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mgolanbari

8 karma · joined March 27, 2015

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mgolanbari··on Ask HN: What are the best books on startups that discuss failure?
I highly recommend all of the following:

- 'DEC is Dead, Long Live DEC' (one of the best books I've read on the failure of a tech firm)

- 'Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the dawn of the computer age'

- 'The Supermen: The Story of Seymour Cray and the Technical Wizards Behind the Supercomputer'

- 'When Smart People Fail' by Carole Hyatt and Linda Gottlieb (I have the 1986 edition, I believe a later edition is also available; this book is well written but it is so good, complex, and mature that I had to read it several times to fully understand it, and I still try to read it at least once every year to refresh my memory)

- 'The Anxious Organization' by Jeffrey A. Miller

- 'The Soul of a New Machine' by Tracy Kidder

- 'How to Get Rich' by Felix Dennis. (The title is misleading, this is not one of those books containing superficial, useless advice -- the book offers highly useful, in-depth, practical advice on entrepreneurship, including a brutally honest discussion of Dennis's many business failures [as well as his personal failures], and even a list of the most important business mistakes that entrepreneurs, including Dennis, typically make, and how to avoid them.)

- 'Starting Something: An Entrepreneur's Tale of Corporate Culture' by Wayne McVicker. A little-known book, but absolutely excellent.

- It appears that another user (bhamguy) has suggested 'Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure' by Jerry Kaplan. Good choice, I support that selection, definitely one of the best books I've ever read on startup failure.