I was always one of those kids with their nose buried in a book – and it continues to this day! I sometimes come across books that deal with the issues that we talk about in class – so below are some of the ones that I think are particularly interesting. Enjoy!

For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It by Mark Pendergrast

Great book – even if you’re not a “cokeaholic” like me! An excellent historical perspective on a company that has an overwhelmingly product-based strategy.

The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story by Michael Lewis

Excellent perspective on high tech industry environments -

Next: The Future Just Happened by Michael Lewis

Another excellent book by Michael Lewis – how the Internet is changing the way we live.

Trail Fever: Spin Doctors, Rented Strangers, Thumb Wrestlers, Toe Suckers, Grizzly Bears and Other Creatures on the Road to the White House by Michael Lewis

Still another great read by Michael Lewis (can you tell really like to read this guy’s books!) – this time on the madness that is a political campaign.

Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street -- by Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis’ first book – if you think dot.com mania was something, you ought to read about Lewis’ days as a bond trader during the go-go bond market of the 1980s.

Fire and Ice: The Story of Charles Revson, the Man Who Built the Revlon Empire
by Andrew Tobias

Fascinating peek into the early years of the Revlon empire – Revson is the source of the quote I use on my introduction to product strategy – “In the store we make lipstick, but in the store we sell hope.” Interesting man.

Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points that Challenge Every Company and Career by Andrew Grove

Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, offers a great perspective on how companies should deal with change – and he certainly speaks from experience! His analogies of inflection points and 10X changes are great tools to understand these dynamics.

Can Japan Compete? By Michael E. Porter, Hirotaka Takeuchi, and Mariko Sakadibara

Very readable book by the strategy “guru” Michael Porter. Elegantly done analysis of the duality of Japan’s industries and their abilities to compete on a global basis.

The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World by Bjorn Lomborg

This is a thoughtful discussion of public policy, specifically that dealing with the environment. Even if you don’t think you’re interested in environmental policy (and believe, me I’m certainly no “tree hugger”), this book provides a thought-provoking look at the sometimes flawed science that shapes public policy in this area.

Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill

Very readable and interesting book on retail creating environments that are conducive to motivating consumers to purchase products.

Perfect Enough: Carly Fiorina and the Reinvention of Hewlett-Packard by George Anders

Very solidly researched book on the proxy battle for the soul of Hewlett-Packard – one side defined by Carly Fiorina and the pragmatic decision to merge HP with Compaq and reinvent HP; the other side defined by Walter Hewlett, son of company co-founder Bill Hewlett, who entered into a grueling effort to defend “the HP Way.” Anders conducted extensive interviews with principals on both sides of the battle and forged an exceptionally readable and credible tale of the beginnings of the struggle to remake one of America’s most renowned companies.

Marketing Mistakes & Successes by Robert F. Hartley

A short paperback that chronicles some of the more interesting roaring successes and dismal failures of a number of companies’ marketing strategies – e.g., the “new” coke.