Business Biographies

Sometimes the only way to be right is to get comfortable with being wrong. Most startup advice is dangerously misguided. The mythology of the lone genius founder, the obsession with capital raising, and the theatre of startup ecosystems lead countless ventures astray. Drawing on two decades at the heart of New Zealand's most successful technology companies – Trade Me, Xero,...

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight is a riveting memoir that unveils the remarkable journey behind the creation of Nike, one of the world's most iconic and successful brands. Phil Knight's story begins in 1962, when fresh out of business school, he embarks on a daring entrepreneurial adventure with a radical premise: to import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Armed...

From the two reporters who have covered him more closely than perhaps anyone else over the past decade comes this definitive portrait of Donald Trump in the White House and the first year of his second presidency. Based on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented reporting from deep within the administration’s most closely guarded rooms, Regime Change takes the reader into...

Start with Yourself is a game-changing, no-BS guide for anyone seeking meaningful success on their own terms. It’s an essential framework that will give you the tools and mindset to unlock your full potential in life and business—straight from a woman who defied all the odds to become a serial entrepreneur, co-founder of culture-defining global businesses, a non-profit champion, and...

The high-wire true story of the millionaire trader, who won the finance game and then blew it wide open. 'If you were gonna rob a bank, and you saw the vault door there, left open, what would you do? Would you wait around?' Ever since he was a kid, kicking broken footballs on the streets of East London in the...

A powerful call to action to think deeply about what lights you up’ TIM COOK, CEO of Apple ‘Full of great storytelling, great takeaways, and great wisdom’ SUSAN CAIN ‘An important clarifying force in anyone’s search to make the best possible choices for their life’ ANDREW HUBERMAN Throughout your life, you’ve been slowly indoctrinated to believe that money is the...

The extraordinary story of Atlassian - how two university friends with a billion-dollar idea created a global tech company. In a cramped share house in inner-city Sydney, university classmates Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar started working together to create a $160 billion company from scratch and revolutionise the way the world works. They couldn't have been more different - Cannon-Brookes...

A revelatory portrait of the visionary behind Google DeepMind, the race to control the future - and what it means to win. Even in a tech world crowded with visionary leaders, Demis Hassabis is recognised as a special case. Born to working-class, immigrant parents in North London, a chess prodigy by five and wizard coder in his teens, he turned...

How does a plane stay up in the air? Does the Mile-High Club actually exist? When you flush the toilet, where does it all go? Buckle up for some turbulence because nothing flies under the radar for Captain Jeremy Burfoot. With more than 35 years of airline experience, the former Qantas pilot presents an Airbus-load of stories about unruly passengers...

When Rupert Murdoch made a fateful decision about who should inherit his media colossus, he believed that pitting his children against each other would produce the most capable heir. Twenty-five years later, that gamble would tear apart one of the world’s most powerful families and trigger a multi-billion dollar reckoning in a succession battle featuring betrayals, lawsuits, and revenge plots....

Priscilla Presley's divorce from Elvis left his fans incredulous. How could she leave theman every woman wanted? From the outside, life in Elvis's mansion looked glamorousand enviable, and in many respects, it was. But inside the mansion, her husband wasconstantly surrounded by a male entourage while at the gates, lines of beautiful womenwaited hopefully for an audience with the King....

In Let My People Go Surfing, Yvon Chouinard takes readers on an extraordinary journey from his humble beginnings to becoming a pioneering figure in both the outdoor industry and environmental activism. This captivating memoir shares the compelling narrative of a young boy who moved to Southern California with little knowledge of English and even less money, yet grew to inspire...

The inspiration behind the Netflix TV series Painkillers, starring Uzo Aduba and Matthew Broderick. Amazon's Top 20 Best Books of the Year 'This is no dense medical tome, but a page-turner with a villainous family to rival the Roys in Succession, and one where every chapter ends with the perfect bombshell.' - Esquire The highly-anticipated portrait of three generations of...

From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era—a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter. Australian Financial Review Top 20 Read for 2023​ Elon...

The SUNDAY TIMES and #1 International Bestseller - with a new foreword by Silicon Valley legend Marc Andreessen. Becoming Steve Jobs presents an enthralling and detailed narrative of the rise, fall, and resurrection of one of the world's most iconic entrepreneurs, Steve Jobs. This meticulously crafted biography departs from conventional accounts, providing an unparalleled peek into the mind and life...

The Widow Clicquot is the New York Times bestselling business biography of the visionary young widow who built a champagne empire, became a legend in her tumultuous times, and showed the world how to live with style. Tilar J. Mazzeo brings to life the woman behind the label, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, in this utterly intoxicating book that is as much...

Cage Kings is a cultural and business history of the UFC, tracing the unlikely rise of mixed martial arts from what was derided in the '90s as 'human cockfighting'—more violence than sport—to a global pop culture phenomenon. Senator John McCain once decried mixed martial arts as 'human cockfighting,' while the New York Times despaired that the sport offered a 'pay-per-view...

An inspirational guide to achieving fulfilment and finding purpose from Social Media's fastest growing angel investor. Simon loves dreams and he wants you to live yours. This book will stop you from giving up on your goals and start building the life you want. Jay Shetty, #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author and host of the On...

Alan Joyce: Riding the Jet Stream is a compelling, factual and gripping memoir from one of Australia’s most consequential chief executives. With a network spanning seven prime ministers and countless captains of industry, Alan Joyce provides a no-holds-barred account of some of the most important decisions taken during his career leading one of aviation's most respected brands. Few chief executives...

From Michael Dell, the renowned founder and chief executive of one of America's largest technology companies, comes a compelling inside story of the battles that shaped him as a leader. Play Nice but Win is a riveting account of the three critical battles waged for Dell Technologies—one to launch it, one to keep it, and one to transform it. This...

The acclaimed biography Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson unravels the rollercoaster journey of Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple Inc. and a pioneer in the realms of personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. This compelling narrative is drawn from more than forty interviews with Jobs himself over two years, as well as interviews with...

Sometimes the only way to be right is to get comfortable with being wrong. Most startup advice is dangerously misguided. The mythology of the lone genius founder, the obsession with capital raising, and the theatre of startup ecosystems lead countless ventures astray. Drawing on two decades at the heart of New Zealand's most successful technology companies – Trade Me, Xero,...

Bestselling author of Elon Musk—over 1.5 million copies sold—returns with an incredible, untold new story of the renegade space race and the new wild west above the clouds. An instant New York Times Bestseller 'One of the most exciting tales of our time... It's the next tech frontier, and Vance turns it into a thriller' - Walter Isaacson, author of...

A breathtaking expose of who really holds the power in America, and how their henchmen have infiltrated every system of government, economics, and society today. THE WORD OF MOUTH INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER NOW UPDATED WITH 15 EXPLOSIVE NEW CHAPTERS False economics. Threats, bribes, extortion. Debt, deception, coups, assassinations, and unbridled military power. These are the tools used by the 'corporatocracy' -...

An inspirational guide to achieving fulfilment and finding purpose from Social Media's fastest growing angel investor. Simon loves dreams and he wants you to live yours. This book will stop you from giving up on your goals and start building the life you want. Jay Shetty, #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author and host of the On...

Dirtbag Billionaire by New York Times bestselling author David Gelles reveals how Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, turned the business world on its head and became a global leader in ethical business practices before giving away the source of his wealth. 'A riveting behind-the-scenes look at Patagonia-and how the trailblazing company redefined business and purpose....essential reading.' - Charles Duhigg, bestselling...

'The most explosive, mind-blowing business book I've ever read' - Bradley Hope, New York Times bestselling author of Billion Dollar Whale 'Jaw-dropping . . . well-told, well-structured and exquisitely reported' - Financial Times Discover the unauthorized, unvarnished story of famed Wall Street hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio. Ray Dalio is the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund....

Never Enough by Andrew Wilkinson offers an unflinching and candid exploration of the high stakes world of entrepreneurship and the lives of the ultra-rich. Chronicling his extraordinary journey from a modest barista to a formidable entrepreneur, Wilkinson invites readers to delve into the realities of building a billion-dollar enterprise. By the age of thirty-five, his business had surpassed the billion-dollar...

Conspiracy by Ryan Holiday is an enthralling exposé that delves deep into one of the most extraordinary and clandestine plots in modern history. At its heart, this book weaves the compelling narrative of an almost decade-long saga involving tech mogul Peter Thiel and the once influential gossip blog, Gawker Media. Through meticulous journalism and unparalleled access to the primary figures,...

That Will Never Work by Marc Randolph is an enthralling and enlightening memoir that takes readers on a journey through the birth and rise of Netflix, one of the world's most successful tech start-ups. Through Randolph's engaging narrative, we are gifted a first-hand account of how a simple, seemingly impractical idea transformed the entertainment industry and became a household name....

The First Tycoon by T.J. Stiles is a masterful and detailed biography that chronicles the extraordinary life of Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt. This compelling narrative takes readers on a vivid journey through Vanderbilt’s incredible rise from his modest beginnings to becoming one of the wealthiest and most influential figures in American history. Born during the presidency of George Washington, Vanderbilt's ascent...

From the must-read journalist on how power, money, and influence work in this country, the full story of how one of the nation’s favourite brands brought itself to ground. Before Covid, both Qantas and its CEO Alan Joyce were flying high, the darlings of customers, staff, and investors. After Covid hit, only money mattered – in particular, the company’s share...

Zero to 60 and Beyond by Tony Quinn – The Unstoppable Journey of a Self-Made Businessman and Motorsport Legend “Everyone’s got to live their own life, make the most of the cards they’re dealt, and write their own story. One of the gifts I was born with was the gift of the gab,” says Tony Quinn. From humble beginnings, turning...

From the legendary vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, lessons in investment strategy, philanthropy, and living a rational and ethical life. "A timeless classic that will change how you approach life. There is a billion-dollar education inside this book." -Shane Parrish, founder of Syrus Partners and Farnam Street "Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you...

The untold story of the mysterious company that shook the world'Groundbreaking' Dan Wang'Essential reading' Chris Miller, author of Chip WarOn the coast of southern China, an eccentric entrepreneur spent three decades steadily building an obscure telecom company into one of the world's most powerful technological empires with hardly anyone noticing. This all changed in December 2018, when the detention of...

THE bible for anyone looking to build a brand from scratch, from the co-founders of global success frank body.The only thing scarier than a new idea is an old one.Jessica Hatzis and Bree Johnson, co-founders of cult branding agency Willow & Blake and the $100m global skincare brand frank body, share their expert advice on building a brand from scratch...

G. M. ‘Tom’ Bunning helped to drive the ascent of Bunnings as one of the great successes of Western Australian private enterprise and a household name nationwide. The youngest son of the company’s founder, and one half of a successful executive partnership with elder brother Charles, Tom joined Bunnings on the eve of the Great Depression and remained with it...

This riveting book tells the story of a creative genius, from his early interest in industrial design to his meteoric rise, as well as the principles and practices that led Ive to become the designer of his generation. Steve Jobs discovered Ive in 1997, when he found the scruffy British designer toiling away in a studio surrounded by hundreds of...

Self-made real estate billionaire Sam Zell reveals the story behind his success and lays out a road map for entrepreneurs seeking to follow in his footsteps. The traits that make Sam Zell one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs also make him one of the most surprising, enigmatic, and entertaining mavericks in American business. Self-made billionaire Sam Zell consistently sees...

Jeff Bezos started Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore based out of his garage. Since then, the ever-expanding enterprise has revolutionised shopping and, in many important ways, invented e-commerce as we know it. Today, Amazon is the third-most valuable company in the world, and Bezos's vast customer-oriented empire has mushroomed to include everything from cloud computing and fresh food...

Glory, scandal, downfall, fame, and rebirth—discover the dramatic story of the rebel auto industry titan behind the stainless-steel-bodied, gull-winged sports car we all know and love from Back to the Future. The tale you thought you knew: DeLorean recounts the life and career of John Z. DeLorean, from his successful career with General Motors, where he was instrumental in launching...

The CEO of The Walt Disney Company shares the ideas and values he has used to reinvent one of the most beloved companies in the world, and inspire the people who bring the magic to life. 'One of the best business books I've read in years.' BILL GATES THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE...

INSTANT BESTSELLER! Funny, conversational, and relatable, Try Hard is for anyone looking to make sense of their own creative pursuit or bring more creativity into their life, offering a framework for how to do it and where to begin. Let's say you see a familiar musician from a globe-trotting, touring band hanging out at your local coffee shop, reading the...

A masterpiece of narrative reporting and an explosive investigation into the history of Donald Trump's wealth, from two Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters—revealing how a man once thought to be too rich to fail became the biggest loser of all. Lucky Loser is an explosive investigation into the history of Trump's wealth, drawing on over twenty years' worth of Trump's confidential tax...

The memoir of the characterful restaurateur and national treasure, Fleur Sullivan, is Fleur. A South Island legend, Fleur is the culinary maven responsible for not one but two iconic local restaurants—Olivers in Clyde and the eponymous Fleurs Place in Moeraki. Now, at the age of 72, she's running a third, The Loan and Merc, in her hometown of Oamaru. Her...

High-Rise Harry is the authorised biography of Harry Triguboff, who founded Meriton over 60 years ago and is one of the greatest entrepreneurs Australia has ever seen. From humble beginnings, born in 1933 and growing up in Tianjin, the port gateway to Beijing, China, he moved to Australia and became the biggest name in real estate and residential development in...

The brilliant autobiography from the ‘saviour of Nike’ If you’re a sneaker head, you know him as the saviour of Nike. If you’ve watched Air, you saw Matt Damon’s portrayal of the man who discovered Michael Jordan and how he revolutionised the payment structure of endorsements for athletes. Legends and Soles tells Sonny’s story – his blind-sided firing by Nike...

The origin story of one of the most influential and transformative business leaders and philanthropists of the modern age. Bill Gates is one of the most transformative figures of our age. In Source Code, he takes us back to his beginnings. He describes with candour his childhood in Seattle, the centrality of family—his close relationship with his card-playing grandmother and...

From the Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle, the dramatic, untold story inside Apple after the passing of Steve Jobs by following his top lieutenants—Jony Ive, the Chief Design Officer, and Tim Cook, the COO-turned-CEO—and how the fading of the former and the rise of the latter led to Apple losing its soul. Steve Jobs called Jony Ive his “spiritual partner...

“Riveting . . . Character Limit offers a telling lesson in the cost of getting everything you want.” —The Washington Post “You couldn’t hope for a better ringside seat on the unfolding drama . . . Character Limit is a triumph.” —The Guardian “Masterful in how it paints a picture and puts you in the room with the famous entrepreneur...

Rising star New York Times investigative tech reporters, Kate Conger and Ryan Mac, tell for the first time the full and shocking inside story of Elon Musk's unprecedented hostile takeover of Twitter and the forty-four-billion-dollar deal's seismic political and financial fallout. The definitive account of how the world's richest man, in a fit of unbridled vanity and arrogance, took over...

Losing My Virginity by Sir Richard Branson is not just an autobiography; it's a candid portrayal of one of the most innovative entrepreneurs of the modern age. In this riveting memoir, Branson takes readers on a journey through his tumultuous yet extraordinary life, offering an insider's perspective on his daring business ventures and his unyielding thirst for adventure. From his...

The Sunday Times Best Business Book of the Year 2020 A riveting narrative of ambition, hubris, and excess, Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Fall of WeWork by Reeves Wiedeman takes readers on a fascinating journey through the meteoric ascent and calamitous descent of one of the most talked-about startups of the decade. Adam Neumann, a relentless and charismatic...

The Greatest Trade Ever by Gregory Zuckerman is a thrilling account that delves into the exhilarating world of Wall Street and one man's unprecedented gamble that paid off immensely. Chronicling the dramatic events leading up to the financial collapse of 2008, this gripping narrative offers a compelling look at John Paulson, the hedge-fund manager who famously predicted the subprime mortgage...

Vanderbilt by CNN anchor and journalist Anderson Cooper and historian and novelist Katherine Howe is a captivating exploration of the rise and fall of one of America's most legendary dynasties. The book starts with the humble beginnings of eleven-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt, who worked on his father's modest boat ferrying supplies across New York Harbor in the early 19th century. Through...

Tim Cook by Leander Kahney offers an intimate and comprehensive look at the enigmatic leader who guided Apple through its most challenging period of transition. Taking the helm in 2011 after the legendary Steve Jobs, Tim Cook faced immense scrutiny and scepticism from both the public and stakeholders. Often described as unassuming and methodical, Cook defied these characterisations through transformative...

Lessons from New Zealand's top entrepreneur on surviving tough times. Michael Hill believes it's possible to succeed in a downturn— in fact, it is the perfect situation in which to perfect a business. International jewellery store-chain owner Michael Hill believes the struggling economy can be a good thing for businesses and entrepreneurs. Instead of fearing the side-effects of a recession,...

From the long-tenured head of Goldman Sachs - an institution legendary for its culture of success - comes a candid memoir of global leadership in an age of extreme turbulence. 'Lloyd Blankfein is scary smart about people, markets, and life generally. His 10,000 Small Businesses idea proved to be a huge winner, and I personally witnessed the time and effort...

This is the stranger-than-fiction story of Wirecard, once a $30 billion tech darling, now a smouldering wreck, by the journalist who brought it crashing down, for lovers of Bad Blood and The Billion Dollar Whale. When journalist Dan McCrum followed a tip to investigate the hot new tech company challenging Silicon Valley, everything about Wirecard looked a little too good...

Founder and CEO of Discovery and Vitality, Adrian Gore, built a company from a single, bold idea into a global financial group serving over 40 million customers across over 40 countries. He didn't just scale a business; he created a whole new shared-value business model, a system so revolutionary it's taught as a case study at Harvard Business School, and...

The Anarchy by William Dalrymple meticulously charts the rise of the East India Company from a modest enterprise to a formidable colonial force. Set against the backdrop of a crumbling Mughal Empire and a burgeoning British dominance, the book provides a captivating narrative of power, ambition, and historical upheaval. In August 1765, a pivotal moment in history occurred as the...

Lessons on life and business you are guaranteed to find nowhere else. Crocs are many things to many people. They're the best-selling non-sneaker shoe on the planet, for starters. For some, it's true, they're the ugliest shoe ever made. What's indisputable is, two decades later, they've been worn by billions of feet worldwide, from the supermarket to the red carpet....

How farming helped Tangaroa Walker to stand up, stand out and realise his own dreams. The awesomely inspiring true story of how Tangaroa Walker turned his life around through farming - and how what he learned can help anyone succeed. Tangaroa Walker's early years were pretty rough. Adopted twice, he went to six different schools by the time he was...

Hours in chef's whites in a classroom that doubles as the best-stocked kitchen you'll ever see: 50-quart KitchenAid mixers, balloon whisks in every diameter, CIA-issued knives, bains marie. Also: grueling hours and a giant tuition tab so that—if you're lucky enough—you can land an entry-level job that features grueling hours, low wages, and a giant uniform-and-equipment tab. Washington, a Trinidadian...

From the legendary vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, lessons in investment strategy, philanthropy, and living a rational and ethical life. Originally published in 2005, this compendium of eleven talks delivered by the legendary Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman between 1986 and 2007 has become a touchstone for a generation of investors and entrepreneurs seeking to absorb the enduring wit and wisdom of one...

A pyrotechnic examination of Elon Musk as a symptom and avatar of our postliberal age Who on earth is Elon Musk and what is he doing? Is he a hero, a villain, or does he swing constantly between those two poles? According to the constant media gush driven by his every act and pronouncement, Musk is best understood in personal...

'Feeling stuck? You need to read this book. Let Bobbi's powerful story be your reminder that you don’t need permission and you don’t have to feel ready. You just have to start.' MEL ROBBINS, no. 1 bestselling author of The Let Them Theory ‘If people want a bit of self-help, they want a bit of intrigue, they want a bit...

By day he made thousands of dollars a minute. By night, he spent it as fast as he could on drugs, sex, and travel. From the binge that sank a 170-foot motor yacht, crashed a Gulfstream jet, and ran up a $700,000 hotel tab; to the wife and kids who waited for him at home; and the fast-talking, hard-partying young...

From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era—a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter. Australian Financial Review Top 20 Read for 2023​ When...

In the age of big data, no company embodies its promise and its perils more than Palantir. This software firm sells some of the most powerful and dangerous technology in the world, ingesting huge quantities of data and spotting patterns, trends, and connections that would likely elude most people. Apart from Facebook, you’d be hard-pressed to find another tech company...

Destination Moon is an open-hearted memoir about passion and finding purpose from the woman whose mid-career one-eighty led her from Formula 1 to opening the world-famous Lune Croissanterie. At thirteen, Kate Reid already knew exactly where she was headed: a career in Formula 1, a life lived at full throttle. Like a master cartographer, she had drawn the map of...

A fleet of modern rockets among the most powerful in the world. A lunar land rush that has sparked a competition over the strategic high ground. Scientific discoveries that could offer new insights into the origins of the solar system. Escalating brinkmanship between the world's two richest men. Space has entered a golden age, and this is just the beginning....

An all-access pass to one of Hollywood's most scandalous companies. Explosive Esquire Epic Financial Times Riveting Vanity Fair Sumner Redstone was the CEO of Hollywood's most powerful company - in charge of Indiana Jones and Star Wars, film studios and TV production companies, a fleet of private jets and tailor-made jewellery lines. He was notorious for his fearsome temper, his...

How do you lead a fulfilling life? That profound question animates this book of inspiration and insight from world-class business strategist and bestselling author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton Christensen. After beating a heart attack, advanced-stage cancer, and a stroke in three successive years, the world-renowned innovation expert and author of one of the bestselling and most influential business books...

Paul Barry's The Rise and Rise of Kerry Packer is a classic piece of Australian non-fiction publishing. Originally released in 1993 when Packer was still alive, it has sold well over a quarter of a million copies and is widely seen as the definitive book on a man who, throughout his remarkable life, mystified, inspired, and challenged those around him....

The daring adventures of a New Zealand search and rescue Pilot. The daring adventures of a New Zealand search and rescue Pilot. 'Somewhere, up ahead, a person is bleeding, but you have to put that out of your mind. Your job is negotiating with time and space. You have your clock, that person has their own, and in the end,...

Picking up where Liar’s Poker left off (literally, in the bond dealer’s desks of Salomon Brothers), the story of Long-Term Capital Management involves a group of elite investors who believed they could beat the market and, like alchemists, create limitless wealth for themselves and their partners. Founded by John Meriwether, a notoriously confident bond dealer, along with two Nobel Prize...

Inspiring peanut butter recipes plus everything you might want to know about your favourite spread and the characters behind the much-loved Pic's brand. Recipes and more from Pic's Peanut Butter. As well as giving a fabulous range of tasty peanut butter recipes, both sweet and savoury, this book tells stories about how the brand got started. From the early days,...

From the New York Times bestselling author of Return of the King comes the story of LeBron James's incredible transformation from basketball star to sports and business mogul. With eight straight trips to the NBA Finals, LeBron James has proven himself one of the greatest basketball players of all time. And like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan before him, LeBron...

The real story behind the mercurial Masayoshi Son, who has three times lost and made tens of billions of dollars. Gambling Man is the biography of one of the world's least known but most consequential investors. Japan's Masayoshi Son has made and lost several fortunes, investing or controlling assets worth $1 trillion in the past two decades through his media-tech...