Fictions of Business: Insights on Management from Great Literature

While novels with corporate settings occasionally appear on the public's radar screen, even the most devoted reader would be hard-pressed to describe much of today's business press as "literary." Likewise, it goes against type to expect most high-powered business people to possess more than a passing knowledge of the classic written works that elevate commerce and industry to heroic heights. It is surprising, then, to find that an improbable combination of the two is exactly what makes Fictions of Business: Insights on Management from Great Literature so enjoyable. Written by Robert Brawer--a former Maidenform CEO as well as a university English department faculty member--the book incorporates thoughtful recollections on the true meaning of a life in business with a meander through hundreds of years of literary gems to illustrate such topics as selling as theater, maintaining individuality, the power of company doctrine, and mitigating interpersonal conflicts. Brawer's disparate sources range from Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th-century The Canterbury Tales to David Mamet's contemporary Glengarry Glen Ross. Along the way, he shows that Mark Twain, John Updike, Arthur Miller, and the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit can also provide appropriate guidance in the world of business. --Howard Rothman