ANNUAL BOOK LIST 2005
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BY ABDULAZIZ ALNAIM 
11.05.2005
 

I present to you here my annual book recommendation, which I hope will become an annual tradition that I will prepare in the fall of every year. I have avoided using a number, such as Top Ten, because I don’t want to have to recommend more or fewer books than I actually like just to satisfy a randomly-chosen number. Also, I’ve avoided ranking the books and I tried my best to diversify the subjects. If you’re going to buy any of those books from Amazon.com, please use this link to support WTSonline. Here we go:

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
This is one of the best books I’ve ever read and one of the few that I can truly say had an impact on my thinking. I bought this book back in 2001 on the recommendation of my entrepreneurship professor, Howard Anderson, one of the most influential venture capitalist in America, especially in the field of Networking. I have no idea why it sat on my shelf for so long, I guess I just forgot about it as time went by and decided to pick it up a few months ago when a friend of mine urged me to. The book talks about many things that relate to how trends (mostly social trends) usually start slowly then grow until they hit a “tipping point” when the trend “tips” either upwards or downwards but at an accelerated pace. It talks about the many people that create those trends and how they spread them around and cause them to tip. Think of rumors or fashions and you’ll know what I’m talking about. The books is exceptionally well-written and fun to read, I strongly recommend you read it as soon as possible (ok, as I’ve said I don’t want to rank my choices, but this one is my only exception, read it NOW!). 

The Making of Modern Economics by Mark Skousen
Ok, this is a big book but is a must read for anyone interested in Economics. The book provides a short history of the development of economic thought with short biographies about the people who made it happen. You will get exposed to the many schools of thoughts and how each shaped history (and was shaped by it). You’ll learn a lot from this book. 

The Spirit Of Enterprise by George Gilder
After reading this book you will jump from your chair and decide to start a business! The book offers inspiring stories of entrepreneurs who are the real engine of economic growth. Stories like that of J.R. Simplot who built the largest potato company in the world (and supplies most of McDonald’s fries) and how he moved from selling potato chips to microchips when he funded of Micron Technologies. Other stories include those of Honda, Sony, and many others. This book is really inspiring. I recommend it to anyone interested in business. 

The Fabric of the Cosmos : Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene
This book provides the reader with an excellent overview of what is behind everything we see, what is that thing we call reality. Amazon.com writes of it “His driving question in The Fabric of the Cosmos, then, is fundamental: ‘What is reality?’ Over sixteen chapters, he traces the evolving human understanding of the substrate of the universe, from classical physics to ten-dimensional M-Theory.” Greene writes in an easily-understood language and uses examples from our everyday lives to further simplify complex physical concepts to the non-technical reader. This book is really well written and you will learn a lot by reading it.  

There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere: The AOL Time Warner Debacle and the Quest for a Digital Future by Kara Swisher and Lisa Dickey 
This book goes behind the scenes of one of the business world’s most infamous deals—described by some as the worst business deal in History—the merger of AOL and TimeWarner in 2000. The deal, which was announced in January 2000 just two months before the all-time high of the NASDAQ became a symbol of the excessiveness of that era. The politics, the not-so-smart business, and the huge egos involved, make this book an excellent guide to what can go wrong in a merger (in this case: everything!). 

America: A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart
Hillarious! 

E=MC²: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis
Bodanis does a wonderful job explaining the famous equation, providing most of the required background, both the theories and the people. This book isn’t as easy a read as The Fabric of the Cosmos, however. 

Diamond: A Journey to the Heart of an Obsession by Matthew Hart
This is a very interesting book about diamonds, with an excellent brief history of the places, people, methods, and struggles involved. Needless to say, the book talks a lot about DeBeers and its diamond empire. Hart takes you from the early large discoveries to today’s cutting, selling, and power centers of the world. 

Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance By Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.
Gerstner became Chairman and CEO of IBM in 1993 when the once-mighty company almost went bust with products that no one was buying any more (the mainframe) and a culture that didn’t foster innovation nor accept change. Over the next eight years he succeeded in making one of business history’s most famous turnarounds. This book tells that story. 

Disney War By James B. Stewart
The Wall Street Journal columnist takes you through the history of one of the most controversial CEO tenures in recent corporate history, that of Michael Eisner, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company from 1984-2004. This well-researched book provides a lot of detail about what was happening inside Disney during that period--the good and the bad. Stewart’s writing style is amazing and the book is really fun to read, I highly recommend it. I also recommend his earlier book, Den of Thieves.

The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do by Judith Rich Harris
The books explores the evidence that shows that parents have very little direct effect on their children's values and behavior and that most of what children learn comes from their peers. The facts might be disturbing to many, but the conclusions are certainly interesting! 

Unleashing the Ideavirus By Seth Godin
I read a number of Seth Godin’s books and I recommend them all. This book explains the concept of an Ideavirus, a product that is so remarkable that it spreads itself like a virus. It also tells you how you can create an Ideavirus and why it is better than building a regular product and then trying to market it and sell it. You’ll learn many interesting—and potentially very valuable—lessons from this book. 

Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Shultz
This autobiography (of both Shutlz and Starbucks) is one of the most inspiring books ever and (notice the cliché) is a must read for anyone in business, especially for entrepreneurs.

Made In America By Sam Walton
This is the autobiography of one history’s greatest businessmen and among the world’s greatest businesses, Wal-Mart--now the world’s largest company by sales (should reach $317 billion this year). Walton starts from the beginnings and takes you throughout Wal-Mart’s history and how, through the efforts of the people around him and his leadership, he built this great business. The guys is brilliant and down-to-earth and has a lot to tell, I suggest you listen. 

The World Is Flat By Thomas L. Friedman
I’ve reviewed this book in two halves on my blog, here’s the first part and here’s the second. I highly recommend this book because I believe it will affect Saudi Arabia as we join the World Trade Organization.

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