Podcast
Acquired book recommendations
Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.
Latest mentions
-
Kick Up Some Dust
-
Built from Scratch
-
I Love Capitalism!
-
7 Powers
-
The Ride of a Lifetime
-
Walt Disney
-
Walt Disney: an American Original, Commemorative Edition
-
The Animated Man
-
Walt Disney
-
Enzo Ferrari
-
The Enzo Ferrari Memoirs. My Terrible Joys ... Edited by Richard Hough. Translated by Ivan Scott. [With Plates, Including Portraits.].
-
Enzo Ferrari
-
Go Like Hell
-
The Formula
-
The Formula Feed Industry in 1969
-
America's Game
-
The Name of the Wind
-
Last Man Standing
-
The Emperors of Chocolate
-
The Secret Life of Groceries
Most recommended on Acquired
-
7 Powers
Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers was regularly featured on Acquired by hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal. The book was used as a foundational analytical framework to evaluate the competitive advantages, business strategies, and differential returns of prominent companies such as Home Depot, Google, and Standard Oil. Both hosts consistently recommended the text as an essential business theory book.
Discussed“So listeners, this is the part where we do the seven powers framework from Hamilton Helmer's book of the same title where we try to figure out what does a company have that enables it to get persistent differential returns”
-
Sam Walton, Made in America
Sam Walton's autobiography Made in America, co-authored with John Huey, was featured prominently on Acquired. David Rosenthal recommended the book in a holiday special and expressed gratitude for it as the foundational source for the podcast's Walmart episodes. Throughout the coverage, Rosenthal cited the autobiography to share stories and anecdotes about Walton's early life, his interactions with competitors like Price Club and FedMart, and his reflections on business and retail history.
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”
-
In the Plex
On the Acquired podcast, Steven Levy's In the Plex was frequently cited as a primary research source for episodes about Google. Ben Gilbert referenced a passage about language models, while David Rosenthal used anecdotes from the book to illustrate Wall Street's initial skepticism of Google's early ventures and Bill Gates's reaction to Gmail.
Recommended“This is like a small little passage in Steven Levy's great book that's been a source for all of our Google episodes, In the Plex.”
-
The Everything Store
On the Acquired podcast, Brad Stone's The Everything Store came up across multiple episodes. Ben Gilbert recommended it as the canonical history of Amazon's early years. David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert referenced the book while discussing Amazon Web Services, with Rosenthal quoting Eric Schmidt about Amazon's technical evolution. Rosenthal also noted that the book served as the backbone for their Walmart episode after they discovered it was one of Jeff Bezos's favorite books.
Discussed“i believe the quote from eric schmidt in the everything store was the book guys finally got technology”
-
Made in Japan
On Acquired, hosts David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert examined Akio Morita, Edwin M. Reingold, and Mitsuko Shimomura's "Made in Japan" during their March 2022 Sony episode and December 2022 holiday special. The hosts praised the book as excellent source material, comparing its quality to "Shoe Dog." They cited specific passages, including the opening paragraph about the bombing of Hiroshima, to illustrate Sony's historical background.
Recommended“made in Japan and made in America”
-
Project Hail Mary
On the Acquired podcast, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal discussed Andy Weir's novel Project Hail Mary. Ben Gilbert recommended the book in the Holiday Special 2022, calling it the best fiction and science fiction he had ever read. Earlier, in February 2022, David Rosenthal mentioned the book as a carve-out recommendation after seeing Gilbert tweet about it.
Recommended“project Hail Mary oh yeah I think I read it on your recommendation that's right can vouch very good I think it's the best fiction I've ever read definitely the best sci-fi I've ever read I think it's the best fiction I've ever read”
-
Shoe Dog
On the Acquired podcast, David Rosenthal listed Shoe Dog by Phil Knight and Philip H. Knight as one of the three primary books covering Nike's history, praising it as the greatest business memoir of all time during an episode in July 2023. Later, in a February 2022 episode, Ben Gilbert mentioned the book while discussing its co-writer and the page-turning thriller style shared with another biographical work.
Discussed“of course because this is acquired and because shoe dog is so good that's amazing”
-
The Genius Makers
On Acquired, David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert repeatedly referenced Cade Metz's book The Genius Makers across multiple episodes, including the October 2025 Google episode and the September 2023 Nvidia episode. Rosenthal thanked Metz while recounting the auction story for DNN Research, cited the book when discussing Larry Page's undisclosed island strategy meeting, and referenced Metz's earlier reporting on the formation of OpenAI. Gilbert also mentioned the book as part of the Blinkist reading recommendations associated with the podcast.
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.”
-
The Godfather
On Acquired, David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert recommended The Godfather by Mario Puzo. During the 2022 Holiday Special, Rosenthal stated that Puzo's novels were as good as or better than the films. Gilbert also recommended the book as a carve-out item during an episode on Walmart.
Recommended“The Godfather series The Books yep and Mario puzo's books they are so good as good or better than the movies”
-
The Luxury Strategy
On Acquired, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal frequently referenced The Luxury Strategy by Jean-Noël Kapferer and Vincent Bastien. Gilbert noted that reading the book was a core part of their preparation for episodes on LVMH and Hermès, highlighting its 24 anti-laws of marketing. David Rosenthal also cited specific marketing laws from the book during the Hermès episode while discussing corporate policies against hiring consultants and marketing strategies related to raising prices.
Discussed“well if you read the luxury strategy which is great book that we've referenced many times on acquired they start back 50,000 years ago”
-
The Psychology of Money
On Acquired, Ben Gilbert discussed The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel across multiple episodes. In the 2023 Holiday Special, he shared that the book massively changed the way he personally invests. Previously, in the 2022 Holiday Special, Gilbert recommended the book as exceptional and mentioned that he had recently spoken with the author in real time about its concepts.
Recommended“i think a huge one for me is psychology of money there's a recency bias on it and we mentioned morgan howel at the top of the show Good Friend of the show great great human i truly i massively change the way that i personally invest”
-
Titan
Ron Chernow's biography Titan was heavily featured on Acquired across its two-part series on Standard Oil. Ben Gilbert recommended the book in the first part, noting that it served as the main source for the episode. David Rosenthal repeatedly cited Titan in the second part to detail historical events and provide context, referencing quotes and anecdotes concerning John D. Rockefeller, the 1892 corporate overhaul, the 1911 antitrust breakup, and historical figures such as Henry Frick and Ida Tarbell.
Discussed“so as turnout writes in titan about this quote the 1892 overhaul was mostly shadow play a charade to appease the courts”
-
Who is Michael Ovitz?
On the Acquired podcast, Ben Gilbert featured Michael Ovitz's memoir Who is Michael Ovitz? in the carve-outs segment of an episode, describing it as an awesome book he finally read after years of recommendations. In an earlier episode featuring Ovitz as a guest, Gilbert also mentioned the book to set the stage for their discussion.
Recommended“mine is a book that has been recommended to me for two or three years now and I finally got around to reading and it was awesome it's called who is Michael Ovitz”
-
1929
During an interview on Acquired in the 2025 episode The Jamie Dimon Interview, Jamie Dimon mentioned Andrew Ross Sorkin's book 1929. Dimon stated that he had recently read the book after Sorkin was nice enough to send it to him.
Discussed“Andrew War Soren is in here and I just read his book. He's nice enough to send it to me in 1929.”
-
A New Innings
On the Acquired episode Indian Premier League Cricket, the host referenced A New Innings by Manoj Badale and Simon Hughes. The host explained that Badale authored the book about his personal experiences owning and running the Rajasthan Royals, a team in the Indian Premier League. The host noted consulting the work repeatedly throughout the episode, specifically pointing to Badale's perspective on managing the franchise through a two-season suspension.
Discussed“And I've been referring a couple times to Manoj Badali and the book he wrote in New innings about his experience owning and running the Rajasthan Royals, the other team that was suspended for two seasons.”
-
A Piece of the Action
On the Acquired podcast episode titled Visa, David Rosenthal referenced Joe Nocera's book A Piece of the Action while introducing chapter details about the early days of credit cards. He cited a specific passage from the book to illustrate the unexpected arrival of early credit cards in Fresno and used another quote to discuss the history of and social attitudes toward consumer debt.
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”
-
AI Superpowers
On Acquired, Ben Gilbert mentioned AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee as one of the works featured in a special Blinkist collection created for the Nvidia episode.
Recommended“So if you go to blinkist.com/Nvidia you can find books by Gary Kasparov, Kai-Fu Lee, and Cade Metz, who we already mentioned earlier on the show who wrote the amazing Wired article.”
-
All You Need to Know about the Music Business
On Acquired, David Rosenthal recommended Donald S. Passman's book on the music business during the episode. Rosenthal praised it as a great resource for learning about the industry and licensing, noting that it had reached its tenth edition due to frequent revisions reflecting recent changes.
Recommended“the other is a book from the legendary music attorney don passman on the music business which is on its 10th edition that's how many sort of revisions there have been based on all these changes recently”
-
America's Game
On the podcast Acquired, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal referenced Michael MacCambridge's book, America's Game, during an episode on the NFL on January 27, 2026. Gilbert thanked the author for providing research for the episode, while Rosenthal cited several passages and quotes to illustrate the early cultural dominance of baseball, describe Al Davis's notorious reputation, and recount Pete Rozelle's political lobbying efforts.
Discussed“But we do have some sports thank yous to Michael McCainbridge, author of America's Game, which provided much of the research for this episode.”
-
Becoming Trader Joe
On Acquired, David Rosenthal referenced Joe Coulombe's autobiography Becoming Trader Joe as the main source for the episode. Rosenthal highlighted the book's details regarding early employee ownership in Pronto Markets and recommended the autobiography again during the wrap-up section.
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.”
-
Beyond the Horizons
On the Acquired podcast episode Lockheed Martin, Ben Gilbert recommended Walter J. Boyne's book Beyond the Horizons as an amazing and lesser-known history of Lockheed. David Rosenthal also cited statistics and stories from the book, noting that its chapters helped spark his research into the company's history.
Recommended“I also highly recommend a book called beyond the horizons which is hard to find and most people don't know about by Walter Boyne”
-
Breakthrough
On the Acquired podcast episode covering Novo Nordisk and Ozempic, Ben Gilbert mentioned reading Breakthrough by Thea Cooper and Arthur Ainsberg to provide historical context regarding the initial discovery of insulin.
Discussed“I spent a bunch of time reading this book Breakthrough by Thea Cooper and Arthur ansburg and they go way into this basically this team was the first one to figure out you could Target the pancreatic eyelets and isolate the extra in a relatively pure form”
-
Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's
On Acquired, David Rosenthal recommended Mark Gardiner's book Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's during an episode on October 27, 2025. Rosenthal mentioned that he read the book for research and praised it as a fun account detailing the author's personal experiences working as a crew member at Trader Joe's for a year.
Recommended“And then I read this other book for research called Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's by this guy Mark Gardner.”
-
Built from Scratch
Built from Scratch by Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, and Bob Andelman was featured on Acquired by hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal. Ben Gilbert cited the book as the canonical Home Depot story, reading quotes to explain early operational uniqueness and vendor relations. David Rosenthal referenced the memoir to discuss historical management disputes, negotiations with Ken Langone, and disagreements between the founders.
Recommended“All right. So, I I looked this up, David, in the book Built from Scratch, which is the awesome book that uh is kind of the canonical Home Depot story written by Bernie and Arthur.”
-
Built to Last
On the Benchmark Part I episode of Acquired, Ben Gilbert discussed Jim Collins's book Built to Last. He mentioned that Bob Kegel read the book and that the partners handed copies of it to limited partners during their fundraising efforts for their first fund.
Discussed“right around this time is when Jim Collins first big book built to last comes out Bob reads it loves it as he's thinking about what's going on at tvi and what he wants his future fund and what Benchmark would become to be totally aligns with Jim's principles in the book they actually hand a copy of the book”
-
Chocolate Wars
On an episode of Acquired focusing on Mars Inc. in December 2024, host David Rosenthal discussed the history of the chocolate industry. He mentioned the book Chocolate Wars by Deborah Cadbury, noting that the author is a descendant of the Cadbury family. Rosenthal cited her work as a primary source for historical details regarding the industry and the invention of milk chocolate.
Discussed“I got this from um there's a descendant of the Cadbury family Deborah Cadbury who wrote this book called chocolate Wars”
-
Competitive Strategy
On Acquired in January 2025, Morris Chang mentioned Michael E. Porter and his extensive works on business strategy, specifically referencing Porter's large, multi-hundred-page books on competitive strategy while discussing key figures in the field.
Discussed“Michael Porter was at one time also considered a big figure in this competitive I mean he wrote three or four books you know big books you know 700 page each”
-
Complexity
On Acquired, Brinton Johns mentioned M. Mitchell Waldrop's book Complexity. Johns brought it up while recounting how it was suggested to Brad around the same period they were reading The Origin of Wealth.
Discussed“Complexity by M. Mitchell Waldrop to Brad. ”
-
Conspiracy of Fools
On Acquired, David Rosenthal discussed Kurt Eichenwald's book Conspiracy of Fools during an in-depth episode about Enron. Rosenthal noted that he had read the book, praising it as an exceptionally well-researched work. He frequently referenced its details alongside other texts, such as Bethany McLean's Smartest Guys in the Room, while analyzing key events like Jeff Skilling's resignation and corporate comparisons.
Discussed“and I read conspiracy of fools by Kurt eichenwald”
-
Creating Shareholder Value
Michael Mauboussin mentioned Alfred Rappaport's book Creating Shareholder Value on Acquired, describing how receiving a copy from a colleague early in his training program served as a major professional milestone.
Discussed“one of the guys in my training program handed me a copy of al rappaport's book called creating shoulder value that book came out in 1986”
-
Creative Selection
On Acquired, David Senra brought up Ken Kocienda's book Creative Selection to ask Ben and David if they had read it, referencing Apple's interface design.
Discussed“did you guys ever read Ken cosianda's book creative selection”
-
Deep Thinking Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins
On the September 6, 2023, episode of Acquired titled Nvidia Part III: The Dawn of the AI Era (2022-2023), Ben Gilbert recommended checking out Deep Thinking Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins by Garry Kasparov. He suggested the book as part of a curated collection available through the episode's sponsor, Blinkist, alongside other works related to the artificial intelligence boom.
Recommended“So if you go to blinkist.com/Nvidia you can find books by Gary Kasparov, Kai-Fu Lee, and Cade Metz, who we already mentioned earlier on the show who wrote the amazing Wired article.”
-
Dynamic Economics
On Acquired, Brendan Eich recommended Burton H. Klein's older and underappreciated book during his carve outs. Eich highlighted that the author explored how firms grow, start up, and sometimes manage skunk works projects.
Recommended“it's called dynamic economics by burton klein and you've never heard of burton klein burton klein looked at how firms grow and how they start sometimes the skunk works projects”
-
Electronic Value Exchange
On Acquired in November 2023, David Rosenthal thanked David L. Stearns for his book Electronic Value Exchange, praising it as the definitive history of Visa. Throughout the episode on Visa, Rosenthal repeatedly cited anecdotes and technical details from Stearns's book, using the text to transition into discussions about the company's socio-technical aspects and data center redundancy planning.
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”
-
Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors
David Rosenthal mentioned William Shockley's textbook Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors on Acquired, noting that Morris Chang studied it in a hotel room to learn electrical engineering.
Discussed“he goes home back to the hotel from work and he studies the best textbook that he can find about electrical engineering which is entitled electrons and holes in semiconductors with applications to transistor Electronics written just recently a couple years before in 1950 by William Shockley”
-
Enzo Ferrari
On the Acquired episode titled Ferrari released on April 13, 2026, Ben Gilbert brought up Luca Dal Monte's biography of Enzo Ferrari, titled Enzo Ferrari. Gilbert credited the book as the primary source for much of the historical narrative and background details discussed throughout the episode.
Discussed“We should say that much of this history, this whole episode comes from the fantastic really definitive biography of Enzo called Enzo Ferrari written by Luca Delonte who worked at Ferrari and Maserati for many years and then after he retired dedicated about a decade of his life to researching and writing this definitive biography.”
-
Enzo Ferrari
On the Acquired episode titled Ferrari, Ben Gilbert cited Brock Yates's biography of Enzo Ferrari, titled Enzo Ferrari. Gilbert utilized a quote from the book, written by the longtime editor of Car and Driver magazine, to describe Luigi Chinetti's early impressions of America.
Discussed“So this is a quote here from Brock Yates's biography of Enzo. Brock Yates was the longtime editor of Car and Driver magazine.”
-
Expectations Investing
Michael Mauboussin discussed co-writing Expectations Investing with Alfred Rappaport on Acquired, explaining that the book was created to adapt their corporate financial principles specifically for investors.
Discussed“so that was the birth of expectations investing that former one was sort of aimed at executives at ceos”
-
Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies
On Acquired, Ben Gilbert mentioned Douglas R. Hofstadter and the Fluid Analogies Research Group's book Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies while discussing the history of Amazon.com. In the episode from August 16, 2022, Gilbert noted that the very first purchase made on the platform on April 3, 1995, was a copy of this specific title.
Discussed“Shell's friend John way wght makes the first purchase on April 3rd 1995 a book called fluid Concepts and creative analogies by Douglas hoffstead”
-
Fooled by Randomness
Michael Mauboussin discussed Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Acquired on October 5th 2021. He talked about reading the 2001 book and how it reshaped his understanding of the prevalence of randomness in the world.
Discussed“i also read full body randomness by tele obviously in 2001 as many people did and i obviously the basic point hitch in ahead like a 2x4 that there's more randomness in the world than you anticipate”
-
Full House
On an episode of Acquired in October 2021, Michael Mauboussin mentioned Full House by Stephen Jay Gould, crediting the mid-1990s book as the source of the paradox of skill concept.
Discussed“i got this idea from steven j gould in his book called full house from the mid-1990s”
-
Go Like Hell
Go Like Hell by A. J. Baime was featured on Acquired. Ben Gilbert informed listeners that the episode's discussion regarding Henry Ford II and the conflict between Ford and Ferrari was largely derived from A.J. Baime's book.
Discussed“So listeners, most of this is from the book Go Like Hell, which is the book that Ford versus Ferrari is based on, the movie.”
-
Good Strategy, Bad Strategy
On an episode of Acquired released on December 3, 2021, Packy McCormick mentioned reading Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard P. Rumelt. McCormick noted that he and a colleague read the book together while attempting to turn around struggling operations at Breather.
Discussed“we read like a bunch of ben thompson and we read good strategy bad strategy”
-
Havana Nocturne
On Acquired, Anthony Gonzalez brought up T. J. English's book Havana Nocturne to describe the historical presence of the mob and Frank Sinatra in pre-revolutionary Cuba.
Discussed“and there there's a book called havana nocturne which is really interesting and sort of graphic description of how the mob and frank sinatra and all those folks spent a lot of time down in cuba”
-
Higher Control in Management
During an episode of Acquired dedicated to the history of Mars Inc. in December 2024, co-host Ben Gilbert discussed the early business practices of Forest Mars. Gilbert explained that while Mars was in England, he read the textbook Higher Control in Management by Thomas Gerald Rose. This text was introduced to trace the origins of return on total assets as a foundational management metric used by the company.
Discussed“while he's in England Forest reads a textbook called higher control in management by TG Rose”
-
Hit Refresh
David Renthal brought up Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella on Acquired during the Microsoft Volume II episode on July 22nd 2024. He used the 2017 book to highlight the internal cultural decline at Microsoft prior to Satya Nadella taking over leadership.
Discussed“there's even a quote from SAA himself in the very first paragraph of the book that he wrote in 2017 called Hit refresh which I mean that title kind of gives it away right there”
-
I Love Capitalism!
Ken Langone's book I Love Capitalism! was referenced on an episode of Acquired focusing on The Home Depot. David Rosenthal cited the book when detailing a major boardroom conflict between Arthur, Bernie, and Ken regarding CEO succession, noting how the dispute severely damaged relationships among them.
Discussed“This leads to a big fight, like a big fight between Arthur and Bernie and Ken, as chronicled in Ken's book, I Love Capitalism, because Bernie's still on the board at this point, and I think pretty severely damages their relationship going forward.”
-
Just Do it
On the Acquired podcast episode covering Nike, David Rosenthal introduced the book Just Do It by journalist Donald R. Katz. Rosenthal referenced the work as a canonical third-party history detailing the story of the athletic brand.
Discussed“the second is a book called just do it that was written by the journalist Donald Katz”
-
Kick Up Some Dust
On Acquired, host David Rosenthal mentioned Bernie Marcus's book Kick Up Some Dust in a September 2026 episode covering The Home Depot. Rosenthal shared that he discovered the book during his background research and humorously noted that the foreword was written by Marcus's close friend, the rapper Pitbull.
Discussed“I discovered hilariously reading Bernie's book, Kick Up Some Dust. Uh, the forward of which was written by his good friend, the rapper Pitbull.”
-
Last Man Standing
On Acquired in the 2025 episode 10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis), Ben Gilbert recommended Duff McDonald's book Last Man Standing during the carveouts segment. Gilbert noted that he read the book as research to prepare for his interview with Jamie Dimon and found it to be very good.
Recommended“One great book I read for research was Last Man Standing to prep for the Jamie Diamond interview. That was really good.”
Host picks
- 7 Powers
- Sam Walton, Made in America
- In the Plex
- The Everything Store
- Made in Japan
- Project Hail Mary
- Shoe Dog
- The Genius Makers
- The Godfather
- The Luxury Strategy
- The Psychology of Money
- Titan
- Who is Michael Ovitz?
- A New Innings
- A Piece of the Action
- AI Superpowers
- All You Need to Know about the Music Business
- America's Game
- Becoming Trader Joe
- Beyond the Horizons
Guest picks
- 1929
- 7 Powers
- Competitive Strategy
- Complexity
- Creating Shareholder Value
- Creative Selection
- Dynamic Economics
- Expectations Investing
- Fooled by Randomness
- Full House
- Good Strategy, Bad Strategy
- Havana Nocturne
- Letters to a Young Poet
- Liar's Poker
- Matchmakers
- Moneyball
- Rabbits
- San Fransicko
- Scientific Advertising
- Super Pumped
Guests who recommended books
- Michael Mauboussin (6)
- David Senra (5)
- Brian Koppelman (4)
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3)
- Hamilton Helmer (2)
- Chenyi Shi (2)
- Brendan Eich (2)
- Packy McCormick (2)
- Brinton Johns (2)
- Michael Lewis (1)
- Jamie Dimon (1)
- Morris Chang (1)
- Mitch Lasky (1)
- Anthony Gonzalez (1)
- Jim Weber (1)
- Michael Ovitz (1)
Latest mentions
“I discovered hilariously reading Bernie's book, Kick Up Some Dust. Uh, the forward of which was written by his good friend, the rapper Pitbull.”
“All right. So, I I looked this up, David, in the book Built from Scratch, which is the awesome book that uh is kind of the canonical Home Depot story written by Bernie and Arthur.”
“This leads to a big fight, like a big fight between Arthur and Bernie and Ken, as chronicled in Ken's book, I Love Capitalism, because Bernie's still on the board at this point, and I think pretty severely damages their relationship going forward.”
“So listeners, this is the part where we do the seven powers framework from Hamilton Helmer's book of the same title where we try to figure out what does a company have that enables it to get persistent differential returns”
“There's even a quote in Bob Iger's book which which we haven't talked about Bob yet but we will.”
“Well, first a thank you to my main source for facts and Walt quotes on this episode. Neil Gabler's biography, Walt Disney, the triumph of the American imagination.”
“There's a great quote in the book Walt Disney and American Original by Bob Thomas that says, "Before Disney, cartoons were slapdash. Two-dimensional characters in bizarre movement before elemental backgrounds. Disney insisted on rounded humanized figures."”
“There's a great quote in the book Walt Disney and American Original by Bob Thomas that says, "Before Disney, cartoons were slapdash. Two-dimensional characters in bizarre movement before elemental backgrounds. Disney insisted on rounded humanized figures."”
“There's a great quote in the book Walt Disney and American Original by Bob Thomas that says, "Before Disney, cartoons were slapdash. Two-dimensional characters in bizarre movement before elemental backgrounds. Disney insisted on rounded humanized figures."”
“We should say that much of this history, this whole episode comes from the fantastic really definitive biography of Enzo called Enzo Ferrari written by Luca Delonte who worked at Ferrari and Maserati for many years and then after he retired dedicated about a decade of his life to researching and writing this definitive biography.”
“I mean, the title of his memoirs is my terrible joys. Tells you everything you need to know right there about Enzo's life.”
“So this is a quote here from Brock Yates's biography of Enzo. Brock Yates was the longtime editor of Car and Driver magazine.”
“So listeners, most of this is from the book Go Like Hell, which is the book that Ford versus Ferrari is based on, the movie.”
“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.”
“And as Josh and Jonathan point out in the book, the sport is literally named after the rule book.”
“But we do have some sports thank yous to Michael McCainbridge, author of America's Game, which provided much of the research for this episode.”
“It's called The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothus and it's a fantasy trilogy. He never got to the third book and I don't know what's happened to him.”
“One great book I read for research was Last Man Standing to prep for the Jamie Diamond interview. That was really good.”
“Emperors of Chocolate by Joel Glenn Brener. You ever read that? You know, so good.”
“So listeners, this comes from Benjamin Lore who wrote the exceptional book, The Secret Life of Groceries, which we're going to reference a bunch in this episode.”