英文原文首发于Fourtune，作者也为美国人，他推荐了11本书，其中包括《影响力》、《人性的弱点》、《国富论》等4本书，我自己读过，剩余的，决定买来看看。
作者对每本书都做了分析，很不错，因此，为便于阅读，我将英文原文进行了翻译。我的译文，大家参考去看。如果您懂英文，那就抛开我的翻译，进行英文阅读。希望我们能多多读书，并真正享受自己的阅读之旅。
By the way，坚持翻译，也是提高英语技能的方法，大家空闲时，读到好的文章，同样可以将它翻译出来哦。
I don’t blame people for wanting to get an MBA. It’s not their fault they’ve been duped into believing it’s the best way to further their career in business.
在此，我无意于批评那些想获得MBA学位的人。他们听信人言，以为这就是拓展职业生涯最好的途径，这实在不是他们自己的错。
But, as we all know, (and Goldman Sachs agrees) spending over $100,000 for a useless educationand putting yourself in debt for the next 10 years—is the wrong move for 95% of people.
但，众所周知（连高盛集团也同意），对于百分之九十五的人来说，花上10万美元攻读一个毫无价值的证书，并因此令自己接下去10年背负债务，真是不明智之举。
So how are you supposed to learn what you need to get ahead?
那么，我们应该如何获取向前迈步需要学习的那些东西呢？
Books. Now, I know that’s an ambiguous answer. There are millions of books. Thousands on every topic. You could spend your entire life reading books on business. I’m here to solve that problem.
读书！当然，我知道这个回答实在模棱两可，太过空泛。世界上的书可真是浩如烟海。每一个主题的书籍，也都成千上万。如果想要读完所有商业书籍，可能都得花费一辈子的时间。我在这里，就是要解决这个问题。
Go to the first source。
寻找首选资源。
When a reporter from Fortune asked Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky what he knew about management prior to running his 3,000 person organization, Chesky responded with, “It’s kind of like, what did I know?”
《财富》杂志一名记者曾经提问爱比迎首席执行官布莱恩·切斯基，在管理一家拥有3000人员的组织之前，他懂多少管理学知识呢。切斯基回答说，“那差不多就是自问，我知道什么呢？”
But somehow Chesky figured it out. How did he do it?
但是无论如何，切斯基还是弄明白了管理学。他是如何做到的呢？
Rather than trying to learn everything about a particular topic, Chesky found it was more efficient to research and identify the single best source in that field.
He then went straight to that person. “If you pick the right source, you can fast-forward,” he said.
切斯基发现，比起将某个主题相关的内容都学会，更有效的做法是研究并确定这个领域中的最佳资源。
然后，他就径直去找到了那个具备最佳资源的人。“如果你能找到对的资源，你就可以快速向前，”他说。
And since a business degree is a pointless waste of time, the best way to educate yourself on business is by reading books.
鉴于攻读一个毫无意义的学位实在是浪费时间，那么获取相关商业知识最好的方法就是去读书。
Here’s a list of the 11 books you should read in lieu of getting a business degree.
下面11本书推荐给要学商科的你，而不建议你去读什么商业学位。
1、Titan: The life of John D. Rockefeller
《工商巨子：约翰·D·洛克菲勒传》
I once read that you’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with. If that’s true (which I believe it is), then reading biographies is like spending a few hours a night with the great ones.
我曾经读过过这样一句话，你自己是你一生中相处时间最长的那五个人的“平均值”。如果这句话是正确的（我相信是这样的），那么，读自传就像每晚花上几小时和最伟大的人相处一般。
Biographies have a strange way of changing your behavior. When you spend an hour or two a night learning from your heroes you notice that you start to adopt their habits. It’s strange, I know, but it’s true.
A good biography will fast forward your career because of the time you’ll save learning from the subject’s mistakes rather than making them on your own. A great biography will save you decades.
自传有一种神奇的力量，能够不知觉中改变你。如果每晚你能够花上一两个小时从你的偶像身上去学习，你会发现，慢慢地自己也就开始形成他们的一些习惯了。我知道这确实很奇怪，但却是真实的。
一本好的自传会推动你的事业快速进步，因为你从目标对象的错误中汲取了经验，而不是自己去犯错，从而节省了时间。一本伟大的自传能为你省下几十年的时间。
Plus, your business career will be significantly easier when you know that whatever you want to accomplish has already been done.
另外，了解到自己想要完成的事情已经有人做成了，不论你想要做的是什么，都能让你的职业生涯变得更加轻松一些。
Everyone interested in business should read John D. Rockefeller’s biography. Aside from being the richest person in history, Rockefeller was a loyal family man, a disciplined worker, and incredibly confident but humble.
He built Standard Oil, one of the largest companies the world had ever seen, from scratch. Rockefeller is the reason monopolies in America are illegal.
所有对商业感兴趣的人都应该读读约翰·D·洛克菲勒的自传。除了成为历史上最富有的人，洛克菲勒还是一位忠诚的生活伴侣，也是一位自律的劳动者，而且，他还异常的自信与谦恭。
他白手起家，建成了一家标准石油公司，这是当时世界上最大的企业之一。洛克菲勒甚至让垄断在美国成为了违法行为。
But unlike other business magnates, Rockefeller was famously kind and generous (he funded the University of Chicago and donated to Spelman College).
但是与别的商业巨头不同，洛克菲勒还出了名儿地善良慷慨（他成立了芝加哥大学，还向斯贝尔曼学院捐款）。
Time Magazine and The New York Times list Titan as one of the greatest biographies ever written, and I think it’s one of the greatest books of all time.
《时代周刊》和《纽约时报》将这本书列为最伟大的自传之一，而我认它是最伟大的书籍之一。
2、The 48 Laws of Power
《权力的48种规则》
Business and war are quite similar. But not for the reasons you might think. Business, like war, is often won in people’s minds. A great leader can control the attitudes of his enemies, his team, and himself, and if done correctly, can win a war before it ever starts.
商业和战争很相似。但两者相似的原因，可不是你认为的那样。与战争不同，商业经常是要赢得人心。一位伟大的领导者能控制敌人、团队以及自己的态度，如果措施得当，甚至能够不战而胜。
The 48 Laws of Power is basically an adaptation of Sun Tzu’s the Art of War (another great book). The major difference is in The 48 Laws of Power’s readability and it’s use of historical stories.
I find the Art of War tough to read, whereas The 48 Laws of Power is a page turner. Greene spends over 400 pages explaining how to climb the social ladder and uses historical examples to make his case.
《权力的48条法则》基本上是对《孙子兵法》（另一本伟大著述）的改编。二者主要区别在于《权力的48条法则》的可读性及其对历史典故的引用。
个人觉得《孙子兵法》晦涩难懂，但是《权利的48条法则》读起来则颇为容易。格林用400页解释了如何爬上社会解体并且在其中引用了大量历史例子来证明自己的观点。
In one’s life, you’re better off following the teachings of Moses, Jesus, or Buddha to gain long-term happiness.
But the sad fact is, many people live by a very different set of rules, and while most of these folks eventually self-destruct, they can inflict severe damage on our personal and professional lives in the process.
人的一生，如果都能遵循摩西、耶稣、释迦牟尼的教诲生活，我们都能够过得更好，但令人难过的事实是，很多人却按照另一套规则生活着，而且大多数最终自我毁灭了，在这一过程中，还会对我们的个人生活和职业生涯造成损害。
3 《影响力：说服心理学》
Understanding what motivates people is important — not just in business, but in life. There are thousands of books on this topic but most of them are garbage. That’s why I suggest reading only read Influence by Robert B. Cialdini when it comes to sales.
了解人们的动机很重要，不仅商业中如此，生活中也如此。关于这一话题，讨论的书籍成千上万，但绝大多数都不值一看。那也就是我为什么我建议涉及销售问题时只看罗伯特·B·西奥迪尼的《影响力》。
Practically every book written after 1984 on persuasion or human behavior cites Cialdini’s book at least once. Influence is the classic on the psychology of what makes people say “yes” and helps them apply these learnings. The text is half tactics, half strategy, making it practical and easy to understand.
实际上，1984年后那些讨论说服力和人类行为的书籍，都至少会提及西奥迪尼这本书一次。《影响力》是一本经典著作，它探讨了让人们说“是”的因素并帮助读者应用这些知识。这本书用一半内容谈战术，一半内容谈策略，这让它既实用又通俗易懂。
Influence is based off three years of undercover research Cialdini did at telemarketing firms, car dealerships, and fund-raising organizations. There’s a reason Influence is on nearly every business school curriculum in America.
《影响力》一书基于作者西奥迪尼在电话推销公司、汽车经销商、融资机构长达三年的“卧底”研究。它成为美国所有商学院的一门课程，是有原因的。
4 《致伯克希尔·哈撒韦股东的信》
Strong communication skills, specifically through the written word, is arguably the most important skill a leader can have. Think about it. Texting, Facebook, email, blogging. We spend our entire professional lives at the keyboard.
毋庸置疑，出色的沟通技巧，尤其是书面沟通，是一位领导者最重要的一项技能。想想吧，发短信，写脸书，发邮件，写博客。我们的整个职业生涯都离不开键盘。
On the surface this book seems like a strange recommendation. But here’s the thing—Warren Buffett is one of the greatest communicators I’ve ever read. The mark of a great communicator is their ability to explain complicated concepts in an engaging and simple way. Buffett does both beautifully.
表面上看，推荐这本书似乎有点奇怪。但是注意这一点，沃伦巴菲特可是我读到过的最擅长的沟通的人之一。好的沟通者的标志是他们能够将复杂的概念用即有趣又通俗的语言表达出来。
而巴菲特两者都做得很棒。
Every year since 1977 Buffett has written a letter to his Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. In these letters he explains, in layman’s terms, Berkshire’s performance, what it means to shareholders, and what they should expect in the future.
Buffett uses metaphors, humor, and a perfect combination of conversational and professional language to explain boring topics like price appreciation, insurance floats, and GAAP accounting.
1977年起，每年巴菲特都会给他的股东伯克希尔·哈撒韦写一封信。在这些信件中，巴菲特以门外汉的笔调，解释了伯克希尔的表现，并且说明这种表现对股东意味着什么，以及今后应该有什么样的预期。
巴菲特用比喻、幽默以及口头和专业语言的完美结合，来探讨那些枯燥的话题，比如价格上涨、保险浮存金以及GAAP会计方法。
Every letter is available online for free on Berkshire Hathaway’s site but I recommend paying a few bucks and getting a hard copy of the letters.
每一封信在伯克希尔的网站上都可以免费读到，但是我依然建议你花几美元买一本纸质书来读。
5、Confessions of an Advertising Man
《一位广告人的自白》
David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy and Mather (one of the biggest ad agencies in the world), is the person to learn from when it comes to advertising. While there are dozens of great books on the subject, Confessions of an Advertising Man is, in my opinion, the best of the bunch.
谈起广告，就得请教大卫·奥格威了，他是全球最大广告公司Ogilvy and Mather创始人之一。虽然与此有关的优秀著作有几十本，但在我看来，其中最出色的非《一个广告人的自白》莫属了。
Ogilvy’s other book, Ogilvy on Advertising, is better known, but Confessions of an Ad Man covers most of the stuff mentioned there, plus additional details such as client/agency relationships and how to grow a business.
奥格威的另一本书《奥格威谈广告》（Ogilvy on Advertising）更出名，但《一个广告人的自白》囊括了前者提到的大多数内容，还附加了细节内容，比如客户和广告公司的关系以及怎样发展一家公司。
6 《林肯与劲敌幕僚》
Abe Lincoln was a management genius. In the 1860 presidential election the Republican party (Lincoln’s party) was a mess. There was no clear leader, people couldn’t agree on the issues, and the country was a wreck. To bring the party and country together, Lincoln convinced the candidates running against him to join together to form his cabinet.
The result was a ragtag group of men — who previously hated each other — working together to successfully navigate the country through its toughest period.
林肯可谓是管理的天才。1860年的美国总统选举，共和党（林肯所在的政党）一团糟。没有明确的领导人，人们无法统一思想，整个国家混乱不堪。为了重整共和党乃至美国，林肯说服竞选对手和他共同组阁。
其结果是出现了一支“杂牌军”，其中的成员曾经相互憎恨，但他们最终同意携手让美国顺利度过了那段最艰难的时期。
The biggest takeaway from this book is how to handle different types of people — a skill few people take the time to master.
Lincoln had a magic ability to organize people, and Team of Rivals does an amazing job explaining how to replicate his skills.
从这边本书中汲取的最大经验就是如何应对不同类型的人，这项本领几乎没什么人愿意花时间去学习。林肯具有神奇的能力去组织人，《林肯与劲敌幕僚》则出色地阐述了怎样复制他的技能。
7、The Intelligent Investor 《聪明的投资者》
When asked which book people interested in investing should read, Warren Buffett said, “Chapters 8 and 20 [of The Intelligent Investor] have been the bedrock of my investing activities for more than 60 years.
I suggest that all investors read those chapters and reread them every time the market has been especially strong or weak.”
当被问及对投资感兴趣的人应该读什么书，沃伦巴菲特说，“《聪明的投资者》第八章和二十章可是60几年来，我投资活动的基石。
我建议没一位投资者都去读读，遇到市场强劲或低迷的时候，再去读一读。”
I’m no Buffett, but I’d suggest reading the entire book. The Intelligent Investor covers strategies for any investor, plus the importance of controlling one’s emotions…arguably the most crucial skill needed when playing with the market.
我不是巴菲特，我建议大家通读全书。《聪明的投资者》涵盖了投资者所需的所有策略，也谈到了控制情绪的重要性——毫无疑问，这可是每一位玩市场的人需要具备的关键技能。
The newer editions have been updated to include modern investment techniques and practices.
最新一版有所更新，囊括了现代投资技巧和实战策略。
8 The Wealth of Nations《国富论》
I’m not a fan of books on economics. I find them dull. But they are important. The Wealth of Nations should be your first source when it comes to understanding economics.
我本人怎么爱读经济学方面的书籍。我觉得经济学书实在乏味。但它们却很重要。谈到了解经济学，那么《国富论》则该成为你的第一资源。
While it’s mostly focused on classic economics, it’s a defining book on economic theory that every business person should read. Not reading this text would be like a Bible scholar not knowing about The Exodus.
虽然这本书主要集中在经典经济学上，但它定义了所有生意人都应该读一读的经济理论。不然的话，就好比你是一名《圣经》学者，却不知道《出埃及记》。
9 The Adweek Copywriting Handbook 《文案撰写手册》
Copywriting is the single most valuable technical skill a business person can have. I know that’s a bold claim, but it’s true.
Now, when you hear copywriting you’re mostly likely thinking about creating sexy advertisements. But that’s not what I’m referring to.
撰写文案是商务人士所具备的最宝贵的技能。我知道这样讲，有些大胆，但却事实如此。
现在，当你听到文案，你很可能将它与创造出引人入胜的广告划等号。但那不是我的意思。
Copywriting is your ability to transfer your knowledge of a product, service, or idea onto a sheet of paper for the purpose of selling. Part of the process involves understanding what your audience needs, what they want, what motivates them, and what stirs their emotions.
撰写文案是指你将对一件产品、一项服务或一个观点的理解在纸上呈现出来，以达到卖出去的目的。撰写文案的过程包含了解听众的需求，动机以及情感触发因素等。
When it comes to copywriting, The Adweek Copywriting Handbook is the gold standard. The author, Joseph Sugarman, is a famous direct mail marketer. Before the internet was around, direct mail marketers wrote letters to potential customers.
Using only a sheet of paper, these marketers had to convince strangers to send a check for a product they had never seen before. And Mr. Sugarman was the best in the business.
说到撰写文案，《文案训练手册》就是最高标准，作者约瑟夫·舒格曼则是著名的直邮广告营销大师。互联网出现之前，直邮广告营销人员会给潜在用户写信。
他们必须在只用一张纸的情况下说服陌生人为以前从未见过的产品掏腰包。舒格曼先生是这个行业中的佼佼者。
While The Adweek Copywriting Handbook can get technical, it’s a very easy and fun read and teaches strategies to get people to read whatever you write.
虽然《文案训练手册》有技术性，但它十分浅显，非常有趣，其中传授的策略是为了让人们去读你写的任何东西。
10 《人性的弱点》
A legitimate reason for wanting an MBA is because of the network you’ll build. However, most people are awful networkers. They don’t know how to hold a conversation, show interest in others, or be likable. That’s why How to Win Friends and Influence People is a must read.
想要获得MBA学位，一个合理的理由是，你想要建立起关系网。但是大多数人在建立关系时都表现得很糟糕。他们不知道如何掌控谈话，如何表现对他人的兴趣，或者怎样变得可爱。这也就是为何一定要去读《人性的弱点》的原因了。
I’d be shocked if you’ve never heard of this book before. Carnegie published this classic in 1936. It has since become one of the best-selling nonfiction books of all time.
Practically every great business leader can quote a few sentences from How to Win Friends and Influence People. Most universities have this book in the curriculum. And if they don’t then they should lose their accreditation.
如果你甚至都还没有听说过这本书，那么真是令我感到惊讶了。卡耐基于1936年就出版了这本经典著作。打那时候起，《人性的弱点》就一直位居非虚构类畅销书之例。
事实上，每一位顶尖的企业领导者都能引述其中的一些句子。大多数高校都用这本书开课，否则，就会失去认证资格了。
Your parents read this book. Their grandparents did too. Now it’s your turn.
你的父母读过这本书，他们的祖父母也读过。现在，轮到你去读啦。
11 Mastery 《大师》
Without direction life is meaningless. Chasing money is utterly useless unless you know why you’re doing it.
And unfortunately, most people, especially money hungry type A business folk, never ask themselves why they want to make money or why they want to run a business. Mastery helps you find that answer.
没有方向的人生，是毫无意义的。盲目追求金钱也毫无用处。但不幸的是，大多数人，尤其是那些特别想要赚钱的A型人格商业家们，他们从来没有问过自己，为何想要挣钱或者为何想要开一家公司。《大师》会告诉你答案。
I put two Robert Greene books on this list on purpose. Greene’s books are the most well researched and in depth books I’ve ever read. Every sentence is packed with practical information. I think of Greene as more of a historian than a writer.
我专门在这份书单里选了两本罗伯特·格林的书。，是因为格林的作品是我读过的研究做的最好，最有深度的著述。每个句子都含有实在的信息。我觉得格林更像个历史学家，而不是作家。
In Mastery, Greene explains how to become a leader by examining the pathways to success taken by historical masters such as Mozart, Einstein, and Darwin. He explains how people found their calling.
在《大师》中，格林通过对诸如莫扎特、爱因斯坦、达尔文之类的大师的成功之路进行研究，说明了如何成为领导者。他还解释了人们怎样发现自己真正想要的东西。
结语
If you read and master these books, I believe that you’ll know more than 99% of MBA graduates. And, at a book a month, you’ll only spend $200 and 11 months to learn what others pay hundreds of thousands for, over two years.
如果你读了并掌握了这些书，我相信你将比99%的MBA毕业生都要懂得多。每个月读一本的话，那么只需花200美元、11个月，你就能学到别人花成百上千美元、用两年多时间才能学到的东西。
Or, as Will Hunting beautifully put it:
又或者，正如威尔·亨廷那段极妙的话：
“See, the sad thing about a guy like you is, in 50 years you’re gonna start doin’ some thinkin’ on your own and you’re going to come up with the fact that there are two certainties in life: one, don’t do that, and two, you dropped 150 grand on a fuckin’ education you could have got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library!”
“瞧，像你们这类家伙，最可悲的事情是，50年后你开始独立反思一些问题，然后你就会发现，生活中有两点确凿无疑：第一，不要那样做，第二，你竟然那该死的课程上花了15万美元，事实上，学到的那些东西，本来在公共图书馆交1.5美元滞纳金就能掌握！
Now go on… read!
开始读书吧！
注：本文英文原文来源于《财富中文网》。