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9 Books All B-School Candidates Should Read While Social Distancing

By Linda M

Updated May 21, 2020 Updated May 21, 2020

Social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic are forcing people to stay at home and find new ways to be productive.

Reading in particular can be a great way not only to pass the time, but also acquire valuable knowledge on a number of topics and issues. If you’re a b-school applicant, you shouldn’t underestimate how much you could learn by reading the right books.

Here’s nine that’ll help you navigate and thrive in the business world.

Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises

Written by renowned economist Robert Z. Alber, this book is regarded as an investment classic. Alber offers a comprehensive lesson about the volatility of global markets, allowing readers to understand financial crises through an international and cyclical perspective. This is the perfect read for students and workers interested in the financial world.

The Wolf of Wall Street

An international bestseller and more recently a major motion picture, The Wolf of Wall Street is the story of Jordan Belfort, the American stock broker who made millions through his illegal methods handling the stock market. The book offers powerful insights into how Belfort started his notorious investment firm Stratton Oakmont and the power and greed that followed. This is a great read for investment and fiction aficionados.

How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age

This book is an up-to-the-minute adaptation of Dale Carnegie’s bestseller How to Win Friends and Influence People. By adapting Carnegie’s principles to contemporary times, the book offers analyses and critiques of widespread social media phenomena, from cyber bullying to email etiquette. If you want to refine your communication skills, this is the read for you.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

This book reveals the five dysfunctions that most high-performing teams go through. The author uses the story of a tech CEO who is facing a leadership crisis to help other leaders come up with efficient strategies to overcome corporate hurdles. The book’s message is compelling and easily adaptable to a wide range of situations, making it the perfect guide for those striving to guide people through the business world.

Thriving At Work: What They Didn’t Teach You in School

Whether you’re getting your foot into the world of business or are hoping to advance in your career, Thriving At Work is a practical guide on how to achieve personal and professional success. Drawing from more than 25 years of experience, Michael Dam discusses different challenges that businesspeople face throughout their career and gives his insight on how to overcome them.

Uncanny Valley: A Memoir

Uncanny Valley is a coming of age story set in the notorious Silicon Valley, the gold mine of tech companies. Anna Weiner tells her own experience working at a data analytics start-up in San Francisco and dealing with surveillance corporate culture, quick money and political power.

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

In this book, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely uses everyday experience and academic research to discuss how expectations, emotions, social norms and other irrational factors influence our seemingly rational decisions. Predictably Irrational is the ideal read for those wanting to make better decisions in their business career.

Mastering The Market Cycle: Getting the odds on your side

Mastering The Market Cycle is a practical guide to understanding and adapting to market cycles all over the world. Investor Howard Marks explains how economies, companies and markets react to sociopolitical events and ultimately influence the way businesspeople behave, helping aspiring investors protect and boost their finances.

Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving

In Do Nothing, award-winning journalist Celeste Headlee helps readers move away from the obsession with performance and the unhealthy habits that follow by offering strategies to work and live better. If you struggle with overworking, this is the book for you.