By Walter Isaacson

From bestselling author Walter Isaacson comes the landmark biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. In “Steve Jobs: A Biography,” Isaacson provides an extraordinary account of Jobs’ professional and personal life. Drawn from three years of exclusive and unprecedented interviews Isaacson has conducted with Jobs as well as extensive interviews with Jobs’ family members, key colleagues from Apple and its competitors, “Steve Jobs” is the definitive portrait of the greatest innovator of his generation.

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Beloved television star of Fair Go, Kevin Milne’s memoir is funny, insightful, incisive, moving and all-round entertaining. He talks of his long television career – 40 years – including 25 years of the long-running, top-rating Fair Go. Kevin writes in a relaxed, laconic style that draws the reader in immediately – he’s an excellent story-teller and raconteur. He includes many wonderful anecdotes about the well-known people who have been Fair Go reporters over the years, for example Kerre Woodham, Brian Edwards, Carole Hirschfeld, Kim Hill. Plus hilarious tales of the best dodgy dealers, scams and rip-off artists that Fair Go has uncovered over the years. His personal story is told with self-deprecating humour and great honesty – it’s the story of a boy who really didn’t amount to much at school but who went on to make the most of his talents and become a household name. Kevin writes: ‘The Listener magazine wrote, “In an age of glossy packaging, Kevin Milne is a brown paper bag”. I think it was meant as a compliment and I’ll settle for that. So, welcome to the life and times of a brown paper bag.’

About the Author

Kevin Milne has been on Fair Go for 25 years – and in television – for 40 years.

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With a chain of eponymous Annah Stretton stores in every New Zealand town, a monthly magazine, a mentoring programme, export markets, frequent public speaking engagements and high recognisability, fashion designer Annah Stretton is living proof of the statement, “If you want something done, ask a busy woman.” Dynamic, charismatic, driven, focussed, and unceasingly entrepreneurial, she has created a business empire from her Waikato base that is the envy of many. But it hasn’t all been easy and in this candid, engaging book she shares the strategies and tools that have got her to the top and that keep her there. The book is structured around Annah’s 10 tips for success. It includes lots of anecdotes from her own life and business experience to illustrate her points and to show how after she’d made the same mistake a few times she realized it was time to not make that mistake again. Wise Heart explains the values that lie behind her drive for success: if you run a business with passion, drive and heart, you will achieve your goals. Her book is a sure-fire guide for all budding entrepreneurs and business owners. It’s like having your own personal mentoring session with Annah.

About the Author

Annah Stretton is one of New Zealand’s best known and most successful businesswomen, She runs her own chain of clothing stores, exports overseas, and also heads a publishing business, the flagship of which is Her magazine. She is a mentor of other women through the Her Business networks, a philanthropist and an engaging public speaker. She lives and mostly works in Morrinsville, Waikato, with her husband.

By Justine Troy & Geoff Ross

“Geoff Ross and Justine Troy are the husband and wife founders of the revolutionary New Zealand-distilled vodka brand, 42 Below…”

Initially brewed by Wellington advertising man Geoff Ross in his garage, everything about this vodka was audacious, from the very notion of making high-end vodka Downunder to its irreverent ad campaigns and the fact that it would go on to beat the world’s great vodka brands in international competitions. But the most remarkable thing about 42 Below was the way it won the respect and support of the world’s leading bartenders and eventually attracted the attention of liquor giant Bacardi, which paid millions to buy the brand four years ago. Every Bastard Says No is the rollicking tale of how Geoff Ross, his wife Justine, and their business partners and loyal staff risked all and worked their butts off to do what New Zealanders so dream of doing but so rarely manage: build a brand that makes the world sit up and take notice. It’s an inspirational business story that will appeal to entrepreneurs, business students, creatives, and everyone who loves a brave – and ultimately successful – Kiwi start-up. ‘This book will bamboozle those who look for neat classifications. Is it a business book? A biography? Or a beverage bible? I don’t know – and it doesn’t matter. It works.It’s brilliant! Like 42 Below. ‘ Mark Weldon, CEO New Zealand Stock Exchange

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By Michael Hill

Michael Hill believes the looming meltdown can be a good thing for businesses and entrepreneurs. It is possible to succeed in a downturn – in fact it is the perfect situation in which to perfect a business. Instead of fearing the side-effects of recession, wallowing in gloom and convincing ourselves the only safe haven is at home under the blankets, entrepreneurs can use this period to their advantage.

With the right attitude, you can not only survive, but emerge from the crunch with a new feeling of prosperity and strength. Over the years, Michael Hill has had just about every possible experience in business: from lie-awake-at-night nerves to the joy of unexpected success. He’s reshaped the landscape under his feet and he has ventured into new territory. And at every moment, he has relished the excitement of it all. Once, he was an outsider in his industry; the cheeky startup whom nobody expected to succeed. The established players had no reason to view him as a threat.

Now, his business is the establishment. It dominates the markets in which it operates. Michael Hill Jeweller is a respected part of the business culture in a large part of the world – and they are continuing to expand in both size and ambition. This book encapsulates the ingredients of Michael’s philosophy. There are no secret herbs and spices. It is not a magic recipe – it is just a collection of solid ideas, firmly grounded in reality. All these concepts are remarkable only because they make common-sense – but you’d be amazed how rarely they are fully understood and embraced in the business world.

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By Leith Oliver, John English

The Small Business Book is the bestselling, hands-on guide to running your own business in New Zealand. This new edition is up-to-date, easy to understand and simple to use. If you are tempted to strike out on your own, this is the book that will help you decide if you’ve got the right stuff. If you want to go into business now, this is the book that will help you to get started. If you are already in business, this is the book that explains a number of strategies for refining your operation and maximising your profits. The small business sector is, collectively, the biggest business in New Zealand. New ventures are being launched in greater numbers than ever before, and the prospects for success offer hope and a sense of fulfilment to New Zealanders who want to be self-employed. The Small Business Book has been written to help you get into business, successfully stay in business and make a good living from being in business.

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Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

By Timothy Ferriss

Tim Ferriss has trouble defining what he does for a living. Depending on when you ask this controversial Princeton University guest lecturer, he might answer: ‘I race motorcycles in Europe’, ‘I ski in the Andes’, ‘I scuba dive in Panama’, ‘I dance tango in Buenos Aires’. He has spent more than five years learning the secrets of the ‘New Rich’, a fast-growing subculture that has abandoned the ‘deferred-life plan’ and instead mastered the new currencies – time and mobility – to create a new way of living.

Why wait a lifetime for your retirement when you can enjoy luxury now? Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing first class world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with no management, or just living more and working less, this book is the blueprint.

Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you: how to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want; how blue chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs; how to eliminate 50 per cent of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist; how to exchange your career for life for short work bursts and frequent ‘mini-retirements’; how to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair; how to cultivate selective ignorance – and create time – with a low-information diet; how to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50-80 per cent off; and how to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office. Learn about this and more to live the life you want – now.

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The Joy of Discovering What You Were Born to Do

By: Thomas Moore

The majority of us will spend longer each day in our respective workplace than we will at home. We all want to enjoy our professional lives, but many people feel dissatisfied at work and are asking ‘Why am I doing what I’m doing?’. In A LIFE AT WORK bestselling author Thomas Moore uses his famous blend of spirituality and psychology to address the strong desire all of us have to feel fulfilled and satisfied by our work and careers. He explores the often difficult obstacles, road blocks and hardships of our own making that we go through on our way to discovering our deeper purpose. He also shares the struggles of great thinkers and artists who grappled with their own uncertainty before finding their calling, highlighting the timelessness of every individual’s quest to find happiness in their career. For anyone who is questioning the professional path they have chosen, this poignant and practical meditation will help them discover the answers.

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By David Irving, Darl Kolb, Deborah Shepherd, Christine Woods 

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Changing Gears is the essential guide to growing your Kiwi business. Rooted in the success stories of real New Zealand companies, the book explains in plain language the key business principles that will enable you to drive growth, profitability and market penetration. Easy to read and illustrated throughout with diagrams and exercises, Changing Gears encourages readers to apply the insights to their own enterprises.

Changing Gears gives Kiwi business owners and managers answers to their most critical questions: How do you identify business models and financial drivers? How do you become a leader who can see the future for your business? How do you build a team, share information, and delegate effectively so that you are not waking up at 3am? How do you develop resilience so that you can get things done without burning out? And how do you weigh options for the future of the business and pursue growth opportunities to scale up your company?

This book celebrates the vision, determination, and tenacity of New Zealand’s owner-managers and gives them the tools to do their business better. From start-up entrepreneurs to established family businesses, from farms to factories, Changing Gears provides New Zealand owner-managers with the keys to growth.

Drawing on their own business careers, international research and experience coaching owner-managers in the successful ICEHOUSE programme, the authors have developed this essential guide to leading and growing a business in New Zealand.

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations

By Ori Brafman, Rod A. Beckstrom

Understanding the amazing force that links some of todays most successful companies. If you cut off a spiders leg, its crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfishs leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish.

Whats the hidden power behind the success of Wikipedia, craigslist, and Skype? What do eBay and General Electric have in common with the abolitionist and womens rights movements? What fundamental choice put General Motors and Toyota on vastly different paths? How could winning a Supreme Court case be the biggest mistake MGM could have made?

After five years of ground-breaking research, Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom share some unexpected answers, gripping stories, and a tapestry of unlikely connections. “The Starfish and the Spider” argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional spiders, which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary starfish, which rely on the power of peer relationships.