In 2008, as business increasingly became the news, business publishing showed a growing awareness of the big picture, putting out fewer personality-driven titles. In this list, one will see that business histories embrace recent technological innovation as much as longevity. The best management/HR books look at the big picture through pushing…

The Dow's losses over this year's first 12 days of trading erased nearly all of last year's gains; the pace of new home-building was, in January, reportedly at its lowest in 16 years; and recession rumblings, too, are making themselves heard. In 2007, though the economy was hardly soaring, readers would not have felt much was amiss. The year saw…