There is so much printed matter that is junk.  These are the few books I'd recommend.  Most of these are targeted towards investors because that's what is occupying an increasing amount of my focus. Many of these books interlock very closely with each other, providing a grand multidiscipline view of the world.

• The Millionaire Next Door, Stanley and Danko
I put this book first because it talks about such fundamental issues of lifestyle.  If you don't get this part right, you can forget about investment.  I can save you the cost of the book by simply saying that most wealthy people follow some very basic rules: live well below your means and invest the remainder wisely.  The most important part is living below your means.  People try to save money by clipping coupons or working very hard to save a few thousand dollars on the price of an expensive car.  That's not what it's about.  It's about not owning an expensive car and not living an expensive lifestyle.  It means accepting that most people will assume you have a lot less money than you do.
• The Joy of Not Working, Ernie J. Zelinski
It may seem sacreligious for someone who believes in working dilligently toward our personal goals to suggest a book that advocates not working. There's an important distinction between having the independence to choose what you want to do with your life, and having to work at a job to pay the bills. Big difference.
• Thinking Strategically, Dixit and Nalebuff
This is a fairly good book on basic methodology in strategy covering sequential and non-sequential move based situations and the methods for solving or reducing them to their fundamental forms.  In other words, most people will find this book boring.
• The Armchair Economist, Steven E Landsburg
The difference between economics as understood by economists and the economics as understood by the masses is like the difference between astronomy and astrology.  For those who don't know economics (which includes almost everyone, including people who took an economics course in college).
• Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go, Kageyama Toshiro
Written by an excellent teacher in the game of Go (an 4,000 year old Chinese game).  There are better books on specific areas of the game, but this is the best overall book.
• The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Al Ries and Jack Trout
Two veterans of corporate America distill their knowledge of marketing down to 22 laws, many of which are counter-intuitive.
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell
This book looks at trends/epidemics and how the course of very big things is often changed by a surprisingly few number of people. It also covers strange things like the Broken Windows theory of criminal behavior, which is totally non-intuitive. "James Q. Wilson and George Kelling.... argued that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread.... Muggers and robbers, whether opportunistic or professional, believe they reduce their chances of being caught or even identified if they operate on streets where potential victims are already intimidated by prevailing conditions.... This is an epidemic theory of crime. It says that crime is contagious -- just as a fashion is contagious -- that it can start with a broken window and spread to an entire community."
• Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America
The king of rationality and common sense in the business world.  This book is a collection of writings from Berkshire Hathaway's annual reports over the years.
• The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins
This book argues very convincingly that evolution is about survival of the gene (not species or even individual). We animals and plants are simply the machines that help them survive.  The book is adapted for the general population, but doesn't lose its rigor and accuracy.  Good use of game theory.  The net result are some very startling concepts that are not recommended for those with weak stomachs.
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert B. Cialdoni
This boils down the art of influencing people to a basic set of 6 methods.  Companies and people use these methods on us daily.  This book is a good way to lower your distortion level.
• Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life, David D. Friedman
This book covers some of the same concepts as The Armchair Economist, but it's more in-depth.
• The Art of War, Sun Tsu (James Clavell translation is the best)
The greatest book of strategy ever written.
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
An outstanding short book by an outstanding person.  This was highly recommended by Charlie Munger (Berkshire Hathaway's 2nd in command) and I started reading it reluctantly only to be amazed by two things: 1) This guy did not fit the image of how the Founding Fathers of the USA are portrayed, 2) Fundamentally, the world has changed very little since the 1700s.
• Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond
Explains why Europeans and Western Civilization dominiated the world rather than some other civilization along with mountains of evidence and very well developed arguments.  The root cause cited is due to environmental factors alone and the evidence is overwhelming.
• Titan : The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Ron Chernow
Excellent book about a fantastically misunderstood business leader.  The book takes no sides and shows the good and the bad with unwavering objectivity.
• Chainsaw : The Notorious Career of Al Dunlap in the Era of Profit-At-Any-Price
A detailed chronicle of the disaster at Sunbeam caused by one of the greatest destroyers of wealth in the entire business world.  I highly recommend this book as a means of understanding the dynamics involved between a board of directors, CEO, CFO, shareholders, and employees.  It's a very compelling book.
• The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor, David S. Landes
A great book that seeks to objectively understand the disparity of wealth.  This book stands in contrast to Guns, Germs, and Steel.  After reading both books, I believe Guns, Germs, and Steel better gets to the real root cause.  Landes' book is a good 2nd perspective.
• How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It, Arthur Herman
A fairly outrageous claim (no, I'm not Scottish), but you'd be surprised to see how much of what we consider modern civilization was actually "invented" by the Scots (including the very term "civilization"). The key point of the book is to show how progress occurs over time, what fosters it, what hinders it. This is a book recommended by Charlie Munger (of Berkshire Hathaway) and is definitely worth reading, especially after reading the book Ice Age by John and Mary Gribbin, which details how the theory of global ice ages was developed over a long time period. It serves as a good proxy for how new ideas are developed and catch hold.

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