■ The Big Idea
Marketing guru Al Ries, who brought us "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind" teams up with his wife Laura for another Marketing Classic. The textbook for any brand-building team, this book cites real-world stories from Starbucks, and The Body Shop, to Microsoft, Amazon.com, and Yahoo! Brand creation is explained in simple language, and in easily digestible chapters. This is the essential primer for anyone who intends to dominate a category and build a formidable brand, whether your product is sold in malls or on the Internet.