How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Shane says: This is an old one but it is a great look at how to deal with and understand people.  You quickly learn what influence truly means and how this affects your day to day interactions with your co-workers.

Hatch says: This is a simple book that basically explains how people think and what motivates them. In the diverse world of the fire service, the ability to effectively speak with and interact with people will help you become more successful.

Bill says: This book has been in print for 80 years, and was written when books trying to teach leadership principles weren't so commonplace. But don't let that fool you into thinking that the models of behavior that it espouses are outdated. Quite the contrary; they are so simple that they are timeless.

Now, to be fair, I have to say that I don't really like how many times the author brings up stories related to him by people taking his classes. It comes off as a sales pitch that you should be taking his class too. And you might be tempted to read only the last page of each chapter to see the principle of that chapter outlined in a single sentence, but you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you do. This book is very easy to read, and has some pretty profound suggestions on how to behave if you really sit and think about them; more specifically if you sit and think about if you are embodying those suggestions.

Bill recommends for all ranks.