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
Thanks Betsy. Yes, I read every one of Michael Lewis' books. I liked all of them except "Flash Boys," which I thought was a debacle. Lewis has let his ego get to his head and has been pontificating way too much about the moral foundations of capitalism. He needs to stick to good writing.
Agreed. Couldn't really power through it. HFTs are nuts tho...
@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
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
"When Genius Failed" is one of the first books I read about the markets, along with "Liar's Poker." I think these 2 books are must-reads.
Thanks for the valuewalk recommendation.
Take a look at Inventing Money by Nicholas Dunbarn. It's also about LTCM but goes even more in depth.
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
One of the best topics of all times, filled with book recommendations
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/on-the-job-with-simple-as%E2%80%A…
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.
I was going to post this book, its a must read. I attribute most of my interview success to it.
Great book. I can also add to that suggestion, "7 habits of highly effective people".
Dale Carnegie's book is definitely a classic. People may scoff at it, but a great read and very humble.
Just read richard thalers latest, misbehaving. Next is fragile by design. Caught up on debt first 5000 years and nate silvers book.
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?
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.
When Markets Collide and Life's a pitch.
Circle of greed has a political element to it.
Hey brady...where are you going to be working at in the fall?
The Real Crash by Peter Schifff was an interesting read. Also, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by Gustave Le Bon can be connected to politics in many different ways.
Peter Schiff is a hack
I agree, but the book was still amusing
'Fooling Some of the People All of the Time: A Long, Short Story' by David Einhorn 'Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk' by Peter L. Bernstein 'Economics in One Lesson' by Henry Hazlitt
I can't believe it myself.
Current reading list House of Debt - Atif Mian The Ascent of Money - Niall Ferguson A random walk down wall st - Burton Malkiel All pretty good books
How is Ferguson's book? I think he's a good writer and speaker, but the guy is an intellectual blowhard. He is an economic historian but masquerades as a real economist. His view on austerity is wildly off the mark, but he talks like he's some sort of economic/monetary guru.
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?
pretty easy read about various subsets of money..not like the title suggest about how fiat currency became the norm but rather more about various aspect of capitalism..ie debt, mortgages and so forth
Was just assigned "The Option of Urbanism" by Christopher B. Lineberger
I'm assuming it was worth assigning
The Buy Side by Turney Duff is a good easy read. Of course the GS Elevator book Straight to Hell comes out next month. Have to assume this will be in everyone's hands. Non the less for enjoyment purposes.
Is the Duff book just stories of his drinking, partying, and drug use, or is there interesting stuff about how hedge funds work and their relationship with sell side?
@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.
Listen to Buy Side on Audible. Autobiographies read by their author are very powerful. Listening to Geithner's new book atm. He's kind of a mumbler but it's still good.
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. :)
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