Best Books of 2008

Top 10 Books: Business & Investing

Best of 2008
Welcome to our Best of 2008 top 10 lists for Business & Investing. This year we've put our editors' picks and our year-end bestsellers for each category on the same page together, so you can easily compare. Click on "Editors' Picks" to see our editors' list of the best business and investing books of 2008, including our top pick, The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life, Alice Schroeder's unprecedented account of the life and times of the "Oracle of Omaha." And click on "Customer Favorites" to find the bestselling business and investing books at Amazon.com during 2008. (Ranked according to customer orders through October. Only books published for the first time in 2008 are eligible.) See more editors' picks and customers' favorites in our Best of 2008 Store.


Editors' Picks | Customer Favorites
1. The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
by Alice Schroeder
4.2 out of 5 stars (286 customer reviews)
In Stock
Bantam
September 29, 2008
Hardcover

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List Price:$35.00
Price:$24.05
You Save:$10.95 (31%)

From Publishers Weekly
In this startlingly frank account of Buffett's life, Schroeder, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley... Read more

2. A Sense of Urgency
A Sense of Urgency
by John P. Kotter
4.1 out of 5 stars (66 customer reviews)
In Stock
Harvard Business Press
September 3, 2008
Hardcover

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List Price:$22.00
Price:$14.83
You Save:$7.17 (33%)

From Publishers Weekly
Author and international business consultant Kotter (Leading Change, Our Iceberg is Melting) returns with an engaging look at companies that need to overcome a lack of urgency-or a surfeit of complacency-with a proactive agenda. Kotter dissects well his se... Read more

3. The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How to Avoid It
The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How to Avoid It
by John Gerzema
4.9 out of 5 stars (75 customer reviews)
In Stock
Jossey-Bass
October 13, 2008
Hardcover

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List Price:$27.95
Price:$19.05
You Save:$8.90 (32%)

Amazon.com Review
How to use brands to gain and sustain competitive advantage Read a Q&A with author John Gerzema [PDF]. Companies today face a dilemma in marketing. The tried-and-true formulas to create sales and market share behind brands are becoming irrelevant and losing traction with consumers. ... Read more

4. The Momentum Effect: How to Ignite Exceptional Growth
The Momentum Effect: How to Ignite Exceptional Growth
by Jean-Claude Larréché
4.9 out of 5 stars (39 customer reviews)
Out of Print--Limited Availability
Wharton School Publishing
April 5, 2008
Hardcover

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Review
"Momentum does offer a big unifying theory... Read and enjoy this book." - Financial Times, May 2008   "Larreche's research throws new light on age-old debates about marketing budgets and marketing effectiveness" - Marketing Week May 2008... Read more

5. The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures
The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures
by Dan Roam
3.9 out of 5 stars (127 customer reviews)
Out of Print--Limited Availability
Portfolio Hardcover
March 13, 2008
Hardcover

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From Publishers Weekly
The premise behind Roam's book is simple: anybody with a pen and a scrap of paper can use visual thinking to work through complex business ideas. Management consultant and lecturer Roam begins with a watershed moment: asked, at the last minute, to give a t... Read more

6. The Gone Fishin' Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy...and Get on With Your Life (Agora Series)
The Gone Fishin' Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy...and Get on With Your Life (Agora Series)
by Alexander Green
4.3 out of 5 stars (101 customer reviews)
In stock but may require an extra 1-2 days to process.
Wiley
September 9, 2008
Hardcover

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List Price:$27.95
Price:$19.42
You Save:$8.53 (31%)

Review
"… business leaders in charge of company 401(k) plans might want to look at The Gone Fishin' Portfolio…without non-correlated investments, workers will never be able to protect themselves from the craziness we call 'Wall Street.'" (The Wall Street Journal, September 26, 2008)... Read more

7. The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By
The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By
by Scott Andrew Shane
4.0 out of 5 stars (61 customer reviews)
Out of Print--Limited Availability
Yale University Press
January 28, 2008
Hardcover

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Review
“This fascinating book, by one of the most competent investigators of the subject, tells us how much we think we know about entrepreneurship that is just not true. It has already led me to change several of my lectures (with thanks to the author). This book is a must ... Read more

8. Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies
Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies
by Charlene Li
4.4 out of 5 stars (140 customer reviews)
Out of Print--Limited Availability
Harvard Business School Press
April 21, 2008
Hardcover

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Review
...for Groundswell's intended audience - managers struggling to answer questions such as ... Read more

9. The Contrarian Effect: Why It Pays (Big) to Take Typical Sales Advice and Do the Opposite
The Contrarian Effect: Why It Pays (Big) to Take Typical Sales Advice and Do the Opposite
by Michael Port
4.3 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
In stock but may require an extra 1-2 days to process.
Wiley
September 9, 2008
Hardcover

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List Price:$19.95
Price:$13.88
You Save:$6.07 (30%)

Product Description
Take the traditional sales model, which is outdated and needs a serious makeover, and turn it on its head by applying the advice in ... Read more

10. Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition
Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition
by Guy Kawasaki
4.5 out of 5 stars (87 customer reviews)
In Stock
Portfolio Hardcover
October 30, 2008
Hardcover

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List Price:$29.95
Price:$16.08
You Save:$13.87 (46%)

Review
A veteran tech entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and commentator on Silicon Valley culture offers real-world advice on how the best companies are started, funded, and run. Though the diversity of topics gives this audio a stream-of-consciousness flow, the ... Read more