800-CEO-READ Blog

Business Books Recommended by and for The Business Journalist

I posted last week on the amazing number of blog posts that have been appearing lately with lists of business books. The latest comes from BusinessJournalism.org, a site that is a part of National Center For Business Journalism at Arizona State University.

In a post titled "A Must Read", Kelly Carr starts with two titles from other business journalists meant to help reporters write stories: Michelle Leder's "Financial Fine Print: Uncovering a Company's True Value" and Chris Roush's "Show Me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication"

In an effort to further prep interns, Carr gathered up a set of recommended from practicing business journalists. These suggestions will look a little more familiar (thought I just ordered the third rec):

• "Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco," by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
• "24 Days: How Two Wall Street Journal Reporters Uncovered the Lies that Destroyed Faith in Corporate America," by Rebecca Smith and John R. Emshwiller
• "200% of Nothing: An Eye Opening Tour Through the Twists and Turns of Math Abuse and Innumeracy," by A.K. Dewdney

On the extended list, you'll find even more of what we normally recommend, but Good To Great is the only true "business book to solve problems" book on the list.

• "The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York," by Robert A. Caro
• "Liar's Poker" and "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis
• "Stealing Time: Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Collapse of AOL Time Warner," by Alec Klein
• "The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker," by Steven Greenhouse
• "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America," by Barbara Ehrenreich
• "The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron," by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
• "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don't," by Jim Collins

[hat tip: DataJoe and Addictomatic]