Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: Four Important Books You Need to Read (Not Just Say You Have)

Here are reviews of four important books. If you’re serious about being an educated businessperson, read them.

Title: The Prince (written in 1513)
Author: Niccolò Machiavelli
Copyright Review Edition: Reader’s Library Classics, 2021
Pages: 107
Price: $5.99

If you want a book that still matters 500 years after it was written, pick up The Prince. Forget the history teacher’s warnings, the clichés about “Machiavellian schemes,” and the bad Hollywood portrayals. This isn’t a dusty relic; it’s a brutally honest, practical manual on leadership, power, and survival. Machiavelli didn’t write for academics, he wrote for leaders in the trenches—rulers who had to hold their kingdoms together in the face of chaos, betrayal, and war. His core message? Don’t confuse good intentions with good results. If you’re in charge, your job is to protect the state, keep order, and win, sometimes in ways that polite society doesn’t applaud.

The Prince is timeless because of its unflinching realism. Machiavelli strips away the idealism and tells leaders what they need, not what they want to hear. He lays out the uncomfortable truths: people are fickle, loyalty is fragile, fear can be more reliable than love, and mercy without discipline creates disorder. He warned leaders that weakness disguised as kindness leads to ruin, and the parallels are clear to this day. There are so many relevant parallels for our day.  Successful leaders balance vision with execution, and principles with pragmatism. Some of the greatest value in this book comes from wrestling with Machiavelli’s advice: Would you rather be loved or feared? How much control do you have over fortune? How do you recover after a major setback?

The Prince is a reminder that leadership is not about slogans or wishful thinking; it’s about clarity, decisiveness, and courage when the stakes are highest. A CEO who can’t make tough calls won’t last. A manager who tries to please everyone pleases no one.

The Prince is a mirror, and a rare, enduring manual for leaders who want to face reality. It doesn’t hand you a script; it forces you to think, choose, and lead. Read it, and you’ll see yourself as a leader, flaws and all. If you dare to face that reflection, you’ll be stronger for it.

Title: The Art of War (written in the 5th century BC)
Author: Sun Tzu
Copyright Review Edition: Fingerprint Publishing, 2018
Pages: 237
Price: $13.50

Written over 2,500 years ago, The Art of War is one of those rare texts that has aged better than most of today’s “bestsellers.” It’s not a long book, and it’s not filled with flowery language or academic theory. Rather, it’s sharp, blunt, and ruthlessly practical. That’s why it still matters—not simply for generals marching into battle, but for leaders, entrepreneurs, salespeople, and anyone trying to win in a competitive world.

This book builds on principles, not tactics. Tactics expire. Principles endure. Sun Tzu doesn’t tell you how to swing the sword. He tells you when to fight, how to know your enemy, and why you win before throwing the first strike. The line everyone quotes, “Know your enemy and know yourself and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles,” isn’t just poetry, it’s strategy in its purest form. Preparation, intelligence, and discipline beat brute force every time.

What makes this book special is its universality. Yes, it’s about warfare, but swap “enemy” for “competitor,” “terrain” for “market,” and “troops” for “team,” and it’s the best business playbook you’ll read. Sun Tzu reminds us that chaos is inevitable, but confusion is optional. He highlights the need for agility, deception, and decisiveness in separating winners from losers in any arena. Some passages are so brutally honest that they feel almost modern, like, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” You could put that on the wall of any startup, sales bullpen, or boardroom.

The Art of War is a timeless must-own manual on strategy and leadership. Reading it will sharpen your thinking, remind you that discipline beats talent, planning beats luck, and leadership is about positioning your people to win. The Art of War is about life; it’s about understanding the battlefield, be it military, business, or personal, and positioning yourself to prevail. If you haven’t yet read it, you’re operating at a disadvantage. 

Verdict: A timeless, must-own manual on strategy and leadership.

Title: How to Win Friends and Influence People (written in 1936)
Author: Dale Carnegie
Copyright Review Edition: Pocket Books, 1998
Pages: 320
Price: $16.37

How to Win Friends and Influence People is mandatory reading. It’s a blueprint for how to live, lead, and succeed. Dale Carnegie wrote the truth about human nature, what makes people say “yes,” and the difference between being ignored and remembered.

Carnegie’s genius is in stripping influence down to common sense. Yet most of us ignore it. Want to be liked? Stop talking about yourself. Want people to follow you? Give them a reason to feel important. Want to persuade someone? Start by listening. Simple? Sure. Easy? No. That’s why this book has been on desks, nightstands, and boardroom shelves for decades.

Carnegie provides a toolkit with rules you can apply immediately.: Smile more. Remember people’s names. Praise openly. Criticize sparingly. Make the other person feel like the idea was theirs. These aren’t tricks; they’re timeless truths about respect, humility, and empathy. Technology changes, but people don’t.

I’ve always believed business is about people first, and this book proves it. You can have the best widget in the world, but if you can’t win trust, influence decisions, or inspire confidence, you’re sunk. Carnegie emphasizes that strong, authentic relationships build success, not clever pitches or hard sells. 

I admire Carnegie’s insistence that influence isn’t manipulation; it’s service. When you remember someone’s name, you show them they matter. When you listen instead of talking, you’re respecting their perspective. Influence is about creating wins for both sides. That’s why this book has stood the test of time: it teaches persuasion without sleaze.

Every leader, salesperson, entrepreneur, and professional should read this book twice—first to learn the principles, and second to recognize where you’ve been blowing it, because we all forget sometimes. We rush, interrupt, and become self-centered. Carnegie pulls us back to center, reminding us that people don’t care how smart we are unless they feel we care.

This book is your manual to close more deals, lead more effectively, or be someone others want to follow. It doesn’t matter if you’re running a startup, leading a Fortune 500, or trying to be a better spouse or parent—the principles apply everywhere. This book belongs on your desk, not your shelf. It’s not a one-and-done read. It’s a reference, a mirror, and a compass. In a world drowning in noise, Carnegie teaches the timeless art of connection, which is what business—and life—is all about.

Title: Think and Grow Rich (written in 1937)
Author: Napoleon Hill
Copyright Review Edition: Sound Wisdom Press, 2016
Pages: 400
Price: $20.65

Once in a while, a book comes along that rewires the way you live, sell, lead, and succeed. Think and Grow Rich is one of them. (I’ve read it four times!) Despite being written nearly 90 years ago, it’s more relevant today than half the so-called “modern” business books clogging airport shelves. This book is a blueprint for success that has launched more millionaires, leaders, and game-changers than we can count.

Hill doesn’t waste time with fluff. He delivers a successful philosophy: riches—financial, personal, and professional—begin in the mind. You don’t get rich by accident. You think, plan, believe, and act. Wealth follows mindset, a message too many businesspeople have yet to grasp.

The power of this book lies in its principles: Desire, faith, persistence, planning, and mastermind alliances. You must practice these disciplines daily. Hill doesn’t sugarcoat it: if you’re not willing to commit, to persist when others quit, to surround yourself with smarter people, then don’t bother. That’s the kind of honesty we need more of in business writing today.

He also provides steps: Write down your goals. Repeat them every day until they become etched into your subconscious. Create a plan and adjust it until it works. Build a network that forces you to grow. This is hard, disciplined, unglamorous work, which is why it works. I’ve seen sales reps, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and athletes use Hill’s principles to turn their lives around. The book doesn’t just promise financial riches; it’s also about growing rich in confidence, purpose, and clarity. Money is a byproduct; mindset is the engine.

If you haven’t read Think and Grow Rich, you’re leaving tools on the table. If you’ve read it once, read it again. Success comes from mastery. This book is a masterclass in the fundamentals of winning, and fundamentals never expire. Ignore this book at your peril. Embrace it, and you’ll discover—like millions before you—that the title is not an exaggeration.Think and Grow Rich Verdict: is for anyone who wants to think bigger, grow richer, and live a fuller life.

So, are you ready to dive in? Don’t just add these four classics to your library, read them! You can also listen to them on audiobook, so when you’re commuting to work, turn off Howard Stern and listen to these instead.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.