As 2013 comes to an end, here is a list of few interesting business and socio–economic books that I read this year. I also believe these books are quite helpful in developing an interest towards this particular genre. So here goes, in no particular order
– India Unbound by Gurucharan Das
A fabulous piece of literature which encompasses India’s struggle for “Economic Independence”. The book authored by renowned columnist Gurucharan Das, captures a panoramic view of India’s economic policies post-Independence. It also provides great insights into the Liberalization policies of the 1990’s. With a very simple writing style this book is a breeze to read.
– Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Koyasaki
Rich Dad Poor Dad pertains to the subject of “Financial Independence”. The book captures the reader’s attention by explaining simple yet critical financial nuances between assets and liabilities. Kiyosaki urges the reader to look beyond their 9-5 jobs and to not be dependent on their monthly paychecks.
– Viral Loop by Adam Penenberg
Journalism Professor Adam Penenberg through his book Viral Loop explains the advent of “Viral marketing/technologies” that have snowballed with the propagation of Internet. The book wonderfully builds up the concept of Viral loops from the invention for the first browser (Mosaic in the early 90’s) to the influx of social media (like twitter/facebook etc.). The book has an interesting mix of facts and figures which help explain various terminologies and ideas related to viral technologies.
– Against the Gods by Peter Bernstein
The winner of the Edwin G. Booz Prize for the most insightful, innovative management book published in 1996, Against the Gods by Peter Bernstein chronologically elaborates the idea of “Risk”. He begins with the invention of Probability in the 1600’s and goes up to the 1950’s research of the Israeli-born psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman that explored how people actually behave in risky situations. This book is stacked with numerous modern economic research references and war stories which makes it a very interesting read.
– Offshore by Basab Pradhan and Gaurav Rastogi
Offshore answers the question “How India Got Back on the Global Business Map?” (Which is also the tagline of the book). With IT and ITES companies being the major recruiter of Indian college graduates, this book is a great starting point for people who are completely new to the sector. Having said that, this book also caters to audiences who have been part of the IT sector. The book encompasses the birth of the Indian IT sectors with examples of Infosys, Wipro etc. and also gives an idea about what the future has in store.
Due to the 500 words limit , here are some honorable mentions ? –
1) Stay hungry stay foolish by Rashmi Bansal
2) The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen
3) Freakonomics by Steven Levitt