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utnick
somebody a while ago recommended Titan, the bio of John Rockefeller, its good,
very long and dry at parts, I stopped reading after he became the richest man
in the world, but his journey from poor boy in small shack to richest man in
the world is pretty neat.

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comatose_kid
how to get rich by Richard dennis.

Softwar - A bio on Larry Ellison, one where he writes footnotes responding to
the biographer's text

Made in japan - Akio Morita and sony - written by Akio Morita - founder
describes early days of the company

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fusionman
are you looking for business textbooks, books written by business leaders or
Startup business books?

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wh
any business books which are pleasure to read.

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fusionman
You can see my comment below for a short list. Art of the Start is a great
place to begin. It covers everything with a very pragmatic approach and is
very easy to read. "The Power of Unfair Advantage" is a great book that I
don't often hear people talking about. I just don't think it's that well
known. I highly recommend it.

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wh
Thanks!

