Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Best Business Books from 2005

BUSINESS BOOKS

10 business books stand out from the pack

Of the books reviewed in Business Monday this year, 10 left a lasting impression and merit a second look.

BY RICHARD PACHTER
rpachter@MiamiHerald.com

Among the dozens of books in this space, here are those that I found to be of lasting value for a variety of reasons. I'm sure I missed several good ones (Freakonomics, anyone?), but please feel free to e-mail me if you agree, disagree or have your own list of favorites.

Many of these titles are also available as audio books, tapes and e-books.

Following each title is the date it was originally reviewed in Business Monday. Complete reviews of each book are online at http://www.wordsonwords.com/.

Revolution in the Valley. The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made. Andy Hertzfeld. O'Reilly. 320 pages. $24.95. (Feb. 6)

The truly amazing tale of how the soul became a part of the machine, told by the geeks, misfits and artists who tried to change the world -- and succeeded. Elegantly designed, as is fitting.

blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Malcolm Gladwell. Little, Brown and Co. 288 Pages. $25.95. (Feb. 21)

First impressions matter. Gladwell's entertaining and pithy monograph also shows how we're probably much smarter than we think we are, especially when we don't think too much about it.

A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. Daniel H. Pink. Riverhead Books. 272 pages. $24.95. (May 9)

An audaciously optimistic glimpse into a possible future in which America can still lead the world, but only if we embrace the power of both sides of our brains.

Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America. Les Standiford. Crown. 336 pages. $24.95. (May 23)

A master storyteller recounts a pivotal chapter of American history as exciting and page-turning as a great novel.

Think Big, Act Small: How America's Best Performing Companies Keep the Start-up Spirit Alive. Jason Jennings. Portfolio. 220 pages. $24. (July 4)

How some ''under-the-radar'' businesses retain their mobility and agility while growing in size, strength and profitability.

Darknet: Hollywood's War Against the Digital Generation. J.D. Lasica. Wiley. 308 pages. $25.95. (July 11)

Why entrenched economic interests continually resist innovation and disruptive technology while hastening their self-inflicted extinction.

Tom Peters Essentials (four volumes: Design, Leadership, Talent and Trends). Tom Peters. Dorling Kindersley Limited. 160 pages (each). $15 (each). (July 18)

An intelligent redesign and redaction of his previous bold but dizzying Re-Imagine results in four specific and useful texts, once again demonstrating why Tom Peters is at least two steps ahead of everyone else.

The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture. John Battelle. Portfolio. 311 pages. $25.95. (Sept. 26)

Battelle's absorbing narrative reveals the birth of the real New Economy, and why we'll continue to Google for the foreseeable future.

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. Neil Strauss. Regan Books. 464 pages. $29.95. (Nov. 14)

''Authenticity is the most seductive pose of all,'' and other lessons in sales, marketing, promotion and passion are conveyed in this memoir that serves as a parable more powerful than rodent bait.

The Untied States of America. Polarization, Fracturing and Our Future. Juan Enriquez. Crown. 368 pages. $24.95. (Dec. 12)

Why socioeconomic forces -- not ''Red'' or ''Blue'' divisions -- may accelerate the unraveling of America and how such a breakup can be avoided by dealing with the differences and not ignoring them. Enriquez's dazzling work may be the smartest business book of the decade.

And for the music lovers among you, the album of the year: Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall. Blue Note.

To receive business book reviews by e-mail or join the Business Monday Book Club, e-mail Richard Pachter at rpachter@MiamiHerald.com. For more business book columns by Richard Pachter, click here.

posted by The Office Grapevine at 4:06 PM  

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