Several years back Joel posted a list of books for the "Fog Creek Software Managment Training Program." Which of those books have you found most useful? I'm looking for recommendations on where to start.
A little more detail about me to help with the answers. I have been programming for quite a while now. It's been mostly lower-level stuff. I'm looking for books that will make me a better manager and/or help me understand the business side of the industry.
Do you mind giving some info about yourself so we can make some judgment on what is most relevant to you?
My personal favourite is "Peopleware" - awesome book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0932633439/ref=nosim/joelonsoftware
"Mythical Man-month" is a classic.
"Don't make me think" is a great start for design....they are all good for one reason or another. If you don't have a personal reason for choosing one just throw a dart and choose the corresponding book :)
Edit: Given your update, I would recommend Peopleware and Mythical Man-Month even stronger. They should be compulsory for software managers.
I've found that his list had significant overlap with the Personal MBA (at least as far as the "non-technical" portion of the list), and any books that these two lists have in common are sure to be worth your time. A number of those books are stellar, but I've always come back to "The Mythical Man Month" as one of my favorites.
Though people often think technical books are more relevant, but I think they're not - I've always gotten more from learning about the business behind the software, which allows you to make better decisions when you design and implement. If you read the technical books though, it's really about concepts, and what language or application you use to apply them is much less important. This list will give a huge leg up on your competition if you can learn the abstract concepts from the technical books and not focus on the implementation they're using to demonstrate them.
My favorites from that list are (in the order they occur to me):
THE GOAL: Awesome book. Not exactly written for software developers, but very read-worthy.
GROWING A BUSINESS.
HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE. Very nice if you are an anti-social geek-type like me.
BEN AND JERRY'S: THE INSIDE SCOOP. Just an all around fun read.
LITTLE RED BOOK OF SELLING. Also see Gitomer's LITTLE YELLOW BOOK OF YES ATTITUDE. Not on the list, but it should be. One of the very few books that lives on my desk full-time.
For reference:
The Joel on Software post is Reading List: Fog Creek Software Management Training Program.
I've added the list of books on goodreads.com for anyone interested (much thanks to Giacomo Lacava's amazon_to_goodreads greasemonkey script).
I didn't find a full Amazon Listmania! list, or I'd link it here.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie - This book was published back in the 1930's and is still a strong seller today. It is not about "tricking" people or devious in any way. It's just good, commonsense examples of how to get people to respond to you. One of the best books I have read and one of the most practical. Just start off with one suggestion or idea - you'll be surprised how well it really works.