A convergence of books reminded me of my interest in the genre known as the “business novel.”

When Jon Stewart interviewed Jennifer Burns last week, Burns, author of Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right, noted that Rand sought to evangelize her message promoting capitalism, individual freedom, and limited government by communicating it in the form of narrative — in her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. (Every time the right is out of power and trying to get back up on the horse, Rand becomes its darling, Burns says, despite the fact that she was an atheist.)

About the same time, I received a copy of There’s More to Life Than the Corner Office from one of the authors, Lamar Smith.

The book’s Web site notes that the volume is written in story form because “stories don’t just relay a message, they touch us with it. So, There’s More to Life Than the Corner Office is a story about two men at very different points on that 21st Century highway, one barreling down the fast lane, the other still driving, but from a perspective of Balanced Living. … Effective teachers have long understood a simple point: People like stories. … There’s More to Life is a little story that conveys large lessons centered around one point, balance in your life helps you achieve more in all areas and sustain high performance for all of your years.”

Here’s a short synopsis:

Patrick Mitchell, 28-year-old hotshot investment banker from Boston. Patrick was crystal clear on what he wanted, what it would take to get it, and how he was willing to pay any price. What goal was worth that focus? CEO, the modern day equivalent of royalty. Patrick wanted to be the big boss and get there as a young man. His health was stressed, his marriage on the rocks, he had no real friends, but those were just details. Lesser-committed people might see danger signs, but not Patrick.