Help keep Salon independent

No Time for Dostoevsky in the Digital Age.

A SALON survey revealed that few captains of digital capitalism have the time to immerse themselves in the pleasures of great literature.

Published

Salon Default

American technology may be experiencing a renaissance, but its CEOs’ reading tastes aren’t going to force booksellers to stock up on more Montaigne and Shakespeare. A SALON survey revealed that few captains of digital capitalism have the time to immerse themselves in the pleasures of great literature. Here’s a list of books they are currently toting around in their briefcases:



Lewis Platt, CEO, Hewlett-Packard :

  • “Profit From Experience: The National Semiconductor Story of Transformation Management” by Gil Amelio.



    Trip Hawkins, CEO, 3DO :

  • “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie

  • “The Goal” and “It’s Not Luck” by Elijahu Goldratt

  • “Iron John” by Robert Bly

  • “Rising Sun” by Michael Crichton

  • “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” by Deepak Chopra

  • “Being Digital” by Nicholas Negroponte

  • “Dave Barry’s Guide to Guys” by Dave Barry

  • “Neuromancer” by William Gibson

  • “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson



    Doug Carlston, CEO, Broderbund

  • “Alchemy of Finance: Soros on Soros” by George Soros.

  • “Tour of the Calculus” by D. Berlinski

  • “The Maltese Falcon” by Dashiel Hammett



    Scott McNealy, CEO, Sun Microsystems :

    Prefers periodicals to books: “Forbes, Fortune, InfoWorld, PCWeek — you know, the usual.”



    Bud Colligan, CEO, MacroMedia :

  • “Sacred Hoops” by Phil Jackson

  • “Rainmaker” by John Grisham

  • “Being Digital” by Nicholas Negroponte

  • “Building Brand Identity” by Lynn B. Upshaw

  • “Inner Simplicity” by Elaine St. James



    Mitch Kapor, Lotus founder :

  • “A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and “Promises of Spiritual Life” by Jack Kornfield

  • “The Same River Twice” by Alice Walker

  • “The Good Life and its Discontents” by Robert Samuelson

  • “A Brief History of Everything,” by Ken Wilbur

  • By Cynthia Joyce

    Cynthia Joyce has been a writer, editor and Web producer for 20 years. A former Arts and Entertainment editor for Salon, she lives in Oxford, Mississippi, and teaches journalism at the University of Mississippi.

    MORE FROM Cynthia Joyce

    Related Topics ------------------------------------------

    Related Articles