100 books like My Adventures in Marketing

By Philip Kotler,

Here are 100 books that My Adventures in Marketing fans have personally recommended if you like My Adventures in Marketing. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Book cover of Adventures of a Bystander

Hermann Simon Author Of Many Worlds, One Life: A Remarkable Journey from Farmhouse to the Global Stage

From my list on becoming a global business leader.

Why am I passionate about this?

Hermann Simon grew up on a small, remote farm and became a world-renowned marketing professor, including stints at MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. But academic fame didn’t satisfy him. He had the ambition to achieve an impact on practice and founded Simon-Kucher & Partners, today with 41 offices and 1600 employees the world's leading price consultancy. He also detected the secrets of the "hidden champions", unknown mid-sized global market leaders (more than 1.5 million Google entries). In China a business school is named in his honor.

Hermann's book list on becoming a global business leader

Hermann Simon Why did Hermann love this book?

Peter F. Drucker is the most famous and influential management thinker of the 20th century. He grew up in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which fell at the end of the First World War. His classic education, his knowledge of history, his broad horizons, his understanding of business processes make him unique among management thinkers. He outshines them all. And he is an outstanding, captivating writer. Anyone who wants to learn and understand about management must read this book. I have read it three times. I mourn this late friend.

By Peter F. Drucker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Adventures of a Bystander as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"It is [a] belief in diversity and pluralism and the uniqueness of each person that underlies all my writings ..." -from the Preface. Regarded as the most influential and widely read thinker on modern organizations and their management, Peter Drucker has also established himself as an unorthodox and independent analyst of politics, the economy, and society. A man of impressive scope and expertise, he has paved significant inroads in a number of key areas, sharing his knowledge and keen insight on everything from the plight of the employee and the effects of technology to the vicissitudes of the markets and…


Book cover of Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise

Hermann Simon Author Of Many Worlds, One Life: A Remarkable Journey from Farmhouse to the Global Stage

From my list on becoming a global business leader.

Why am I passionate about this?

Hermann Simon grew up on a small, remote farm and became a world-renowned marketing professor, including stints at MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. But academic fame didn’t satisfy him. He had the ambition to achieve an impact on practice and founded Simon-Kucher & Partners, today with 41 offices and 1600 employees the world's leading price consultancy. He also detected the secrets of the "hidden champions", unknown mid-sized global market leaders (more than 1.5 million Google entries). In China a business school is named in his honor.

Hermann's book list on becoming a global business leader

Hermann Simon Why did Hermann love this book?

Horst Schulze started as a bellboy and became the best hotelier in the world. He is the one who created the leading hotel chain Ritz Carlton. He won the Baldridge Quality Award twice. No one else has achieved that. But what's really interesting about this book is not the result, but the way he got there: how did he achieve this great goal? 

Anyone involved in service can learn extremely valuable lessons from this book. And in the process, you will also get to know Horst Schulze as a person. Because at the core of him lies the secret of success; he is a role model and leader.

By Horst Schulze, Dean Merrill,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Excellence Wins as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Horst Schulze knows what it takes to win. In Excellence Wins, the cofounder and former president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company lays out a blueprint for becoming the very best in a world of compromise. In his characteristic no-nonsense approach, Schulze shares the visionary and disruptive principles that have led to immense global success over the course of his still-prolific fifty-year career in the hospitality industry.

For over twenty years, Schulze fearlessly led the company to unprecedented multibillion dollar growth, setting the business vision and people-focused standards that made the Ritz-Carlton brand world renowned. In Excellence Wins, Schulze shares his…


Book cover of Herman the German: Just Lucky I Guess

Hermann Simon Author Of Many Worlds, One Life: A Remarkable Journey from Farmhouse to the Global Stage

From my list on becoming a global business leader.

Why am I passionate about this?

Hermann Simon grew up on a small, remote farm and became a world-renowned marketing professor, including stints at MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. But academic fame didn’t satisfy him. He had the ambition to achieve an impact on practice and founded Simon-Kucher & Partners, today with 41 offices and 1600 employees the world's leading price consultancy. He also detected the secrets of the "hidden champions", unknown mid-sized global market leaders (more than 1.5 million Google entries). In China a business school is named in his honor.

Hermann's book list on becoming a global business leader

Hermann Simon Why did Hermann love this book?

In my life I have only met two real adventurers. One of them was Gerhard Neumann, a.k.a. Herman the German. Since his mother was Jewish, he left Nazi Germany and went to China. There he made his way as an engineer for the Flying Tigers and achieved technical miracles. He fled across Asia to escape Mao Tse Tung. Only a few years later, he became CEO of General Electric Aircraft Engines, the global market leader. Neumann developed both the best-selling military and commercial jet engines. But he always remained an adventurer. In the Death Valley, he flew supersonically below sea level. In Mexico, his plane crashed, but he survived. As a sailor, he got into distress at sea and survived. And he had a motto that I've adopted myself in business: Feel unsafe!

By Gerhard Neumann,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Herman the German as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Herman the German"This fascinating and amusing account of his life is told by a colorful and highly capable German who became one of America's most successful technical managers in the development of jet engines for aircraft."-David S. Lewis ChairmanGeneral Dynamics Corporation "Not only has Gerhard Neumann's life been filled with exotic and exciting adventures, but he was a highly successful engineer and executive-truly a superior individual and one of my favorite people."-Sanford N. McDonnellChairman, McDonnell Douglas Corporation "Readers of Gerhard's book will probably come to the same conclusion I formed while doing business with him; there is still room in…


Book cover of Principles: Life and Work

Alex Shahidi Author Of Risk Parity: How to Invest for All Market Environments

From my list on commonly overlooked investing core principles.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a student of the markets and investing for 3 decades and a professional investment advisor overseeing billions of dollars for over 2 decades, I have discovered that most investment books and information lack real insight. Much of what I read and see is not thoughtful or deeply researched and merely a regurgitation of what everyone else is saying. I’ve learned that most of what is thought to be conventional thinking is remarkably poorly supported by independent, unbiased research. The books on my recommended list go beyond what you’d read in the average investment book to uncover truly insightful knowledge that I believe can help readers take their investment understanding to the next level. 

Alex's book list on commonly overlooked investing core principles

Alex Shahidi Why did Alex love this book?

I love this book because Ray is a master at building, evaluating, and improving systems and has taken the time to share his insights to help others do the same.

The principles he’s identified and described can simultaneously assist any investor to construct a better portfolio and any person to live a more successful and fulfilling life. This book offers a unique opportunity to learn from one of the most insightful people in history. 

By Ray Dalio,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Principles as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 New York Times Bestseller

"Significant...The book is both instructive and surprisingly moving." -The New York Times

Ray Dalio, one of the world's most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he's developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business-and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.

In 1975, Ray Dalio founded an investment firm, Bridgewater Associates, out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Forty years later, Bridgewater has made more money for its clients than any other hedge fund in…


Book cover of The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!

Stephen McGarvey Author Of Ignite a Shift: Engaging Minds, Guiding Emotions and Driving Behavior

From my list on the power of ideas and positive thinking.

Why am I passionate about this?

I wasn’t always a reader. Diagnosed with a learning disorder in elementary school, I hated reading and school. Eventually, I discovered my passion for psychology, neurolinguistics, and persuasion and influence, and have now become a lifelong reader! Through my boutique consulting firm Solutions In Mind, my colleagues and I have been coaching executive teams to make the changes required to improve sales, organizational behavior, and communication. In my latest book, Ignite a Shift, I equip readers to think about how they and those around them think, feel and do. With greater awareness you’ll be able to better establish and meet your goals and persuade and influence others to do the same. 

Stephen's book list on the power of ideas and positive thinking

Stephen McGarvey Why did Stephen love this book?

Take a second and think, “what is marketing?” Simply put, marketing involves having an idea and persuading others to believe or buy into that idea. We use marketing in our daily lives and probably don’t even think about it. Getting someone to agree to meet you at the restaurant of your choice or helping your family decide that the movie you suggested is the one you should all watch tonight involves some key marketing tenants. This book can help you examine your ideas and discover why they work or fall by the wayside. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing helped me better understand that although all my ideas and concepts might not be successful, there is a process of understanding why that is and how I can alter them to be more valuable. 

By Al Ries, Jack Trout,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Al Ries and Jack Trout, two of the world's most successful marketing strategists, call upon over 40 years of marketing experise to identify the definitive rules that govern the world of marketing. Combining a wide-ranging historical overview with a keen eye for the future, the authors bring to light 22 superlative tools and innovative techniques for the international marketplace. The authors examine marketing campaigns that have succeeded and others that have failed, why good ideas didn't live up to expectations, and offer their own ideas on what would have worked better. The real-life examples, commonsense suggestions and killer instincts contained…


Book cover of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service into a World-Class Brand

Peter Leeds Author Of Penny Stocks for Dummies

From my list on to get more from capitalism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am always trying to get a leg up in life, and I figured one of the best ways to do that is through investments. I have learned that by understanding how capitalism and business works, I was able to spot plenty of major opportunities in the economy all around us.

Peter's book list on to get more from capitalism

Peter Leeds Why did Peter love this book?

With The 22 Immutable Laws, you will get an enhanced understanding of how business works, and what kinds of approaches are most likely to be highly successful. Just about every product or service is about branding, first and foremost, and in The 22 Immutable Laws, you will clearly see how.

By Al Ries, Laura Ries,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This marketing classic has been expanded to include new commentary, new illustrations, and a bonus book: The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding Smart and accessible, The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is the definitive text on branding, pairing anecdotes about some of the best brands in the world, like Rolex, Volvo, and Heineken, with the signature savvy of marketing gurus Al and Laura Ries. Combining The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding and The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding, this book proclaims that the only way to stand out in today's marketplace is to build your product or service…


Book cover of Rare Breed: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous, and Different

Geoffrey Colon Author Of Disruptive Marketing: What Growth Hackers, Data Punks, and Other Hybrid Thinkers Can Teach Us about Navigating the New Normal

From my list on disruptive marketers in the 21st century.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since touching my first computer (the Apple IIC) in 1985, broadcasting a radio show in 1988, logging onto the world wide web in 1991, launching my first podcast in 2004 or producing the highly viewed YouTube show The Download in 2020 I've been interested in what Marshall McLuhan has dubbed, "The Medium is the Message." Not only how media and technology are used but how it intersects with humanity, education, entertainment, marketing and popular culture to drive word of mouth. To me, marketing isn't just about the technology or the quantified metrics but about how it shapes long lasting impressions on people and leads to sustained behavioral change.

Geoffrey's book list on disruptive marketers in the 21st century

Geoffrey Colon Why did Geoffrey love this book?

If the Conceptual Age of marketing is here where imagination reigns supreme, will the same types of personalities in business from the Information Age be the ones to dominate? Nope. Authors Ashley and Sunny urge people to treat each one of our quirks as helpful virtues rather than harmful vices. Less logical and more emotional, things like fringe interests, strong personalities, and bold antics have their place in a creative and disruptive world. Applying your unique characteristics strategically could help you stand out, forge your path, and connect with others in ways that following rules just does not deliver. If you read this from the lens of a marketer, there are some great takeaways to apply to the personality of what brand it is you are trying to sell. Oh, and what profile am I of the 7 vices? A rebel of course.

By Sunny Bonnell, Ashleigh Hansberger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rare Breed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An unconventional business book for the rebels and misfits--the Rare Breeds--who don't fit the traditional mold, offering an approach that's anything but business as usual.
What if your biggest weaknesses are actually your greatest strengths?

Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger, award-winning brand consultants and founders of Motto, bring their wisdom and insights to this radical "outside the box" business guide written specifically for the mavericks, oddballs, and visionaries they call Rare Breeds. While most advice guides encourage you to change your inherent characteristics to get the job, get the promotion, get the client, Bonnell and Hansberger identify a different approach:…


Book cover of Electric Guitar Making & Marketing: How to build and market high-end instruments, from your workshop's setup to the complete business plan

R.M. Mottola Author Of Building the Steel String Acoustic Guitar

From my list on building stringed musical instruments.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been building guitars and related instruments since 1994. My enthusiasm for guitar construction led me to deeply explore all aspects of the art and to share as much information as I can with others via my lutherie information website, writing for American Lutherie, published books, and my research publications. I am fortunate to count myself among those that consider building stringed musical instruments to be one of the best things one can do.

R.M.'s book list on building stringed musical instruments

R.M. Mottola Why did R.M. love this book?

Electric guitars and basses are the most popular stringed musical instruments.

Many players dream of building their own instrument. This book provides step-by-step instructions for doing just that. The author is an enthusiastic builder himself, and is also a teacher of instrument construction.

The book is written in a direct and personal style, and anticipates all of the questions a novice builder will ask. This is amazingly confidence-building. For first-time builders of electric guitars, there is no better place to start than this book.

By Leo Lospennato,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Electric Guitar Making & Marketing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book tells you everything about making electric guitars following professional standards, phase-by-phase, step-by-step.

It's all about leaving your dent in the universe in the shape of the most beautiful, incredibly sounding guitar you can make—that's clear. But building guitars professionally starts before you even cut the wood: You need to setup your workplace, you have to define your identity as guitar maker, and decide the guiding principles of your endeavor as luthier. What kind of guitars will you build? For whom? What is going to be the winning characteristic of your instruments?

And then you have to sell the…


Book cover of Be the Gateway: A Practical Guide to Sharing Your Creative Work and Engaging an Audience

Mary Helen Sheriff Author Of Launch Pad: The Countdown to Marketing Your Book

From my list on authors who want to sell more books.

Why am I passionate about this?

I believe that people need stories and book marketing done well can help readers find the stories they need to craft a more hope-filled, compassionate, and meaningful life. The authors I meet are sharp and creative, but many don’t have experience with book marketing. I find coaching authors to amplify their platforms is a rewarding way to support the community. My front-row seat to watching my clients’ dreams become reality is so inspiring. This book was a collaboration of book marketing experts, whom I admire, and I was so honored they agreed to share their insights with our readers. 

Mary Helen's book list on authors who want to sell more books

Mary Helen Sheriff Why did Mary Helen love this book?

Writing, publishing, and marketing a book is hard. One of the biggest hurdles for me is my mindset.

Be the Gateway offered me a path to finding my creative why and using that to focus my creativity and my marketing efforts. If you find the creative life a struggle, this book can help you reclaim your excitement.

By Dan Blank,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Be the Gateway as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Many people feel the drive to do creative work, but get overwhelmed by the process of connecting with an audience. They follow best practices in marketing that never seem to pan out, don t produce results, and make them feel lost and oftentimes, frustrated. Be the Gateway offers a powerful way to have an impact. If you want to share your voice and inspire people with your writing, art, craft, or creative idea, you have to be the gateway for them. Instead of throwing products out into the marketplace, you open them up to a new way of looking at…


Book cover of Made in Mexico: Zapotec Weavers and the Global Ethnic Art Market

Alanna Cant Author Of The Value of Aesthetics: Oaxacan Woodcarvers in Global Economies of Culture

From my list on people who make things for a living.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Canadian social anthropologist living in England, and my research is about material culture and heritage in Mexico. I have always been fascinated by the ways that people make their cultures through objects, food, and space; this almost certainly started with my mum who is always making something stitched, knitted, savoury, or sweet, often all at the same time. I hope that you enjoy the books on my list – I chose them as they each have something important to teach us about how our consumption of things affects those who make them, often in profound ways.

Alanna's book list on people who make things for a living

Alanna Cant Why did Alanna love this book?

Bill Wood’s engaging and accessible book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in travelling to Mexico or Mexican arts and crafts. Based on research with Zapotec weavers from Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, Made in Mexico shows how it is impossible to understand how and why such items are made today without also knowing about the ways that Oaxaca and Zapotec people are marketed as part of an industry that sells authenticity and “Zapotecness.” Through clear analysis of the marketing of Oaxaca as a tourism destination and the making and marketing of Zapotec textiles as indigenous art and artifacts in both Mexico and the United States, Made in Mexico shows how Mexican craftworks today are very much global cultural commodities.  

By William Warner Wood,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Made in Mexico as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Made in Mexico introduces us to the people, places, and ideas that create Zapotec textiles and give them meaning. From Oaxaca, where guides escort tourists to weavers' homes and then to the shops and markets where weavings are sold, to the galleries and stores of the American Southwest, where textiles are displayed and purchased as home decor or ethnic artwork, W. Warner Wood's ethnographic account crosses the border in both directions to describe how the international market for Native American art shapes weavers' design choices. Everyone involved in this enterprise draws on images of rustic authenticity and indigenous tradition connecting…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in marketing, Chicago, and presidential biography?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about marketing, Chicago, and presidential biography.

Marketing Explore 182 books about marketing
Chicago Explore 369 books about Chicago
Presidential Biography Explore 18 books about presidential biography