The Best on Business!!

I am a huge fan of the Harvard Business Review. Not every issue is packed chock full of articles I am dying to peruse but what in-depth academic publication is...even for academics. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I never fail to find one or several articles that are wonderful clearly-written resources drawing from a wealth of research that all writers for the Review have.

The content categories are standard and easy to use as the table of contents is conveniently located on the cover of the Review. A number of features are always followed by an HBR Case Study which runs several pages, the department "Ideas at Work," a "First Person" account sometimes written by an actual businessman, a "HBR Classic" which is a delve into the archives to revive an especially good piece, and "Books in Review" which is self-explanatory.

Like a fellow reviewer who roundly criticized HBR for being creaky and out of date, I thought maybe HBR was losing it's edge...if an academic review can be said to have one. But my faith was restored by an OUTSTANDING article, "How Venture Capital Works" in the November-December 1998 issue. The article cut through all the clutter and pretty pictures generated by some of the mag's flashier business mag competitors to present a clear and concise in-depth explanation of exactly how VC works. Anyone aspiring to understand what all these v. capitalists mentioned almost daily in major publication are doing should use this article as their primer.

HBR does not come cheap. A subscription is $85 and reprints of a single article are $5.50. If you can get your workplace or institution to subscribe, do so. Otherwise, find the nearest library that subscribes and visit every two months to peruse the new issue and xerox what interests you most. It's well worth your time.