Best finance/econ textbooks?

I am coming from a humanities background and don't have the finance or econ background I'd like but want to read everything I can.

What are some of the best books or textbooks to check out? Particularly free ones available on Libgen. 

6 Comments
 

Order from basic to complex

For econ textbooks: 

Mankiw's Principals of economics (This is one of the most popular courses at Harvard) 

Mishkin's Money and Banking and financial markets

Spivak's Calculus (A primer on calculus)

Econometrics (Not sure what the best book is right now) YouTube would probably be a better source than a textbook.  

Microeconomics with calculus by Hal Varian 

Macroeconomics  (Rudi Dornbusch's book)

Advance Macroeconomics - Romer (Graduate text) 

Microeconomic Theory - Mas Colell (Graduate text)

 Economics books:

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell.

Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman   

 

Consequatur nam vel quibusdam vero debitis. Deserunt itaque inventore a reprehenderit velit et totam perferendis. Itaque quaerat iure culpa quis cupiditate corrupti qui. Mollitia voluptatem autem nemo dolor recusandae ab.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”