Best Business Books of '09

Housing bust, social networking among the top subjects
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 19, 2009 3:27 PM CST
Best Business Books of '09
"In-N-Out Burger," by Stacy Perman. How a West Coast burger chain succeeded with a simple plan and an emphasis on values.

If ever there were a year in which we needed cogent business books, this is it. David Lidsky offers his 2009 favorites at Fast Company. Here's a sampling from the full list:

  • Busted, Edmund Andrews: The author's personal story about getting burned in the housing bust makes abstract problems tangible.
  • Bright-Sided, Barbara Ehrenreich: She "gleefully pops the positive-thinking bubble" that pervades society. Americans' zeal to be upbeat blinded them to the danger signs before the financial meltdown.

  • Googled, Ken Auletta: He's got the "inside scoop on how Google reached such heights in such short order," along with an examination of what it means for the rest of the media industry.
  • Viral Loop, Adam L. Penenberg: "No book better explains the rocket-ship growth of a service like Facebook or Twitter."
  • In-N-Out Burger, Stacy Perman: The story of how a West Coast burger chain succeeded with a simple plan and an emphasis on values.
  • In Cheap We Trust, Lauren Weber: A "worthwhile indulgence" into the history of frugality in the US, and its prospects for catching on today.
(More Edmund Andrews stories.)

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