For one thing, it's great to have numbers and data that provide more context for the issues we encounter at work. For another, people seeking mentors can sometimes use books as a way to get advice from their dream guru. Your ideal advisor might be several degrees of separation away, but a good book can close that distance, and leave you with more tools to get ahead, realise you're not as far behind as you might think, or give you ideas for how to close that gap.