The MBA bookshelf

David Newmark links to an article of interest to MBA types regarding some alternatives to one's "must have" book collection. Click on the article, 10 Overrated Business Books (and What to Read Instead) by Geoffrey James for his reasoning. I have read (or at least skimmed) most of the books on both lists. I tend to side with James.

His Top Ten:

1. The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam by Barbara Tuchman (Knopf, 1984)
2. The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams (Harper Business, 1996)
3. The Art of War by Sun Tzu (various editions)
4. Crazy Bosses by Stanley Bing (Collins, 2007)
5. The Book of Proverbs (in the Bible)
6. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (various editions)
7. The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White (various editions)
8. How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff (W.W. Norton, 1954)
9. The Complete ‘Yes Minister’ by Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay (BBC Worldwide Americas, 1989)
10. A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing by Burton G. Malkiel (W.W. Norton, 2007)

Let this serve as a reminder to me to spend more time reading books instead of the laptop screen.