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.

Saving Capitalism

by Robert B. Reich

Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Business / Economics, Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics / Government

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Scarcity

by Sendhil Mullainathan, Eldar Shafir

Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose

Tags Psychology, Business / Economics, Science / Nature, Sociology, Self Help, Politics / Government, Philosophy, Psychology, Philosophy

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Shoe Dog

by Phil Knight

Publication year 2016

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Business / Economics, Sports, Biography

Shoe Dog is a first-person memoir written by Nike cofounder Phil Knight. It was published in 2016. Shoe Dog primarily recounts the events from 1962, the year Knight traveled around the world as a young man, to 1980, the year Nike went public and Knight became a multimillionaire. The years in between are comprised of the struggles and challenges Knight faced as he worked to build the company that would ultimately be known worldwide as... Read Shoe Dog Summary

Shoe Dog: Young Readers Edition

by Phil Knight

Publication year 2017

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Self Discovery, Society: Economics, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Business / Economics, Sports, Inspirational, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Biography

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Shop Class as Soulcraft

by Matthew B. Crawford

Publication year 2009

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Religion / Spirituality, Education, Education, Business / Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self Help, Arts / Culture

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work, published in 2009, is an often personal and meditative pitch for a cultural recommitment to the vocational arts. As a mechanic with a doctorate in philosophy, author Matthew B. Crawford has lived both lives—that of the “knowledge worker” of white-collar culture and that of the manual laborer who solves the problems society faces on a daily basis. He uses the space of the book... Read Shop Class as Soulcraft Summary

Slow Productivity

by Cal Newport

Publication year 2024

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Leadership/Organization/Management, Business / Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self Help, Health / Medicine

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Smart Brevity

by Jim Vandehei, Mike Allen, Roy Schwartz

Publication year 2022

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Language

Tags Business / Economics, Self Help, Leadership/Organization/Management, Journalism

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Socialism: Utopian and Scientific

by Friedrich Engels

Publication year 1880

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Politics / Government, Philosophy, History: European, Business / Economics, Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

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Sometimes a Great Notion

by Ken Kesey

Publication year 1964

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Place, Relationships: Siblings, Identity: Masculinity

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy, Realistic Fiction, Business / Economics, Class, Relationships, Science / Nature, American Literature, The Beat Generation, History: U.S., 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

SPIN Selling

by Neil Rackham

Publication year 1988

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Relationships: Teams, Identity: Language

Tags Psychology, Self Help, Business / Economics, Leadership/Organization/Management, Psychology

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Start With Why

by Simon Sinek

Publication year 2009

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Business / Economics, Inspirational, Leadership/Organization/Management, Psychology, Psychology, Self Help

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

Steal Like an Artist

by Austin Kleon

Publication year 2012

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Language, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Self Discovery

Tags Leadership/Organization/Management, Business / Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Arts / Culture, Self Help

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Steve Jobs

by Walter Isaacson

Publication year 2011

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Relationships: Fathers, Life/Time: The Future

Tags Business / Economics, Technology, Science / Nature, History: World, 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 Values/Ideas: Literature, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Identity: 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 Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Climate, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Sociology, Politics / Government, History: U.S., American Literature, Social Science, Business / Economics, History: World, 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