Book recommendations from my favorite Ivey prof

Following is the list of book recommendations from Robert Nourse, my all-time favorite professor at Ivey. Bob taught Entrepreneurial Manager elective for us. It was truly amazing to have somebody with his level of experience sharing insights and knowledge with us. Bob founded Bombay Company and grew it from one store to 432 stores; he was named 1993 Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. magazine. 

Guy Kawasaki,  The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested Battle Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything, (New York: Penguin Group, 2004)

One of the early pioneers at Apple, Guy Kawasaki is the founder of the venture capital firm, garage.com. He’s down to earth, humorous and practical.  You should, at minimum, read something he’s written.  If you like this, you’d also enjoy his earlier book, Rules for Revolutionaries.

Fareed Zakaria,  The Post American World, (New York: Norton, 2008) 

This book won’t be out until the first week of May, but it’s widely-anticipated and, because Zakaria speaks extensively, its content is somewhat known.  A naturalized American of Indian descent, the author is the editor of Newsweek International.  He’s a brilliant thinker and you’ll find his insight into the rise of China and India, and their impact on the advanced economies of the West, fascinating and thought-provoking. His earlier book, The Future of Freedom, was a New York Times bestseller.

Collins and Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (New York: HarperBusiness, 1994, 1997)

This is certainly not a new book and, technically, not one that deals exclusively with entrepreneurship.  But the authors, who are Stanford researchers reporting on a six year study of 18 successful companies, have a lot to say about what makes a visionary company and vision is an important ingredient of any entrepreneurial venture. That’s why I like it.

Lewis, The New New Thing (New York: Penguin Books, 2001)

Different than other books on the list, this is a biography.  It looks at Jim Clark, the founder of Silicon Graphics, Netscape  and Healtheon.  There was an earlier hardcover edition, but this is the paperback.

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Enjoy!
George