If you believe in trusting your gut when choosing a franchise and that financial success is a matter of just working hard enough, then this updated franchise classic is not for you.

The Franchise Fraud: How To Protect Yourself Before And After You Invest asin: 1419688626 binding: Paperback list price: $18.99 amazon price: $18.99

There’s a new book out that you should place at the top of your “must read” list if you are searching for a franchise opportunity. Franchise Times Guide to Selecting, Buying and Owning a Franchise gives an overall view on buying a franchise and includes the results of many interviews. The author, Franchise Times journalist Julie Bennett, interviewed owners after their “honeymoon” stage. Franchisees were asked when their business broke even, whether they were making a good living, what was the hardest part about owning their business and more.

Franchise Times Guide to Selecting, Buying & Owning a Franchise asin: 1402743939 binding: Paperback list price: $17.95 amazon price: $12.21

When we have needed to understand the empirical evidence and realities of a certain aspect of franchising, Blue MauMau has sought out Scott Shane.

In his latest book, The Illusions of Entrepreneurship, Shane declares, "The information in this book will help you to get the facts right and disabuse you of many of the myths about entrepreneurship." And after reading his book, I am convinced he is right.

The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers asin: 0300113315 binding: Hardcover list price: $26.00 amazon price: $17.16

Carol Travis and Elliot Aronson have written a throughly entertaining and accessible book about self-justification. From the introduction, "the brain is wired for self-justification. When we make mistakes, we must calm the cognitive dissonance that jars our feelings of self-worth. And so we create fictions that absolve us of responsibility, restoring our belief that we are smart, moral, and right —a belief that often keeps us on a course that is dumb, immoral, and wrong."

Here are some of their observations, which are relevant to both prospective franchisees and independent franchisee associations.

1. On the value of franchisee testimonials. "The more costly a decision, in terms of time, money, and inconvenience, and the more irrevocable its consequences, the greater the dissonance and the greater need to reduce it by overemphasizing the good things about the choice made."

If you are looking to purchase a franchise, then don't look to the existing franchisees for information - if they are doing poorly, their brains will engage in self-deception trying to convince you of how good their choice was.

You should get in touch with other individual making the same pre-purchase decision - individuals who have not been to discovery day or who have been in contact with the franchisor.

Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts asin: 0151010986 binding: Hardcover list price: $25.00 amazon price: $16.50

War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back, by Lou Dobbs

Blue MauMau’s bloggers sometimes decry the lack of government protection in franchising or, in contrast, quake in alarm that there may be more government fetters put on franchisors. In this book Lou Dobbs gives a realistic appraisal of what is going on in the American Congress and how, as many suspect, the American public gets no respect. The influence of Big Business, special interest groups and foreign governments is pervasive on Capitol Hill and far stronger than that of the American public.

No doubt some of you are old enough to remember Lou Dobbs as a typically dispassionate financial commentator on TV’s Moneyline back in the ‘80s. He has since metamorphosed into a skilled political commentator on CNN, with a crack investigative staff. Lou, a Harvard graduate with a degree in economics, now presides over the most popular show on CNN, with an audience of 800,000.

The book, published in 2006, has such chapter titles as, “The Best Government Money Can Buy,” :”The Politics of Deceit,” “The Exorbitant Cost of Free Trade,” and “Broken Borders.”

War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging Wa asin: 0670037923 binding: Hardcover list price: $24.95 amazon price: $13.66

Michael Garner compiles important franchise state laws, cases and commentary on legal mileposts that have shaped the state of franchise law.

Franchise Law Desk Book, 2nd Edition: Selected State Laws, Commentary and Case Annotations asin: 1570739722 binding: Paperback list price: $135.00 amazon price: $135.00

I have found this an extremely well-written look into the franchise industry. It was shortlisted for the 1995 Canadian National Business Book Award for investigative journalism.

Although a little long in the tooth now and unfortunately out-of-print, I would recommend it for those interested in making a Canadian franchise investment.

Lorinc ably explains the +30 year wait for any franchise law in Canada's most franchise-intensive province, Ontario.

Chapter 4 about franchise banking, government guaranteed loans and alleged success rates is well worth the effort in locating.

Opportunity knocks: The truth about Canada's franchise industry asin: 0134556933 binding: Unknown Binding

Ad veteran George Parker's "Madscam" is a common sense refresher on the basics of coming up with a solid ad program, written in a straight-up style with examples, reminders, and enough entertaining and well-deserved rants to keep it entertaining.  I liked it so much I made a little video book review. Though it's intended for small to medium businesses and entrepreneurs, most creative types I've talked with think it belongs on their bookshelves, too.