The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By, by Scott A. Shane (Yale Press).

The decision to start a company is personal and emotional. Every entrepreneur's experience feels like a uniquely challenging and promising quest. Leave it to an academic to number-crunch the stars from our eyes. Drawing on an arsenal of data, Case Western professor Shane systematically reality checks every aspect of the start-up process: how long it takes, how big you'll grow, the chances of getting financing, and whether you'll make it at all. Yet he is also generous with advice on where real opportunities lie, and reveals common errors (for example, choosing a business with low barriers to entry) so readers can avoid them. Illusions is an important book for anyone considering starting a company, and an important one to conceal from family members urging them not to do it.