Covert Jack - The 100 best business books of all time: what they say, why they matter, and how they can help you

WRITING The 100 Best Business Books of All Time was the culmination of my twenty-five years of reading, reviewing, and recommending business books. It thrills me that the book has continued to sell consistently and has been reprinted in ten languages. Of course, over the past years, weve gotten some pointed questions and concerns about our choices, which we expected when we placed this stake in the ground, and the business book world has changed quite a bit in the intervening years. But I am happy to say that as we updated the material for this paperback, I am still excited by every book, every nugget of information weve included here.

Since publishing The 100 Best , it would be an understatement to say that a lot has changed in the world. Economically, we have survived a worldwide financial tsunami and continue to struggle amid its aftermath. Globally, we have watched as countries were smashed by real tsunamis and other environmental disasters. On a smaller scale, the publishing industry has faced the wave of e-books and e-readers as its tipping point (read Malcolm Gladwell, ) has clearly been reached. The digital book will continue to radically change the way people get information and will continue to mold the look of the publishing industry in the future. Our small company has felt the impact of these swells. We have reacted to these changing times by staying lean and differentiating ourselves through our customer service and ability to customize. In order to adapt, weve applied many lessons learned from the books recommended here.

The trends in business books are also shaped by the economy, by necessity, by the demands of busy readers who can download business information immediately. Over the past few years, the number of big-thinking, investigative books about the economy has soared. Books encouraging entrepreneurs to venture out independently and create something new (as Todd has done, leaving the company in 2009) are incredibly popular. Social media books now come in every flavor. While we still believe The 100 Best is a definitive list, among these recent trends, there have been many worthy and meritorious books published. We created the 800-CEO-READ Business Book of the Year award to celebrate them.

In this newest revised paperback edition, you may note one particular difference in authorship. As I have been retired for two years now, the burden of writing and updating this book fell to Todd and 800-CEO-READs general manager, Sally Haldorson, who had a significant role in shaping this book. They have updated the list with some new selections. Almost ten years have passed since we formulated the original list for The 100 Best , and there were ample new titles to consider. We chose five books that we felt deserved inclusion and improved the quality of this resource. The Gifts of Imperfection by Bren Brown adds heart. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg adds courage. Eric Riess The Lean Startup shows that entrepreneurship has become a management practice. Andrew Ross Sorkins Too Big to Fail provides the closest thing we have to an oral history of the economic collapse of 2008. And finally, Daniel Kahnemans Thinking, Fast and Slow deftly illuminates decision-making. These new books sit alongside a collection of works that will make any businessperson better at what they do.

Thank you for reading,

Jack Covert, Founder and former President of 800-CEO-READ