The Ultimate Strategy Library

Despite the widespread use of universal tonics such as total quality management and business process reengineering, strategy is still at the centre of management debate. Strategy is one of the most frequently referred to subject in business. It continues to excite, frustrate and intrigue us.

From Peter Drucker and Henry Mintzberg to Nicolo Machiavelli and Kenichi Ohmae, John Middleton brings together the greatest and most influential thinkers and experts on strategy in one place. The Ultimate Book of Strategy contains a unique summary of 50 books, articles and thinkers that have had the most significant impact on the subject of 'strategy' together with an assessment of their impact and lasting value for today's business.

For ease of reference, the books featured are presented in alphabetical order by author. In addition, there is an extensive annotated bibliography of another 50 books at the back of the book, as well as a glossary of key strategy terms, and a guide to further sources of information for those wishing to delve deeper.

Thousands of new books, reports, theories and consultancy products pour into the market. So how do you keep up with what works and what doesn't? With who's hot and who's not? The ideas and people that are going to help you drive your business forward? The completely updated and revised Ultimates from Capstone are part of the new Capstone Reference series and have proved indispensable by providing time-poor executives with authoritative and up-to-date information in a completely accessible style.

• Introduction.
• A Brief History of Strategy.
• The Ultimate Strategy Library 50.

1.   Igor Ansoff, Corporate Strategy (1965).
2.   Robert Baldock, The Last Days of the Giants? (2000).
3.   Shona Brown & Kathleen Eisenhardt, Competing on the Edge (1998).
4.   Frances Cairncross, The Death of Distance (1997).
5.   Manuel Castells, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture (1996, 1997, 1998).
6.   Alfred Chandler, Strategy and Structure (1962).
7.   James Collins & Jerry Porras, Built to Last (1994).
8.   Stan Davis & Christopher Meyer, Blur (1998).
9.   Larry Downes & Chunka Mui, Unleashing the Killer App (1998).
10.   Peter Drucker, The Age of Discontinuity (1969).
11.   Philip Evans & Thomas S Wurster, Blown to Bits (2000).
12.   Charles Ferguson, High Stakes, No Prisoners (1999).
13.   Sumantra Ghoshal & Christopher Bartlett, The Individualized Corporation (1998).
14.   Arie de Geus, The Living Company (1997).
15.   Michael Goold, Andrew Campbell & Marcus Alexander, Corporate-Level Strategy (1994).
16.   Andrew Grove, Only the Paranoid Survive (1996).
17.   Gary Hamel & C K Prahalad, Competing for the Future (1994).
18.   Michael Hammer & James Champy, Reengineering the Corporation (1993).
19.   Charles Handy, The Age of Unreason (1989).
20.   Paul Hawken, Amory B Lovins & L Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism (1999).
21.   Robert Kaplan & David Norton, The Balanced Scorecard (1996).
22.   John Kay, Foundations of Corporate Success (1993).
23.   Kevin Kelly, New Rules for the New Economy (1998).
24.   Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince (1513).
25.   Regis McKenna, Real Time (1997).
26.   Henry Mintzberg, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (1994).
27.   Mary Modahl, Now or Never (2000).
28.   Geoffrey Moore, Crossing the Chasm (1991).
29.   Kenichi Ohmae, The Mind of the Strategist (1982).
30.   Richard Pascale & Anthony Athos, The Art of Japanese Management (1981).
31.   Richard Pascale, Managing on the Edge (1990).
32.   Tom Peters & Robert Waterman, In Search of Excellence (1982).
33.   Tom Petzinger, The New Pioneers (1999).
34.   B Joseph Pine II & James H Gilmore, The Experience Economy (1999).
35.   Michael Porter, Competitive Strategy (1980).
36.   Frederick Reichheld, The Loyalty Effect (1996).
37.   Jonas Ridderstråle & Kjell Nordström, Funky Business (2000).
38.   Peter Schwartz, The Art of the Long View (1991).
39.   Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline (1990).
40.   Carl Shapiro & Hal R Varian, Information Rules (1998).
41.   David Siegel, Futurize your Enterprise (1999).
42.   Thomas Stewart, Intellectual Capital (1997).
43.   Don Tapscott, Digital Capital (2000).
44.   Noel Tichy, Managing Strategic Change (1983).
45.   Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave (1980).
46.   Sun Tzu, The Art of War (500 BC).
47.   Watts Wacker & Jim Taylor, with Howard Means, The 500 Year Delta (1997).
48.   Michael J Wolf, The Entertainment Economy (1999).
49.   Walt Wriston, The Twilight of Sovereignty (1992).
50.   Shoshana Zuboff, In the Age of the Smart Machine (1988).

• Coda: The Future of Strategy.
• Annotated Bibliography
• Glossary of Strategy Terms

A good overview of some of the most important and influential strategic thinkers works. Even if I don't agree wholly with the selection and some very strange summaries are made, it is still good for a handy overview.

This is one of these books that are good to have around.