70 Must-Read Books For Business Owners & Entrepreneurs

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Cicero

I love books!

Ever since I was a young child I’ve been a voracious reader. Probably came from my grandmother who had a huge library of her own and was constantly recommending and giving me books as a child.

Over the years I’ve developed quite a library of books and as ebooks and Kindle-like things grow in popularity, I remain steadfast and love the heft and feel of a “real book.” I’ve tried my wife’s Kindle and other than a few quick attempts at using it, I remain a traditionalist when it comes to books.

As a matter of fact just this week, I learned that the 4th edition of Dan Kennedy’s The Ultimate Sales Letter hit the book shelves. I immediately jumped online and rather than download the e-version, I bought the real thing and drove several miles to a local bookstore to pick it up. Here’s a non-affiliate link to Amazon.com:

 

One of the reasons I simply had to have this 4th edition (I currently own the first and third editions) was due to the fact I am one of only two guest contributors in Dan’s book.

Last summer, Dan asked me to rewrite the chapter on adding graphic enhancements to improve the readability and response of copywriting. The result is a completely updated and enhanced look at “copy cosmetics” and how you can use them to improve your copy. I wrote from pages 133 – 148, so grab a copy of The Ultimate Sales Letter 4th Edition and check it out!

My passion for books was further illustrated on a recent episode of Mike Capuzzi’s 3 in 3 where I shared a few contemporary books I believe entrepreneurs should all read and based on the number of comments left, it appears most success-oriented entrepreneurs share my love of books. If you haven’t checked it out, visit http://www.mikecapuzzi.tv/must-read-books.

However as much as I love modern books, my real passion is searching for and collecting rare and first edition business-oriented books; the same books that have paved the way for so many of today’s successful entrepreneurs and business owners. Authors like Napoleon Hill, John Caples, David Ogilvy are a few that immediately come to mind.

Recently, I bought a book about famous copywriter, John Caples and it was signed by the author and Caples. Having never had the opportunity to meet John Caples while he was alive, the book is something I will treasure.

I believe every entrepreneur should have his or her own success library. In case you are looking for new additions, or need a reminder of what you may already own, I want to share a list of 70 books that have my personal recommendation for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to learn from the very best.

You’ll notice this list leans towards many of the classic books that you’ve may have already read, which is further evidence that “success leaves tracks”. The most successful entrepreneurs I know all have read the classic books listed below.

In the event you have not read these classics, I suggest you seek them out immediately.

You’ll also see I’ve listed certain authors multiple times and other authors only once (even though there may be other books from them I would recommend). Again this only comes from necessity to keep this list manageable and relatively short.

I hope this list generates some new, must-read books for you or reminds you of a few dusty books sitting on your shelves you may want to pull off and re-read. I would also love to hear your comments and additions to this list, so leave a comment below!

1. Jay Abraham  –  Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got

2. Richard Bayan – More Words That Sell

3. Richard Bayan –  Words That Sell

4. Harry Beckwith –  Selling the Invisible

5. Harry Beckwith –  The Invisible Touch

6. Harry Beckwith –  What Clients Love

7. Richard Benson –  Secrets of Successful Direct Mail (Classic)

8. Drayton Bird –   Common Sense Direct Marketing

9. Robert Bly  –  Business to Business Direct Marketing

10. Robert Bly –  Copywriters Handbook

11. Bob Burg –  The Go Giver

12. John Caples –  How to Make Your Advertising Make Money (Classic)

13. John Caples  –  Tested Advertising Methods (4th Edition) (Classic)

14. Robert Cialdini  –   Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

15. Robert Cialdini  –  Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive

16. Robert Collier  –  The Robert Collier Letter Book (Classic)

17. Jim Collins –  Good to Great

18. T. Harv Eker  –  Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

19. Michael Gerber  –   The E-Myth Revisited

20. Jeffrey Gitomer  –  Little Red Book of Selling

21. Jeffrey Gitomer  –  The Sales Bible

22. Malcolm Gladwell   –  Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

23. Malcolm Gladwell  –  The Tipping Point

24. Bill Glazer  –  Outrageous Advertsing That’s Outrageously Successful

25. Rene Gnam  – Direct Mail Workshop

26. Seth Godin –  All Marketers Are Liars

27. Seth Godin  –  Permission Marketing

28. Seth Godin  –  Purple Cow

29. Herschell Gordon Lewis –  Sales Letters That Sizzle

30. E. Haldeman-Julius –  The First Hundred Million (Classic)

31. Denny Hatch –   2,239 Tested Secrets for Direct Marketing Success

32. Denny Hatch –   Method Marketing

33. Denny Hatch  –   Million Dollar Mailings

34. Napoleon Hill –   Grow Rich With Peace of Mind

35. Napoleon Hill –   The Laws of Success (Classic)

36. Napoleon Hill –  Think and Grow Rich (Classic)

37. Richard Hodgson –   The Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters of All Time

38. Claude Hopkins –   Scientific Advertising (Classic)

39. Joe Karbo   –   The Lazy Man’s Way to Riches (Classic)

40. Dan Kennedy  –   No B.S. Guide to Business Success

41. Dan Kennedy  –   No B.S. Guide to Sales Success

42. Dan Kennedy  –  No B.S. Guide to Time Management

43. Dan Kennedy  –  The Ultimate Marketing Plan

44. Dan Kennedy –  The Ultimate Sales Letter, 4^th Edition

45. Robert Kiyosaki –  Rich Dad, Poor Dad

46. Julian Lewis Watkins  – The 100 Greatest Ads (Classic)

47. Michael Masterson –  Ready, Fire, Aim

48. Geoffrey Moore  – Crossing the Chasm

49. Ted Nicholas  – Billion Dollar Marketing Secrets

50. Ted Nicholas –  How to Turn Words Into Money

51. Ted Nicholas –  Magic Words That Bring You Riches

52. David Ogilvy  – Confessions of an Advertising Man (Classic)

53. David Ogilvy – Ogilvy on Advertising (Classic)

54. Raleigh Pinskey –  101 Ways to Promote Yourself

55. Steven Pressfield –  The War of Art

56. Nido Qubein –   Stairway to Success

57. Rosser Reeves  –   Reality in Advertising (Classic)

58. Robert Ringer –  Action!: Nothing Happens Until Something Moves

59. Robert Ringer  – Winning Through Intimidation

60. Jim Rohn – The Treasury of Quotes by Jim Rohn

61. Maxwell Sackheim –   Billion Dollar Marketing (Classic)

62. Maxwell Sackheim –  My First Sixty Years in Advertising (Classic)

63. Victor Schwab –   How to Write a Good Advertisement (Classic)

64. Eugene Schwartz –   Breakthrough Advertising (Classic)

65. Steven K. Scott  –  Mentored By a Millionaire

66. Bob Stone  –  Successful Direct Marketing Methods (Classic)

67. Joe Sugerman  –  Advertising Secrets of the Written Word

68. Joe Sugerman –  Triggers

69. Donald Trump –  Think Like a Champion

70. Zig Ziglar  –   Secrets of Closing the Sale