What does being a gentleman mean to you?

Does it mean knowing which fork to use at a properly-set table? Does it mean being so impeccably dressed as to make Patrick Bateman and 007 envious? Does it mean knowing when to tip, how to tie a bowtie, or how to properly greet a lady?

It can be all of those things, but at its core being a gentleman is more than just being the nice guy or being the best dresser. It’s about getting out of your head for a change and soberly considering how you come off to other people. It can be summed up in one of the first gentlemanly criteria laid out in this book:

”A gentleman never gets so big that he can feel free to say or do things that make other people feel small.”

We spend a lot of time on WSO talking about business school, wondering whether it is right for us. And it seems that for most folks, we don’t really know whether a business school like Harvard is a smart choice because we are unsure of what we ultimately want out of our careers.

Author Philip Broughton (“P.D. Bizzle” to his b-school friends) was the Paris bureau chief of The Daily Telegraph before he decided to make the jump into this legendary New England institution, and by his own admission he definitely wasn’t exactly sure why he was there to begin with. But luckily for us fortunate readers, he had the time to write down his experiences and viewpoints after two years at this most hallowed of elite institutions, so we can see and decide for ourselves.

“Living well is not the best revenge. Succeeding in your career and humiliating your critics is.” - Bill O’Reilly

Since The New York Times won’t review Bill O’Reilly’s books no matter how many copies they sell, I shall assume responsibility for this one!

I reread this set of personal memoirs a while back looking for career inspiration (believe it or not), and the above quote definitely re-energized me a bit. It should also resonate with anyone who sets out on a career path with something to prove, knowing that you are smart and qualified, and that you WILL get it together, critics be damned. In fact, the title of the book comes from a nun’s response to a very young Bill in middle school after a wise-crack remark by him: “William, you are a bold, fresh piece of humanity.”

“The New Tycoons” is an expansive overview of the current state of the private equity industry, hallowed career promised land for some (i.e., a majority of the people on WSO), destructive wreckers of companies for others. Bloomberg reporter Jason Kelly offers a guided tour of the world of private equity, from the broad-based strategy talks with the titans at the top of the pyramid to drilling down into the trenches below ground.

“The Money Culture” is a collection of Michael Lewis’ (of Liar’s Poker fame) writings and articles from 1986-1991, during which he had his falling out with Salomon Brothers. The general theme is to provide a snapshot of the financial industry during this time period, courtesy of Mr. Lewis’ cynical wit and personal observations. He splits “The Money Culture” into 3 geographical regions: the United States, Europe, and Japan.

“The four most expensive words in the English language are: ‘It’s different this time.’” – Sir John Templeton, investing legend

Forbes columnist Ken Fisher’s new book is a very timely read for all investors, whether bullish or bearish. If you are convinced (as many of us seem to be), that we are in a ‘new normal,’ that we are in a ‘secular bear market,’ that we will soon have a ‘double dip recession,’ or in general that nothing good will ever happen in the stock market ever again, “Markets Never Forget” will dunk your head into a bucket of ice water and make you reconsider.

Like it or not, the office environment is in fact a political one, and that leads a lot of us to seek advice from various sources. “The Prince” is one of those books, along with “The Art of War,” that’s supposed to give us that political savvy, the logic being that the guidance contained within its pages for 16th-century princes can still be applied to today’s office monkey.

Although it’s a worthwhile read, “The Prince” shouldn’t be experienced for that reason alone. In fact, much of the text’s reputation among the general public stems from its well-known proposition that it can be more important to APPEAR moral and upright than to actually be so. Deceiving and manipulating others to achieve the stability of the state was something Machiavelli himself witnessed in the Florentine courts of the time, and it still rigorously debated to this day (as it should be).

Here’s the kicker, though: most of that aforementioned “OMG SCANDALOUS!!!” stuff is concentrated in one paragraph of one chapter (number 18). The Elizabethan courts of the 1500s didn’t take kindly to that, which contributed to Machiavelli’s bad press. So it would seem that the scheming, controversial plotting Machiavelli is famous for is a bit overblown.

That’s not to say there aren’t some excellent nuggets of wisdom here, especially in the latter half. In fact, the statements I found most valuable weren’t necessarily political in nature. Here are two:

Our dear Uncle Eddie has already written a eulogy of sorts for Tucker Max, but I figured now would be a good time to review “Hilarity Ensues,” sadly the last of the “fratire” Tucker Max books.

I have stayed up till the wee hours of the morning reading all of Tucker Max’s books (laughing uproariously, I might add), and this was no different. As I got near the end, there was a bit of a somber tone that it was all coming to an end; there may actually be tear stains on the last few pages. But before that happens, you’ll be treated to an exquisitely hilarious collection of boozing, soul-destroying, and exploitation that only Tucker Max and friends are capable of unleashing.

As the name suggests, a “Fund of funds” is a fee-based investment vehicle whose target is not individual stocks, bonds, or other instruments, but other hedge funds.

The two largest benefits to investing in a fund of funds are that they tend to have lower capital requirements (making them more accessible to the retail investor) and handle the extensive due diligence work that an investor would have to do if they chose to invest in hedge funds on their own.

“You know what I want? One day, to be on the other end of that phone.”
“You got it Buddy—where the real cheesecake is.” – Wall Street

The movie glosses over this entirely, but if you want to be the hedge fund manager or private equity big shot on the other end of the phone, you’ve got to understand what it takes to run a hedge fund on a day-to-day basis—and not just from the manager’s chair.
That’s right, monkeys. It ain’t just about picking a trading strategy, beating the S&P500 and making plans for what yacht you’re going to buy with your first performance fee.

What do you do when you already hold the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous motorcycle trip around the globe? If you’re Jim Rogers, easy: do it all again ten years later in a pimped-out yellow Mercedes.

Talk about doing your due diligence: seeking nothing less than viewing the entire world from the ground up at the turn of the millennium, Jim Rogers and his fiancé Paige achieve just that. They have enough adventure to fill several volumes and lend much credence to the belief that the only way to truly invest in something is to know it cold (Mr. Rogers would know, having been ripped off for $500 on glass beads he thought were diamonds).

“LOLZ Flesh, why are you reviewing a non-finance book?” I’ll tell you why, young monkey.

It’s all too easy to get stuck inside our finance comfort zone/bubble, to become addicted to being surrounded by people who all share your general beliefs and values. Even if your business school is part of a wider, bigger campus, oftentimes we’re fine with being relatively ignorant of “those other liberal arts majors out there.”

Happy 2012, monkeys! I’m very pleased to return to a more regular posting schedule, and for a return to the Monkey’s Review series. There’s a potential collaboration with Kenny Powers CFA in the works as well, and we hope you will continue to enjoy these.

The first Monkey’s Review of 2012 is partly a response to a common thread question: “What is a good recommended book to learn about [industry topic x]?” For those of us looking to gain a high-level understanding of hedge funds and private equity, “All About Hedge Funds” is a pretty good place to start. It’s required reading for a certification that I’m studying for, and I can comfortably recommend it for the business student.

Wondering how it came to the point where one needed a PhD from MIT in order to “truly understand” finance? Look no further. As the subtitle of “The Quants” explains, this is the story of how Buffett’s maligned “geeks bearing formulas” rose to infamy with their even more infamous models. Telling this story through several of the world’s most famous quants, from originators like Ed Thorp to academics like Myron Scholes and hotshot traders like Boaz Weinstein, it is a story excellently told with the right balance of entertainment and education.

“I used to read the Leveraged Sellout religiously, before it…you know, died,” an old friend used to say wistfully. The infamous blog may be old news to some, but luckily LSO left us with a non-electronic memoir of his unique blend of sarcasm and humor: “Damn, It Feels Good To Be A Banker.”

It’s not meant to be taken very seriously and it’s a bit dated now (it came out in 2008, which may as well have been another planet), but it’s great for laughs and takes a fun look at investment banking. Alternatively, it can serve as a much-needed ego stroke if you’re feeling down about your job.

-The Death of the Banker, Page 3

Ron Chernow is better known for his best-selling biographies of the great historical banking dynasties—Warburgs, Rothschilds, Morgans (fear not monkeys, reviews are forthcoming for those when I finish them). In sharp contrast to those 6-700 page behemoths is this 150-pager that reads like a long essay.

Wondering where WSO’s simian theme comes from? Look no further.

If you ask any business school student or young analyst to name one book that got them excited about finance or investment banking, this would probably be it. And for good reason; it’s extremely readable and features characters who find themselves in the same position as many of us on this site are, or would like to be.

John Rolfe and Peter Troob are summer analysts who receive the coveted full-time offers from DLJ. The book is full of fascinating and often humorous observations about the inner workings of the industry. What’s it like pulling an all-nighter on a pitch-book, running a DCF, going to the printer, trying to keep sane in the insane asylum? It’s all here.

Decision Points: A Monkey’s Review

This week, we’re going for a biography that still holds plenty of interesting commentary for our world today.

George W. Bush has kept pretty quiet since the end of his presidency; his book tour was one of the only exceptions. In comparison to his predecessors, the man has stayed out of the spotlight and for the most part refrained from getting involved in the current political landscape. Maybe eight years of the most stressful job on earth will do that to a guy.