Podcast
Acquired book list: the books mentioned on the show
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.
Books from the latest episodes
Most recommended on Acquired
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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The Smartest Guys in the Room
On Acquired, Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind's The Smartest Guys in the Room was extensively discussed by David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert during a dedicated episode on Enron. The hosts quoted passages from the book to illustrate the insidiousness of Enron's corporate culture, examine Jeff Skilling's push for mark-to-market accounting, describe pipeline assets, and detail the fake trading floor set up to deceive Wall Street analysts.
Discussed“so you read the smartest guys in the room right by Bethany McLean”
Where to get it
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Skunk Works
On Acquired, hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal extensively discussed Skunk Works by Ben Rich and Leo Janos. Gilbert recommended the autobiographical book, read several passages and quotes regarding early operations and prototype reveals, and compared the engineering principles and management styles to modern Silicon Valley culture.
Recommended“there is a wonderful book there are a bunch of wonderful books around Lockheed but a book titled Skunk Works that was written by Ben Rich who was Kelly's second in command for a long time at Skunk Works”
Where to get it
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Super Pumped
On Acquired, hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, alongside guests Brian Koppelman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, discussed Mike Isaac's "Super Pumped" in a February 2022 episode. The participants examined the book as primary source material for the Showtime series adaptation detailing Uber's rise and IPO. Gordon-Levitt noted that he read the book to prepare for his role, while Koppelman recalled how he initially discovered the manuscript via Twitter before publication.
Discussed“Well, for listeners who don't know the events of, you know, Uber leading all the way up through their IPO and the implosion around that and the just insane story that all of that was is coming out as a Showtime series on February 27th called Super Pumped.”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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The Formula
The Formula by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg was featured on Acquired. David Rosenthal thanked the authors, who are sports editors at the Wall Street Journal, for publishing the work, noting it served as a primary business history source for the episode on Formula 1.
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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The Ride of a Lifetime
On the Acquired episode titled Disney: The Renaissance and the Empire, David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert repeatedly discussed Robert Iger's book The Ride of a Lifetime. David Rosenthal cited the book to introduce Roy E. Disney's resignation letter and to highlight the growing tension between Pixar and Disney. Ben Gilbert referenced the book while examining Iger's campaign framing to become CEO and detailing his first phone call with Steve Jobs after taking the role. Additionally, Rosenthal referenced Iger's book during discussions of Disney's scale and stability during the Capital Cities acquisition.
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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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”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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God's Secret Formula
On the November 24, 2025, episode of Acquired titled "Coca-Cola," Ben Gilbert discussed Peter Plichta's book Secret Formula. He described it as a great history of Coca-Cola that had access to corporate archives, using excerpts from the book to illustrate John Pemberton's pivot toward affordable refreshment and to explain how Asa Candler made his son memorize the secret ingredients.
Discussed“The book I was reading, which is called Secret Formula, a great book on the history of Coca-Cola that had access to all the corporate archives, really describes Peton in this phase as finding his capitalist streak”
Where to get it
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The Animated Man
On an episode of Acquired in June 2026, Ben Gilbert referenced J. Michael Barrier's The Animated Man while discussing the history of The Walt Disney Company. Gilbert used excerpts from the book to highlight the financial and labor pressures the studio faced in 1941 and the analytical factors behind selecting Anaheim as the site for Disneyland.
Discussed“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."”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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Supremacy
On the Acquired podcast episode titled Google: The AI Company, Ben Gilbert cited Parmy Olson's book Supremacy as a key source for the history of DeepMind. Specifically, Gilbert referenced a quote by Shane Legg featured in the book and also cited Olson's reporting regarding the rumored valuation of up to eight hundred million dollars for Facebook's acquisition offer for DeepMind.
Recommended“Shane has a quote in Parm Olsen's great book Supremacy that we used as a source for a lot of this deep mind story.”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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Liar's Poker
On an episode of Acquired, Brian Koppelman recommended the new unabridged audiobook release of Michael Lewis's book Liar's Poker, noting that the author had also produced a companion podcast. Later in the same episode, David Rosenthal brought up the book as an example of a cultural Rorschach test that was created intending one thing but received differently by audiences.
Discussed“Like, you know, there's Michael Lewis's Liar's Poker, there's The Social Network which we've talked about, were maybe written or created intending one thing and then get received, Joe, you know, they're responding to confidence and your thought that like people will like Travis more than you might think.”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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)," co-host Ben Gilbert recommended Deep Thinking Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins by Garry Kasparov. He directed listeners to find the title through the sponsor's curated reading list at blinkist.com/Nvidia.
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.”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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Letters to a Young Poet
On an episode of Acquired titled Super Pumped with Brian Koppelman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt released on February 22, 2022, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt recommended Rainer Maria Rilke's book Letters to a Young Poet. He mentioned that Rian Johnson had gifted him a copy and praised it as a wonderful book featuring a mentor poet writing letters to a young writer.
Recommended“Rian sent me a copy of uh the book Letters to a Young Poet by Rilke, which is a wonderful book that I highly recommend. And one of the things it talks about in the right towards the beginning of the book, it's sort of a mentor poet speaking to writing a letter to a young poet.”
Where to get it
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Masters of Doom
On Acquired in 2022, David Rosenthal recommended David Kushner's book Masters of Doom during a holiday special, describing it as a very well-written book.
Where to get it
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Matchmakers
On an episode of Acquired, Chenyi Shi brought up the book Matchmakers by David S. Evans and Richard Schmalensee. Shi noted that both she and Hamilton Helmer thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and learned a great deal from the economists' deep dive into the historical roots and fundamental economic principles governing platforms.
Recommended“you know there's a book that hamilton and i both really enjoyed reading and learned a lot from it's called the matchmakers from evans and schmalenzi so both are economists who've thought really deeply about platforms”
Where to get it
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Memory's Legion
On an episode of Acquired, Ben Gilbert recommended the short story collection Memory's Legion by James S. A. Corey. During the carve-outs segment of the show, he praised the authors and noted that the book serves as a great collection of short stories even for readers who are unfamiliar with the broader expanse story universe.
Recommended“and they released a compendium of all the short stories plus a few new ones called memories legion and this is really cool like i mean they're great writers great short stories to read even if you don't know anything about the expanse story”
Where to get it
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Open
On Acquired, Ben Gilbert recommended Open by Andre Agassi during the wrap-up segment of the episode, mentioning it as one of the books he read while on vacation.
Recommended“my quick one is the second book that i read on vacation which is open by andre agassi his co-writer or ghost writer i don't know the right term”
Where to get it
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Rabbits
Packy McCormick recommended Terry Miles's thriller novel Rabbits on Acquired during the carve-outs segment at the conclusion of the episode.
Recommended“so this book is called rabbits”
Where to get it
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San Fransicko
On Acquired, Brendan Eich recommended Michael Shellenberger's San Fransicko as part of his carve-outs to discuss the current state of San Francisco.
Recommended“mike schellenberger san francisco is worth reading if you're from the bay area a long time like i've been because it ain't good”
Where to get it
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Saul
On the Costco episode of Acquired, Ben Gilbert mentioned the self-published book Saul by Robert Browning, noting that it was written by Saul Price's son Robert Price and serves as the primary text detailing the history of Costco and Price Club.
Recommended“we mentioned that there's basically one book about Costco and Price Club and it is self-published by Saul Price's son Robert price as you can imagine it's out of print we managed to get our hands on three of them”
Where to get it
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Scientific Advertising
David Senra mentioned Claude Hopkins's book Scientific Advertising on Acquired in March 2023 during a discussion on the history of advertising pioneers, noting that the popular book had sold millions of copies.
Recommended“also a good Founders episode yes he's excellent that that that um that book scientific advertising sold like eight or ten million copies”
Where to get it
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Starting strength
On an episode of Acquired in March 2022, Ben Gilbert mentioned Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe as part of a carve-out when discussing his new weightlifting routine.
Recommended“called starting strength by Mark ripo”
Where to get it
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Strategic Sourcing and Category Management
On an episode of Acquired examining IKEA in November 2024, co-host Ben Gilbert recommended the book Strategic Sourcing and Category Management by Magnus Carlsson. Gilbert highlighted that the book was written by an author who served as a senior executive in IKEA's supply chain for twenty-five years, making it a valuable resource for understanding the company's operational strategies and lessons learned.
Recommended“There's a book called strategic Outsourcing and category management Lessons Learned at Ikea by Magnus Carlson and Magnus was a senior executive in Ikea supply chain for 25 years”
Where to get it
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The Artist's Way
On Acquired, Ben Gilbert recommended The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, noting that he originally read it as part of a college class on personal creativity and innovation at Ohio State.
Recommended“it's called the artist sway by julia cameron oh yeah tim ferris loves this book right yeah i read it as a part of a college class a cool class at ohio state called personal creativity and innovation”
Where to get it
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The Dream of Solomeo
On the Acquired holiday special episode, guest David Senra discussed The Dream of Solomeo by Brunello Cucinelli, highlighting it as one of his favorite business biographies from the hundreds of entrepreneurs he had studied.
Recommended“so it's the dream of salo my life and the idea of humanistic capitalism by brunello cinelli and i had to have him on my list out of you know the 330 entrepreneurs that i've studied for the podcast so far”
Where to get it
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The Emperors of Chocolate
On Acquired in the 2025 episode 10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis), David Rosenthal recommended Joel Glenn Brenner's book The Emperors of Chocolate during the carveouts segment, telling listeners and co-hosts how good the book is.
Recommended“Emperors of Chocolate by Joel Glenn Brener. You ever read that? You know, so good.”
Where to get it
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The Idea Factory
On Acquired, Brinton Johns recommended Jon Gertner's book The Idea Factory. Johns highlighted it as a definitive history of Bell Labs and recommended it to anyone interested in the history of semiconductors and Claude Shannon's information theory.
Recommended“there's this great book by the way called ”
Where to get it
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The Invisible Billionaire, Daniel Ludwig
During the Holiday Special 2023 episode of Acquired, guest David Senra recommended the biography The Invisible Billionaire, Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields, noting that it is the sole book written about Daniel Ludwig.
Recommended“and so there's only one book on them and it's this book called The Invisible billionaire Daniel lwig it's a biography of daniel lwig written by jerry shields”
Where to get it
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The Name of the Wind
During the 10 Years of Acquired episode, Michael Lewis recommended the fantasy novel The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and Marc Simonetti during the carveouts segment.
Recommended“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.”
Where to get it
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The Power Law
On a holiday special episode of Acquired in December 2022, Ben Gilbert discussed The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby, praising its deep historical coverage of the venture capital industry.
Recommended“the power law by Sebastian Melody”
Where to get it
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The Qualcomm Equation
Ben Gilbert mentioned Dave Mock's book The Qualcomm Equation on Acquired in November 2022, thanking the author and highlighting the work as the definitive, though relatively unknown, history of Qualcomm used in their research.
Recommended“well one small bit of Ado before we dive into the story is we owe a big thank you to Dave mock the author of The Incredible Book the Qualcomm equation Y which is not wellknown but is the definitive history of Qualcomm”
Where to get it
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The Score Takes Care of Itself
On the February 20, 2024, episode of Acquired focusing on Hermès, Ben Gilbert briefly mentioned reading Bill Walsh's leadership and coaching book, The Score Takes Care of Itself, co-written with Steve Jamison and Craig Walsh, as part of his past reading experiences.
Where to get it
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The Search
Ben Gilbert brought up John Battelle's book The Search on Acquired to provide statistics regarding internet growth during the early days of the web.
Recommended“This is from John Battel's book, The Search, which is excellent. From 1993 to 1996, the web grew from 130 sites to more than 600,000.”
Where to get it
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The Secret Life of Groceries
On an episode of Acquired focusing on Trader Joe’s released on October 27, 2025, Ben Gilbert mentioned Benjamin Lorr's book The Secret Life of Groceries. Gilbert used the exceptional book to introduce background history regarding the origins of the Southland Corporation and early convenience stores.
Recommended“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.”
Where to get it
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Thinking, Fast and Slow
On Acquired, Ben Gilbert recommended Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky's Thinking, Fast and Slow during the Holiday Special 2023. He named it as one of his top book recommendations, noting that it challenges conventional beliefs about how the brain perceives the world and makes decisions.
Recommended“my third one is a classic Thinking Fast and Slow by kman and tersi it's just everything you think you know about the way your brain perceives the world and how you make decisions is wrong”
Where to get it
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Transitions
On Acquired, David Rosenthal brought up Transitions by William Bridges and Susan Bridges, noting that it is the book he has gifted most often.
Recommended“the one that i have gifted the most is a book called transitions by william bridges which was first given to me by ben and my good friend friend mark in seattle”
Where to get it
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Understanding Michael Porter
On Acquired, Michael Mauboussin recommended Joan Magretta's book Understanding Michael Porter. Mauboussin noted that he frequently suggests the text to individuals who want an accessible entry point into Michael Porter's frameworks for competitive strategy.
Recommended“in fact i usually recommend that people who are interested in understanding porter read a book by a woman named joan mcgretta called understanding michael porter”
Where to get it
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Unrequited Infatuations
On Acquired, guest Brian Koppelman recommended Stevie Van Zandt's memoir during the episode. He noted that he had just read the book and described it as an amazing read about art and commerce by the musician and actor widely known as Bruce Springsteen's right hand or James Gandolfini's right hand in The Sopranos.
Recommended“And second, for this conversation we're having, there's a book I just read called Unrequited Infatuations by Little Steven Van Zandt, who you know as either Bruce Springsteen's right hand or as James Gandolfini's right hand in The Sopranos... And it's an amazing book about art and commerce, and about uh all these questions, unrequited infatuations. I highly recommend it.”
Where to get it
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Who Knew
On the October 1, 2025 episode of Acquired, David Rosenthal brought up Barry Diller's memoir Who Knew. The host complimented the book before asking the guest about the first chapter of his career working in Hollywood.
Recommended“you recently wrote your memoir, Who Knew, which is excellent. The first chapter of your career was in Hollywood.”
Where to get it
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Wool
On an episode of Acquired, David Rosenthal thanked Ben Gilbert for recommending the sci-fi novel Wool by Hugh Howey, noting that he had read the first book in the Silo series.
Recommended“well I have to give you a big thank you because over the last couple weeks since your recommendation I have read the book wool which is the first in the series that is The Silo series on Apple TV”
Where to get it
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Yield: How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance
David Rosenthal cited Ari Paparo's book Yield on Acquired while discussing the history, foundation, and advertising dominance of DoubleClick.
Recommended“There's a new book that actually just came out by Ari Paparro. The book is called Yield.”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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. ”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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Electrons and holes in semiconductors, with applications to transistor electronics
On Acquired, David Rosenthal mentioned Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors, with Applications to Transistor Electronics by William Shockley. He noted that Morris Chang studied this specific electrical engineering textbook in his hotel room to advance his technical knowledge.
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”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies
On Acquired, Ben Gilbert mentioned Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies by Douglas R. Hofstadter and the Fluid Analogies Research Group during an episode about Amazon.com on August 16, 2022. Gilbert brought up the book while noting that it was the very first item ever purchased on Amazon on April 3, 1995, by a friend of Shell's named John Wainwright.
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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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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”
Where to get it
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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.”
Where to get it
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Leading by Design
On the November 18, 2024 episode of Acquired, David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert discussed autobiographical literature about Ikea, specifically referencing Leading by Design by Bertil Torekull and Ingvar Kamprad as the most canonical autobiographical book on the subject.
Discussed“and you read all of leading by Design right that's sort of the most canonical sort of autobiographical book”
Where to get it
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Moneyball
On an episode of Acquired titled The Legend Michael Mauboussin on Acquired! released on October 5, 2021, guest Michael Mauboussin discussed Michael Lewis's book Moneyball. Mauboussin explained that reading the book was a pivotal moment that sparked his deep interest in analyzing and untangling the concepts of skill and luck.
Discussed“but then i read moneyball and i was like this is awesome this is like so interesting right”
Where to get it
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One from Many
On the Visa episode of Acquired, David Rosenthal read a passage from Dee Hock's book One from Many to illustrate Hock's vision for organizations that handle digital information and transactions.
Discussed“there's this great passage from him in his book one for many he says any organization that could guarantee transport and settle transactions in the form of arranged electronic particles that's what he calls digital information”
Where to get it
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Onward
On the Acquired podcast episode featuring Starbucks, Ben Gilbert brought up Howard Schultz and Joanne Gordon's book Onward to discuss Howard Schultz's return as CEO of Starbucks in the year 2008.
Discussed“and when you came back in 2008 I mean this is the whole Crux of your book onward there's an entire books worth of material here”
Where to get it
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Porsche-Excellence Was Expected
On the Acquired podcast episode Porsche (with Doug DeMuro), David Rosenthal mentioned the book Porsche-Excellence Was Expected by Karl E. Ludvigsen. Rosenthal cited the text as an incredible history of Porsche and acknowledged it as a vital resource used in researching the episode.
Discussed“there is this incredible history of Porsche called Excellence was expected that was written by Carl lewison and we have to owe a big thank you to him”
Where to get it
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Sony
During an episode of Acquired, David Rosenthal discussed the biography Sony by John Nathan. He referenced the book while exploring historical details surrounding Akio Morita's early life and background, noting accounts of how Morita's younger brothers were training to become kamikaze pilots during that era.
Discussed“i think they even say either in the sony book by john nathan or in akio morita's book that his younger brothers were actively sort of training to be kamikaze pilots like that would have been his future”
Where to get it
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Swoosh
On the Acquired podcast episode titled Nike, David Rosenthal brought up the book Swoosh by J. B. Strasser and Laurie Becklund. Rosenthal introduced it as the third key book concerning the history of Nike, noting that most people likely have not read it.
Discussed“and then the third book is a book called swoosh which I bet most people have not read but kind of like Taste of luxury”
Where to get it
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Taylor Swift The Brightest Star
On Acquired, David Rosenthal mentioned Michael Francis Taylor's unofficial biography during a deep dive into Taylor Swift. Rosenthal noted that although unofficial, the book was thoroughly researched by a British author and served as the backbone for much of the episode's research.
Discussed“it is unofficial of course but it is really well researched by a man named michael francis taylor who is a brit and it is called taylor swift the brightest star”
Where to get it
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The Cola Wars
Michael Ovitz referenced J. C. Louis and Harvey Yazijian's book The Cola Wars on Acquired to illustrate the intense market share battles between Coca-Cola and Pepsi during the 1980s and 1990s, noting how Pepsi was actively hurting their business at the time.
Discussed“we're getting hurt by pepsicola and bear in mind in the 80s and 90s there was a book written called the cola wars where these guys were fighting like cats and dogs for mark for market share”
Where to get it
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The Enzo Ferrari Memoirs. My Terrible Joys ... Edited by Richard Hough. Translated by Ivan Scott. [With Plates, Including Portraits.].
During the Acquired episode titled Ferrari, Ben Gilbert referenced Enzo Ferrari's memoirs titled The Enzo Ferrari Memoirs. My Terrible Joys. Gilbert highlighted the revealing nature of the book's title to illustrate the emotional burdens and challenges of Ferrari's life history.
Discussed“I mean, the title of his memoirs is my terrible joys. Tells you everything you need to know right there about Enzo's life.”
Where to get it
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The Genius of the System
On the Acquired podcast episode Benchmark’s Mitch Lasky and Blake Robbins on The Art of Business in Gaming, guest Mitch Lasky brought up Thomas Schatz's book The Genius of the System. Lasky explained that the book served as a major inspiration by illustrating the intersection of business and creativity within the film industry.
Discussed“so I was very much inspired by a book that I think you you know as well right the genius of the system by Thomas schaff”
Where to get it
The other 13 books mentioned on Acquired, ranked, with the latest episode and time
- The High Cost of Low Wages by Jirs Meuris
- The IKEA Story by Bertil Torekull
- The Most Important Thing Illuminated by Howard Marks
- The Origin of Wealth by Eric Beinhocker
- The PIMS Principles by Robert Dow Buzzell
- The Road Ahead by Bill Gates
- The tao of Charlie Munger by David Clark
- The Tao of Cricket by Ashis Nandy
- Walt Disney by Neal Gabler
- Walt Disney: an American Original, Commemorative Edition by Bob Thomas
- White Shadows in the South Seas by Frederick O'Brien
- Working Backwards by Colin Bryar
- World War 3.0 by Ken Auletta
Guests who recommended books
- Michael Mauboussin (6)
- David Senra (5)
- Brian Koppelman (4)
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3)
- Brinton Johns (3)
- Hamilton Helmer (2)
- Chenyi Shi (2)
- Brendan Eich (2)
- Packy McCormick (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."”
“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.”
“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.”
“The book I was reading, which is called Secret Formula, a great book on the history of Coca-Cola that had access to all the corporate archives, really describes Peton in this phase as finding his capitalist streak”
“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.”
“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.”
Episodes
Link to this list from your show notes
Host or produce Acquired? Give your listeners every book mentioned on the show, with the episode and the minute it came up. New episodes are added as they come out.
