N E W  Y O R K, Oct. 18 -- Twenty years ago, America was suffering from a recession combining high unemployment coupled with inflation. Major industrial companies like Chrysler had to be bailed out, the oil crisis concentrated wealth in the ground and among Arabian plutocrats and the threat from a seemingly dynamic Japan seemed insurmountable.

At the time, business books were afterthoughts gathering dust in the back of bookstores.

That's all changed as America in the past two decades has enjoyed a long boom — 20 years of prosperity punctuated by just one or two fairly mild recessions. With that boom, business achieved a new cultural popularity as CEOs like Lee Iacocca, Donald Trump and Bill Gates became icons. Meanwhile, business books have gained an unprecedented prominence and popularity (as have business magazines like Forbes).

Books on management, chronicles of big deals and businessman biographies have all taken their place on the best-seller lists. CEOs, journalists, consultants and even football coaches — in addition to academics — have weighed in on all things business.

Here is a list of the top five most influential business books of the last 20 years as voted by our panel of experts.