“I cannot live without books,” said Thomas Jefferson. Many thoughtful people feel the same way. Books have become very inexpensive and widely available. There are many more published today than at any previous time in history.
For those of us who are “knowledge professionals,” books are indispensable. They are a peculiar encapsulation of knowledge that conveys a typically complex message in a way we can swallow, albeit sometimes with effort.
And they confer upon their authors social and professional status. That is why so many professionals write them, and so many more want to.
“The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it,” said Disraeli. I’ve found that to be true; the book project becomes a powerful organizing force for the writer.
In his introduction to “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire,” Edward Gibbon confessed: “Unprovided with original learning, unformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved to write a book.” If all authors were that honest, it would be a lot easier to tell the wheat from the chaff.
Nevertheless, the value of a book to its author is undeniable. Properly undertaken, with an eye for time and effort, a book is still one of the best investments a 21st-century professional can make in his or her brand.
