Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is a decently organized collection of business books but it left me frustrated.
I wanted to learn the key ideas in these 100 books and this book did not provide it. That is my main criticism. I am just not that interested in learning how "refreshing" the style of writing is or in reading commentary on how clever the author was.
So, if you think that you are going to get summaries and distillations of the ideas from these 100 books then you are mostly mistaken. I say mostly because there are indeed a few (a very few) morsels provided in each review. However, all too often the review just says something like "the author then provides 8 ideas that you should consider in setting up your business", but you don't get to learn what those 8 ideas are! Down with fluffy teasers.
I also wish the collection did not restrict itself only to relatively contemporary works. That is like saying music should only be understood by looking at everything from the Beatles on. Don't get me wrong: I love the Beatles but what about Bach? Frederick Taylor's views of the employee may be old but it still provides insight into how a sizeable portion of businesses are still being run around the world today ... not to mention that it gives us a context for understanding how we got to where we are right now.
In fairness, there are a number of "pop numbers" that I would have never learned about if not for this book. So, I feel the authors do a credible job of surveying and presenting fresh options based on contemporary (e.g. humanitarian) business values and trends.
If you like this book you probably owe it to yourself to broaden your list a little. There are a lot of "best business" lists out there. For example, Fortune Magazine has a nice list called the "75 Smartest Books We Know".
After going through this book, the Fortune list and numerous other "best business" lists, my favorite "best of business" source remains "The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read". That one, too, has its share of problems but, in my opinion, it provides less pop numbers but more meat and more context.
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