MBA Books - Good books to read prior to MBA [Merged]

Just thought I would revive this thread. With Rd 2 being over in many cases hopefully lots of other people have been accepted and are now looking forward to prepping for school instead of the GMAT and applications. Some great reading lists in this thread.

Case In Point (Cosentino) anyone?

I am starting this fall and looking at consulting as a career path. Does this book provide a good overview of the process and an introduction to case interviews? Or is it something that would be a better tool once I am in classes?

(I didn't see it mentioned previously in the thread; forgive me if I missed it)

I think Case in Point is actually a great summer read prior to beginning of classes for a couple of reasons. First is the busy workload you're going to get from school will sort of prevent you from reading Case in Point. Second is simply getting all the company briefings, career services, your town, evening receptions, and everything outside of classroom situated will take a long time. Third, you can probably read that book a couple of times - once during summer and one more as you finish getting acclimated. Obviously, this is my opinion - some folks may think it's a waste of time to do it this way, but I found it to be useful (I'm no longer going into consulting, but as I went through the process I found it helpful)

As for the book, it's a great introduction to consulting and the interview process. It presents itself, I think, 12 readily available frameworks (albeit very very generic) and is a great starting point for those who are interested in this field. I'd say this is definitely a must read for those who haven't been through the consulting industry or interview. And no, I don't believe the content of the book will really help you in your classes. The book is truly geared just for those who are prepping for consulting interviews. Lastly, I really don't think the book itself will get you into a consulting firm, but it's the tens of practice cases you'll do that'll help you prep. Treat the book as things you learn in the classroom; treat case practices as real stuff. So the trick is turning theorems into practicums!

I just finished reading Poor Economics by Banerjee and Duflo. It was voted the "Business Book of The Year" by the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs in 2012. It's a very informative and easy read. I highly recommend it!

Found it extremely useful. Thank you all
...

The Elusive Quest for Growth is one I would couple with A White Man's Burden, both written by Easterly, and are both interesting reads.

Just released: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FR79A6Q.

Career Forward: Do You Need An MBA To Succeed?

From the description:

Do you need a Master of Business Administration to succeed?

Career Forward helps you answer this question and more...

...including:

Will it help you advance in business?
Will it help you make more money?
Is it worth the cost? If so, which program is right for you?

Don't make this life changing decision in isolation.

You have plenty of choices when it comes to getting an MBA. Career Forward will take you through each option in simple, organized, easy-to-read steps, giving you recommendations tailored to your needs.

Solid post. I would recommend starting out with a book or online course for speed-reading, as you're going to have a hell of a hard time doing all of this reading AND the pre-reading your chosen MBA program gives you (1200 pages, in the case of INSEAD) without proper skills. But I'm biased. I teach a course on the subject.

Hey everyone, I wanted to introduce you to a new book of mine called The MBA Survival Guide, that I think is a great read prior to or during your MBA. I cover topics around admissions strategies, student life, academics, recruiting, etc. Full disclosure that I am the author and am obviously trying to market my book to you, but having gone through the MBA process myself and consulted with a lot of friends and former classmates, I think it is a very worthwhile and entertaining read. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about my background or the book, please check it out! It can be found on Amazon at the below link or by searching the title or author name.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LNE6TKC

For guys looking to get into consulting, after Case in Point, another very good book is Victor Cheng's Case Interview secrets.

Any recommendations/suggestions specific to Operations and/or Healthcare?

I read the Portable MBA by Ken Eades. Was a lot longer than I expected and quite detailed. A couple of my class mates read MBA Prep, how to get ahead of the program which is shorter and designed to give an overview of the basics.
I would also try to brush up on any weaknesses you have - accounting, finance, statistics etc.

Here is another one maybe for those who go into the entertainment or marketing industries but really, a good business read.
Controversy Creates Cash by Eric Bischoff
https://www.amazon.com/Eric-Bischoff-Con ... eates+cash

Great post and thread, a helpful list of interesting books.

My addition to the lists would be:

1) Fooled by Randomness and Anti-fragile by Naseem Taleb
Both are funny, engaging, and make you more critical of the "experts" and conventional wisdom we are presented with. It also pokes fun at experts, including academics, MBA's, and economists. Great complement to MBA readings and corporate world experiences.

2) Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Enlightens on our thought processes, biases, and defaults embedded in our systems. Great read to help us think about how people and businesses really make decisions

3) Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and The Secret History of Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang
Argues (with interesting case studies/historical events) how the usual economic recommendations of capitalism and economic theory do not always work.

My classmate from Darden wrote a book for this purpose, it contains all the key information you need to know before you start your mba: accounting, finance, stats etc.
You can find it on Amazon, its called MBA Prep

Many people is recommending Ha-Joon Chang's "Bad Samaritans, any thoughts on "Introduction Economics: A User's Guide"?
Is it a good book to get to know basic Economics, or is there other introductory book that you would recommend?

These are the two books that I heard are best if you want to start learning economics:

1. The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume One: Microeconomics
2. The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume Two: Macroeconomics