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.

Grit

by Angela Duckworth

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Leadership, Science & Nature, Business & Economics, Parenting, Psychology, Psychology, Self-Improvement

Angela Duckworth’s best-selling 2016 book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance describes how persistent practice, and not mere talent, is the key to success among students and professionals. Duckworth’s extensive research demonstrates that young people do best in activities that hold their interest and give them a sense of purpose. This encourages them to practice hard and overcome obstacles until they achieve mastery and success in school and, later, in their professional lives. The... Read Grit Summary

Guns, Germs, and Steel

by Jared Diamond

Publication year 1997

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community

Tags Anthropology, World History, Anthropology, Science & Nature, Business & Economics, Sociology, Politics & Government

Historian and anthropologist Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997) is a multidisciplinary study that uses anthropological, biological, evolutionary, and socio-economic analysis to chart the fates of different peoples throughout human history. Subtitled first as A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years, and later as The Fates of Human Societies, the book seeks to understand why some groups of people have prospered while others have failed to advance to the same extent... Read Guns, Germs, and Steel Summary

Hard Times

by Studs Terkel

Publication year 1970

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Memory, Social Class, Shame & Pride, Race, Loneliness

Tags US History, Great Depression, Poverty, Depression & Suicide, American Literature, Business & Economics, Sociology, World History, Biography, Politics & Government

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Heartland

by Sarah Smarsh

Publication year 2018

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Social Class

Tags Politics & Government, Social Class, Business & Economics, Sociology, Social Justice, Poverty, Biography

Heartland (2018) is both a memoir of Sarah Smarsh’s upbringing in rural Kansas as the daughter of working-class people and an exploration of the class system in America today. The book is subtitled: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth; this hits the core of the book, as Smarsh seeks to use her family’s anecdotes and memories to get to the truth of why mostly honest, hardworking people... Read Heartland Summary

Hidden Potential

by Adam Grant

Publication year 2023

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Self Discovery, Education, Equality

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

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Hooked

by Nir Eyal

Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics

Tags Business & Economics, Psychology, Self-Improvement, Technology, Philosophy, Leadership, Science & Nature, Psychology, Arts & Culture

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How to Fly a Horse

by Kevin Ashton

Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Self-Improvement, Science & Nature, Business & Economics, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts & Culture

How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery (2015) is a nonfiction book by Kevin Ashton about creativity. Ashton has led three start-ups and was a pioneer in the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) in inventory systems, underscoring his business credibility in this area. His thesis extends into the creative process involved in any field, including art and medicine. Ashton’s main point strikes an open and democratic tone: Being creative is... Read How to Fly a Horse Summary

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia

by Mohsin Hamid

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Symbolic Narrative, Modern Classic Fiction, Business & Economics

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is a 2013 satirical novel written by Mohsin Hamid. It tells the story of an unnamed narrator in an unconventional format: written from the second person point of view, it is ostensibly a self-help manual that unfolds in novelistic prose. At the beginning of each chapter, the narrator offers a brief discourse on topics as diverse as self-help, memoir, debt, or the reading and writing of literature... Read How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia Summary

How to Rule the World

by Theo Baker

Publication year 2026

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Education, Power & Greed, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Education, Memoir & Autobiography, Business & Economics, Technology, Journalism

Theo Baker’s 2026 nonfiction book, How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University, is a work of investigative journalism and a coming-of-age memoir. The book chronicles Baker’s freshman year at Stanford University, where his initial ambition to become a coder in Silicon Valley is sidetracked when he joins the student newspaper. A series of investigations pulls him deeper into a campus culture defined by ethical decay, culminating in his reporting on... Read How to Rule the World Summary

How to Win Friends and Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

Publication year 1998

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Friendship, Teamwork, Power & Greed, Language

Tags Business & Economics, Relationships, Psychology, Psychology, Self-Improvement, Classic Fiction

First published in 1936, Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People launched the American self-help industry, sold over 30 million copies, and became a template for the thousands of self-improvement books that followed. It asserts that success with others depends on listening, showing appreciation, and empathizing with them. The book was revised in 1981; the 2020 eBook re-issue of that edition is the basis for this study guide.The book is divided into... Read How to Win Friends and Influence People Summary

Imperialism

by Vladimir Lenin

Publication year 1916

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Community

Tags Politics & Government, Philosophy, World History, Poverty, Russian Literature, Business & Economics, Sociology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

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Influence

by Robert B. Cialdini

Publication year 1984

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Trust & Doubt, Politics & Government, Language

Tags Business & Economics, Psychology, Self-Improvement, Information Age, Leadership, Science & Nature, Psychology

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Invisible Women

by Caroline Criado Perez

Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Love, The Past, Art, Safety & Danger, Economics, Science & Technology, Gender Identity, Politics & Government, Equality

Tags Gender & Feminism, Science & Nature, Social Justice, Finance, Sociology, Business & Economics, Technology, Health, Politics & Government, Women`s Studies

... Read Invisible Women Summary