The Best Business Reference Books

The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List

2008 Edition: Revised and Updated

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.

About This Supplemental Category:

These books have been included to give you a diverse selection of reference material that you'll find helpful as you start or manage your business. These reference selections aren't as critical as the books in other sections, but they'll really help you when you need specific information. Keep all of these books on your desk for easy access, or pick up a book and read a random section, learning something new each day. Enjoy!

Business: The Ultimate Resource (2nd ed.) from Basic Books

This encyclopedic whopper of a book is unique in the world of business literature. Business: The Ultimate Resource contains over 2000 pages of essays, biographies, action lists, terms and definitions, book summaries, and quotations. Flipping through this book is rather like browsing a hard-copy, business-only version of Wikipedia.

Reading this book from cover to cover is a multi-year project: the best approach is to pick it up every day and read a few entries that interest you. This serendipitous approach is both entertaining and valuable: you'll be exposed to quite a few new people and ideas and approaches you wouldn't have otherwise considered. Where else will you find a detailed biography of Henry Laurence Gantt (creator of the Gantt chart) or detailed tips on planning a business conference?

If you're interested in broadening your business horizons, Business: The Ultimate Resource is for you.

The Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists, edited by Gene Marks

When operating a small business, you need answers to a wide variety of questions quickly and inexpensively. With this book, answers are a page-turn away.

Covering everything from business legal structures and borrowing money to taxes and business insurance, The Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists compiles hundreds of useful watch-outs, tips, and advice from experienced, expert-level business professionals into a single comprehensive resource.

In this book, you'll find information on everything from finding cheap airfare to managing temporary employees. The list-based format is extremely easy to understand and apply. The Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists is a bit like having an accountant, a lawyer, and an experienced business consultant on call to answer your questions at any time.

Every Manager's Desk Reference from Alpha Books

Managing people is a very complex responsibility. Every Manager's Desk Reference is full of tips and tricks that will help you keep your employees happy while getting things done.

Clocking in at a whopping 1,300+ pages, this book contains tips on project management, sample interview questions, outlines for performance reviews, and hundreds of other important managerial topics.

Even experienced managers will learn something new from Every Manager's Desk Reference - information on compensation, office politics, and working through corporate restructuring are also included.

No matter how many employees you manage, using the wisdom contained in this book will help you effectively work with your employees in a wide variety of circumstances.

Finance for the Non-Financial Manager by Gene Siciliano

If you're responsible for profit and loss in your business or organization, you need a business finance reference close at hand.

Finance for the Non-Financial Manager is everything that a business finance reference text should be: clear, comprehensive, and easy to use. Using plain and simple English, Siciliano makes even the most obtuse financial concepts easy to understand and apply.

Most accounting and finance reference texts have a bad habit of being terminally boring. Fortunately, this book's snappy presentation of financial concepts will give you all the information you need quickly, without putting you to sleep in the process. Call-outs and sidebars add additional context to core subjects, giving you a broad understanding of how financial matters impact your company and teaching you "tricks of the trade" that can help you keep your company's financial situation under control.

With the help of Finance for the Non-Financial Manager, you'll be prepared to understand any financial situation.

The Copywriter's Handbook by Robert Bly

Writing effective sales copy is critically important to achieving your sales goals. Informally known as the "Copywriter's Bible," The Copywriter's Handbook is an essential resource for everyone responsible for creating marketing materials that sell.

Good copy engages the reader, builds interest in the product, and tells the prospect exactly how to take action. In this book, you'll learn how to write attention-grabbing headlines, tell engaging stories that highlight the benefits of your product, build trust through the use of testimonials and guarantees, ultimately resulting in a successful sale.

Whether you're creating a sales letter, a pay-per-click search engine ad, or a web page, The Copywriter's Handbook will help you write copy that builds your business.

Principles of Statistics by M.G. Bulmer

How to Lie With Statistics (which was featured in the Finance & Analysis category) is about how to avoid misusing statistics in daily life. In contrast, Principles of Statistics is a an uncommonly useful primer on how to actually use your own data to perform basic and intermediate statistical calculations, comparisons, and analyses.

In this short but comprehensive book, M.G. Bulmer blends theory with practical examples to introduce the reader to intermediate statistics. Subjects include the concept of probability, random variables, probability distributions, expected values, tests of significance, statistical inference, point estimation, regression, and correlation.

If you're responsible for using statistics in your current job, you can't find a better reference text than Principles of Statistics.

Law 101: Everything You Need to Know about the American Legal System by Jay M. Feinman

We live in an increasingly litigious society, so it's important to have a basic understanding of how the legal system works. Law 101 is a comprehensive, easy to understand introduction to the American common law system, covering every subject a student would expect to study in their first year at an American law school.

Major subjects include constitutional law, constitutional rights, the civil litigation process, personal injury and tort law, business and contract law, private property, criminal law, and criminal procedure.

Law 101 doesn't just include theory: Feinman references famous cases and explains how legal principles are put into practice in daily life. American readers will gain a deeper understanding of how the legal system operates, while international readers will find the text a valuable point of reference and a point of comparison to their own legal systems.

2008 Business Reference Guide by Tom West

Most people forget that businesses are assets that can be bought or sold on the open market. If you are considering acquiring or selling a business, The 2008 Business Reference Guide will help ensure you get a fair deal.

Painstakingly researched and updated annually by Tom West, a veteran business appraiser and broker, this book contains over 2,800 "rules of thumb" and benchmarks on how to place a market value on over 550 different types of businesses.

Business appraisal and acquisition is a complex topic, and if you're buying or selling a business, professional help is certainly a good idea. Before you seek help, however, reading The 2008 Business Reference Guide will ensure that you walk into every meeting and negotiation prepared, informed, and confident about the strength of your offer.

(Note: if The 2008 Business Reference Guide isn't available at Amazon.com, you can find it at Business Book Press.)

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The Best Business Reference Books

The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List

About This Supplemental Category:

Business: The Ultimate Resource (2nd ed.) 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: Everything You Need to Know about the American Legal System by Jay M. Feinman

2008 Business Reference Guide by Tom West

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