Business Books in the current business climate

What Makes a 'Best' Business Book?
A new compilation of the "best" business titles in management and other areas misses a chance to relate to today's troubled climate, says BusinessWeek's Hardy Green

Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten, authors of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You (Portfolio, 2009). Almost every business-book reader will find a way to take exception to the Covert-Sattersten list.
The authors are both executives with Internet bookseller 800-CEO-READ, but they insist that their volume isn't just a come-on to stimulate sales for their business. "It's our attempt at helping the modern businessperson find solutions," says Covert.
Finance and economics titles would seem to be a natural, especially in today's troubled financial climate—but Covert and Sattersten include almost none. Guys, take a look at the current business best-seller lists, and you'll discover what readers are interested in now. Such titles as Charles R. Morris' The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash (Public Affairs, 2008), or Charles D. Ellis' The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs (Penguin Press, 2008), or Paul Krugman's The Return of Depression Economics (Norton, 1999 and revised in 2009) are hot sellers this week. For an oldie but goodie, you could even include John Kenneth Galbraith's The Great Crash 1929 (Mariner Books, 1954), a paperback best-seller today.