A Brief Guide to Business Classics: From The Art of War to The Wisdom of Failure

From Sun Tzu's venerable The Art of War to Sheryl Sandberg's contemporary bestseller Lean In, a concise and insightful guide to 70 of the most influential business books ever published

The world of business publishing is a curious place where one can find everyone from respected legends like Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk to the most spectacular failures such as Enron and the sub-prime market. There are geniuses, strivers, academics and entrepreneurs; also charlatans and hucksters. There's even room for Donald Trump.

This very readable guide examines the best of thousands of business books, covering every aspect of commerce and a broad time span. It includes some that might not be seen as 'business books' but nevertheless contain examples of the most powerful - or entertaining - insights into the world of business. Some of the books provide expert advice based on solid research; others, dubious management manuals that take a single flawed idea and stretch it to the point of absurdity.

A 'speed read' for each book delivers a bite-sized impression of what the writer is like to read and a highly compressed summary of the main points of each book.