13 January, 2025

Project Management Books: What are the Best 7 for You?


Experience is vital.

Training is Great.

But there's still nothing to beat reading a good book to expand your mental horizons. They are your step-stones to career success.

So, in this article, I want to showcase my picks for the best Project Management books. 

Best Project Management Books: Your Step-stones to Success

Yes, we’ve had a huge revolution in how we can learn and teach ourselves. And you may be ready for a project management course. But, for a new project manager, project management books are still a great way to learn. And for those of us with experience under our belts, the right project management books can offer new insights and ideas.

So, what are the Best Project Management books that I Recommend to a Project Manager?

That’s the question I have set out to answer in this article. Any selection of the best project management books must be subjective and this is no different. But in this fourth version of an old article, I have tried to make it as useful as possible, by dividing it into seven sections.

But there there are three new things since the last version (apart from some added recommendations).

  1. First, I have clearly marked my own books
  2. Second, I have included books that appear in multiple lists on other wob-sites that I don't have
  3. Third, I have not selected any of my ow books when I choose my Best of the Best (even if, in two cases, I think thesy deserve the crown!)

Let's get going...

So with this explanation, but with no apology for the subjective selections, here are my recommendations. Please add your own to the comments section below.

Please note that the Amazon links in this article are affiliated. I'll earn a small commission to support this site, if you decide to buy one of these books. But, I stand behind these recommendations and believe you will get great value from any of these books.

Part 1: Best Project Management Books for an Easy-to-Read Introduction

Let’s say you are a real beginner. You’ve been tasked with a project and have no formal project management training. You may have no experience either. But perhaps more likely, you’ve delivered small personal projects before… and maybe even some small organizational projects.

What project management books will give you a straightforward, easy to follow, intro to doing your first structured project?

Here, I am looking for:

  • Easy to read – the author must be a confident and effective communicator
  • Simple but authoritative – the author’s project process must be straightforward, but be rooted in strong best practice
  • Clearly structured – the book needs to follow a solid structure, making it easy for the reader to get repeatable results

The result is five project management books.

And this time, I am not going to be coy. I wrote my own introductory book to meet the three criteria above, so I shall start with that one.

What You Need to Know about Project Management

Author: Fergus O’Connell

What You Need to Know about Project Management

In my opinion, this is one of the best of the lightweight mass market trade paperbacks about project management. It has all the basics written clearly in bite-sized chunks.

Rather than follow a project lifecycle approach (like How to Manage a Great Project), this project management book focuses on the key skills you need to focus on, to deliver a successful project.

Read it because: It's full of bite-sized ideas to implement quickly.

Project Management All-in-One For Dummies

Author: Stanley E Portney

Project Management All-in-One For Dummies

I’ll admit it… For years, I held out against Dummies books for, well, snobbish reasons. I’m not a Dummy.

But this book, in yet another new edition, like its modern stable mates, does not treat you like a dummy.

Read it because: Quite simply, it’s very good.

20:20 Project Management: How to Deliver on Time, on Budget and on Spec

Author: Tony Marks

20:20 Project Management

This is a project management book that was recommended by OnlinePMCourses reader, Angus Duncan in his comment to the previous version of this article. I have taken a look at this book, though not thoroughly. And I was impressed.

It takes a similar, lifecycle approach to How to Manage a Great Project. It is written for a slightly more experienced reader, but I think it still fits with this group, rather than the next.

Read it because: It adds case studies to the introductory format.

Project Management for You:
How to Turn Your Ideas Into Reality, Deliver On Your Promises, and Get Things Done

Author: Cesar Abeid

Project Management for You

I don’t usually like nor recommend self-published, Kindle-only books. But I will make an exception for this well-written ebook.

It is written in a personal, first person style that you may or may not like, but it is full of good pragmatic advice, clearly explained.

Read it because: Abeid's anecdotes and experience bring project management to life.

Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager

Author: Kory Kogon, Suzette Blakemore, and James Wood

Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager By Kory Kogon

We all know that the vast majority of people who manage projects are not people who call themselves 'project managers'. Often, they have no intention - at least when they start out - of becoming a Project Manager.

This book cpvers the ground for absolute first-timer beginners.

Read it because: if you are an accidental or 'unofficial' project manager, this book was written for you.

Project Management JumpStart

Author: Kim Heldman

Project Management JumpStart By Kim Heldman

This is yet another easy-to-read starter book for new project managers. But, if you plan to go on - especially considering a PMI certification - it articulates the process using PMI-style language and approaches.

Read it because: it has a great focus on case studies that solve real-world PM problems.

How to Manage a Great Project: On budget. On target. On time.

Author: Mike Clayton

How to Manage a Great Project by Mike Clayton

Of all my project management books, this is the fundamental one. I designed it to take a beginer to a good level of competence, in eight easy steps.

So instead of telling you what I think, here is what Anne-Marie O’Hara, Head of Projects at The National Trust for Scotland, said:

"Read this book, follow his advice and you will succeed."

Read it because:

  • You follow my articles, so you probably like my style.
  • I wrote this book to match this niche.
  • After 20 years of training new project managers, I know what ways of explaining things work. And I have turned those live courses into a book.
  • It's easy to read, covers all the ground you need, and combines solid theory with practical advice.

Disclosure: I Wrote this Book
However, if I had not set myself the rule that I would not crown my own books as 'Best of the Best', I would have recommended this one.

Crowned the Best of the Best...

Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide

Author: Greg Horine

Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide By Greg Horine

This book covers all the basics in a way that follows core project processes. I would say it is better-suited to beginners who aspire to progress in the discuipline and become project professionals. It is less suited to 'accidental' project managers who just need to manage a project here and there. And it can help you prepare for a variety of certifications.

Frankly, I have only skimmed this book, but just about every PM 'best of' book list I looked at includes this book!

Read it because: it will give you a robust grounding in how project management works

Mike Clayton PM Library Dec 2024

Part 2: Best Project Management Books for Next-step PMs with some Experience under Your Belt

The first set of books is great for beginners. And they also offer plenty to learn for those readers who have done a few projects and want to refresh their learning and spot areas where you can brush up.

But what if you want to go further?

You have a few projects under your belt. So, now you want to stretch your thinking and improve your project management practice. What are the next-step project management books to speed you on your way to mastery of your craft?

My criteria for these books are:

  • The author is eminent and clearly writes from a standpoint of their own mastery
  • The book will make you think – it has ideas that take you beyond our Part 1 Project Management books
  • Yet the author still writes in a clear and compelling way, without hiding behind jargon and unnecessary complexity.

Performance-Based Project Management:
Increasing the Probability of Project Success

Author: Glen B Alleman

Performance-Based Project Management

Glen Alleman really knows his stuff, so this is rigorous, reliable, yet completely straightforward. This represents the distillation into simple ideas of a vast wealth of experience delivering high value, high criticality projects – often in software systems. As soon as I knew Glen was writing a book, I was confident it would rank highly among my best project management books.

Glen is also a frequent project management blogger and has contributed an excellent article on Capabilities Based Planning to OnlinePMCourses.

Read it because: No-one thinks about Project Management as rigorously as well as Glen Alleman.

Disclosure: I know Glen Alleman.

Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done

Author: Brett Harned

Helping People Get Things Done Paperback

This book places its emphasis firmly on managing your projects through people.

And it is also distinctive on this list for being focused mainly on digital project management - but not about 'how to be agile'. 

It's full of good sense, practical advice, and engaging anecdotes.

Read it because: project management is a human enterprise.

Herding Chickens. Innovative Techniques for Project Management

Author: Dan Bradbary and David Garrett

Herding Chickens

The title is a metaphor for the challenges of project management. The book’s principal author, Dan Bradary, has clearly been around the block a few times (he’s a PMP with 30 years’ experience when he wrote the book).

So Herding Chickens tackles some of the thorny challenges project managers face day-to-day. And he offers a range of valuable insights drawing on a wide range of ideas and models. His is an approach very similar to mine: read widely, learn from anything, draw it into your practice to test it out, then pass it on if it works.

Read it because: it's full of bite-sized insights from two long careers as a Project Manager. And because herding cats is too much of a cliché.

Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams

Author: Terry Schmidt

Strategic Project Management Made Simple

As the title suggests, this book has a strategic focus - and one around meeting organizational goals. 

This book has a lot in it - tools, methods, insights. It will help you graduate to a broader perspective on your project management.

Read it because: you'll need to move up in your career and manage multiple projects within a wider organizational context.  

The Lazy Project Manager

Author: Peter Taylor

The Lazy Project Manager by Peter Taylor

Peter Taylor takes two of my favorite thinkers (Pareto and Von Moltke) and weaves an intelligent set of ideas around their work. Productive Laziness is a sound concept - especially if you really understand Project Management (particularly during delivery) as Peter Taylor cerinly does.

Read it because: this is the first and best of his lighweight books and so many others have read it, you won't want to be left out. Plus: the Dinosaur Metaphor is inspired.

Disclosure: I know Peter Taylor.

Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook

Author: Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez

Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook

This is the basic introduction to read when you have moved on from basic introductions. It's full of excellent guidance, frameworks, and case studies to extend your thinking. It nearly belongs in my project leadership section.

Read it because: Nieto-Rodriguez's Project Canvas packs a whole methodology onto one page.

Crowned the Best of the Best...

Alpha Project Managers

Author: Andy Crowe

Alpha Project Managers

This book blew me away.

Andy Crowe has created a thorough survey and deftly extracted large amounts of gold from the data he’s mined. I learnt so much from it that I wrote a comprehensive review of the book for an earlier article. Please do take a look at that.

Then buy and read this book.

Read it because: Andy has researched and tell us what really works. This is a book that can help you take your solid PM knowledge and build an exceptional PM career.

Mike Clayton PM Library Dec 2024

Part 3: Best Project Management Books that are More-demanding Reads, with a Higher Technical Content

This part is dedicated to serious students of Project Management. I only recommend these for people with some solid experience under you belt.

These are books that wil stretch your thinking and offer serious guidance for more advanced project management challenges.

Neuroscience for project success: Why people behave as they do.

Author: Carole Osterweil

Neuroscience for Project Success

Without a doubt, Neuroscience is offering us more and better insights into how we can lead, guide, and motivate our teams. And this is the first (and so far the best I know of) book that applies this knowledge-base to the role of a Project Manager.

Idid an extended review of this book, in which I shared my top neuroscience insights, in a feature article, that also includes my interview with the author. Read Power of Neuroscience: How to Harness it for Project Success, then buy the book and READ IT.

Read it because: this one came within a hair's breadth of being crowned the best of the best.

Disclosure: I know Carole Osterweil.

Critical Chain

Author: Eliyahu Goldratt

Critical Chain

This book s written as a novel. It introduces the ideas of the Theory of Constraints (TOC), as applied to projects, and the Critical Chain.

These are important ideas for project managers to understand - although perhaps not as revolutionary and game-changing as they were touted to be.

Find out the answer to 'What is a Critical Chain?'

Read it because: your peers have done - and you'll want to hve an opinion on it.

Advanced Multi-Project Management: Achieving Outstanding Speed and Results with Predictability

Author: Gerald I. Kendall, PMP and Kathleen M. Austin

Advanced Multi-Project Management - Achieving Outstanding Speed and Results with Predictability

This book looks at multi-project management from just about every angle isn short, thorough chapters, with even shorter sections. If there's a lot going on in your project life, you'll find a lot in this book to help you.

Read it because: multi-project management is something I get asked about more than anything else. And, if you are working at the top of your game, this can become a must.

Making Things Happen

Author: Scott Berkun

Making Things Happen

This comes highly recommended to me as a book full of experience around making the basics of project management work in a challenging corporate environment.

The focus is on pragmatism and it's full of anecdotes and ideas.

Read it because: It will make the basics of day-to-day PM work stand out.

Rescue the Problem Project

Author: Todd C. Williams

Rescue the Problem Project

When things go wrong, let Todd Williams guide you through, with a sound process and excellent advice. He clearly has solid experience behind his practical advice and he uses excellent case studies to bring it all to life.

Read it because: you will encounter a project that goes wrong., And if yiou haven't thought it through, and don't have a refwernce on your shelf, you're at an immediate disadvantage.

Disclosure: I know Todd Williams.

Crowned the Best of the Best...

Filling Execution Gaps: How Executives and Project Managers Turn Corporate Strategy into Successful Projects

Author: Todd Williams

Filling Execution Gaps

Every now and then, I read a book I really wish I had written. And this is one. And it wins its prize against the toughest of competition, including from another book by the same author!

Todd Williams's approach is very much like mine and this is a heavy book that goes into his ideas in great detail. But don't think it's full of padding: just the opposite. You'll find plenty of gold-dust in here.

Todd's writing is clear, if dense in ideas. And those ideas are fundamental. You will want to return to this book as your career develops.

This is a truly exceptional project management book, and one for pride of place in your library... After you have read it thoroughly and covered it in sticky notes and underlines!

Read it because: it's filled with important insights for anyone managing projects and programs at a strategic level.

Disclosure: I know Todd Williams.

Mike Clayton PM Library Dec 2024

Part 4: Best Project Leadership Books that are Focused on the Leadership Aspects of the Projects Profession

Sitting alongside the management of projects is the role of leading those projects and leading the people involved in them. This si a small list of excellent books that all focus you on the challenge of elevating your practice by focusing on the leadership elements.

Brilliant Project Leader: What the Best Project Leaders Know, Do, and Say to Get Results, Evert Time

Author: Mike Clayton

Brilliant Project Leader by Mike Clayton

This books has three parts.

  1. The first looks at the four essentials of team leadership in a project context, and offers a wealth of tools and tips for each. 
  2. Part 2 sets out the things you need to do to move from project manager to project leader, in each of the four primary project stages.
  3. And finally, the last part offers tips and tools for a project leader who needs to deal with tough times – which you will do one day.

"It is a must-read for all current or aspiring leaders."

Read it because: It draws clear lines between the management and leadership aspects of our role - and shows you how to do the leadership bit.

Disclosure: I Wrote this Book
However, if I had not set myself the rule that I would not crown my own books as 'Best of the Best', I would have recommended this one.

Scrum Mastery: From Good to Great Servant Leadership

Author: Geoff Watts

Scrum Mastery - Geoff Watts

I was torn as to whether to put this in the Project Leadership or Agile section. But, frankly, there are plenty of Agile books and too few good Project Leadershup.

But, the real reason is firstly that this book has a lot to say about leadership that applies equally to project management in any context. And second, if you aspire to lead projects, you need to at least understand the basics of agile andits many frameworks.

Read it because: Servant Leadership is the most valuable leadership context for project professionals. If you don't understand it and know how to apply it, what are you doing trying to lead a project.

Crowned the Best of the Best...

The Power of Project Leadership

Author: Susanne Madsen

The Power of Project Leadership

In an admittedly small field, this book is excellent and earns its place. It is a deserved best-seller.

This book is structured around seven leadership principles (or keys) that are well-chosen. Each one has plenty of thoughtful advice to offer.

Read it because: It is so different to mine yet I find it full of gold. The two go perfectly together as two complementary takes on leading in project-based working.

Disclosure: I know Susanne Madsen.

Mike Clayton PM Library Dec 2024

Part 5: Best Project Management Books for Your Next-steps in Specific Project Management Disciplines

In this part, let’s look at some of the specific topics you’ll want to study, as you develop your project management career.

Here, I’m looking for pretty much the same things as I was in Part 2.

Risk Happens! Managing Risk and Avoiding Failure in Business Projects
2nd Edition: Revised and Enlarged

Author: Mike Clayton

Risk Happens! 2nd Ed

This is another of my own books, but I firmly believe it is the best introductory level project risk management book out there.

It’s written for early-stage project managers who want to go beyond the hour or so of coverage the subject got in their project management training. And it is stuffed full of tables, tools, and diagrams to make a tricky subject easy to understand and practical to implement.

This new edition is revised and enlarged with new content.

"Rather than just being theoretical, this is a book which translates properly into real life."

Read it because: Risk Management is Essential - and this is the best introduction I know.

Disclosure: I Wrote this Book
However, if I had not set myself the rule that I would not crown my own books as 'Best of the Best', I would have recommended this one.

Identifying and Managing Project Risk

Author: Tom Kendrick

Identifying and Managing Project Risk

This is the intermediate volume between Risk Happens! (above) and Effective Risk Management (below). It’s a big read with more detail than the former. But it is far less rigorous and technical than the latter.

I love Kendrick’s telling of the story of the Panama canal, as the end piece to each chapter.

Read it because: Kendrick balances rigor with ease-of-reading.

Effective Risk Management: Some Keys to Success

Author: Edmund H Conrow

Effective Risk Management

Here’s a book with one of the most self-effacing subtitles: ‘some keys to success’. It hides the fact that this is the book you go to when you want an authoritative guide to project risk management… and you are prepared to put the work in.

This is not an easy book. But it is well written and, if you are a serious PM who needs to manage risk rigorously on major projects, it’s the book for you.

Read it because: you need to become expert in project risk management.

Risk Management

Authors: Glen B Alleman & Jon M Quigley

Risk Management - Alleman & Quigley

This is the new kid on the risk management books block, at a similar level to Kendrick's book. It is a more structured , how to book from a highly experienced technical author (Quigley) and one of the leading thinkers and practitioners of rigorous method (Alleman). The result is, as you'd expect, a first class text that covers the ground thoroughly and well.

Read it because: It starts shallow and goes deep, making this the perffect balance.

Disclosure: I know Glen Alleman and Jon Quigley.

Capital Projects: What Every Executive Needs to Know to Avoid Costly Mistakes and Make Major Investments Pay Off

Author: Paul Barshop

Capital Projects

If you need to understand the business aspects of capital projects, then this is the book for you.

It presents lots of data to help understand why large projects succeed... or fail.

Read it because: if you are going to play in the big league, you need to know the way the game is played.

Engaging Stakeholders on Projects : How to Harness People Power

Author: Elizabeth Harrin

Engaging Stakeholder on Projects new cover

This is clearly (to me) the best simple introduction to Stakeholder Engagement you can buy. It is ideal for new project managers who want a more detailed introduction to stakeholder engagement than a basic course or general project management book can offer.

It provides all the resources you need, to understand the process and take it on confidently.

Read it because: This book will get you from the 'one-chapter' intro of general PM books to a solid level of knowledge quickly

Disclosure: I know Elizabeth Harrin.

The Influence Agenda: A Systematic Approach to Aligning Stakeholders in Times of Change

Author: Mike Clayton

The Influence Agenda by Mike Clayton

This is the fourth (and last) of my own project management books that I am listing. And I think it’s the best.

It is a comprehensive guide to project stakeholder engagement. It avoids proprietary models and cover a huge range of ideas: from stakeholder analysis techniques to persuasive writing, to behavioral economics, to stakeholder campaign management. This is a topic with a paucity of decent books, so this one fills a big gap. It will also give you a three page history of the concept of a stakeholder!

"The Influence AGenda offers a refreshingly practical guide to all managers whose responsibility is to engage stakeholders towards a common agenda."

Read it because: If you want more depth than Elizabeth's basic introduction, above, this one ghas it. It very nearly went into Part 4.

Disclosure: I Wrote this Book
However, if I had not set myself the rule that I would not crown my own books as 'Best of the Best', I would have recommended this one.

Project Management Coaching Workbook: Six Steps to Unleashing Your Potential

Author: Susanne Madsen

Project Management Coaching Workbook

If you want to self-coach, to become a better PM, and are prepared to put in the work of doing her exercises, Susanne offers a great book. It is one of those project management books you are likely to return to at different stages of your career. She comes from a business project background.

Read it because: The emphasis is on you, as a professional.

Disclosure: I know Susanne Madsen.

Green Project Management

Authors: Richard Maltzman and David Shirley

Green Project Management

Think long-term when planning and delivering your projects.This book is practical and packed with real examples that show how you can make a positive environmental impact in the way you deliver your projects.

Learn more about Green Project Management from one of the authors, in our feature article by Rich Maltzman: Green Project Management: Are You Ready to Think Sustainably?

Read it because: if you aren't thinking sustainably, then you are one or more steps behind the leaders in our profession.

Disclosure: I know Rich Maltzman.

Crowned the Best of the Best...

Sustainable Project Management: The GPM Practice Guide

Authors: GPM Global - Joel Carboni, William Duncan, Michael Young, Michael Pace, Monica Gonzalez, & David Smyth

Sustainable Project Management Practice Guide

This could equally appear in Part 7 as a reference book, because it really is like a body of knowledge. This takes the green agenda and broadens it out to all elements of sustainability and onwards to regeneration.

This new edition gives you the skillset you need to be a truly modern Project Manager with the mindset and toolset to ensure your projects have a net positive impact on your environment, community, and future.

Read it because: there is no longer a good excuse for not working hard to make your next project sustainable. And this is the sourcebook you need, to understand all the elements of that.

Disclosure: I know William Duncan and David Smyth.

Mike Clayton PM Library Dec 2024

Part 6: Best Project Management Books that are Written for Software Development Project Management

In this part, let’s look at some of the specific topics you’ll want to study, as you develop your project management career.

Here, I’m looking for pretty much the same things as I was in Part 2.

The Project Manager’s Guide to Mastering Agile: Principles and Practices for an Adaptive Approach

Author: Charles (Chuck) Cobb

The Project Manager's Guide to Mastering Agile 2nd Edition

Chuck Cobb is a good friend of OnlinePMCourses, and if you want to learn Agile Project Management, then we recommend his courses.

But we choose our friends carefully. Chuck knows his stuff and has a highly pragmatic approach to Agile, which allows you to adopt it at any level from the local to the enterprise, and in any degree of rigor, from pure Scrum through to an adaptive blend of methodologies. This is much-updated second edition.

Read it because: this is a solid introduction to all-things agile.

Disclosure: I know Chuck Cobb.

Doing Agile Right: Transformation Without Chaos

Authors: Darrell Rigby, Sarah Elk, & Steve Berez

Doing Agile Right - Transformation Without Chaos

This book offers a critical assessment of how agile works in the real world. This book goes deep - particularly if yipu are interested in implementing (or fixing) agile at enterprise level.

Read it because: you may be called upon to implement agile and, if you are, this book is for you.

The Agile Mind-Set: Making Agile Processes Work

Author: Gil Boza

The Agile Mind-Set: Making Agile Processes Work

Pure agile is about mindset and proinciples, rather than methodologies and framework. If you want a deep dive into the way a seasoned agile practitioner thinks, this is a thought-provoking read.

Read it because: it's the closest to getting an agile mentor you can get, in book form.

Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time

Author: Jeff Sutherland

Scrum - The art of doing twice the work in half the time

Frankly, this is a love-it or hate-it book that makes the case for Scrum by one of the founders. Don't expect to learn as much about how to practice Scrum.

It's self-serving and insightful by degrees. Buy with caution. Not everyone will like this. Just take a look at the Amazon reviews!

Read it because: you want to hear how Jeff Sutherland views his creation. (Co-creation with Ken Schwaber - see below)

Agile Project Management with Scrum

Author: Ken Schwaber

Agile Project Management with Scrum

This is a deep dive, along with case studies, into the practicalities of delivering a project within the Scrum framework.

It's a brilliant introduction for anyone committed to using Scrum and finds the Scrum Guide is not enough.

Read it because: you can read Ken Schwaber's own thoughts on how his creation works. (Co-creation with jeff Sutherland - see above)

Crowned the Best of the Best...

Agile Project Management for Dummies

Author: Mark C Layton and Steven J Ostermiller

Agile Project Managemnt for Dummies

Because...

If you aren't yet aware of the basics of Agile, you need to be. And this book makes it easy to absorb them.

Do also look at our roadmap and resource guide: I Want to Study Agile Project Management, here on this site.

This is not the book if you want a rigorous text on applying Agile to your projects. But, if you want an easy-to-read introduction that will leave you feeling fully familiar with the principles and practices of Agile, it’s a great book.

Read it because: Sometimes we just want a simple introduction, rather than in-depth information.

Mike Clayton PM Library Dec 2024

Part 7: Best Project Management Reference Books that You'll want on Your Shelf

In this part, let’s look at some of the specific topics you’ll want to study, as you develop your project management career.

Here, I’m looking for pretty much the same things as I was in Part 2.

Transformation Leader's Body of Knowledge, 1st Edition

Author: Tony Lockwood

Transformtion Leaders Body of Knowledge - Tony Lockwood

This is a might accomplishment by the author. Lockwood is a long-time practitioner delivering business transformations for a wide range of clients and hosting the Transformations Leaders' Hub and podcast.

The amount of content in this book frankly puts the APM's and PMI's bodys of knowledge to shame - and they have panels of authors. There is so much in this that we can learn from

Read it because: transformation is what many project managers aspire to deliver and here is a most comprehensive toolset you will find. It nearly won the crown - and only lost because it is not pure-play Project Management.

Disclosure: I know Tony Lockwood.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 7th Edition

Author: Project Management Institute

PMBOK Guide 7th Edition - PMBOK 7

Frankly, previous editions have been bloated and messy. This one is a radical departure from the evolutionary trend of editions 1 to 6. It is principles-based and intriduces a load of new ideas that make it an excellent addition to the shelf of a serious Project Manager.

Read my fulll assessment of the 7th edition: PMBOK Guide 7th Edition: Your 20 Most Important Questions Answered (Update) - with links to my extensive detailed coverage.

Watch my video: Top 10 Things to Know about PMBOK 7 – the 7th Edition of the Project Management Body of Knowledge

Read it because: frankly, the PMI is the biggest player in our profession. But also because, for the first time in a long time, we can consider the PMBOK Guide to be a good book.

Disclosure: I know Nader Rad, one of the principal authors.

APM Body of Knowledge 7th Edition

Author: Association for Project Management

APM BoK 7 new cover

This is shorter, sharper and, in many ways, much better than the PMI's Body of Knowledge.

It is largely a source-book - a guide to the knowledge you need and places to find it, rather than giving all that knowledge.

Learn more about this book from our in-depth review: APM Body of Knowledge: What is it, Do You Need it?

Read it because: You want a guide to the knowledge areas to build up on - or to study for an APM exam.

Please note that APM has announced the publiucation of the 8th Edition in 2025. It is likely to be an evolutionary progression, with additional content.

Disclosure: I have a commercial relationship with APM.

PRINCE2 7: Managing Successful Projects

Author:Andy Murray (Editor), and an author team of nine

PRINCE2 7th Edition: Managing Successful Projects

There are lots of introductory and explanatory guides to PRINCE2 on the market, but if you're serious…

This is the authoritative guide published by the current owners of the PRINCE2 methodology set. The methodology has evolved a lot since I bought my 1998 edition, so do spend the money and get a current copy, if you are going to be studying the PRINCE2 methodology. This new vesion is a significant change to the 2017 edition and, frankly, all the better for it!

Read my review: PRINCE2 7th Edition: The Top 10 Changes You Need to Know

Read it because: This is the authoritative text on PRINCE2.

Project Management in Practice

Author: Jack R. Meredith, Samuel J. Mantel Jr, Scott M. Shafer & Margaret M. Sutton

Project Management in Practice, 7e IA final.cdr

A lighter-weight text book than its cousin (below). This may suit you as a halfway house (though it’s priced a little beyond half way). But in truth, it packs more than half the value.

Textbook pricing is shocking (and arguably unethical). And, for reasons I cannot fathom, the 6th Edition is currently not on sale as a print copy in the UK Amazon.

Again, consider a second-hand copy of an earlier edition - mine is the 3rd Ed.

Read it because: you want a textbook approach - but a lighter-weight volume than the one above.

Crowned the Best of the Best...

Project Management: A Managerial Approach

Author: Jack R. Meredith & Samuel J. Mantel Jr.

Project Management- A Managerial Approach 11th Ed

My original copy is the third edition and 20 years old. But this was my reference manual when I was learning, so I can heartily recommend the latest edition. It’s a textbook, so you get a huge amount of content, lots of detail and, whilst easily readable, it ain’t reading-for-pleasure.

But if you’re a serious student of PM, or you want a good solid reference book on your shelves, to see you through years of ‘let me just look that up‘, then you’ll want this.

As a text book, it's very pricey. So, maybe save some money by picking up a second hand 9th or 10th edition. For me, this is one of my truly indispensible project management books. I recently upgraded to a 7th edition at a very low cost.

Read it because: sometimes you will need a solid academic understanding of the broad sweep of PM or some little detail.

My Own Project Management Bookshelf

In case you think I am bluffing on all of this, here is a picture of my own project management bookshelf. Not every book in the list is here - but plenty are.

Mike Clayton PM Library Dec 2024

What Project Management Books do You Recommend?

We’d love to hear about the books you liked, or your comments on our own recommendations. Add your thoughts to the comments below, and we’ll respond to every contribution.



 

The links here are affiliate links. If you are interested in buying one of these books, please use these links, to support our blog. Many thanks… Mike

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Mike Clayton

About the Author...

Dr Mike Clayton is one of the most successful and in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is author of 14 best-selling books, including four about project management. He is also a prolific blogger and contributor to ProjectManager.com and Project, the journal of the Association for Project Management. Between 1990 and 2002, Mike was a successful project manager, leading large project teams and delivering complex projects. In 2016, Mike launched OnlinePMCourses.
  • I would add: How Big Things Get Done (EXP): The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between, Regards Rizzi Project Management

    • Thank you, Pierino. I’ve had this recommended before and I have several of Dan Gardner’s books (Including Risk, which I’ll be recommending in a few weeks, in my roundup of books for risk management). He brings a journalistic style to professional disciplines and, of course, Bent Flyvbjerg is a force to be reconned with. Great recommendation.

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