In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules

By Stacy Perman
Collins Business, April 2009; $24.99

First a disclosure: Stacy Perman is a writer for BusinessWeek, so we're biased. But there has been widespread praise from other reviewers for her book on the secretive Snyder family, which built a wildly successful California burger chain. Perman's book provides a business analysis of the factors that helped produce In-N-Out Burger's cultlike following (among them, a high-quality product and well-paid employees), as well as a chronicle of the turbulent family that built it. Fun reading and a great success story.

Read excerpts on employee management and marketing.