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Boston Tech Shares Their Summer Reading Recommendations banner image

Boston Tech Shares Their Summer Reading Recommendations

Summer reading. Some people find there's nothing more relaxing than reading a good book by the pool, the beach, or in the backyard hammock. This summer, I plan on reading Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.

Inspired by Bill Gates' list of 5 books worth reading this summer, we asked founders, CEOs, and operating executives across the Boston tech scene for book recommendations. The goal is to give you some great books to check out during those summer vacations or whenever you have a chance to read.

Below is a slideshow with all the recommendations! Check it out!

Colin Barry is an Editor & Staff Writer to VentureFizz. Follow him on Twitter @ColinKras

"Besides being well-written and incredibly engaging, this book has so many important lessons about leadership and management. While most directly relevant for CEOs, I think the lessons are really applicable for any executive level leader (or anyone who wants to be an executive level leader!)."

- Amanda Bohne, VP of Marketing at AppNeta

Check out The Hard Thing About Hard Things on Amazon.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

"Besides being well-written and incredibly engaging, this book has so many important lessons about leadership and management. While most directly relevant for CEOs, I think the lessons are really applicable for any executive level leader (or anyone who wants to be an executive level leader!)."

- Amanda Bohne, VP of Marketing at AppNeta

Check out The Hard Thing About Hard Things on Amazon.

"This is one book that I constantly going back to, because it is all about obsession around customers. This is what we live and breathe at Drift, and even though I read this book for the first time probably 15 years ago, I've read it over and over again and talk about it all the time. In fact, if you come to Drift, we have about 10 books always in the lobby and that one is always there."

- David Cancel, Co-Founder and CEO at Drift

Check out Sam Walton: Made in America on Amazon

Sam Walton: Made in America

"This is one book that I constantly going back to, because it is all about obsession around customers. This is what we live and breathe at Drift, and even though I read this book for the first time probably 15 years ago, I've read it over and over again and talk about it all the time. In fact, if you come to Drift, we have about 10 books always in the lobby and that one is always there."

- David Cancel, Co-Founder and CEO at Drift

Check out Sam Walton: Made in America on Amazon

"One of the best marketers of our time, Benioff shares all his 'plays' from the early days of salesforce, category creation, and building a campany focused on people, and good."

- Ben Jabbawy, Founder and CEO of Privy

Check out Behind the Cloud on Amazon

Behind the Cloud by Marc Benioff

"One of the best marketers of our time, Benioff shares all his 'plays' from the early days of salesforce, category creation, and building a campany focused on people, and good."

- Ben Jabbawy, Founder and CEO of Privy

Check out Behind the Cloud on Amazon

"In this book the Nobel Prize-winning Neuroscientist takes us on a stroll through our minds using the abnormal functioning manifest in common mental health conditions as a means to explain 'normal' functioning in areas as diverse as memory, mood and creativity. A readable and thought provoking book about the mechanics of thinking."

- Dr. Trishan Panch, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Wellframe

Check out The Disordered Mind on Amazon

The Disordered Mind: What Unusual Brains Tell Us About Ourselves by Eric R. Kandel

"In this book the Nobel Prize-winning Neuroscientist takes us on a stroll through our minds using the abnormal functioning manifest in common mental health conditions as a means to explain 'normal' functioning in areas as diverse as memory, mood and creativity. A readable and thought provoking book about the mechanics of thinking."

- Dr. Trishan Panch, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Wellframe

Check out The Disordered Mind on Amazon

"This is not your typical leadership book. There are no frameworks, statistics, or checklists. It instead invites us to engage in what Jerry calls 'radical self inquiry.' This process illuminates the hard truth that to improve ourselves as leaders we need to come to grips with who we really are and how we can bring our entire selves into the world around us."

- Joel Stevenson, CEO at Yesware

Check out Reboot on Amazon

Reboot by Jerry Colonna

"This is not your typical leadership book. There are no frameworks, statistics, or checklists. It instead invites us to engage in what Jerry calls 'radical self inquiry.' This process illuminates the hard truth that to improve ourselves as leaders we need to come to grips with who we really are and how we can bring our entire selves into the world around us."

- Joel Stevenson, CEO at Yesware

Check out Reboot on Amazon

"You negotiate all day, every day, but in business it’s absolutely critical to your success. This book shares the idea that human negotiations are fundamentally about our emotional and intuitive desire to get what we want. The writers provide a series of actionable tactics and strategies for negotiations that can be applied in any discussion."

- Micah Remley, CEO of MineralTree

Check out Never Split the Difference on Amazon

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

"You negotiate all day, every day, but in business it’s absolutely critical to your success. This book shares the idea that human negotiations are fundamentally about our emotional and intuitive desire to get what we want. The writers provide a series of actionable tactics and strategies for negotiations that can be applied in any discussion."

- Micah Remley, CEO of MineralTree

Check out Never Split the Difference on Amazon

"An eye-opening experience of technology, competition, geopolitics and an author’s personal self-reflection. AI Superpowers is a fascinating, yet humbling look at the incredible speed of global innovation and the winner-take-all economy that is emerging. This book is a rallying cry for individuals, companies and countries to embrace the incredible growth of data, computing power and deep learning technologies. A must read for any U.S.-based executive aspiring to excel on the global stage."

- Andrew Palmer, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Liberty Mutual

Check out AI Superpowers on Amazon

AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee

"An eye-opening experience of technology, competition, geopolitics and an author’s personal self-reflection. AI Superpowers is a fascinating, yet humbling look at the incredible speed of global innovation and the winner-take-all economy that is emerging. This book is a rallying cry for individuals, companies and countries to embrace the incredible growth of data, computing power and deep learning technologies. A must read for any U.S.-based executive aspiring to excel on the global stage."

- Andrew Palmer, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Liberty Mutual

Check out AI Superpowers on Amazon

"An eye-opening experience of technology, competition, geopolitics and an author’s personal self-reflection. AI Superpowers is a fascinating, yet humbling look at the incredible speed of global innovation and the winner-take-all economy that is emerging. This book is a rallying cry for individuals, companies and countries to embrace the incredible growth of data, computing power and deep learning technologies. A must read for any U.S.-based executive aspiring to excel on the global stage."

- David Friedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Knox Financial

Check out Legacy of Ashes on Amazon.

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner

"An eye-opening experience of technology, competition, geopolitics and an author’s personal self-reflection. AI Superpowers is a fascinating, yet humbling look at the incredible speed of global innovation and the winner-take-all economy that is emerging. This book is a rallying cry for individuals, companies and countries to embrace the incredible growth of data, computing power and deep learning technologies. A must read for any U.S.-based executive aspiring to excel on the global stage."

- David Friedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Knox Financial

Check out Legacy of Ashes on Amazon.

"This book is a great antidote to the regular news cycle because it shows how many global trends are actually improving."

- Molly Baab, CMO at BookBub

Check out Factfulness on Amazon

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling

"This book is a great antidote to the regular news cycle because it shows how many global trends are actually improving."

- Molly Baab, CMO at BookBub

Check out Factfulness on Amazon