Biography & Autobiography - Business

"Always a better way" was WD Farr's motto. As a Colorado rancher, banker, cattle feeder, and expert in irrigation, Farr (1910-2007) had a unique talent for building consensus and instigating change in an industry known for its conservatism. With his persistent optimism and gregarious...

Founders of the phenomenally successful publishing company Lonely Planet, Tony and Maureen Wheeler have produced travel guides to just about every corner of the globe. Lonely Planet Publications was born in 1973 when the Wheelers self-published a quirky travel guide, Across Asia on the...

An NPR Book Concierge Best Book of 2018! A stunning story about how power works in the modern age--the book the New York Times called "one helluva page-turner" and The Sunday Times of London celebrated as "riveting...an astonishing modern media conspiracy that is a...

Combining nearly two decades of facilitating organizational transformations and workshop/meeting strategies for Fortune 25 companies, international governments and non-profit institutions, Brandon and Dan share the steps and critical approach to help you evolve from traditional facilitation to advanced collaboration. Learn directly from successful conversions...

Since birth Kendall V. Fontenot was never the type to limit himself nor his potential to the stereotyped views of others. Fontenot was clearly an independent, out-of-the-box thinker, from the time he was a little tot. Fontenot was only seven years old when he...

Not since the days of the Louisiana Purchase has America seen any bigger real estate transactions than those executed by William Zeckendorf, the derring-do head of Webb & Knapp. Figuring with supersonic speed and an uncanny flair for making money, the flamboyant impresario bought...

The continuation of New York Times bestseller The Wolf of Wall Street tells the true story of Jordan Belfor's spectacular flameout and imprisonment for stock fraud. In this astounding account, Wall Street's notorious bad boy--the original million-dollar-a-week stock chopper--leads us through a drama worthy...

"Vintage Iacocca . . . He is fast-talking, blunt, boastful, and unabashedly patriotic. Lee Iacocca is also a genuine folk hero. . . . His career is breathtaking."--Business Week He's an American legend, a straight-shooting businessman who brought Chrysler back from the brink and...

"An exciting story [that] shines light on the inner workings of the fledgling Google and on the personalities of its founders."--The Daily Beast In its infancy, Google embraced extremes--endless days fueled by unlimited free food, nonstop data-based debates, and blood-letting hockey games. The company's...

"No Bull" ist die lang ersehnte Autobiographie der Wall Street Legende Michael Steinhardt. Steinhardt gilt als einer der erfolgreichsten Investoren in der Geschichte der Wall Street. In der Zeit von 1967 bis 1995 h舫fte er f? sich und seine Investoren ein Vermen an. Mit...

Adam Smith (1723-1790) has been adopted by neoconservatives as the ideological father of unregulated business and small government. His "invisible hand" has become a commanding shorthand for politicians promoting laissez-faire economics, but Smith never used it in reference to free-market capitalism. Smith was a...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER "The Social Network, the much anticipated movie...adapted from Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires." --The New York Times Best friends Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg had spent many lonely nights looking for a way to stand out among Harvard University's elite, competitive,...

George W. Brackenridge (1832-1920) was a paradox to his fellow Texans. A Republican in a solidly Democratic state, a financier in a cattleman's country, a Prohibitionist in the goodtime town of San Antonio, he devoted his energies to making a fortune only to give...

In his early twenties Edgar Thomson moved from Philadelphia to Georgia to become the Chief Engineer of the newly-formed Georgia Rail Road. Thomson was in complete control of the building of the railroad from Augusta to Terminus, soon to be Atlanta. Ninety-five percent of...

Faith, fear and focaccia bread.A recipe for a thriller? Or building blocks for a successful business? Opening a restaurant is about as risky as dancing on a hilltop beneath a metal umbrella during a thunderstorm. Researchers tell us that 60 percent of new restaurants...

ELON MUSKThis book aims to serve as somewhat of a biography-to-date of the incredible entrepreneur that is Elon Musk. Elon is well known for his ventures with Tesla Motors, and also with SpaceX, but he has been involved in many other businesses as you...

ELON MUSKElon Musk has been busy improving humanity's chance of long term survival for nearly 20 years. After helping to form PayPal, Musk went on to form a company whose work has since replaced the space shuttle when it comes to NASA flights to...

A very personal memoir of the author's relationship with the iconic and much loved bookshop Foyles of Charing Cross Road in London. From fond childhood memories of his eccentric and brilliant grandfather William Foyle, 'the Barnum of Bookselling' and his aunt, the beautiful, charming,...

Tenacity chronicles the evolution of entrepreneur Ron Coury, a major business figure in Las Vegas, Nevada and the surrounding western states. As Coury, a former U.S. Marine, climbed the ladder toward his success, he faced a barrage of constraints including political and police corruption,...

In 1963, Dick Portillo built a six-by-twelve-foot trailer with no running water or bathroom and opened a simple hot dog stand in Villa Park, Illinois. He called it The Dog House. More than fifty years and fifty locations later, his namesake Portillo's restaurants are...

Andrew Carnegie, the great steel-baron-turned-philanthropist, was an industrialist unlike any other. His famous dictum, that he who dies rich dies disgraced, has inspired a generation of twenty-first-century philanthropists to follow in his footsteps and put their money towards philanthropic causes. He had an unwavering...

Clarence Saunders' vision for a better shopping experience for day-to-day needs has made Piggly Wiggly a staple of southern living for over 100 years.The grocery business began as a complicated service industry. Random pricing, inconsistent quantities and prescriptive salesmen made grocery shopping burdensome. It...

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist. He led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. He later became a leading philanthropist in the United States and in the British Empire. Carnegie was born in Scotland,...

This compelling book provides a comprehensive examination of Nike, utilizing never-before-heard interviews with top sports celebrities and the informed perspectives of marketing gurus to explain why Nike has ruled the sports world for more than four decades. Nike's immortal "Just Do It" slogan is...

A vivid depiction of one of the 20th century's most successful businessmen, Mrs. Ingram's biography of her late husband is more than a testimony to all the things that made him a great man--it is a gift to associates, friends, and family members who...

Born in 1918 in rural Prince Edward County, Virginia, J.B. Fuqua knew by the age of 14 that he wanted more out of life than being a tobacco farmer. In this book, he discusses the highlights of his multi-faceted career. He records not only...

Step into the streets, arenas, coffee shops, and offices of Edmonton, and witness how the arrival of a teenage hockey phenomenon is changing the city's fortunes.Once known as the City of Champions, Edmonton is at a crossroads. As oil prices continue to plummet, the...

As the recession slowly unfolded, Detroit's small business ecosystem had few real solutions. Randal Charlton was an advocate who pushed me to think bigger, to expand my relationships, and to embrace endless possibilities for renewal. During the worst of times, he was an assuring...

Amazon is the most extraordinary business story of our time. In 25 years, it's become a $280 billion multi-sector giant, and within 5 years, Amazon may be the biggest company in America. Behemoth, Amazon Rising explains how Amazon built five interlocking rings logistics, Amazon...

The story of businessman and engineer George Westinghouse is fascinating; his inventions revolutionized rail transport, and his pioneering distribution of electrical power changed life for Americans forever.Brought up in the small town of Central Bridge in upstate New York, Westinghouse showed talent from a...

In this engagingly written biography, Tamara Plakins Thornton delves into the life and work of Nathaniel Bowditch (1773-1838), a man Thomas Jefferson once called a "meteor in the hemisphere." Bowditch was a mathematician, astronomer, navigator, seafarer, and business executive whose Enlightenment-inspired perspectives shaped nineteenth-century...

Huawei is a well-known Chinese Technology Giant listed in Fortune's Global 500. Its founder, Ren Zhengfei, is a retired cadre of the People's Liberation Army.When Ren Zhengfei founded Huawei in 1987, he only had RMB 21,000. At work, things had not been smooth for...

A fascinating and insightful look into the formative years of professional football in England. This biography of John Holding, founding father of both Everton and Liverpool football clubs, examines his legacy in the game and breaks new ground by addressing the important role of...

The longtime chief marketing officer for Chick-fil-A tells the inside story of how the company turned prevailing theories of fast-food marketing upside down and built one of the most successful and beloved brands in America.During his thirty-four-year tenure at Chick-fil-A, Steve Robinson was integrally...

This highly entertaining business memoir describes what it was like to work for Japan's premiere animation studio, Studio Ghibli, and its reigning genius Hayao Miyazaki. Steve Alpert, a Japanese-speaking American, was the "resident foreigner" in the offices of Ghibli and its parent Tokuma Shoten...

Having escaped religious persecution in Eastern Europe in 1903, Alan Hassenfeld's grandfather and great-uncle arrived in America as penniless teenage immigrants - refugees who went from hawking rags on the streets of New York City to building what became the world's largest toy company,...

Cornelius Vanderbilt I had no illusions about his life. He didn't start out with grand plans and ungodly greed. He merely stepped in this world one foot at a time, one boat at a time, one market at a time--one day at a time....

Serve 2 Win, the first in a series of business guidebooks by entrepreneur coach and serial business owner, Mitch Durfee, offers an unusual approach to launching a small business. The single most successful basis for any entrepreneurial endeavor is that of being of service....

Who is Tom Monaghan? Is he the four-year-old kid whose father died on Christmas Eve and whose mother sent him to an orphanage and then a juvenile detention home?Is he the entrepreneurial genius who built Domino's Pizza from a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria in Michigan into...

FROM ONE OF TODAY'S FOREMOST INNOVATION LEADERS, AN INSPIRING, PERSONAL APPROACH TO MASTERING CHANGE IN THE FACE OF UNCERTAINTY. NAMED A 2018 BEST BUSINESS BOOK PICK BY FAST COMPANY AND WIRED UK. Confronting change is incredibly hard, both organizationally and personally. People become resistant....

Available for the first time in a decade-the book that launched a $5 billion lawsuit--with a new introduction by the author in which O'Brien reflects on the recent wave of TrumpMania. This entertaining look inside the world of Donald Trump is chock full of...

In Hoffa, Arthur Sloane has written the only comprehensive biography of the late Teamster leader, having had full access to Jimmy Hoffa's family, friends, and professional associates. Hoffa is a rich and colorful portrait of this powerful and contradictory character, one of the most...

"Shake it off!", shouts my coach and teammates from the sidelines after I missed a point. Whether on the court, field or professionally, this phrase has motivated Betsy Cerulo to shake off the losses and get back up to give it her best. Being...

Named a Kirkus "Best Books of 2022""... the author's narrative is as much an inspiring business memoir as it is an absorbing chronicle of a surprisingly significant piece of sports clothing. An engrossing account of the entrepreneur-and the bra-that changed women's sports." -Kirkus Reviews"With...

BackStory begins with a clarification of what identity is and a description of its existential impact on organizations. Part One: My Backstory, takes the reader through the shaping of Durbrow's identity living in the poorest family in wealthy Pebble Beach, working in a stable,...

WALL STREET JOURNAL review: "One of Mr. May's strengths is his ability to convey a vivid sense of the times. When Britain attacked the U.S. naval frigate Chesapeake in 1807, Gallatin received a message from Jefferson bidding him to come in haste. 'If you...

Great business leaders possess more than celebrated traits like charisma and an appetite for risk. They have contextual intelligence--a profound ability to understand the Zeitgeist of their times and harness it to create successful organizations. Based on a comprehensive Harvard Business School Leadership Initiative...

An honest, heartfelt portrait of the dynamic yet troubled Billy Carter, written by his son.Author: William CarterISBN-10: 1563525534ISBN-13: 9781563525537Publisher: Taylor Trade PublishingLanguage: EnglishPublished: 09/25/1999Pages: 224Format: HardcoverWeight: 1.00lbsSize: 9.22h x 6.22w x 0.85dReview Citation(s): Publishers Weekly 09/06/1999 pg. 96Kirkus Reviews 09/01/1999 pg. 1365Booklist 09/15/1999 pg....

Though unintentional during its writing, Fortitude could be perceived as an antecedent to J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy about poor whites fifty to seventy-five years ago migrating from southeastern Kentucky to southwestern Ohio to find work. This is the story of a German immigrant orphaned...

Pizza mogul, sports owner, billionaire, devout Catholic, university founder, philanthropist. These are just a few of the many words that describe Tom Monaghan. The man who built Domino s Pizza into an empire, owned the Detroit Tigers, built a Catholic college, then moved it...