Here is a list of the best Business History books, some I have read myself, some that I did research on, and all have great reviews!
- The Oxford Handbook of Business History (Oxford Handbooks) (2009)
- The Land of Enterprise: A Business History of the United States (2018)
- The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop (2011)
- Foundations of Scenario Planning: The Story of Pierre Wack (Routledge International Studies in Business History) (2018)
- Gentlemen Bankers: The World of J. P. Morgan (Harvard Studies in Business History) (2014)
- The Offshore Imperative: Shell Oil’s Search for Petroleum in Postwar America (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History) (2009)
- The Ordinary Business of Life: A History of Economics from the Ancient World to the Twenty-First Century (2004)
- Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism (2018)
- Wildcatters: Texas Independent Oilmen (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History) (2007)
- Thomas Edison: A Life From Beginning to End (Biographies of Business Leaders) (2017)
- Start & Run a Personal History Business: Get Paid to Research Family Ancestry and Write Memoirs (Start & Run Business Series) (2010)
- The Video Games Textbook: History • Business • Technology (2018)
The Oxford Handbook of Business History (Oxford Handbooks) (2009)
This Handbook provides a state-of-the-art survey of research in business history. Business historians study the historical evolution of business systems, entrepreneurs and firms, as well as their interaction with their political, economic, and social environment. They address issues of central concern to researchers in management studies and business administration, as well as economics, sociology and political science, and to historians.
The Land of Enterprise: A Business History of the United States (2018)
This groundbreaking account of the development of American business from the colonial period to the present explains that the history of the United States can best be understood not as a search for freedom—but as a search for wealth and prosperity.The Land of Enterprise charts the development of American business from the colon…
The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop (2011)
The Big Payback takes readers from the first $15 made by a “rapping DJ” in 1970s New York to the multi-million-dollar sales of the Phat Farm and Roc-a-Wear clothing companies in 2004 and 2007. On this four-decade-long journey from the studios where the first rap records were made to the boardrooms where the big deals were inked, The Big Payback tallies the list of who lost and who won.
Foundations of Scenario Planning: The Story of Pierre Wack (Routledge International Studies in Business History) (2018)
Pierre Wack was head of scenario planning at Royal Dutch / Shell Oil in London for just over ten years. He died in 1997. He was a pioneer of what we know today as scenario planning – an alternative and complement to strategic planning. Scenarios explore a variety of possible futures for examining decisions in organizational planning.
Gentlemen Bankers: The World of J. P. Morgan (Harvard Studies in Business History) (2014)
Gentlemen Bankers investigates the social and economic circles of one of America’s most renowned and influential financiers to uncover how the Morgan family’s power and prestige stemmed from its unique position within a network of local and international relationships.At the turn of the twentieth century, private banking was a personal
The Offshore Imperative: Shell Oil’s Search for Petroleum in Postwar America (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History) (2009)
After World War II, the discovery and production of onshore oil in the United States faced decline. As a result, offshore prospects in the Gulf of Mexico took on new strategic value. Shell Oil Company pioneered many of the early moves offshore and continues to lead the way into “deepwater.”Tyler Priest’s study is the first time the modern history of Shell Oil has been told in any detail.
The Ordinary Business of Life: A History of Economics from the Ancient World to the Twenty-First Century (2004)
In some of Western culture’s earliest writings, Hesiod defined the basic economic problem as one of scarce resources, a view still held by most economists. Diocletian tried to save the falling Roman Empire with wage and price fixes–a strategy that has not gone entirely out of style.
Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism (2018)
From the days of the Mayflower and the Virginia Company, America has been a place for people to dream, invent, build, tinker, and bet the farm in pursuit of a better life.
Wildcatters: Texas Independent Oilmen (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History) (2007)
In the 1970s and 1980s the Texas wildcatter was a recognizable figure in popular culture.
Thomas Edison: A Life From Beginning to End (Biographies of Business Leaders) (2017)
Thomas EdisonThomas Edison passed on many decades ago, but his inventions still echo loudly through time. If you watch TV, listen to your favorite songs, or simply click on the lamp next to your bed, it was Thomas Edison who brought all of these innovations into the world.
Start & Run a Personal History Business: Get Paid to Research Family Ancestry and Write Memoirs (Start & Run Business Series) (2010)
Communities, families, and even corporations are increasingly seeking out professional writers and historians to record their stories. For anyone who is interested in personal history and writing, this is an essential resource for turning your passion into an income source. Written by experienced personal historian and entrepreneur Jennifer Campbell, it covers topics suchs as: how to actually do the work, starting up, education and training, marketing and expansion.
The Video Games Textbook: History • Business • Technology (2018)
The Video Games Textbook takes the history of video games to another level, with visually-stimulating, comprehensive, and chronological chapters that are relevant and easy to read for a variety of students.
Best Business History Books That Will Hook You
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some business history books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
The Business of Emotions in Modern History
Author(s): Mandy L. Cooper (editor), Andrew Popp (editor)
ID: 3627747, Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, Year: 2023, Size: 6 Mb, Format: pdf
American Patent Law: A Business and Economic History
Author(s): Robert P. Merges
ID: 3638023, Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Year: 2023, Size: 9 Mb, Format: pdf
Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership
Author(s): Geoffrey Jones
ID: 3696183, Publisher: Harvard University Press, Year: 2023, Size: 32 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not errorless. Some books are really best-sellers according to USA Today, others are written by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant links you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.