Most business books are fun to read, but it's really hard to say that any have been truly helpful. Most lean more to the motivational/inspirational side, instead of focusing on case studies. My suspicion is that business is probably not best learned from a book. But I'll list a few I like anyways.
Alan Sugar: The Amstrad Story
- Great story about how Sir Alan grew an empire selling stereos out of the back of a car. Instructive because his key insights revolved around understanding what the average user wanted, as opposed to the technical elite.
Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison
- He started his first company at 33 after working for other high tech firms. This book is neat because Ellison adds his own comments in the footer when he disagrees with the biographer.
Founders @ Work
- Pre-ordered it. I was tempted to read it all at once, but decided to spread it out over 2 weeks. I'm glad that I did - there's a lot to digest....
Product side:
Designing Interactions
- If you want to design great user experiences, it helps to see the thought processes great designers go through to create successful products.
Bulletproof Web Design
- Well written, concise. Cederholm knows CSS.
Hardening Linux
- I've seen many guides at the bookstore. This one appealed to me because it has both breadth and depth. The chapter on configuring firewalls was alone worth the price of the book.
Most business books are fun to read, but it's really hard to say that any have been truly helpful. Most lean more to the motivational/inspirational side, instead of focusing on case studies. My suspicion is that business is probably not best learned from a book. But I'll list a few I like anyways.
Alan Sugar: The Amstrad Story - Great story about how Sir Alan grew an empire selling stereos out of the back of a car. Instructive because his key insights revolved around understanding what the average user wanted, as opposed to the technical elite.
Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison - He started his first company at 33 after working for other high tech firms. This book is neat because Ellison adds his own comments in the footer when he disagrees with the biographer.
Founders @ Work - Pre-ordered it. I was tempted to read it all at once, but decided to spread it out over 2 weeks. I'm glad that I did - there's a lot to digest....
Product side:
Designing Interactions - If you want to design great user experiences, it helps to see the thought processes great designers go through to create successful products.
Bulletproof Web Design - Well written, concise. Cederholm knows CSS.
Hardening Linux - I've seen many guides at the bookstore. This one appealed to me because it has both breadth and depth. The chapter on configuring firewalls was alone worth the price of the book.