The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List

Batch Book Buyer Tool

2008 Edition: Revised and Updated

by Josh Kaufman

Top MBA programs don't have a monopoly on advanced business knowledge: you can teach yourself everything you need to know to succeed in life and at work. The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List features only the very best business books available, based on thousands of hours of research. So skip b-school and the $100,000 loan: you can get a world-class business education simply by reading these books.

Welcome to the PMBA Batch Book Buyer!

This tool is designed to help you purchase all of the books you need from the Personal MBA Recommended Reading List quickly and effectively, without re-purchasing books you already own. Simply select the books you want, then press the "Buy" button at the bottom of the page. Amazon.com will automatically add each book you select to your cart, and apply any "Better Together" discounts they currently offer. Happy shopping! (Special thanks to PMBA member Michael Coates for suggesting this tool.)

Quick Start

10 Days to Faster Reading by Abby Marks-Beale
StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
Lead the Field by Earl Nightingale
The Art of Exceptional Living by Jim Rohn

Productivity & Effectiveness

The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Bit Literacy by Mark Hurst
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
The Path of Least Resistance by Robert Fritz
The Simplicity Survival Handbook by Bill Jensen
Cut to the Chase by Stuart Levine
The Unwritten Laws of Business by W.J. King
Making Things Happen by Scott Berkun
Results Without Authority by Tom Kendrick

Psychology & Communication

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions by Gary Klein
Secrets of Consulting by Gerald M. Weinberg
Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales

Design & Production

Product Design and Development by Karl Ulrich and Steven Eppinger
The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, & Jill Butler
Getting Real by 37signals
The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt
Lean Thinking by James Womack and Daniel Jones

Marketing, Sales, & Negotiation

All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin
Indispensable by Joe Calloway
Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got by Jay Abraham
The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer
The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes
SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham
Bargaining For Advantage by G. Richard Shell
3-D Negotiation by David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius

Entrepreneurship

The New Business Road Test by John Mullins
Bankable Business Plans by Edward Rogoff
Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
How to Make Millions with Your Ideas by Dan Kennedy
Getting Started in Consulting by Alan Weiss

Management & Leadership

First, Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
12: The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner & James Harter
What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith
Growing Great Employees by Erika Andersen
Hiring Smart by Pierre Mornell
The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig
Judgment by Noel Tichy & Warren Bennis
The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan by George Bradt, Jayme Check, & Jorge Pedraza
The Essential Drucker by Peter F. Drucker
Ethics for the Real World Ronald Howard & Clinton Korver

Strategy & Innovation

Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis
Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter
Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Seeing What's Next by Clayton M. Christensen, Erik A. Roth, Scott D. Anthony
Learning From The Future by Liam Fahey & Robert Randall
Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker
Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun
Green to Gold by Daniel Esty & Andrew Winston

Finance & Analysis

Essentials of Accounting (9th Edition) by Robert N. Anthony and Leslie K. Breitner
The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Finance by Robert A. Cooke
How to Read a Financial Report by John A. Tracy
Turning Numbers Into Knowledge by Jonathan Koomey
Show Me The Numbers by Stephen Few
Marketing Metrics by Paul Farris, Neil Bendle, Phillip Pfeifer, & David Reibstein
Web Analytics: An Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik
The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff

Personal Finance

Your Money or Your Life by Joel Dominguez & Vicki Robin
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley & William Danko
The Boglehead's Guide to Investing by Taylor Larimore et al
The Lazy Person's Guide to Investing by Paul Farrell
Work Less, Live More by Bob Clyatt
It's Not About the Money by Brent Kessel

SUPPLEMENT: Business History

Money and Power: The History of Business by Howard Means
Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston
Brand New by Nancy F. Koehn
Citizen Marketers by Ben McConnell & Jackie Huba
The Book of Business Wisdom by Peter Krass
The Book of Leadership Wisdom by Peter Krass
The Book of Management Wisdom by Peter Krass
The Book of Entrepreneurs' Wisdom by Peter Krass

SUPPLEMENT: Business Reference

Business: The Ultimate Resource from Basic Books
The Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists edited by Gene Marks
Every Manager's Desk Reference from Alpha Books
Finance for the Non-Financial Manager by Gene Siciliano
The Copywriter's Handbook by Robert Bly
Principles of Statistics by M.G. Bulmer
Law 101 by Jay M. Feinman
2008 Business Reference Guide by Tom West