MIT Sloan’s 2026 summer book collection

These research-backed titles cover economic strategy, entrepreneurship, talent management, cultural evolution in the age of AI, and more.

Tracy Mayor

May 26, 2026 4 minute read

New books from MIT Sloan School of Management experts examine Disciplined Entrepreneurship for climate startups, the economics of the second Trump administration, and the need to understand the cultural evolution of artificial intelligence.

Here are six suggestions for your summertime reading list.

The Art of Monetary Policy: Lessons From Sun Tzu for Central Banks

MIT Sloan School of Management professor Kristin J. Forbes

Central banks are navigating a world of higher debt, tightly interconnected markets, and rising geopolitical tensions. How might they respond effectively?

In “The Art of Monetary Policy,” MIT Sloan economist draws on the writings of Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu to suggest modern principles for central banks, including preparing for the next financial battle, establishing a strong tactical position, combining weapons and methods, and modifying and varying tactics to maintain flexibility.

Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures

MIT Sloan entrepreneur in residence Ben Soltoff; professor of the practice Bill Aulet; and senior lecturers Tod Hynes, Francis O’Sullivan, and Libby Wayman

Climate and energy entrepreneurs face challenges that traditional startup playbooks don’t address. Their ventures can require massive capital and take years to reach market, all while striving to achieve a positive impact on people, planet, and profit.

This book adapts the MIT-born Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework specifically for climate and energy ventures, recognizing that founders in this space need their own approach.

Among the unique hurdles climate entrepreneurs face are “valleys of death,” where promising solutions fail due to the challenges of funding, scaling, and deploying new technologies. The peril is particularly acute for climate, energy, and other deep-tech ventures.

The Economic Consequences of the Second Trump Administration: A Preliminary Assessment

Edited by MIT Sloan professors Gary Gensler and Simon Johnson, along with Ugo Panizza and Beatrice Weder di Mauro

How might the economic and geopolitical positions of the Trump administration affect growth, trade, investment, inflation, stability, and the role of the U.S. dollar?

This recently updated volume offers evidence-based, expert analysis to help decision makers understand the impact of tariffs, breaks in global alliances, government downsizing, deregulation, threats to the rule of law, and more.

Among the more than 70 contributors to the book, which is available as a free download from the Centre for Economic Policy Research, are five MIT Sloan School of Management professors:

Gary Gensler writes about AI policy and financial regulation.
Yasheng Huang explores U.S. policies’ impact on China.
Simon Johnson addresses science leadership and fiscal sustainability.
Valerie Karplus writes about the downsizing of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Roberto Rigobon addresses the challenges of accurately measuring the state of the U.S. economy.

The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How To Fix Them

MIT Sloan professor of work and organization studies Emilio J. Castilla

Organizations often hail meritocracy as a fair and efficient way to identify, advance, and reward talent. But efforts to create a level playing field can be held back by talent management systems that confer rewards based on individual performance evaluations.

In practice, these merit-based systems “may actually reinforce or create advantages for certain groups,” writes MIT Sloan professor in his book, “The Meritocracy Paradox.”

In one company field study, Castilla found that women, racially disadvantaged populations, and immigrants “earned a lower merit-based bonus than white men” despite working in the same jobs and work units, having the same supervisors, and obtaining the same performance scores.

Castilla encourages organizations to embrace a data-driven approach to meritocracy to address biases and inefficiencies hidden in talent management systems.

Priority Technologies: Ensuring US Security and Shared Prosperity

Edited by MIT professor of the practice Elisabeth B. Reynolds, with a foreword by MIT Sloan professor Simon Johnson

In a world upended by geopolitical rivalries, supply chain vulnerabilities, and energy threats, the global technological leadership of the United States is no longer assured.

What’s needed is domestic investment in technologies that are of strategic importance to the country’s national and economic security, according to MIT professor of the practice Elisabeth B. Reynolds, an expert in manufacturing and industrial competitiveness.

A new book Reynolds edited, “Priority Technologies: Ensuring US Security and Shared Prosperity,” lays out the strategic actions that underpin six important areas of focus: critical minerals, semiconductors, quantum computing, drones, and advanced manufacturing.

MIT Sloan senior lecturer contributed to a chapter on quantum computing, and MIT Sloan professor Fiona E. Murray, co-director of the MIT Innovation Initiative, wrote about drones.

Shared Wisdom: Cultural Evolution in the Age of AI

MIT professor of information technology Alex “Sandy” Pentland

Technological innovation works best when it’s grounded in collective wisdom. So argues in his book, “Shared Wisdom: Cultural Evolution in the Age of AI,” which calls on business and policy leaders to build a digital society that protects individual and community autonomy.

In making his case, Pentland, a Stanford HAI fellow and a professor at MIT, examines the effects of earlier artificial intelligence systems from the 1960s, 1980s, and early 2000s.

Understanding both the impact and unintended consequences of those earlier systems can help us in developing technologies that aid, rather than replace, our human capacity for deliberation, Pentland writes.

“With some changes to our current systems, it is possible to have the advantages of a digital society without enabling loud voices, companies, or state actors to overly influence individual and community behavior,” he writes.

Emilio J. Castilla is a professor of work and organization studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-director of the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research. His research focuses on the recruitment, hiring, development, and job mobility of employees within and across organizations and locations, as well as on the impact of teamwork and social relations on performance and innovation.

Kristin J. Forbes is a professor of global economics and management at MIT Sloan. From 2014 to 2017, Forbes served as an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee for the Bank of England. She has also served as a member of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers and as a deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Gary Gensler is a professor of the practice of global economics and management and of finance at MIT Sloan. Previously, he served as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, undersecretary of Domestic Finance for the U.S. Treasury, and assistant secretary of the Treasury. Before working in public service, Gensler was a partner at Goldman Sachs. Along with Simon Johnson, Gensler recently launched the podcast “Power and Consequences.”

Simon Johnson is a professor at MIT Sloan, where he is head of the Global Economics and Management group. He is also a research affiliate at MIT’s Blueprint Labs and co-director of the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work. In 2024, Johnson, MIT Institute Professor Daron Acemoglu, and the University of Chicago’s James A. Robinson received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.”

Alex “Sandy” Pentland is an MIT professor post tenure of media arts and sciences and a HAI fellow at Stanford. He helped build the MIT Media Lab and the Media Lab Asia in India. Pentland co-led the World Economic Forum discussion in Davos, Switzerland, that led to the European Union privacy regulation GDPR and was named one of the United Nations Secretary-General’s “data revolutionaries” for his help forging the transparency and accountability mechanisms in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Elisabeth B. Reynolds is a professor of the practice in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT focused on systems of innovation, manufacturing, and industrial competitiveness in the context of national and regional economic development.

Ben Soltoff is an entrepreneur in residence and the ecosystem-builder in residence at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a co-author of “Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures.”