MBA Reading List: 13 Books To Read Before Your MBA

Whether you're holding an offer or preparing your application, getting ready for an MBA means stepping back into the learning mindset.

You'll want to sharpen your critical thinking, challenge your perspectives, and be ready to contribute fresh ideas in the MBA classroom. That’s where your MBA reading list comes in.

From leadership in the age of AI to how North American Indigenous culture can inspire more ethical and effective business decisions, we’ve selected thought-provoking titles to help you broaden your worldview before business school. With input from professors, admissions experts, and our own BusinessBecause writers, these books will help you enter your MBA feeling confident, inspired, and well-prepared.

Here are 13 books to add to your MBA reading list:

13 books to add to your MBA reading list

1. Swimming to Antarctica 

by Lynne Cox

The book is a page-turner. Cox is a long-distance open water swimmer who swam the world's most challenging swims, including the Bering Strait. She is a beautiful narrator, including just enough detail so that we can experience the wonder of her swims, but not so much that we feel every jellyfish sting.

But more than her immense accomplishments, I loved reading about how she broke down the challenges into manageable parts. She progressed through the shorter swims, gaining confidence, strength, and technique, which set her up for the super-gnarly swims. The story offers lessons about being deliberate, following our ambition, and digging deep to have the endurance to make incredible things happen. Cox is even credited, through her swims, with improving world political relations.

Recommended by Jennifer Chatman, dean, University of California-Berkeley Haas School of Business

2. Deep Work 

by Cal Newport

In this age of AI, it’s all too easy to skim the surface. Just a couple of simple prompts to Google or ChatGPT, and we feel we’ve got the answer to our query. However, learning how to do deep research and to look beyond what everyone has access to is what will give real insight to a task or problem. This is why Cal Newport’s book is a great book for MBAs to pick up.

Written before AI became a daily tool, he shows us how to roll up our sleeves and take time to examine a problem properly while ignoring distractions. Business school students can certainly benefit from deep analysis to help them stand out from the AI crowd. During an MBA, taking time to nurture a network and reaching out to speak with them helps to learn new perspectives and business solutions, rather than relying on the same searchable information that everyone has access to.

Recommended by Sian Phillips, head of editorial, GMAC

3. The Brain That Changes Itself

by Norman Doidge, M.D.

In a time of enormous technological disruption, how we respond will determine how we thrive. This book, rooted in neuroscience, is a profound exploration of adaptability and agency. The biggest ROI of my own MBA wasn’t tactical; it was philosophical. I began approaching my career through the lens of values and contribution. For future leaders, this book offers a powerful reminder: the ability to reshape how we think is the foundation of meaningful growth.

Recommended by Petia Whitmore, founder, My MBA Path

4. #Girlboss 

by Sophia Amoruso

Sophia Amoruso, the former CEO and founder of Nasty Gal, now a women's fast-fashion retailer, reflects on how she grew the business from a modest vintage eBay storefront to a multi-million dollar company, which she ultimately sold for $40 million to the Boohoo Group. Inspirational quotes from the book include: "There are secret opportunities hidden inside every failure," and "Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs." These messages will resonate with any aspiring business school student or budding entrepreneur.

Recommended by Daisy Culleton, writer and content producer, BusinessBecause

5. Dare to Lead 

by Brené Brown, PhD, MSW

Exploring how vulnerability, courage, and empathy are essential qualities of effective leadership, this book draws on years of research. Brown challenges traditional views of power and authority, offering guidance for building trust, leading with integrity, and embracing discomfort in order to grow. Ideal for MBA candidates, the book encourages future leaders to lead with heart and purpose–skills that are just as critical in the classroom as they are in the boardroom. 

Recommended by Martine van den Bergh, senior content and editorial manager, GMAC

6. The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind

A cautionary tale about what happens when hubris infects the culture of a company. Investigative journalists McLean and Elkind chart the history of Enron, once “America’s Most Innovative Company”, as executives begin to obsess over the company stock price, dealmakers prioritize closing the deal and ignore what happens next, and negligent financiers and auditors allow the organization to unravel before their eyes. Above many valuable lessons for MBAs, this book has one core message: don’t believe your own hype. 

Recommended by Matt Kefford, deputy editor, BusinessBecause

7. Service Model

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Service Model is a sharp and thoughtful novel that follows Charles, a service robot who begins to question his purpose after a tragic malfunction. What makes this book so relevant for incoming MBA students is how it explores the consequences of efficiency-driven systems and the absence of ethical leadership in highly automated environments. It offers a subtle but powerful reflection on responsibility, autonomy, and what happens when organizations prioritize structure over humanity. A fresh, engaging way to think about leadership in the age of AI. 

Recommended by David López, associate dean of the full-time MBA program, Esade Business School 

8. Give and Take

by Adam Grant

Adam Grant’s Give and Take offers powerful insights into how success is driven by how we interact with others. For an incoming MBA student, it’s a must-read to understand the long-term value of being a "giver"—someone who helps others without expecting immediate returns. The book can shape your approach to networking, collaboration, and leadership, helping you build meaningful relationships during the MBA and stand out as a high-impact contributor in your future career.

Recommended by Barbara Coward, MBA admissions consultant, MBA 360 Admissions

9. Power and Politics 

by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson

It explores the history of the technologies we develop and the choices we make, and shows that the interaction between the two is an important part. A lot of what ends up happening after the introduction of new science depends on choices. Choices made by businesses, by governments, and by people. It’s a good read as we contemplate how technology will change how we teach, what we learn, and who we are.

Recommended by Mark Stabile, dean of degree program and dean of the Europe campus, Insead

10. Careless People

by Sarah Wynn-Williams

This is the book everyone is talking about this summer. I found the author's aspirations at Facebook to be laudable. Her story highlights the often-experienced tension in business between growth and integrity. And, because the company is Meta, the consequences are profound. It's a sobering read.

Recommended by Jennifer Chatman, dean, University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business

11. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About The People We Don’t Know 

by Malcolm Gladwell

This is a timely lesson for future business leaders on the complexities of human interaction. Through case studies ranging from CIA failures to Bernie Madoff’s decades-long fraud, Gladwell investigates how our assumptions and snap judgments about others can lead us astray, particularly when cultural or contextual cues are misread. For MBAs with aspirations in leadership, this means asking better questions and approaching unfamiliar situations with curiosity.

Recommended by Norma Maher, writer and video content producer, BusinessBecause

12. Shift: Indigenous Principles for Corporate Change 

by Glenn Geffcken

Author Glenn Geffcken utilizes his diverse experiences, spending 24 years in the corporate world and 18 years immersed in North American indigenous culture and religion, to assess how businesses can embrace change and improve their corporate culture. 

This book is particularly beneficial for business school students who aspire to make a positive impact.

Recommended by Daisy Culleton, writer and content producer, BusinessBecause

13. When Breath Becomes Air 

by Paul Kalanithi

At the height of a promising career as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with terminal cancer at age 36. In this memoir, written in the final months of his life, he reflects on what makes life meaningful when success and plans suddenly fall away. Full of lessons for MBA students, it’s a reminder to build a career and a life that aligns with your values, and make the most of your time, talent, and relationships.

Recommended by Norma Maher, writer and video content producer, BusinessBecause

For those busy working on applications—or deep in the process of developing their latest business idea—many of these books are available as audiobooks, making them perfect for easy, on-the-go listening.

Even reading just one or two of these titles can help you feel more prepared to start business school with fresh insights, broader perspective, and a mindset ready to learn and lead.