Famous People's Book Pick: Fast Company: The Best Business Books of 2007

Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris

(literature and fiction)

"Debut novelist Joshua Ferris, a vet of two Chicago ad agencies, transforms the absurdities and mundanities of the postmodern office into irony, hilarity, and tragedy, all while reading like Dilbert hijacked by Hunter S. Thompson."

Apples Are Square by Thomas D. Kuczmarski

(business books, leadership, management / leadership, management)

"What's a squared apple? It's a symbol for a new way to lead at work, cutting away the bruised dysfunction into a selfless core. The Kuczmarskis, innovation consultants and teachers, profile 25 values-based leaders -- mostly fresh faces -- to discover a new model of leadership for the 21st century."

The No Asshole Rule: Building A Civilized Workplace And Surviving One That Isn't by Robert I. Sutton

(business books, children books, IT books, food and cooking, health, history, literature and fiction, mystery and thrillers, nonfiction, parenting, religion and spirituality, romance, science, teens)

"Sutton, a Stanford professor, identifies one of the hidden killers of workplaces and corporate cultures everywhere: Assholes (or, if you're a delicate flower, the bruise on the apple). The book helpfully counsels people on surviving jerks at work and taming your own "inner jerk."

Microtrends by E. Kinney Zalesne

(management / leadership, business books, health, nonfiction)

"Clinton polling guru, coiner of the phrase "soccer mom," and CEO of PR giant Burson-Marsteller spotlights 75 emerging ideas that are fun to read about and sure to inspire new business ideas. Be the first on your block to use phrases like nonprofiteers, snowed-under slobs, and video-game grown-ups."

A Perfect Mess by David H. Freedman

(business books, motivational, management / leadership, self-help, health, management)

"Speaking of slobs, this contrarian brain-tickler argues "moderately disorganized people, institutions, and systems frequently turn out to be more efficient, more resilient, more creative, and in general more effective than highly organized ones." Even better, they have proof. A perfect guilty pleasure that you'll want to keep on the corner of your messy desk."

The Education Of An Accidental Ceo: Lessons Learned From The Trailer Park To The Corner Office by David Novak

(business books, management, management / leadership)

"Novak, CEO of Yum Brands -- which owns KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut -- candidly and charmingly shares his amazing rise from trailer-park kid to the corner office, not shying away from what he learned from his career hits (Mountain Dew, KFC Famous Bowls) and misses (Crystal Pepsi, the infamous rat video at a New York City KFC)."

Realityland: True-life Adventures At Walt Disney World by David Koenig

(biography, business books, history)

"This fun history of Disney World traces a twisted path from secretive 1960s land grabs to the post-9/11 attendance collapse. Especially intriguing is Walt's original goal: Build a utopian city, the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow," or EPCOT."

To Infinity And Beyond! by Karen Paik

(IT books)

"This authorized history of the first two decades of Pixar, before Disney acquired it, is a welcome look back for hardcore fans of their hit movies, packed with both gorgeous movie stills and a compelling backstory of the company's long road before its “overnight success” with Toy Story."

Everyday Engineering: What Engineers See by Andrew Burroughs

"This remarkable little photo book will change the way you see the world, giving you a window into how engineers view it. Thought-provoking photos backed by one-sentence captions make it an intriguing "read."

The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Too Much? by Leslie Bennetts

(business books, health, nonfiction)

"In the ongoing war between stay-at-home moms and their working sisters, Vanity Fair writer Bennetts uses recent research on women and work with dozens of stories from blindsided women to argue that women who leave the workforce are gambling their future, and that of their children's, by putting all of their chits on the prospect of a husband's lifelong support."

Oil On The Brain: Petroleum's Long, Strange Trip To Your Tank by Lisa Margonelli

(economics, business books, history, nonfiction)

"Petroleum had quite a year: Even before it commanded record per-barrel prices, it was public enemy #1 of the environment. But for all the focus, most people still can't answer, "How does this vast and volatile industry really work?" As you trot around the globe with the wry, chummy Margonelli -- from the corner gas station to Iranian oil fields -- you'll connect the dots through revealing character studies rather than dry stats."

Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story Of People And Pants In The Borderless World Of Global Trade by Rachel Louise Snyder

(economics, business books)

"For another intriguing global spin through the travels of a single product, jeans, our versatile and favorite wardrobe staple, reveal the good and bad of its long journey. Along the way, we engagingly meet cotton pickers in Azerbaijan, Cambodian garment workers, fashion designers in New York, and, of course, Bono."

Flower Confidential: The Good, The Bad, And The Beautiful by Amy Stewart

(business books, science)

"We admit it: We love global romps through unexpected industries. Who knew that flowers were an industry as innovative, competitive -- and fascinatingly troubled -- as microprocessors or jumbo jets? This nosy, sensational muckraker exposes what's definitely not a garden-variety business, exploring everything from genetically enhanced flowers to the destructive impact of wholesalers like Costco on the business."

Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive And Others Die by Dan Heath

(management / leadership, business books, health)

"In this useful, engaging resource, the authors, who are also Fast Company columnists, deconstruct how to make proposals and stories memorable, resonant, and effective. They've bundled the tenets of stickiness into one easy-to-remember acronym: SUCCESS, or rather, SUCCES: simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and story."