Brad Hargreaves, co-founder and CEO of
Lever of Riches by Joel Mokyr
Lever of Riches outlines the wide ranging scope and role of technological progress throughout history. In this book, Mokyr highlights major innovations that have informed society, the relationships of inventors and their physical environment and how different economies can maintain or unlock their creative potential.
“It's an extremely dense and wonky book, but I believe that the present — and future —can be better understood by studying the past,” said Hargreaves. “Mokyr studies how technology has historically driven economic progress and created wealth since the time of the Roman Empire. It's particularly interesting to see how and why societies have often failed to take advantage of technological innovation to improve overall economic prosperity and well-being.”
Joanne Wilson, angel investor and co-founder of Women's Entrepreneur Festival, recommends...
My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgard
My Struggle is an autobiographical series of six novels. These books cover the Norwegian author’s private life and thoughts, and are centered around his family and relationships.
Wilson finds these books resemble a walk through someone’s brain, which in large part, they are.
Bonus recommendation: Wilson also recommends Italian novelist, Elena Ferrante. Ferrante (whose true identity isn’t publicly known) is known for her novels about two intelligent girls from Naples who try to create lives for themselves in a violent and suppressive culture, offering valuable insight into female relationships through history.
Charlie O’Donnell, Partner at
, recommends…
On Writing by Stephen King
On Writing is a memoir by Stephen King, which documents the author’s experience as a writer and provides advice for aspiring writers. The book is divided into five sections, focusing on King’s own career, what writing means, English mechanics and King’s detailed advice on writing.
“It's a great reminder that success comes from hard work and building a discipline,” said O’Donnell.
Justin Effron, co-founder and CEO of
, recommends…
Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Street
This book helped Effron as ALICE needed to grow its team. Who provides simple and practical solutions to successful hiring, as average hiring mistakes can cost a company $1.5 million or more per year and many wasted hours.
Michael Jaconi, co-founder and CEO of
, recommends…
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
This was the story of the Spartan battle of Thermopylae, which was later popularized by the film 300. The novel brings one of the most pivotal battles of civilization to life, through fictional characters based on historical fact.
“The story, from a business standpoint, talks to the importance of leadership, teamwork, and how small teams — when well-lead, organized, and disciplined — can withstand unbelievable hardships,” said Jaconi. “Other vignettes within the story talk to the importance of training and discipline. For these reasons the book is required reading for a lot of professional sports teams and is taught at West Point, the Naval Academy and at the Basic School for Marines in Quantico. It is historical fiction — so that must be kept in mind — but the book's contents and the details of the events surrounding the battle are taken from Herodotus and other historians — so there's a valuable history lesson embedded into the fictional tale.”
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