I vote for Noble House
Nick Gillespie at Reason asks folks for their favorite business novels. I vote for Noble House by James Clavell. Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged has a great deal of influence on me, but that book is ultimately about government making business impossible, not about the conduct of business per se. Noble House is a sympathetic and hugely entertaining depiction of business people being business people in as close to a libertarian environment as we might find (1960s Hong Kong) in the modern world. Sure its not real business -- too much deal making, not enough productive investment, but it is a novel for god sakes, and not a seminar on the capital asset pricing model.
PS - Is there anyone out there who has read both novels and would rather hang out in a bar with Hank Reardon than Ian Dunross? I didn't think so.
PPS- Personally, I think this business novel is good too.
