Basic Black, by Cathie Black
The bottom line: In this quasi-memoir and self-help manual, the Hearst Magazines publisher details her ascent in publishing's formerly all-male ranks, punctuating her anecdotes with pivotal rules and lessons that guided her to the top. Most impressive is her candor about the mistakes along the way — like her disastrous stint as publisher of Francis Ford Coppola's ill-fated magazine, Zoetrope. Sharp, witty, and direct, this is the classic how-to for hard-core ladder-climbers.
