David Ogilvy's three books, Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963), Blood, Brains and Beer (1978), and Ogilvy on Advertising (1983), provide the basic principles of modern advertising.
Although Confessions of an Advertising Man is now out of print, it's possible to find a copy — and well worth the effort. This book defined advertising in the 1960s and continues to hold up today. All the basic principles of good advertising are laid out in plain (but definitely not dull) English, along with enough "Ogilvyisms" to keep the reader engrossed. The book was reissued in the 1980s.
"When I write an advertisement, I don't want you to tell me that you find it 'creative.' I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product."
David Ogilvy's 1983 treatise on advertising takes the reader from "How to Produce Advertising that Sells" to "What's Wrong with Advertising?" and includes a recommended reading list for further study. The author's overture offers an overview.
David Ogilvy cooked for the President of France. He sold stoves door-to-door in Scotland. Farmed with the Amish. Wrote questionnaires for Gallup. Worked for British Intelligence. And built Ogilvy & Mather.
In 1978 he wrote Blood, Brains and Beer, his life story. In 1997 it was re-released (with new material) as "An Autobiography."