Many writers and observers wax lyrical on the über success of men like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, and though there are many factors at work that have contributed to their success, many identify their ongoing dedication to learning as a key attribute. A case in point, which Gates recounted for the Wall Street Journal, takes place more than 20 years ago, when Gates, upon meeting Buffett for the first time (at what one can only assume was a powerhouse gathering), didn’t indulge in an exchange on boardroom topics, but instead, rather tellingly, inquired as to Buffett’s favorite business book, perhaps knowing that this one simple query would not only reveal – upon its reading – many of Buffett’s own philosophies, but that it would also expose him to new concepts of his own.

To the question, Buffett answered John Brooks’ Business Adventures; to the books credit, Gates says it remains his favorite, too. The collection of 1960s articles from the New Yorker “is as much about the strengths and weaknesses of leaders in challenging circumstances as it is about the particulars of one business or another. In that sense, it is still relevant, not despite its agem but because of it,” writes Gates.

“Its certainly true that many of the particulars of business have changed, but the fundamentals have not. Brooks’ deeper insights about business are just as relevant today as they were back then. In terms of its longevity, Business Adventures stands alongside Benjamin Grahams’ The Intelligent Investor, the 1949 book that Warren says is the best book on investing that he has ever read.”

The collection of Brooks’ New Yorker essays included in Business Adventures, (who also penned Once in Golconda: A True Drama of Wall Street 1920-1938, and The Go-Go Years), use pertinent case studies, such as how the Ford Motor Company misread the market for its Edsel, and how copy machines fuels Xerox Corporation’s fast growth, to offer valuable insights and demonstrate pivotal moments that shaped the modern U.S economy.

The personalities integral to the tales are painted as vivid characters, and the valuable messages one gathers from this read are delivered with understated wit, for an easily digestible commentary on the human side of corporate history and its trials.

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