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ExecMBA Books

MBA textbooks worth buying used

By · Last reviewed

Why this list

Most of what an executive needs from an MBA is in short, cheap books. A few subjects are different. Corporate finance, valuation, managerial economics and marketing each have one big reference that the shorter books are built on, and sooner or later you want the full version on your desk.

These are textbook-priced, and new editions arrive often. For a reader working alone, that is good news: the theory in corporate finance, managerial economics and marketing does not change on a publisher's cycle, so a used copy one or two editions back is usually the right purchase. I have added one advanced reference from data and decision-making because it plays the same role for that subject.

I left out study aids and outlines. They are useful in the last week before an exam, but they are not references you keep.

How to use it

Do not read these cover to cover. Use them the way you would use a good engineering handbook: when a decision at work raises a question the shorter books do not answer, go to the relevant chapter.

Buy the current edition only if a course requires it and sets problems or page references from it. Otherwise, older editions are the honest recommendation. Check the publication year and the table of contents before buying, and avoid international or instructor editions if you are unsure what they contain.

Read a primer first. The Little Book of Valuation before Principles of Corporate Finance, Naked Economics before Managerial Economics and Business Strategy. A textbook is much easier to use when you already know what you are looking for.

The list

  1. 1Cover of Principles of Corporate Finance

    Principles of Corporate Finance

    Richard A. Brealey, Stewart C. Myers & Franklin Allen · 1981 · Advanced · about 40 h · $$$

    The standard reference for corporate finance, and the one I would buy first. It covers valuation, capital budgeting, capital structure, payout policy and risk in full depth. The core theory moves slowly, so an edition or two behind the current one is fine for self-study; check the table of contents if you need recent material on topics that change.<!-- VERIFY --> Buy it after a primer such as The Little Book of Valuation, not instead of one.

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  2. 2Cover of Valuation

    Valuation

    Tim Koller, Marc Goedhart & David Wessels · 1990 · Advanced · about 30 h · $$$

    Second because it is the practitioner's companion to the finance textbook. Where Brealey, Myers and Allen explain the theory, Koller, Goedhart and Wessels show how a valuation is actually built and checked.<!-- VERIFY --> Older editions keep the method intact. Newer ones update the examples and market data, which matters more to an analyst than to an executive reading a deal memo.<!-- VERIFY -->

    Full review comingBuy on Amazon ↗

  3. 3Cover of Managerial Economics and Business Strategy

    Managerial Economics and Business Strategy

    Michael R. Baye & Jeffrey T. Prince · 1997 · Advanced · about 35 h · $$$

    Third, for executives who want the economics behind pricing, market structure and competitive behavior in a business setting rather than a general economics course. It is written for business students, with applied examples.<!-- VERIFY --> An older edition teaches the same models. If your EMBA assigns a specific edition and sets problems from it, buy that one; otherwise used and slightly dated is the sensible choice.

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  4. 4Cover of Marketing Management

    Marketing Management

    Philip Kotler & Kevin Lane Keller · 1967 · Advanced · about 40 h · $$$

    The comprehensive reference for marketing, and the one where edition matters most. The fundamentals of segmentation, positioning and the marketing mix change slowly, but newer editions spend more space on digital channels.<!-- VERIFY --> For an executive, an older edition covers what you need; for anything on digital, read something more recent alongside it. It is a reference to consult, not a book to read straight through.

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  5. 5Cover of Data Science for Business

    Data Science for Business

    Foster Provost & Tom Fawcett · 2013 · Advanced · about 14 h · $$

    Not textbook-priced like the others, but it plays the same role for data: the reference that explains how data mining and predictive models work in business terms. Provost and Fawcett focus on the thinking behind the methods rather than on code.<!-- VERIFY --> There has been little need to chase newer printings; the concepts are what you are buying.<!-- VERIFY --> Read it after a primer such as Naked Statistics.

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