Recommend books for summer reading

I won't be starting my job until early September so have plenty of time this summer. One thing I want to do is catch up on my reading. Looking for recommendations for books in the areas of investing, macroeconomics, finance, and politics. The first book I'm gonna tackle is "King of Oil," about Marc Rich.

 

Have you read all of Michael Lewis' books? Best business writer out there. http://michaellewiswrites.com/

For economic history, if that's your thing, The Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed http://www.amazon.com/Lords-Finance-Bankers-Broke-World/dp/0143116800 Long, but a worth plowing through

For leadership and teamwork, this is a bit off the beaten MBA path, but I recommend Chris Hadfield's An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth http://www.amazon.com/Astronauts-Guide-Life-Earth-Determination/dp/0316… Impossible not to want to be just like this guy

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 

@MBAGrad2015" Fair enough on Flash Boys, which I haven't read yet (on the list). Liar's Poker is so classic. Howie Rubin, who features in that book, was in my section at business school, and was partly guilty, but definitely a fall guy for the higher-ups. He is the nicest guy in the world.

Another long one, but really interesting, was The Snowball, by Alice Schroeder. It's a good biography as much as a decent analysis of the Buffett investing style http://www.amazon.com/The-Snowball-Warren-Buffett-Business/dp/0553384619

You read the Steve Jobs book, right? http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1442369051 Walter Isaacson sets the gold standard for biography. Haven't read the newest one -- too many other books on the list first

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 

Good recommendations (think I have read all of the above), but since you just sat through 2 years of business school, I'd consider rounding out my reading with some non-business related content--it will make you much more interesting at cocktail parties. If you don't know in what else you may be interested, Check out Valuewalk.com for all sorts of recommendations from fund managers. While yes, 90% of their lists are market focused, there is some absolute gold mixed in there as well. For instance, I am in the process of getting through Ray Dalio's suggestion of Will Durant's A History of Civilization -- a 15 volume (kind of textbook-ish) history of the world; granted I drive a lot for work so I do those as audibooks... In any event, I would take a look there

 

Thanks "bank-on-this" for the Valuewalk recommendation On the list is "When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management" It is not only educational, but riveting. One of the best books ever about markets, personalities, psychology, and hubris.

Also, the "Wisdom of Crowds" I think is the title, by James Surawecki

 
Best Response

Along with those mentioned:

Confidence Game: How Hedge Fund Manager Bill Ackman Called Wall Street's Bluff (http://www.amazon.com/Confidence-Game-Manager-Ackman-Streets/dp/1118010…)

King of Capital: The Remarkable Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone (http://www.amazon.com/King-Capital-Remarkable-Schwarzman-Blackstone/dp/…)

and Other People's Money: Inside the Housing Crisis and the Demise of the Greatest Real Estate Deal Ever Made (http://www.amazon.com/Other-Peoples-Money-Housing-Greatest/dp/014218071…)

The last one is amusing too, because even though it is written from this awful liberal perspective, it is really a well written book and if you're like me, you'll find yourself "rooting for the bad guy" throughout

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

King of Oil was very entertaining and was a very fast read. In that same vein, I highly recommend "The Prize" by Daniel Yergin. I am currently reading "Diplomacy" by Henry Kissinger, which is just about the best geopolitical book I've come across.

 

I used to think that social skills could never truly be bettered through reading, but that changed when I read "How to Win Friends and Influence People." It's a great read.

 

Dale Carnegie's book is definitely a classic. People may scoff at it, but a great read and very humble.

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 

I loved Nate Silver's Book: The Signal and the Noise http://www.amazon.com/The-Signal-Noise-Predictions-Fail-but/dp/01431250…

The best part is about sports (of course) and the second best is about day-to-day weather predictions. Fascinating reading from an erudite guy. I read it in paper, and I wished I had read it on Kindle, because he has a lot of great footnotes, most of which are web links

Completely forgot my favorite non-fiction book of 2014: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Probably one of the most useful books I've ever read. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374533555/ And this one I wished I had read in paper instead of Kindle because of the charts. Oh well. REALLY recommend it DickFuld have you read it?

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 
Betsy Massar:

I loved Nate Silver's Book: The Signal and the Noise http://www.amazon.com/The-Signal-Noise-Predictions...

The best part is about sports (of course) and the second best is about day-to-day weather predictions. Fascinating reading from an erudite guy. I read it in paper, and I wished I had read it on Kindle, because he has a lot of great footnotes, most of which are web links

Completely forgot my favorite non-fiction book of 2014: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Probably one of the most useful books I've ever read. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374533555/
And this one I wished I had read in paper instead of Kindle because of the charts. Oh well.
REALLY recommend it @DickFuld have you read it?

Yes. I recommend many of his academic papers as we'll. Very interesting stuff.
 

Not germane but read some entertaining fiction!

Dresden Files by Jim Butcher is a great series. It is about a Chicago Wizard who does detective work, urban fantasy mixed with humor, a great series about an underdog playing out of his league. Jim Butcher is a great entertainer and his stories are always fun and interesting.

Coiling Dragon by I Eat Tomatoes is a Chinese xianxia webnovel, you can find a translation here http://www.wuxiaworld.com/cdindex-html/. Immensely popular in china, it is about a young boy with dreams of achieving greatness and power. It is set in a world of spells and swords, where Gods interact with the mortals, and mortals can become Gods if they train long and hard enough.

 
DickFuld:
ramadjaffri:
'Fooling Some of the People All of the Time: A Long, Short Story' by David Einhorn

I can't believe any of you would read the book of that hack.

I can't believe it myself.

Fortes fortuna adiuvat.
 

I thought Ferguson's book was only ok. I had expected it to be much more rigorous historically, but it was more episodic than a real treatise on "The Ascent of Money"

I've still got The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb on my shelf -- unread. Worth picking up?

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 

@MBAGrad2015" a combination of both, more so the later. But it does give you a good sense of how hedge funds work internally along with giving the feeling of how networking rules all.

 

I can thoroughly recommend The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki. Insightful into the behaviour of groups, vs individuals, for both understanding organisations you may work in or with, and to understand some of the forces behind cultural decision making and trends.

 

sure you could do books, but you will have enough of politics, finance and the economy when you start your job dude. i opted for the summer of books but my buddy did the following: packed a small suitcase and backpack and took a flight to dublin and scheduled the return flight from Sidney 2 months later. he took the time in between to make his way through EU, africa and Asia "sampling" the local cultures along the way. doing is much better than reading. :)

"I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. " -GG
 

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Make Idaho a Semi-Target Again 2016 Not an alumnus of Idaho
 

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