From a year’s worth of Recommended Reading selections, the following are the 10 books IMT readers found especially appealing. Pick one up, get comfortable and dive into some interesting and informative literature.

China: Fragile Superpower
While most recent writings about China presume an unstoppable rise of a global titan, Susan Shirk’s China: Fragile Superpower questions whether this emerging superpower is going to run the world. China’s leaders face a troubling paradox: The more developed and prosperous the country becomes, the more insecure and threatened they feel. Unless we understand China’s brittle internal politics and the fears that motivate the country”s leaders, we face the very real possibility of avoidable conflict with China. This book provides that understanding.

Paperback, 336pp
Oxford University Press (USA), August 2008
Barnes & Noble online price: $16.95

Small Giants: Companies that Choose to be Great Instead of Big
The 14 small companies profiled in Bo Burlingham’s Small Giants are consistently profitable yet have consciously resisted convention by staying small and great instead of becoming large and mediocre. They define themselves by their passion for their products and their commitment to their employees, customers and community — embracing a clarity and loyalty to purpose that’s an anomaly in today’s environment. For anyone who wants to explore America’s most innovative and inspiring small business successes, this unique book is the place to start.

Paperback (updated), 268pp
Penguin Group (USA), March 2007
B&N online price: $16

Winners Never Cheat: Even in Difficult Times
As timely as ever, the recently expanded edition of Jon Huntsman’s Winners Never Cheat hones in on a number of universal principles to remind us that the values learned in our childhood are applicable in business and life. Hunstman, the nearest thing to a self-made multi-billionaire, presents the lessons of a lifetime: a passionate, inspirational manifesto for returning to the days when your word was your bond, a handshake was sacred and swarms of lawyers weren’t needed to back it up.

Hardcover, 224pp
Publisher: Wharton School Publishing, November 2008 (expanded edition)
B&N online price: $17.59

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
In 1925, British explorer Percy Fawcett embarked on a search to find the site of an ancient Amazonian civilization that may or may not have existed. He never returned. David Grann’s The Lost City of Z sets out to solve “the greatest exploration mystery of the 20th century.” For decades, scientists and adventurers have searched for evidence of Fawcett’s party and the lost city of Z. The author’s quest for the truth and his stunning discoveries about Fawcett’s fate and Z form the heart of this complex, enthralling narrative.

Hardcover, 352pp
Doubleday Publishing, February 2009
B&N online price: $17.87

Good in a Room: How to Sell Yourself (and Your Ideas) and Win Over Any Audience
Whether you want to ask for a raise, grow your client list, launch a new business or find financing for a project, you must not only present your ideas in a compelling way, but also sell yourself. In Good In a Room, business consultant and former MGM Director of Creative Affairs Stephanie Palmer shows readers how to construct a winning presentation and deliver the kind of performance that will get a project green-lighted, no matter the industry.

Hardcover, 271pp
Broadway Business, March 2008
B&N online price: $23.95

How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In
In How the Mighty Fall, Jim Collins examines why some of the greatest corporations sink into decline and what managers must do to avoid such a fate. How do the mighty fall? Can decline be detected early and avoided? How far can a company fall before the path toward doom becomes inevitable and unshakable? How can companies reverse course? Collins confronts these questions, offering leaders the well-founded hope that they can learn how to stave off decline and, if they find themselves falling, reverse their course.

Hardcover, 240pp
Jim Collins, May 2009
B&N online price: $15.59

A Sense of Urgency
In A Sense of Urgency, emeritus professor at Harvard Business School John P. Kotter makes the argument that we’re moving from a time of episodic change to continuous change in organizations. Kotter provides key tactics for increasing the much-needed sense of urgency, as well as exposing and rooting out complacency in all its guises. Full of vivid and instructive stories, this book is a powerful tool for anyone wanting to win in a turbulent world that will only continue to move faster.

Hardcover, 208pp
Harvard Business School Press, September 2008
B&N online price: $15.40

Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People
Originally intended as an aid for helping Japanese schoolchildren switch from memorization to critical thinking skills, Ken Watanabe’s Problem Solving 101 has since become a popular guide for businesspeople seeking to hone their ability to respond to challenges. Watanabe uses sample scenarios to illustrate his techniques, which include logic trees and matrixes. Illustrated with diagrams and quirky drawings, the book is simple enough for a middle-schooler to understand but sophisticated enough for business leaders to apply to their most challenging problems.

Hardcover, 128pp
Penguin Group, March 2009
B&N online price: $18.36

Who’s Got Your Back: The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success — and Won’t Let You Fail
Keith Ferrazzi’s Who’s Got Your Back reminds people to skip the lone professional “superman” mentality and focus on building close relationships with trusted individuals to reach their full potential. Becoming a winner in any field of endeavor requires a trusted team of advisers who can offer guidance and help to hold us accountable in achieving our goals. None of us can do it alone. We need the perspective and advice of a trusted team, and this book shows us how to put our own “dream team” together.

Hardcover, 336pp
Broadway Books, May 2009
B&N online price: $20

From Lemons to Lemonade: Squeeze Every Last Drop of Success Out of Your Mistakes
Learning from your failures rather than letting them defeat you requires very specific emotional and rational skills. Dean Shepherd’s From Lemons to Lemonade provides examples of how companies learned from their previous mistakes and went on to build great products that sell. This book helps readers learn all they can from their failures by examining proven techniques for managing the emotional trauma of failure, objectively understanding what actually happened, and applying those lessons quickly and effectively.

Hardcover, 224pp
Wharton School Publishing, April 2009
B&N online price: $18.39