Business & Economics

Explore the ways that money makes the world go 'round in these Business and Economics selections. Ranging from wealth-building self-help advice to philosophical critiques of capitalism, the titles in this Collection explore the role of money and wealth in society and the systems that drive global economies.

Sometimes a Great Notion

by Ken Kesey

Publication year 1964

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Place, Siblings, Masculinity

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Realistic Fiction, Business & Economics, Social Class, Relationships, Science & Nature, American Literature, The Beat Generation, US History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Sometimes a Great Notion (1964) is American author Ken Kesey’s second novel. The plot revolves around the Stampers, a family of independent loggers who choose to continue working in opposition to a logging union’s dispute with company leadership. The novel uses an experimental structure, switching between first-person and omniscient narrators and telling the story from the perspectives of multiple characters.Kesey and his counterculture group, the “Merry Pranksters,” were the precursors to the hippies of the... Read Sometimes a Great Notion Summary

Start With Why

by Simon Sinek

Publication year 2009

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Teamwork, Trust & Doubt

Tags Business & Economics, Inspirational, Leadership, Psychology, Psychology, Self-Improvement

In Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Simon Sinek explores the fundamental question of why some individuals, organizations, and movements succeed while others do not. Published in 2009, this book has been particularly impactful in the spaces of leadership and business strategy, offering a fresh perspective on how leaders can both inspire and motivate others. At the heart of Start With Why is the concept of the “golden circle,” a... Read Start With Why Summary

Steve Jobs

by Walter Isaacson

Publication year 2011

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Science & Technology, Fathers, Future

Tags Business & Economics, Technology, Science & Nature, World History, Biography

Steve Jobs (2011) is an authorized biography written by Walter Isaacson about the life of the late Apple founder and tech revolutionary. Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs, the book is an in-depth exploration of who Jobs was, from the story of his birth and subsequent adoption to his massive success at the helm of Apple. Jobs himself personally requested that Isaacson write his biography on a phone call in 2004. By the... Read Steve Jobs Summary

Story

by Robert McKee

Publication year 1997

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, Appearance & Reality, Language

Tags Arts & Culture, Business & Economics

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Strangers in Their Own Land

by Arlie Russell Hochschild

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Death, Climate, Environment, Place, Social Class, Community, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality

Tags Sociology, Politics & Government, US History, American Literature, Social Science, Business & Economics, World History, Social Justice

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right (2016) is an in-depth exploration of the rise of the Tea Party movement in Louisiana by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild. In an effort to understand the Tea Party and bolster her empathy for political opinions oppositional to her own, Hochschild spent five years getting to know residents and conducting interviews in and around Lake Charles, Louisiana. Hochschild argues that by understanding one another’s... Read Strangers in Their Own Land Summary

Strong Ground

by Brené Brown

Publication year 2025

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Gender Identity, Teamwork, Community, Science & Technology

Tags Leadership, Self-Improvement, Business & Economics

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Talking to Strangers

by Malcolm Gladwell

Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Language

Tags Sociology, Science & Nature, Business & Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self-Improvement

In Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know (2019), journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell investigates why we face so many problems when interacting with strangers. He was inspired to search for the underlying causes of our miscommunications following the death of Sandra Bland, a black woman who was pulled over by a white police officer for a minor traffic infraction in 2015. Bland should have been let go with... Read Talking to Strangers Summary

Talk Like Ted

by Carmine Gallo

Publication year 2014

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Trust & Doubt, Self Discovery, Language

Tags Business & Economics, Self-Improvement, Leadership, Psychology, Education, Education, Psychology

... Read Talk Like Ted Summary

Thank You For Arguing

by Jay Heinrichs

Publication year 2007

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Language, Truth & Lies, Power & Greed, Conflict, Wins & Losses

Tags Philosophy, Education, Education, Business & Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Self-Improvement

Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion (2020) is a New York Times bestseller on rhetoric by Jay Heinrichs, a journalist, writer, and publisher who specializes in argumentation methods. The book was published in 14 languages and 4 editions, selling over 500,000 copies. Structured like a manual, it boasts over 100 tools of persuasion and references notable figures such as Cicero, Barack Obama, and... Read Thank You For Arguing Summary