Books to Read

Looking for book recommendations in the form of stories rather than bios or mindset or investing books. Thinking about other books in the same category as Barbarians at the Gate, Den of Thieves, Caesars Palace Coup, etc. Also really enjoyed things like The Buyside (Turney Duff) and Discussion Materials by Bill Keenan so if you have similar books to that would gladly take those recs. 

16 Comments
 

I recently read the book "Life in the Gorbals" written by Kate Donne, a published author. The fictional story follows the life of a boy growing up in the Gorbals during the late 1960s. Kate Donne's writing takes the reader on a journey through life in the Gorbals. You can give it a try to read.

 
Most Helpful

Had to put Discussion Materials down because I started to disassociate - it's the closest you'll get to the real experience currently - I couldn't tell where my life stopped and the book started. 

  • Accidental Investment Banker is memoir by Jonathan Knee (early EVR partner) about post-VP life in IBD
  • Young Money about Analysts to PE track circa 2013 or so 
  • Consulting Demons is out of print but can find used, obv about consulting but very good imo. There's also House of Lies which the show with Don Cheadle is based on
  • The Deal Maker - Guy Hands (founder of Terra Firma) 
  • What it Takes by Shwarzman (duh) 
  • Ride of a Lifetime (pre-Iger return memoir) is super heavy with M&A stories 
  • History of United States in Five Crashes
  • Red Notice - Bill Browder (some great perspectives via this memoir on how Russia actually works) 
  • Straight to Hell - Jon Lefevre (half these stories are prob made up but it's a good beach read - ECM jockey at Citi Hong Kong pre-China takeover in 2018) 
  • Bad Blood - John Carreyrou (guy who broke Elizabeth holmes story for WSJ, prob the closest thing to Barbarians you'll get)
  • Disrupted - Lyons , more senior writer goes to work for Hubspot during height of web 2.0 ZIRP bonanza, hilarity ensues when he works on a team of all 20-something women in Boston 
  • The Zeroes - Randall Lane, book about Pre-GFC excess and fall out, written by publisher of Trader Monthly 
Array
 

The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest. It's an incredibly impactful book that delves into the realms of self-discovery and personal growth.

 

Absolutely, I get what you're looking for! If you enjoyed books like ""Barbarians at the Gate"" and ""Den of Thieves,"" you might love ""The Smartest Guys in the Room"" by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind.

 

Debitis qui labore aspernatur. Quibusdam adipisci dolorem iste veniam aliquid perferendis sint. Autem laboriosam aut aspernatur dolor voluptatum asperiores.

Id perferendis ut quaerat placeat et sed ut. Et sunt dolores enim sit placeat aut vel. Iusto nobis vitae eum tempora id molestiae esse inventore.

Et nulla voluptas itaque sit et quasi eum. Vel possimus molestiae exercitationem molestias amet. Distinctio aut fugit ut aut. Veniam vel quia aut fuga. Quisquam aut soluta eum dolor culpa iusto a.

Illo nesciunt necessitatibus saepe nulla a rerum facere. Voluptatem velit iste amet mollitia. Laboriosam iste expedita libero odit enim. Vitae eos id ex laboriosam et iure omnis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • 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 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (68) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”