The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You

Throw a rock in any of your local, large bookstores and you're certain to hit at least a dozen business books that promise to help you do everything from organizing your business completely in seven days to quadrupling your sales in ten minutes. How can a business person hope to find their way through the maze to a book that will address their specific needs in the best possible way? Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten's "100 Best Business Books of All Time" does just that, distilling the jumbled mass of business tomes down to focus on the books that really are worth your time and money. As the founder and president, respectively, of 800-CEO-Read, a specialty business book retailer, Mr. Covert and Mr. Sattersten have read and reviewed hundreds of business books through the years. The two used a three point criteria for choosing books to include in the 100 best list: 1. The quality of the book's idea, 2. The applicability of the idea to businesses today, and 3. The accessibility of the book's writing. The result? Twelve specific categories of informative and life-changing books, including books focusing on sales and marketing, management, leadership, entrepreneurship, and business strategies. Mr. Covert and Mr. Sattersten don't waste time with useless generalizations and platitudes; in each book's description they get straight to the point and deliver precisely enough information to tell the reader the salient arguments and themes of each book, why they are important for business people to read, and how they can specifically help the reader. "100 Best Business Books of All Time" includes business golden-oldies ("The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"; "How to Win Friends and Influence People"), modern classics ("The Tipping Point"; "Purple Cow"), biographies of such luminaries as David Packard and Sam Walton, and even some off-beat, but life-changing selections such as Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" and Eugene O'Kelly's thought-provoking "Chasing Daylight." Interspersed throughout the reviews are sidebars with recommendations for movies that display characters with outstanding leadership characteristics, books that focus on global business etiquette, and more creative business-flavored information. Before you buy another business book, take a look at Mr. Covert and Mr. Sattersten's recommendations; you won't be sorry. Reviewed by Michelle Kerns

It's a little awkward to recommend a book where the authors are generous to you, but for a moment, let's pretend they are not. If you own a Zagats restaurant guide, it probably means you care about the food you eat. You need to buy this book if you care about the work you do. Even better than a restaurant guide, this book will actually feed your head. The summaries are first rate, their enthusiasm is palpable and you'll learn something on every single page. I know, I'm biased. But I'm sitting here making a fool of myself for a reason--you need to read more business books! This is a great place to start.

I'm not usually a fan of lists, but for this book I make an exception. It's fascinating, erudite, and tremendously useful. As the authors point out, the value proposition of a good business book is enormous -- much cheaper than consulting, alas, for us consultants -- and this book tells you what the great ones are. I'm afraid, though, that they're going to have to commit to updating the book almost every year. We need them to work through each year's new crop of candidates for us. Bravo, Jack and Todd!