Best Business Books 2007: Rising Tides
Bios, histories, and books on the U.S. economy, globalization, and workplace relationships were big business for 2007
By Sarah Statz Cords -- Library Journal, 3/15/2008
The Dow's losses over this year's first 12 days of trading erased nearly all of last year's gains; the pace of new home-building was, in January, reportedly at its lowest in 16 years; and recession rumblings, too, are making themselves heard.
But in 2007, though the economy was hardly soaring, readers wouldn't have felt much was amiss. The year saw many big business biographies and was a particularly rich period for business histories, with authors closely examining venerable family concerns and global industries alike. The continuing impact of new technologies was easily seen in a number of titles about the growing complexities of national and world markets.
The human element
There was a noticeable shift in approach toward more personal aspects of business management—some of the year's most practical titles explored manager-employee relationships. Similarly, books for women on leaving and rejoining the workforce at different stages of their lives showed how publishers are better addressing the challenges today's working women face.
With regard to leadership, several books questioned age-old tenets. There were fewer puff pieces by big names, and the leadership books that were published fell by the wayside as more authors suggested success might have less to do with CEO charisma than previously thought. Among the additions to the popular fable genre, only Matthew Kelly's The Dream Manager stood out as both inspirational and practical.
Prescient knowledge
If there was any hint of unease in 2007 about the trends ahead, it was most discernible in the books on the U.S. economy and globalization. Increasingly more titles told of the middle- and lower-middle classes getting clobbered by static wages and rising costs. The year's globalization books are particularly informative: while a few years back they tended to be Thomas Friedman–esque glorifications of the global marketplace, in 2007 authors sought to make clearer just what “globalization” means by exposing how it truly functions.
All told, there's a sense that business as usual may no longer be business as usual; one of the year's best-selling nonfiction books, Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan, though it belabored its point and was too philosophy-heavy to make our list, did suggest it may be time to start expecting the unexpected. Provided readers of last year's books heed that advice, they'll be that much better prepared for the changes already afoot in 2008—e.g., the NYSE–AMEX buyout, the Fed's slashing of interest rates—changes sure to affect the business climate and the flow of business books to come.
BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Ebenstein, Lanny. Milton Friedman: A Biography. Palgrave Macmillan. 272p. ISBN 978-1-4039-7627-7. $27.95.
Ebenstein's (economics & political theory, Univ. of California) accessible and thoroughly researched text admirably reflects the interests and tone of late economist Milton Friedman's life. It includes interviews with Friedman (d. 2006) and his wife and covers his personal life, education, academic career, and later writings. (LJ 2/1/07)
Gasparino, Charles. King of the Club: Richard Grasso and the Survival of the New York Stock Exchange. Collins: HarperCollins. 400p. ISBN 978-0-06-089833-5. $27.95.
CNBC correspondent Gasparino masterfully combines Richard Grasso's rags-to-riches narrative with the grand history of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Of particular interest are Grasso's eight-year tenure as NYSE chair, especially his post-9/11 leadership, and the 2003 scandal regarding his $140 million compensation package. (LJ 12/07)
Greenspan, Alan. The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). 531p. ISBN 978-1-59420-131-8. $35.
The former U.S. Federal Reserve Board chair relates his life story, focusing on lessons learned in government service, particularly post-9/11. He also includes political anecdotes, asserts his faith in market capitalism, and shares his predictions for the world of 2030.
McCraw, Thomas K. Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction. Belknap: Harvard Univ. 736p. ISBN 978-0-674-02523-3. $35.
Economic theorist Joseph Schumpeter lived a turbulent life filled with complex personal relationships. McCraw's (emeritus, business history, Harvard Business Sch.) insightful biography expertly weaves together the various strands. (LJ 4/1/07)
BUSINESS/CORPORATE HISTORY
Brandt, Allan M. The Cigarette Century. Basic Bks. 704p. ISBN 978-0-465-07047-3. $36.
Brandt (history of medicine, Harvard Medical Sch.) offers a comprehensive history not just of the tobacco industry but of its product, relating how cigarettes insinuated themselves into our culture through groundbreaking advertising and marketing ploys. He delves into American case law while also exploring the still-booming worldwide marketplace for smokes.
Clark, Taylor. Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture. Little, Brown. 304p. ISBN 978-0-316-01348-2. $25.99.
Journalist Clark offers the rich history of Starbucks and its founding members as well as a broader look at the economics of global coffee production and demand. He writes with objectivity and nuance, neither seeking to demonize the corporation nor to act as its cheerleader. (LJ 12/07)
Cohan, William D. The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co. Doubleday. 752p. ISBN 978-0-385-51451-4. $29.95.
In this exhaustively researched biography of a Wall Street investment-bank powerhouse, Cohan, a one-time employee, explores the complex relationships and squabbles among the firm's key players, including André Meyer, Felix Rohatyn, and Bruce Wasserstein. (LJ 5/1/07)
John, Daymond with Daniel Paisner. Display of Power: How FUBU Changed a World of Fashion, Branding and Lifestyle. Thomas Nelson. 240p. ISBN 978-1-59555-853-4. $24.99.
John, the “godfather of urban fashion” and creator of the FUBU (“for us, by us”) apparel line, relates the stories of his childhood and his business launch, providing several examples of his business triumphs and missteps and including concrete suggestions for making savvy business partnerships. The writing is brisk; the tone, personal.
Newhouse, John. Boeing Versus Airbus: The Inside Story of the Greatest International Competition in Business. Knopf. 272p. ISBN 978-1-4000-4336-1. $26.95.
In this thrilling industry history, Newhouse (The Sporty Game) explores the high-stakes competition between rival commercial aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus, detailing their differing manufacturing innovations and management cultures.
Rothfeder, Jeffrey. McIlhenny's Gold: How a Louisiana Family Built the Tabasco Empire. Collins: HarperCollins. 272p. ISBN 978-0-06-072184-8. $24.95.
Despite writing of the McIlhenny family business without any of the main players' cooperation, Rothfeder manages to tell a compelling story of single-minded product marketing, Southern social history and slavery, and the challenges endemic to all family firms. He pays particular attention to the company's cautious business model. (LJ 9/1/07)
Tungate, Mark. Adland: A Global History of Advertising. Kogan Page, dist. by Ingram. 271p. ISBN 978-0-7494-4837-0. $39.95.
British journalist Tungate writes a balanced, detailed, yet lively global history of modern advertising since the 19th century, painting a vivid picture of ad agencies and how they continue to influence us. (LJ 9/15/07)
ECONOMIC THEORIES, IDEAS, TRENDS
Lewis, Hunter. Are the Rich Necessary? Great Economic Arguments and How They Reflect Our Personal Values. Axios. 282p. ISBN 978-0-9753662-0-2. $20.
Those interested in expanding their general knowledge of economics and the field's conflicting tenets will likely find investment advisor Lewis's (A Question of Values) succinct arguments fascinating. In each chapter, he poses a question (e.g., the titular one) that he then answers, complete with reasoning and sources.
O'Rourke, P.J. On The Wealth of Nations. Atlantic Monthly. 320p. ISBN ISBN 978-0-87113-949-8. $21.95.
Humorist O'Rourke takes on all 900-plus pages of Adam Smith's classic, The Wealth of Nations , as well as his earlier volume, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, defending Smith's tenets of freedom of trade, the healthy pursuit of self-interest, and the importance of being a person who “adheres, on all occasions, steadily and resolutely to his maxims.” (LJ 12/06)
Penn, Mark J. with E. Kinney Zalesne. Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes. Twelve: Hachette. 407p. ISBN 978-0-446-58096-0. $25.99.
Political pollster Penn (at the time of this writing, Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead presidential campaign strategist) identifies 75 “microtrends” he believes are changing the social and cultural landscape in the United States and globally, covering the areas of health and wellness, technology, education, and more. Any book of investment ideas described by Jim Cramer as “manna from heaven,” as this one was, is worth a look. (LJ 9/15/07)
GLOBALIZATION
Meredith, Robyn. The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us. Norton. 384p. ISBN 978-0-393-06236-6. $25.95.
Business books about China and India's influence abound, but few authors approach the topic as rigorously—and succinctly—as does Meredith, who covers the region for Forbes. Here, she illustrates how each country has followed its own economic path, examines the countries' similarities, and considers the repercussions of their growing involvement in the world market.
Snyder, Rachel Louise. Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade. Norton. 288p. ISBN 978-0-393-06180-2. $26.95.
No book succeeds as well in helping readers visualize global production and processes as does Snyder's in-depth look at how jeans are designed, sewn, and transported as well as how the cotton for denim is grown, regulated, purchased, and processed. (LJ 10/15/07)
Studwell, Joe. Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Atlantic Monthly. 352p. ISBN 978-0-87113-968-9. $26.
Studwell's (The China Dream) exposé of some of Southeast Asia's top business moguls provides an important glimpse into the region's economic and social cultures.
van Agtmael, Antoine. The Emerging Markets Century: How a New Breed of World-Class Companies Is Overtaking the World. Free Pr: S. & S. 384p. ISBN 978-0-7432-9457-7. $28.
Van Agtmael, who coined the phrase emerging markets, explores how companies like Lenovo and Haier are in emerging economies already competing with such household-name brands as Ford and Sony, concluding that global competition is here to stay.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Bardwick, Judith M. One Foot Out the Door: How To Combat the Psychological Recession That's Alienating Employees and Hurting American Business. AMACOM: American Management Assn. 226p. ISBN 978-0-8144-8058-8. $24.95.
Drawing on research indicating that Gen Xers and younger baby boomers feel disconnected from their jobs, Bardwick (Seeking the Calm in the Storm) here explores the causes (e.g., bad management) of that disengagement. Her many pragmatic suggestions about how companies can prove their commitment to employees make the work particularly valuable.
Katcher, Bruce L. with Adam Snyder. 30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers: What Your People May Be Thinking and What You Can Do About It. AMACOM: American Management Assn. 207p. ISBN 978-0-8144-0915-2. $21.95.
Writing in a delightfully straightforward manner, organizational psychologist Katcher lists 30 reasons why American employees are unhappy in their jobs. She opens each chapter with a reason, examines how it creates work difficulties, and makes concrete suggestions to managers on how best to address each issue.
INVESTING
All the Money in the World: How the Forbes 400 Make—and Spend—Their Fortunes. Knopf. 384p. ed. by Peter W. Bernstein & Annalyn Swan. ISBN 978-0-307-26612-5. $26.95.
Writers Bernstein and Swan present an utterly fascinating and historical breakdown of the 400 richest Americans according to Forbes magazine, examining how the list's members actually make and spend their money. Illustrating the text with charts and informational sidebars, they offer an educational look at both production and consumption and provide numerous insights that place the list in social and historical context. (LJ 9/1/07)
Bookstaber, Richard. A Demon of Our Own Design: Markets, Hedge Funds, and the Perils of Financial Innovation. Wiley. 276p. ISBN 978-0-471-22727-4. $27.95.
Longtime hedge-fund manager Bookstaber offers his take on a market and investments system that he argues is needlessly complex owing to investment banks, hedge funds, innovation, regulation, and safeguards and further compounded by investor and market instabilities. These complexities, he writes, can culminate in large-scale disasters.
Cepuch, Randy. A Weekend with Warren Buffett: And Other Shareholder Meeting Adventures. Thunder's Mouth. 272p. ISBN 978-1-56025-954-1. $23.95.
In quick and funny anecdotes, financial writer and personal investor Cepuch relates his experiences attending various shareholder meetings, reviewing each meeting and grading its “educational value.” Essential for those hoping to learn more about the way the companies in which they invest do business.
Pond, Jonathan D. Grow Your Money: 101 Easy Tips To Plan, Save, and Invest. Collins: HarperCollins. 400p. ISBN 978-0-06-112140-1. $26.95.
In what should be required reading for anyone entering the work world, Pond, host of numerous financial programs on PBS, offers helpful investment and financial definitions, debt-management strategies, retirement and home-ownership considerations, tax tips, and more, enabling lay readers to understand these seemingly daunting and complex issues.
MANAGEMENT/LEADERSHIP
Kelly, Matthew. The Dream Manager. Hyperion. 176p. ISBN 978-1-4013-0370-9. $19.95.
Kelly's (The Seven Levels of Intimacy) business fable extols the virtues of helping those working for and with you to achieve their dreams. In this way, he writes, managers can boost morale and control turnover. With a foreword by Patrick Lencioni, fable-teller extraordinaire, and concluding with concrete suggestions, this one's sure to appeal to business readers.
Martin, Roger. The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking. Harvard Business School. 224p. ISBN 978-1-4221-1892-4. $26.95.
Martin's (dean, Rotman Sch. of Management, Univ. of Toronto) treatise on the importance of integrative thinking for successful management offers suggestions based primarily on lengthy interviews with business professionals he feels demonstrate this approach, including A.G. Lafley (of P&G) and Bob Young (of Red Hat Software).
Rosenzweig, Phil. The Halo Effect: And the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers. Free Pr: S. & S. 256p. ISBN 978-0-7432-9125-5. $25.
Rosenzweig lists nine common business delusions, including what he dubs the “halo effect” (the need to attribute positive qualities to successful individuals and companies), using the case studies of Lego, Cisco, and Nokia to illustrate how blindly adhering to myths can lead to missteps in product launches and project management.
Sawyer, Keith. Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration. Basic Bks. 288p. ISBN 978-0-465-07192-0. $26.95.
Sawyer (psychology, Washington Univ.; Explaining Creativity) reveals how organizations can foster a spirit of collaboration to encourage creativity and innovation among their constituents. Although popular myths tend to ascribe creativity primarily to individuals, Sawyer demonstrates how breakthroughs frequently grow from discussion, argumentation, and group activities.
MARKETING & BRANDING
Heath, Chip & Dan Heath. Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. Random. 288p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6428-1. $24.95.
Borrowing the concept of “stickiness” from Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, brothers Chip (business, Stanford Univ.) and textbook publisher Dan Heath expand on eight principles marketers can use to make their ideas and branding efforts resonate with consumers. Accessible and fast paced, this well-reviewed book is its own best advertisement: it was one of the year's “stickiest” titles. (LJ 2/1/07)
Kelly, Lois. Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing. AMACOM: American Management Assn. 228p. ISBN 978-0-8144-7383-2. $24.95.
The idea of buzz and marketing as fostering conversations is nothing new, but in this instructive book, Kelly, cofounder of a strategic-communications consulting firm, discusses various narrative frameworks often used to put products and services in context, e.g., “David vs. Goliath,” “How-to,” and “Glitz and Glam.”
SMALL BUSINESS
Barajas, Louis. Small Business, Big Life: Five Steps to Creating a Great Life with Your Own Small Business. Thomas Nelson. 224p. ISBN 978-1-4016-0336-6. $22.99.
Barajas describes his and his father's independent entrepreneurial paths and suggests an inspirational approach to business that relies on four personal greatness cornerstones—truth, responsibility, awareness, and courage—and on keeping in mind your vision and your team's needs. A new take on how to achieve work/life balance.
Kaplan, Steve. Be the Elephant: Build a Bigger, Better Business. Workman. 224p. ISBN 978-0-7611-4448-9. $19.95.
Entrepreneur Kaplan lays out an accessible, no-frills plan for business owners, managers, and other industrialists to grow their businesses into elephants: big and strong but also smart. With solid advice on fostering a growth mind-set, assessing risk, and creating unique selling propositions (USPs).
Tatum, Doug. No Man's Land: What To Do When Your Company Is Too Big To Be Small but Too Small To Be Big. Portfolio. 244p. ISBN 978-1-59184-172-2. $24.95.
Financial and tech consultant Tatum's detailed consideration of how to widen your small business imparts systematic advice for overcoming all difficulties facing the small-business owner.
U.S. ECONOMY
Frank, Robert H. Falling Behind: How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class. Univ. of California. 168p. ISBN 978-0-520-25252-3. pap. $19.95.
Economist Frank argues that though middle-class American families aren't earning much more than they were a few decades ago, they are spending considerably more, a pattern he attributes primarily to the context of seeing and emulating the spending habits of the rich. Although the book eventually turns into an argument in favor of a progressive consumption tax, along the way it provides valuable insight into middle-class spending, saving, and security.
Newman, Katherine S. & Victor Tan Chen. The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America. Beacon, dist. by Houghton. 288p. ISBN 978-0-8070-4139-0. $24.95.
Sociologist Newman and journalist Chen alert readers to the 57 million Americans existing on the razor-thin margin between poverty and middle-class life. The authors successfully combine their research with illuminating personal interviews.
WOMEN & BUSINESS/FINANCE
Bridgforth, Glinda. Girl, Get Your Credit Straight: A Sister's Guide to Ditching Your Debt, Mending Your Credit, and Building a Strong Financial Future. Broadway. 352p. ISBN 978-0-7679-2248-7. $19.95.
Bridgforth's book, the third in a series (after Girl, Make Your Money Grow!), is aimed primarily at African American women but offers helpful and understandable information for a larger audience. The sidebars on how women in particular tend to get into credit trouble and ways they can increase their financial knowledge and reign in their spending habits are especially notable.
Cohen, Carol Fishman & Vivian Steir Rabin. Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want To Return to Work. Warner Business. 282p. ISBN 978-0-446-57820-2. $24.99.
For women like themselves who have rejoined the workforce after a prolonged absence, the authors detail seven main steps for reentry (e.g., assessing options and channeling support), also profiling six women who have successfully relaunched their careers. The result is a highly practical and well-written guide. (LJ 5/15/07)
Hewlett, Sylvia Ann. Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success. Harvard Business School. 288p. ISBN 978-1-4221-0102-5. $29.95.
Hewlett (founding president, Ctr. for Work-Life Policy) examines why many women exit their careers—taking “off-ramps” (leaving altogether) or “scenic routes” (opting to work part-time), often during critical, competitive times. She also provides valuable suggestions for companies hoping to retain talented employees of any gender.
Holmes, Ann M. There's a Business in Every Woman: A 7-Step Guide to Discovering, Starting, and Building the Business of Your Dreams. Ballantine. 304p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6488-5. $22.95.
Economist and workplace expert Holmes's (Creating a Life) no-nonsense guide detailing seven steps to creating a successful business is based on her own experiences and on those of her employees. She highlights the importance of understanding and using your core competencies, building an organized infrastructure from the start, and planning for and managing your growth.
WORK/LIFE BALANCE
Alboher, Marci. One Person/Multiple Careers: How the “Slash Effect” Can Work for You. Warner Business. 256p. ISBN 978-0-446-69697-5. pap. $14.99.
In this optimistic how-to for finding work and life success, author/speaker/coach Alboher (who obviously walks the “slash effect” talk) describes the mind-set necessary to begin, improve, and reinvent yourself in numerous career roles. She also gives practical advice for starting slowly, leveraging incongruous combinations among your different roles, and avoiding overload; short key points in each chapter set in boldface text make for easy reading.
| Author Information |
| Sarah Statz Cords is Library Assistant, Madison Public Library, WI, and Associate Editor, Greenwood's Reader's Advisor Online database |
