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Every book David Rosenthal recommended on podcasts
Across 2 podcasts. Every show David Rosenthal appears on, in one place — not just one.
David Rosenthal’s most recommended books
- Sam Walton, Made in America by Sam Walton
- 7 Powers by Hamilton Helmer
- Titan by Ron Chernow
- Made in Japan by Akio Morita
- The Everything Store by Brad Stone
- The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean
- Conspiracy of Fools by Kurt Eichenwald
- The Formula by Joshua Robinson
- Electronic Value Exchange by David L. Stearns
- The Genius Makers by Cade Metz
David Rosenthal is a co-host of the podcast Acquired, where he frequently discusses and recommends books researched for show topics. On an episode covering Seinfeld, David thanked Warren Littlefield and recommended Littlefield's oral history memoir Top of the Rock, co-written with T. R. Pearson, for its account of NBC shows from that era. During the carveouts segment of a later episode, he recommended Joel Glenn Brenner's The Emperors of Chocolate. While preparing for an episode on Trader Joe's, David read and subsequently recommended Mark Gardiner's Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's, which describes the author's experience working as a crew member at the company, as well as Joe Coulombe's autobiography Becoming Trader Joe, which served as a primary source for the episode. Furthermore, while recounting the history of artificial intelligence on an episode about Google, David thanked Cade Metz for The Genius Makers, referencing stories from the book regarding Jeff Hinton's auction and Larry Page's strategy meeting. Throughout these podcast discussions, David consistently pointed listeners toward these works as essential sources for understanding the deep histories behind iconic companies and cultural phenomena.
Books recommended by David Rosenthal
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Sam Walton, Made in America
Sam Walton, Made in America by Sam Walton and John Huey is the autobiography of the legendary entrepreneur who founded Walmart.
Discussed“of course Sam Walton actually wrote in made in America that he stole more ideas from Saul than anyone else in his business career”
Where to get it
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7 Powers
7 Powers by Hamilton Helmer is a seminal business strategy book that outlines the foundational economic frameworks companies use to build enduring competitive moats and secure persistent differential returns.
Discussed“For new listeners to the show, this is based on a book called Seven Powers by Hamilton Helmer. And it is the seven factors that enable a business to achieve persistent differential returns”
Where to get it
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Titan
Titan by Ron Chernow is a comprehensive biography detailing the life and monumental business career of industrialist John D.
Discussed“so as turnout writes in titan about this quote the 1892 overhaul was mostly shadow play a charade to appease the courts”
Where to get it
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Made in Japan
Made in Japan by Akio Morita, Edwin M.
Recommended“made in Japan and made in America”
Where to get it
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The Everything Store
The Everything Store by Brad Stone is a definitive corporate history chronicling the turbulent rise of Amazon and the relentless business philosophy of its founder, Jeff Bezos.
Discussed“i believe the quote from eric schmidt in the everything store was the book guys finally got technology”
Where to get it
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The Smartest Guys in the Room
The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind is an investigative book detailing the rise and corporate collapse of Enron.
Discussed“so you read the smartest guys in the room right by Bethany McLean”
Where to get it
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The Formula
Discussed“Well, first off, we owe a huge thank you to Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Kle who are the sports editors over at the Wall Street Journal and just recently published I think the best business history book of Formula 1 called The Formula.”
Where to get it
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Electronic Value Exchange
Electronic Value Exchange by David L.
Recommended“well we are starting actually with a big thank you to Dave Sterns author of what is undeniably the very best book on Visa and its history electronic value exchange”
Where to get it
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The Genius Makers
The Genius Makers by Cade Metz is a comprehensive history of artificial intelligence that chronicles the maverick researchers who brought deep learning to major tech companies like Google and Facebook.
Recommended“So, Jeff Hinton actually runs the auction from his hotel room at the Hera's Casino in Lake Tahoe. Oh my god, amazing. So, the bids all come in and we got to thank Cade Mets, the author of Genius Makers, great book on the whole history of AI that we're actually going to reference a lot in this episode.”
Where to get it
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A Piece of the Action
Discussed“this is the name of the title in this fantastic book a piece of the action how the middle class joined the money class and is chapter 1 the drop 1958”
Where to get it
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America's Game
Discussed“Michael McCainbridge has a great quote in the beginning of America's game where he says to say that baseball was the number one sport in America is to imply a hierarchy where none existed.”
Where to get it
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Built from Scratch
Built from Scratch by Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, and Bob Andelman tells the canonical entrepreneurial story of how Home Depot grew from a modest concept into a retail giant.
Discussed“So, this is from the book Built from Scratch. Chainan says, The stock is selling for about $8 a share. How about if we pay you 10?”
Where to get it
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The Ride of a Lifetime
The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger is a business memoir by the former Disney CEO detailing his professional journey, leadership philosophies, and strategies for navigating massive corporate transformations and creative challenges.
Discussed“There's even a quote in Bob Iger's book which which we haven't talked about Bob yet but we will.”
Where to get it
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Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's
Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's by Mark Gardiner is a business book that details the author's firsthand experiences working as a crew member at the popular grocery chain.
Recommended“And then I read this other book for research called Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's by this guy Mark Gardner.”
Where to get it
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Becoming Trader Joe
Becoming Trader Joe by Joe Coulombe is an insightful business autobiography that details the founding and unique operational strategy of the beloved grocery chain.
Discussed“Joe writes in his great great great autobiography called Becoming Trader Joe that came out a couple years ago that employees owned about half the company.”
Where to get it
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Shoe Dog
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight is a famous memoir chronicling the founding and incredible rise of the global athletic brand Nike.
Discussed“of course because this is acquired and because shoe dog is so good that's amazing”
Where to get it
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Beyond the Horizons
Beyond the Horizons by Walter J.
Discussed“what really turned me on to this was some of the chapters in beyond the horizons even though that book was written in the late 90s”
Where to get it
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In the Plex
In the Plex by Steven Levy is a comprehensive, behind-the-scenes account of Google's origins, corporate culture, and meteoric rise to technological dominance.
Discussed“Steven Levy writes in in the Plex that the perception of Google's ventures beyond search at the time was that the company was tossing balls into the air like a drunken juggler.”
Where to get it
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The Luxury Strategy
The Luxury Strategy by Jean-Noël Kapferer and Vincent Bastien is a comprehensive business and marketing book that outlines the distinct principles and anti-laws required to build and sustain ultra-luxury brands.
Discussed“I mean this is enshrined in the luxury strategy as anti-law of marketing number 19”
Where to get it
- All You Need to Know about the Music Business by Donald S. Passman
- Masters of Doom by David Kushner
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- The Emperors of Chocolate by Joel Glenn Brenner
- The Godfather by Mario Puzo
- Top of the Rock by Warren Littlefield
- Transitions by William Bridges
- Who Knew by Barry Diller
- Wool by Hugh Howey
- Yield: How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance by Ari Paparo
- Chocolate Wars by Deborah Cadbury
- Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors by William Shockley
- Electrons and holes in semiconductors, with applications to transistor electronics by William Shockley
- Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella
- I Love Capitalism! by Ken Langone
- Just Do it by Donald R. Katz
- Kick Up Some Dust by Bernie Marcus
- Leading by Design by Bertil Torekull
- Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
- One from Many by Dee Hock
- Porsche-Excellence Was Expected by Karl E. Ludvigsen
- Skunk Works by Leo Janos
- Sony by John Nathan
- Super Pumped by Mike Isaac
- Swoosh by J. B. Strasser
- Taylor Swift The Brightest Star by MICHAEL FRANCIS. TAYLOR
- The IKEA Story by Bertil Torekull
- The Snowball by Alice Schroeder
- Walt Disney by Neal Gabler
- White Shadows in the South Seas by Frederick O'Brien
David Rosenthal’s latest episodes with books
David Rosenthal’s book recommendations by year
All 50 books David Rosenthal recommended or discussed across 37 episodes, filed by the year each episode came out. Each year goes episode by episode, with the minute every book came up.