recommended-reading.md

id	title	date	author	layout	guid	bluth_page_hide_title	bluth_page_subtitle
461	Recommended Readings	2015-07-05 07:49:24 -0400	zackschwartz	page	http://www.zackschwartz.com/?page_id=461	off

• Masters of Deception — The late 80s and early 90s was the wild west for hacking. In this gripping book, you are taken through the true story of Masters of Deception, a hacking group made up of teenagers for New York City who blazed through the major telephone systems and being chased by the FBI.
• The Definitive Book of Body Language – Fundamentals in all things body language
• The Red Queen – The Red Queen theory on evolution
• Why Men Don’t Have a Clue and Women Always Want More Shoes
• Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder
• The Way of the Superior Man
• The Improv Handbook: Ultimate Guide to Improvising in Comedy, Theatre, and Beyond
• The Power of Now – Be at peace with your inner self
• Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies – If you’re anything like me, you’d be interested in this kind of stuff. Great read though and makes for some fascinating conversation topics.
• Atlas Shrugged – Fiction. The famous book by Ayn Rand, which is a statement on her philosophy of Objectivism. Agree or disagree with the philosophy, the industrial men in this book are strong male characters that know how to handle themselves.
• The Making of the Atomic Bomb – Quite possibly one of the best books I’ve ever read. From the very beginning of the discovery of the nucleus through the end of the war. A tale of science, espionage, and politics all come together in the astounding story of the atomic bomb.
• Impact Equation – A phenomenal book on marketing, extending your reach, articulation, and echo. It’s already helping me with my business.
• The One Minute Manager – Good introductory book on management. Really brief, but it has solid advice on dealing with employees and remembering that they are human beings.
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Real excellent management book that takes you through a realistic, but fictional situation about a dysfunctional executive team and what a CEO needs to do to get everyone working together.
• The Personal MBA – An excellent and thorough overview of everything you need to know to run a business. If you are considering getting an MBA because you want to learn business, read this book first. You might reconsider spending $150,000 for a degree that you can teach yourself.
• Emotional Intelligence 2.0 – Emotional Intelligence is a huge indicator for those who are successful in life. Be smarter with your emotions and the emotions of others and it will make you a more likable, trustworthy, and intelligent individual.
• Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman – A must read. It follows the adventures of renowned theoretical physicist Richard Feynman and his life experiences that relate so well to brilliant, but socially awkward individuals.
• The Art of Strategy – This is one of those books that really change your perspective of the world. You learn to see things differently. Game theory. Not seduction, but actual game theory. Everything in life can be broken down into some type of game. How do you play? This book opens you up to strategies and how to win them all.
• Bargaining for Advantage – Learn how to improve your bargaining and negotiating skills. This is great for all areas and interactions in life that involve some sort of exchange of value.
• Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RGR Nabisco – Absolutely amazing book about what happened to RGR Nabisco during the 6-week long takeover by leveraged buyout. If you’re looking for a tough, hard-hitting Wall Street story with lessons in negotiations, business, ethics, and all around great drama, this book is for you.
• Accounting Made Simple – Everyone should have some knowledge of the fundamentals of accounting principles. This is a very concise book, in under a 100 pages, you get a quick understanding of the major parts of accounting.
• Killer Angels – A pulitzer price winning historical novel about the Battle of Gettysburg. Incredibly gripping book.
• Unbroken – Amazing story about perseverance and survival in WWII. Will make you a better person.
• Predictable Revenue – A solid book about building a sales team to take your business to the next level.
• Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking – Quick read about generating word of mouth marketing with a few good clever ideas.
• Destiny of the Republic – An incredibly eye-opening book about the assassination of President James Garfield in 1881. You learn quite a bit about this unknown president and his insane assassin. Oh, did  I mention that Alexander Graham Bell tried to invent a device to save the President and that the President’s doctors were arguably the ones that killed him? Worth the read!
• Slaughterhouse Five – This is a classic piece of literature. It’s a novel and it follows the story of Billy Pilgrim who was taken by aliens and is now able to time travel to any point in his life. Sounds weird, but read the reviews. It’s a quick read, but after finishing the book, it really puts life into perspective.
• Thinking, Fast and Slow – A book that challenges your understanding of how humans make rational decisions. The way our brains are wired, we are more prone to make absurd judgments than you might think. Great book.
• The Devil in the White City – A book that takes you on an epic adventure back to 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair. All the while tracking the mystery and notorious serial killer H. H Holmes. A dramatic true story.
• The World Without Us – A book that describes what happens to the earth if humans suddenly disappeared.
• A Short History of Nearly Everything – This book, as the title suggests, is a short history of nearly everything. From how the earth and cosmos formed, to evolution, the human body, the cell, and everything in between. Moreover, it details how these scientific discoveries took place and the curious characters behind them.
• The Path Between the Seas: Creation of the Panama Canal – The amazing story of the construction of the Panama Canal and all of the heroes, villains, and everything in between.
• The Nordstrom Way for Customer Service Excellence – A detailed account of Nordstrom’s customer service philosophy and how their customer service is superior to all others in the retail industry.
• The Boys in the Boat – The inspiring story about the US Rowing team that came together for the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things – When you’re an executive in business, you’re going to have to make the tough decisions. An intense book about being a manager and how to handle the various problems after shit has hit the fan.
• When Genius Failed – Awesome, dramatic account of the rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management
• When I Say No, I Feel Guilty – Learn to become more assertive
• Ask: The Counter Intuitive Online Formula  – Sales funnel for online marketing
• BIFF: Quick Responses to High Conflict People – We live in a Culture of Blame and Disrespect in which emails, social media posts, and personal attacks are on the increase. We must learn to respond to people who communicate this way — people with high-conflict personalities.
• One Mission: How Leaders Build a Team of Teams Great book and setting the mission for your company or unit and aligning everyone's goals by creating teams that work together.
• Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates – the true, dramatic story of the conflict between the new United States and the pirates of north Africa.
• Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor – U.S. Forces fight a heroic battle at COP Keating in 2009 Afghanistan.
• Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup – Follow the rise, bust mostly fall of Theranos. A medical device startup that attempted to bring cheaper and faster blood testing to American households. It did not go as planned…
• Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike – The story of how Phil Knight launched one of the most iconic brands in history. The story starts off in early 1960s and takes you through all the wild trials and tribulations that Mr. Knight had to go through to be successful. What a journey.
• Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice. A wild story about an entrepreneur who decided to do business in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union and chaos that resulted.
• Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say--And What You Don't. A great book on leadership that takes you through real life examples. An actual playbook with actionable guidance on running an operations team.
• The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't. This book really helps you understand your thought process and evaluate your decision making, political identity, unconscious bias, and that in others.
• Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail. A very sobering, but eye-opening book detailing the rise and fall of empires throughout history, with a focus on world reserve currencies, the decline of the United States, and the rise of China.
• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High
• Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
• Clone Yourself: Build a Team that Understands Your Vision, Shares Your Passion, and Runs Your Business for You
• Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
• Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments Into Extraordinary Results
• Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
• The Blank Slate: Modern Denial of Human Nature
• The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
• Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon