Library • VII Capital Management

Top Recommendations

The Hidden Habits of Genius: Beyond Talent, IO, and Grit – Unlocking the Secrets of Greatness

By Craig Wright, 2020 (336 pages)

Yale music professor who teaches a class on geniuses offers fascinating accounts of some of history’s most impressive and impactful innovators, with some tips and secrets for bringing out the genius in all of us.

The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness

By Morgan Housel, 2020 (256 pages)

Blogger and partner of the socially-oriented VC firm, Collaborative Fund, emphasizes the importance of mindset and psychology in investing. Draws from the author’s vast readings, including of 1930s US historian Fredrick Lewis Allen. Loaded with precious quotes and insights.

Investment Psychology Explained: Classic Strategies to Beat the Markets

By Martin J. Pring, 1992 (288 pages)

Experienced fund manager surveys the psychological traps that investors fall into and offers strategies for coping with them, while arguing that there are no short cuts to investment success.

Contagious: Why Things Catch On

By Jonah Berger, 2013 (256 pages)

Survey on how ideas spread or go viral, with supporting data on behavior biases that can be harnessed for business advantage.

Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life

By Rory Sutherland, 2019 (384 pages)

Funny and instructive accounts by Vice Chairman of Ogilvy on the magic of brands and the way people behave towards them.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

By Angela Duckworth, 2016 (352 pages)

Powerful message, backed by scientific data, on the importance of “grit” in achieving success. Highlights how purpose and mindset drive grit.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

By Daniel Kahneman, 2011 (512 pages)

The bible of behavioral finance, with broad applications to investing generally, and sound decision-making in particular.

Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly

By John Kay, 2011 (224 pages)

An academic and philosophical argument for why great financial outcomes can be achieved by focusing away from profits as a central goal.

Future Babble: Why Pundits Are Hedgehogs and Foxes Know Best

By Daniel Gardner, 2011 (320 pages)

Eye-opener on how people are frequently scared of the future – and how the search for answers leads many astray.

Screamfree Parenting, 10th Anniversary Revised Edition: How to Raise Amazing Adults by Learning to Pause More and React Less

By Hal Runkel, 2007 (240 pages)

Psychologist shares accounts of how well pausing more and reacting less works with children, while offering strategies for coping with defiance.

The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance

By Josh Waitzkin, 2007 (288 pages)

Chess prodigy in movie “Searching for Bobby Fisher” shows the mindset of an elite performer, and how he excelled in both chess and martial arts.

The Halo Effect:…and the Eight Other Business Delusions that Deceive Managers

By Phil Rosenzweig, 2007 (256 pages)

Insights on human behavior that are especially relevant in stock research. Explains Wall Street better than it was perhaps intended.

All Recommendations

Book Title	Comments	Author	First Published	Printed Pages
How to Win Friends & Influence People	Classic self-help book from 1930s - updated and translated many times over. Still as relevant as ever. Warren Buffett said it changed his life.	Dale Carnegie	10/01/1936	288
Investment Psychology Explained: Classic Strategies to Beat the Markets	Experienced fund manager surveys the psychological traps that investors fall into and offers strategies for coping with them, while arguing that there are no short cuts to investment success.	Martin J. Pring	10/01/1992	288
The Halo Effect:…and the Eight Other Business Delusions that Deceive Managers	Insights on human behavior that are especially relevant in stock research. Explains Wall Street better than it was perhaps intended.	Phil Rosenzweig	02/06/2007	256
The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance	Chess prodigy in movie "Searching for Bobby Fisher" shows the mindset of an elite performer, and how he excelled in both chess and martial arts.	Josh Waitzkin	05/08/2007	288
Screamfree Parenting, 10th Anniversary Revised Edition: How to Raise Amazing Adults by Learning to Pause More and React Less	Psychologist shares accounts of how well pausing more and reacting less works with children, while offering strategies for coping with defiance.	Hal Runkel	09/04/2007	240
Future Babble: Why Pundits Are Hedgehogs and Foxes Know Best	Eye-opener on how people are frequently scared of the future - and how the search for answers leads many astray.	Daniel Gardner	01/01/1970	320
Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly	An academic and philosophical argument for why great financial outcomes can be achieved by focusing away from profits as a central goal.	John Kay	01/01/1970	224
Thinking, Fast and Slow	The bible of behavioral finance, with broad applications to investing generally, and sound decision-making in particular.	Daniel Kahneman	01/01/1970	512
Contagious: Why Things Catch On	Survey on how ideas spread or go viral, with supporting data on behavior biases that can be harnessed for business advantage.	Jonah Berger	03/05/2013	256
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance	Powerful message, backed by scientific data, on the importance of "grit" in achieving success. Highlights how purpose and mindset drive grit.	Angela Duckworth	05/03/2016	352
Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life	Funny and instructive accounts by Vice Chairman of Ogilvy on the magic of brands and the way people behave towards them.	Rory Sutherland	05/07/2019	384
The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness	Blogger and partner of the socially-oriented VC firm, Collaborative Fund, emphasizes the importance of mindset and psychology in investing. Draws from the author's vast readings, including of 1930s US historian Fredrick Lewis Allen. Loaded with precious quotes and insights.	Morgan Housel	09/08/2020	256
The Hidden Habits of Genius: Beyond Talent, IO, and Grit - Unlocking the Secrets of Greatness	Yale music professor who teaches a class on geniuses offers fascinating accounts of some of history's most impressive and impactful innovators, with some tips and secrets for bringing out the genius in all of us.	Craig Wright	10/06/2020	336
The Selfish Gene	Dawkins is a philosopher and this classic book is deeper than behavioral science, but the "selfish gene" is behind most behaviors.	Richard Dawkins	01/01/1970	372
The Psychology of Investing	Popular with financial advisors, this book offers a comprehensive survey of investment biases by an expert in the field.	John Nofsinger	01/01/2002	232
Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking	One of several excellent books by Gladwell, with this one about the "thinking fast" capacities (and shortfalls) of the human mind.	Malcolm Gladwell	01/11/2005	288
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success	On removing barriers to personal learning and improvement by adopting a growth, instead of a fixed, mindset.	Carol S. Dwek	01/01/1970	320
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion	High-impact, classic book on persuasion, recommended by Charlie Munger.	Robert B. Cialdini	01/01/1970	336
More than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places	Backed by research and well-presented narratives on how and why financial theory differs from practice.	Michael J. Mauboussin	01/01/1970	320
Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else	High-impact book downplays the notion of "talent" and argues that deliberate practice and grit do most of the heavy lifting.	Geoff Colvin	01/01/1970	240
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy	Practicing psychologist and philosopher provides an easy to read, convincing case for adopting a stoic mindset.	William B. Irvine	11/04/2008	336
Outliers: The Story of Success	Inspiring accounts that question the role of innate talent as a driver of success, and points instead to deliberate practice and focus (the 10,000 rule).	Malcolm Gladwell	01/01/1970	309
Peaks and Valleys	Motivational book written by a respected psychologist teaches balance and perspective by telling the story of a fictional character who goes through peaks and cycles in his life.	Spenser Johnson	01/01/2009	112
Think Twice. Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition	Survey of mental models and behavioral biases applicable to investing and sound decision making, with interesting examples and scientific backing.	Michael J. Mauboussin	10/06/2009	224
The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life	Argues that happiness is a critical ingredient to success, yet it doesn't get taught in school - and offers seven principals for driving happy organizations.	Shawn Achor	01/01/1970	256
Everything is Obvious: Once you Know the Answer	Eye-opening survey on how we are imprisoned by consensus thinking, and often don't notice the obvious.	Duncan Watts	01/01/1970	352
The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: How Risk Taking Transforms Us, Body and Mind	Proposes that our physiological response to risk-taking offers behavioral insights that can be used to improve risk-taking performance generally.	John Coates	01/01/1970	352
Mastery	Explores strategies for obtaining and holding on to power, through case studies of how some of the most influential (though not necessarily famous) people in history maneuvered their way into power.	Robert Greene	01/01/1970	352
Business Brilliant: Surprising Lessons from the Greatest Self-Made Business Icons	Inspiring book that shows people achieving greatness by leveraging others.	Lewis Schiff	01/01/1970	272
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants	Joyful and inspiring read on how underdogs win, by renowned New Yorker writer.	Malcolm Gladwell	10/01/2013	320
The Upside of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success	Well-researched survey of failure from a behavioral perspective. Gives examples and offers some strategies for how to benefit from failures.	Megan McArdle	01/01/1970	320
The Marshmallow Test: Why Self-Control is the Engine of Success	Survey of research showing the importance of self-control, with the controversial suggestion that some of it is innate.	Walter Mischel	01/01/1970	336
Leonardo's Brain: Understanding da Vinci's Creative Genius	Applies a scientific framework for understanding Leonardo da Vinci's greatness through the workings of the right and left sides of his brain.	Leonard Shlain	10/07/2014	240
Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics	Captivating narrative on the making of behavioral economics as a school of study, by one of the giants in the field.	Richard H. Thaler	05/11/2015	432
Skill: 40 Principles that Surgeons, Athletes, and other Elite Performers Use to Achieve Mastery	Practicing surgeon argues that achieving mastery is possible with the proper practice and mindset.	Christopher S. Ahmad	06/01/2015	212
The Silo Effect: The Peril of Expertise and the Promise of Breaking Down Barriers	FT columnist and anthropologist warns of the danger with silos, while praising the merits of holistic thinking and the sense of belonging.	Gillian Tett	09/01/2015	304
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, 3rd Edition: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships	Microsoft CEO assigned this book for all employees to read. It offers insights and techniques for winning friends and influencing people.	Marshall B. Rosenberg	09/01/2015	264
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World	Shows how much more can be achieved with deep focus, from a professor, programmer, entrepreneur, father, and author of multiple books.	Cal Newport	01/05/2016	304
The Laws of Wealth: Psychology and the Secret to Investing Success	Wealth management framework on the beating biases and thinking long term. Value tilt with nothing on Outstanding Companies.	Daniel Crosby	01/01/1970	286
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life	Entertaining and enlightening autobiography that proposes a stoic mindset for finding happiness and achieving success.	Mark Manson	01/01/1970	224
So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love	From the author of Deep Work, another inspiring and helpful framework for achieving peak performance while doing what you love.	Cal Newport	12/01/2016	304
Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation	Historical and scientific survey of the topic of time, its measurement, its role in nature and in our psyche.	Alan Burdick	01/01/1970	537
Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are	Survey of people's crazy Google search habits. Written by an ex-Google data scientist, shows how easily crowds can be manipulated.	Seth Stephens-Davidowitz	05/09/2017	352
Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success	High-impact, credible plan for driving performance. Last chapter, Conclusion, has a comprehensive summary of the whole book in outline format.	Brad Stulberg	06/06/2017	240
Transcendental Deception: Behind the Curtain - Bogus Science, Hidden Agendas and David Lynch's Campaign to Push a Million Kids into Transcendental Meditation	Exposes Maharishi Mahesh and the school of Transcendental Meditation, as fraud. Captivating personal accounts and the whole story on the Beatles' 1968 trip to India.	Aryeh Siegel	01/01/1970	224
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World	Presents data and examples on the advantage of remaining a generalist for longer, before choosing where to specialize.	David J. Epstein	01/01/1970	352

Generated by wpDataTables

Top recommendations

No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention

By Reed Hasting & Erin Meyer, 2020 (320 pages)

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and INSEAD Professor Erin Meyer profile Netflix’s unique culture of radical transparency, constant feedback, and the removal of rules in favor of a more flexible style of management that inspires innovation and excellence.

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

By Phil Knight, 2016 (400 pages)

Captivating story with details previously not public on the early days of Nike, including some heartbreaking and inspiring stories about family.

Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell

By Eric Schmidt, 2019 (240 pages)

Biography with practical advice on managing and inspiring high-achievers by empowering them, as the late CEO of Intuit did throughout his life.

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

By John Carreyrou, 2018 (352 pages)

Shows how gullible smart people can be, and the shocking effectiveness of “reality distortion fields” in Silicon Valley.

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

By Scott Adams, 2013 (256 pages)

Inspirational life story by the creator of the Dilbert cartoon, with particular focus on how to overcome adversities, establish a niche, and stay happy.

Disney U: How Disney University Develops the World’s Most Engaged, Loyal, and Customer-Centric Employees

By Doug Lipp, 2013 (240 pages)

Management book profiling how Disney instills a culture of excellence using tactics that work as well in the field as it does in the office and at home with the kids. Even when you go home – the show never ends.

Steve Jobs

By Walter Isaacson, 2011 (656 pages)

Published three weeks after he died, this biography captured the genius of Steve Jobs, and showed how the best leaders are not always the nicest and best mannered – and Jobs was neither, yet he changed the world.

Gilded Lily: Lily Safra: The Making of One of the World’s Wealthiest Widows

By Isabel Vincent, 2011 (352 pages)

Controversial yet captivating story of a Brazilian woman who survived several marriages that left her a billionaire. This book was banned in Brazil due to its inflammatory accusations of murder.

The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals

By Frank Partnoy, 2009 (288 pages)

Story of a Swedish financier who took Wall Street for a ride during the roaring 1920s. Fascinating to observe how often this story repeats throughout history.

Ponzi’s Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend

By Mitchell Zuckoff, 2005 (416 pages)

Story of a fraudulent scheme orchestrated in the US during the roaring 20s, but also a love story. He was jailed in 1920 and did 14 years in prison, then moved to Rio de Janeiro where he is said to have died penniless.

King Icahn: A Biography of a Renegade Capitalist

By Mark Stevens, 1993 (336 pages)

Unauthorized biography that mixes disgust and admiration to paint the picture of a skillful pit bull. Author doesn’t make you like the man, but he doesn’t hide his admiration for his the genius in Carl Icahn, TWA aside.

Sam Walton: Made In America

By Sam Walton, 1992 (288 pages)

Management advice from the late creator of Walmart. Chapter 17, with Sam’s 10 Rules for Building a Business, is worth 1000 books.

All recommendations

(Sorted by date first published)

Book Title	Comments	Author	First Published	Printed Pages
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup	Shows how gullible smart people can be, and the shocking effectiveness of "reality distortion fields" in Silicon Valley.	John Carreyrou	01/01/1970	352
Disney U: How Disney University Develops the World's Most Engaged, Loyal, and Customer-Centric Employees	Management book profiling how Disney instills a culture of excellence using tactics that work as well in the field as it does in the office and at home with the kids. Even when you go home - the show never ends.	Doug Lipp	01/01/1970	240
Gilded Lily: Lily Safra: The Making of One of the World's Wealthiest Widows	Controversial yet captivating story of a Brazilian woman who survived several marriages that left her a billionaire. This book was banned in Brazil due to its inflammatory accusations of murder.	Isabel Vincent	01/01/1970	352
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life	Inspirational life story by the creator of the Dilbert cartoon, with particular focus on how to overcome adversities, establish a niche, and stay happy.	Scott Adams	01/01/1970	256
King Icahn: A Biography of a Renegade Capitalist	Unauthorized biography that mixes disgust and admiration to paint the picture of a skillful pitbull. Author doesn't make you like the man, but he doesn't hide his admiration for his the genius in Carl Icahn, TWA aside.	Mark Stevens	06/01/1993	336
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention	Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and INSEAD Professor Erin Meyer profile Netflix's unique culture of radical tranparency, constant feedback, and the removal of rules in favor of a more flexible style of management that inspires innovation and excellence.	Reed Hasting & Erin Meyer	09/08/2020	320
Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend	Story of a fraudulent scheme orchestrated in the US during the roaring 20s, but also a love story. He was jailed in 1920 and did 14 years in prison, then moved to Rio de Janeiro where he is said to have died penniless.	Mitchell Zuckoff	03/08/2005	416
Sam Walton: Made In America	Management advice from the late creator of Walmart. Chapter 17, with Sam's 10 Rules for Building a Business, is worth 1000 books.	Sam Walton	05/01/1992	288
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike	Captivating story with details previously not public on the early days of Nike, including some heartbreaking and inspiring stories about family.	Phil Knight	01/01/1970	400
Steve Jobs	Published three weeks after he died, this biography captured the genius of Steve Jobs, and showed how the best leaders are not always the nicest and best mannered - and Jobs was neither, yet he changed the world.	Walter Isaacson	01/01/1970	656
The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals	Story of a Swedish financier who took Wall Street for a ride during the roaring 1920s. Fascinating to observe how often this story repeats throughout history.	Frank Partnoy	01/01/1970	288
Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell	Biography with practical advice on managing and inspiring high-achievers by empowering them, as the late CEO of Intuit did throughout his life.	Eric Schmidt	01/01/1970	240
A Profile of the Electric Power Industry: Facing the Challenges of the 21st Century	Primer on how the electic utility industry works, including informative section on regulation, financials, industry structure, commodity, technology, and environmental risks.	Charles Clark	01/01/1970	150
A Profile of the Software Industry: Emergence, Ascendance, Risks, and Rewards	Primer on the software industry that explains useful concepts, profiles industry segments, technologies, regulation, and key players circa 2014.	Sandra A. Slaughter	01/01/1970	175
Accenture. Values. Driven. Leadership: The History of Accenture	Coffee table book profiling Accenture's impressive history as a technology leader, published five years after the separation from Arthur Anderson.	Accenture	01/01/2005	308
Albert Einstein: His Life and Universe	Another excellent Isaacson biography that paints Einstein as an avid pacifist and brilliant thinker, though not a great husband or father.	Walter Isaacson	04/10/2007	675
Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built	Amazing story of how a Chinese school teacher built an empire and cult-like corporate culture that is unlike anything out of Silicon Valley.	Duncan Clark	04/12/2016	304
Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel	Great life story of one of Wall Street's highest profile Billionaire investors, with valuable insights and advice.	Sam Zell	05/09/2017	240
An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund	Sad but revealing and educational story of a college kid who traded penny stocks and made big money but never made it as a hedge fund manager.	Timothy Sykes	01/01/1970	235
Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street	Claims with little hesitation that Steve Cohen and his hedge fund, SAC Capital, used illegal tactics to achieving unbelievable results.	Sheelah Kolhatkar	02/07/2017	368
Bowerman and the Men of Oregon: The Story of Oregon's Legendary Coach and Nike's Cofounder	Profiles the cult-like following that Bowerman had from his Olympic runners, and the influences that this parallel narrative had on the creation of Nike and the fitness lifestyle.	Kenny Moore	09/04/2007	480
Damn Right!	One of two good book on Charlie Munger (the other is Poor Charlie's Almanack)	Janet Lowe	01/01/1970	304
Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd	Popular Harvard Business School marketing professor proposes unorthodox approaches to competing more effectively and standing out by being and behaving differently.	Youngme Moon	04/06/2010	288
DisneyWar: The Battle for the Magic Kingdom	Exposes the bitter fights and lapse in governance that characterized the latter years of Michael Eisner's two decades as CEO of Disney.	James B. Stuart	03/06/2006	608
Doing What Matters	Highly-regarded turnaround CEO of Gillette, Nabisco, and Kraft tells his story and shares the experiences and action-driven strategies worked so well.	James M. Kilts	09/04/2007	336
Dream Big: How the Brazilian Trio Behind 3G - Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Beto Sicupira Acquired Anheuser-Busch, Burger King and Heinz	Inspiring story of how 3G became the powerhouse that it is today, with interesting insights on how the culture evolved and managed to prevail.	Cristiane Correia	01/01/2014	252
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future	Biography of a modern Leonardo da Vinci, whose story makes it clear that while not broadly liked or particularly nice as a person, Elon Musk is no man to bet against.	Ashlee Vance	01/01/1970	400
Getting There: A Book of Mentors	Profiling the stories of successful people, with particular focus on their struggles and mindsets.	Gillian Zoe Segal	01/01/1970	208
Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's	Story of Burger King's early and glory days with valuable lessons on life and business as viewed from the founder's personal experience.	Ray Kroc	05/01/1977	201
Honest Weight: The Story of Toledo Scale	Toledo Scale history from its founding in 1901 through the combination with Mettler Scale of Switzerland in 1992, the spinoff of Mettler-Toledo from Ciba-Geigy in 1997 - before Ciba merged with Sandoz to form Novartis.	Bob Terry	02/05/2000	388
How to Lead: Wisdom from the World's Greatest CEOs, Founders, and Game Changers	Inspiring book by Carlyle co-founder compiling dozens of interviews he conducted over the years with the world's greatest leaders and achievers.	David Rubenstein	09/01/2020	448
I Love Capitalism!: An American Story	Inspiring tale of success with insights on how well capitalism can work - written by a brilliant investor and co-founder of Home Depot.	Ken Langone	01/01/1970	304
In an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington	Autobiography of a Goldman risk-arbitrage trader turned US Treasury secretary, and how his probabilistic thinking helped him navigate through it all.	Robert E. Rubin	01/01/1970	448
Junk to Gold: From Salvage to the World's Largest Online Auto Auction	The story of auto auction company Copart and its founder, with particular focus on building a strong culture, and adapting to a changing world.	Willis Johnson	01/01/1970	188
Leanardo da Vinci	Da Vince was an amazing man, but few probably know how controversial he was, and how in spite of his times, he remained a genius.	Walter Isaacson	01/01/1970	624
Lights Out: Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric	Impressive and instructive account of how General Electric was brought down by hubris, denial, and dishonesty. Several reviews from insiders confirm that the facts and accounts in the book are surprisingly accurate. Serves as a manual on how to cook the books.	Thomas Gryta	01/01/1970	368
Market Mover: Lessons from a Decade of Change at Nasdaq	Retired Nasdaq CEO tells the story of how he turned a company that was run like a regulated utility into an innovative, adaptive, and growing company. Provided interesting insights on how the business works as well as on the current CEO, who Greifeld hired.	Robert Greifeld	10/08/2019	304
My Journey into AI: The Story Behind the Man Who Helped Launch 5 AI Companies Worth $25 Billion	Story profiling the early days of artificial intelligence as we know it, told by one of the fathers of the field, who used to run Google China.	Kai-Fu Lee	01/02/2019	321
Na Raça: Como Guilherme Benchimol Criou a Xp e Iniciou a Maior Revolução Do Mercado Financeiro Brasileiro (Portuguese Edition)	Inspiring story of how a group of unknown youngsters were able to overcome enormous barriers to achieve incredible business success in Brazil.	Maria Luiza Filgueira	01/01/2019	208
One Way Up Wall Street: The Fred Alger Story	Epic story of a growth-oriented asset management firm that thrives to this day. Tragically, one of the Alger brothers perished in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, just two years after the book was published.	Dilip Mirchandani	07/01/1999	496
Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing its Soul	Interesting story of success, but raises some questions about sustainability, since even in the early days of easy growth, they needed to continuous innovate (a few times disastrously) in order to sustain growth.	Howard Schultz and Joanne Gordon	01/01/2011	344
Orkin: The Making of The World's Best Pest Control Company	Coffee table book profiling Orkin, which was acquired in 1964 by the Rollins family. Book was published about 5 years after Rollins completed multiple non-core to divestitures to focus solely on pest control.	Margaret O. Kirk	01/01/2005	294
Papa: The Story of Papa John's Pizza	Self-promoting autobiography packed with red flags which serves as a good case study on how to smell a rat by reading through the lines.	John H. Schnatter	01/01/1970	348
Pichai: The Future of Google	Obscure e-book from India on Google's current CEO. While not exactly well written, provides unique insights on Pichai's character and background.	Jagmohan Bhanver	01/01/2015	172
Plain Talk: Lessons from a Business Maverick	Memoirs of Nucor's maverick CEO who achieved outstanding results by incentivizing his steel plant workers to work harder for more money, and by treating them well - which created a competitive advantage.	Ken Iverson	01/01/1970	208
Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made	Biography of one of the most revered and successful athletes of all times reinforces the importance of grit and mindset.	David Halberstam	01/01/1970	421
Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger	One of the few good books (together with Damn Right!) that profiles Charlie Munger's impressive life, principles, and achievements.	Charles T. Munger	01/01/2005	548
Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power	Written in 2012, when the oil business was last booming, this book tells the story of this iconic oil company that had enormous political power and played a big role in US history.	Steve Coll	05/01/2012	685
Railroader: The Unfiltered Genius and Controversy of Four-Time CEO Hunter Harrison	Biography of an over-achiever who died young - and a great example of how being an outstanding CEO does not necessarily require good manners.	Howard Green	01/01/1970	336
Routines and Orgies: The Life of Peter Candill	Biography of a famous Canadian global equities investor who was a renaissance man of sorts. While the account sometimes seems exagerated, the book many raw excerpts of Candill's insightful journal entries on not just investing, but life generally.	Christopher Risso-Gill	01/01/1970	452
Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime	Written by Bill Gates' father, tells some family stories and his philosophies and life principles. An influential lawyer, Mr. Gates Sr. also makes his controversial case for estate taxes.	Bill Gates and Mary A. Mackin	01/01/1970	208
Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life	Written by the sell-side analyst who used to cover the stock for Morgan Stanley, this biography was mostly flattering, except for the picture it painted of Buffett as a detached father, husband, and lover.	Alice Schroeder	01/01/1970	960
Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve	Illuminating and surprisingly humble autobiographical account of his life as a trader and his self-assessed failures as a philosopher.	George Soros	01/01/1970	336
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)	Entertaining stories and insights from one of history's most articulate and well-rounded geniuses, who was also a great educator and philosopher.	Richard Feynman	01/01/1985	352
The Accidental President of Brazil: A Memoir	Autobiography of one of Brazil's presidents during its early, tumultuous years as a democracy, with excellent historical context and interesting, if not controversial, perspectives.	Fernando Henrique Cardoso	01/01/1970	291
The Burger King: Jim McLamore and the Building of an Empire	Autobiography written before his death in 1996, recounts how a unique product idea, the insta-burger flame broiling machine, became something much bigger over time, through trial and error and lots of perseverance.	James W. McLamore	10/01/1997	304
The Buy Side: A Wall Street Trader's Tale of Spectacular Excess	Sad tale of a once-successful hedge fund trader who let life in the fast lane destroy his life and career.	Turney Duff	06/04/2013	320
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon	The story of Amazon is instructive as well as revealing, given their unwavering focus on the long-term and their ruthless competitive tactics.	Brad Stone	01/01/1970	384
The Firm: The Story of McKinsey and Its Secret Influence on American Business	Story of an epic company highlighting the often under-appreciated influence of the strategy consultant on business outcomes and the history of corporate America.	Duff McDonald	09/10/2013	400
The First Billion is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America's Energy Future	Entertaining autobiography of a oilman turned energy trader, who indeed made billions but not without losing everything a few times.	T. Boone Pickens	09/02/2008	272
The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History	Fascinating story of bold bets and big payoff in Las Vegas and beyond. Not entirely a happy story, but interesting perspectives and historical context.	William C. Rempel	01/01/1970	432
The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs	Detailed account of how the partnership was created and the impressive culture that has sustained its prominence and allowed it to overcome the odds and repeatedly re-emerge on top.	Charles D. Ellis	10/07/2008	752
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company	Autobiography offers interesting details behind Disney's big deals and Iger's close relationship with Steve Jobs, as well as some business advice.	Robert Iger	01/01/1970	272
The Truth About Ikea: The Secret Behind the World's Fifth Richest Man and the Success of the Swedish Flatpack Giant	Obscure book written by an insider of the privately-held, secretive company. Not a flattering portrait of the founder, but the success of his radical approach to design and unrelenting focus on value, are notable.	John Stenebo	11/01/2010	320
The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed Our Minds	Biography of one of the fathers of behavioral finance, but more personal and less about the theories and research.	Michael Lewis	12/06/2016	368
The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust	Always lots to learn from frauds that exist for as long as Madoff's, especially when the account is written by the lead NYT reporter on the case. The DeNiro HBO series was based on this book.	Diana B. Henriques	01/01/1970	464
Visa: The Power of an Idea	Coffee table book profiling Visa's incredible history and its visionary leader. Much of the content was pulled straight out of Dee Hock's autobiography. Early history of Bank of America was particularly interesting.	Paul Chutkow	04/01/2001	320
What it Takes: Lesson in the Pursuit of Excellence	Schwarzman tells his story to reinforce the message that making it big requires discipline, grit, and boldness.	Stephen A. Schwarzman	01/01/1970	384
Wooden: A Coach's Life	Interesting learnings from the life story of one of most renowned college basketball coaches of all time.	Seth Davis	01/01/1970	608

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Top recommendations

The Storm Before the Calm: America’s Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond

By George Friedman, 2020 (256 pages)

Well-respected geopolitical forecaster takes a stab at predicting how the U.S. will come out of its current social and political predicament, to continue to reign large as the world’s only living empire.

The Invention of Yesterday: A 50,000-Year History of Human Culture, Conflict, and Connection

By Tamim Ansary, 2019 (448 pages)

Captivating a insightful history of human kind as told by an Afghan-born scholar with a knack for connecting seemingly desperate events in a cohesive and highly readable narrative. Precious insights on money, religion, human nature, failed civilizations, and the role of technology.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind

By Yuval N. Harari, 2015 (464 pages)

Engaging and informative narrative of humanity, as well as a survey of human reality which mixes philosophy, economics, religion, and the role of technology is shaping the future.

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

By Stephen Greenblatt, 2011 (368 pages)

Celebrated historian tells the story of how the knowledge from the Roman philosophical era was preserved and how it sparked the renaissance.

The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century

By George Friedman, 2009 (272 pages)

Offers framework for controversial, yet intriguing predictions on political cycles, demographics, and the era of US hegemony, which author sees culminating in space warfare.

The Great Depression: A Diary

By Benjamin Roth, 2009 (288 pages)

Eye-opening account of the great depression told from the driver’s seat by a lawyer obsessed with wealth preservation, writing in his diary during the 1930s as the world was ending.

Wealth, War & Wisdom

By Barton Biggs, 2008 (368 pages)

Written by renowned market observer and historian, tells the history of the stocks during wars to reveal the market’s amazing capacity in anticipating turns and predicting victory.

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

By John M. Barry, 2004 (560 pages)

History of the Spanish flu with insights on the shortcomings of the Hoover administration, World War 1 propaganda, and the breakthroughs in medicine that ensued from this under-covered historical tragedy.

The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny

By Willian Strauss, 1996 (400 pages)

Interesting survey of demographics and generational moods and trends that explain more than we might realize about consumer preferences, markets, and economies.

John Maynard Keynes

By Hyman P. Minsky, 1975 (181 pages)

Classic reexamination of John Maynor Keynes by a renowned academic who argues that what most people consider Keynesian economics is at odds with Keynes himself believed and preached.

The Great Contraction, 1923-1933

By Milton Friedman, 1963 (265 pages)

Influential chapter from Friedman’s A Monetary History of the United States (published as a stand-alone paperback in 1965) argues that the Federal Reserve could have avoided the 1930s Depression.

Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s

By Frederick Lewis Allen, 1931 (354 pages)

Written in 1930 and publish in 1931, this book exposes how the perception of the 1929 crash changed over time, and especially with the Great Depression in hindsight.

All recommendations

(Sorted by date first published)

Book Title	Comments	Author	First Published	Printed Pages
John Maynard Keynes	Classic reexamination of John Maynor Keynes by a renowned academic who argues that what most people consider Keynesian economics is at odds with Keynes himself believed and preached.	Hyman P Minsky	12/01/1975	181
Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s	Written in 1930 and publish in 1931, this book exposes how the perception of the 1929 crash changed over time, and especially with the Great Depression in hindsight.	Frederick Lewis Allen	06/01/1931	354
Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind	Engaging and informative narrative of humanity, as well as a survey of human reality which mixes philosophy, economics, religion, and the role of technology is shaping the future.	Yuval N. Harari	02/10/2015	464
The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny	Interesting survey of demographics and generational moods and trends that explain more than we might realize about consumer preferences, markets, and economies.	Willian Strauss	01/01/1996	400
The Great Contraction, 1923-1933	Influential chapter from Friedman's A Monetary History of the United States (published as a stand-alone paperback in 1965) argues that the Federal Reserve could have avoided the 1930s Depression.	Milton Friedman	01/01/1970	265
The Great Depression: A Diary	Eye-opening account of the great depression told from the driver's seat by a lawyer obsessed with wealth preservation, writing in his diary during the 1930s as the world was ending.	Benjamin Roth	01/01/2009	288
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History	History of the Spanish flu with insights on the shortcomings of the Hoover administration, World War 1 propaganda, and the breakthroughs in medicine that ensued from this under-covered historical tragedy.	John M. Barry	02/09/2004	560
The Invention of Yesterday: A 50,000-Year History of Human Culture, Conflict, and Connection	Captivating a insightful history of human kind as told by an Afghan-born scholar with a knack for connecting seemingly disperate events in a cohesive and highly readable narrative. Precious insights on money, religion, human nature, failed civilizations, and the role of technology.	Tamim Ansary	10/01/2019	448
The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century	Offers framework for controversial, yet intriguing predictions on political cycles, demographics, and the era of US hegemony, which author sees culminating in space warfare.	George Friedman	01/01/1970	272
The Storm Before the Calm: America's Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond	Well-respected geopolitical forcaster takes a stab at predicting how the US will come out of its current social and polical predicament, to continue to reign large as the world's only living empire.	George Friedman	01/01/1970	256
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern	Celebrated historian tells the story of how the knowledge from the Roman philosophical era was preserved and how it sparked the renaissance.	Stephen Greenblatt	01/01/1970	368
Wealth, War & Wisdom	Written by renowned market observer and historian, tells the history of the stocks during wars to reveal the market's amazing capacity in anticipating turns and predicting victory.	Barton Biggs	01/01/2008	368
1776	Graphic account of the special men who marched with George Washington in the year of the declaration of independence.	David McCullough	01/01/1970	400
21 Lessons for the 21st Century	Valuable survey of the reality of having to cope with technology and the threats that it poses to freedom of choice and privacy. Less enlightening and somewhat redundant to those who read Sapiens.	Yuval Noah Harari	09/04/2018	400
A History of Interest Rates	Classic, dense review of interest rate and credit cycle history which provide precious context for understanding today's backdrop.	Sidney Homer	01/01/1970	736
A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class	A history of the consumer finance industry in the US with valuable insights on how far we've come and how promising the future still looks.	Joe Nocera	10/01/1994	464
Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk	Survey of investing with valuable historical perspectives on cycles and human nature and timeless advice on risk management.	Peter L. Bernstein	09/07/1996	383
America's Great Depression	A classic historical account of the Great Depression told by one of history's most prolific Austrian economists who concludes that it was government interference that made it worse.	Murray N. Rothbard	01/01/1963	372
Behemoth: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World	History of the industrial revolution from the perspective of the factory and how it evolved and changed the course of history.	Joshua B. Freeman	01/01/1970	448
Big Debt Crisis	Revealing how Ray Dalio studies history chronologically through contemporary newspaper articles, and how he applies AI to constructing narratives out of data.	Ray Dalio	11/01/2018	456
Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World	Entertaining survey of the excesses that played out during the credit bubble that culminated in the 2008 crash.	Michael Lewis	10/03/2011	224
Brazillionaires: Wealth, Power, Decadence, and Hope in an American Country	A Michael Lewis style review, written by an American reporter who covered Brazilian markets for Bloomberg, exposes come of the fortunes and excesses in Brazil from 2011 through the oil market downturn of 2015.	Alex Cuadros	07/12/2016	368
Car Wars: Fifty Years of Backstabbing, Infighting, and Industrial Espionage in the Global Market	Captivating behind-the-scenes accounts of Detroit's glory years and epic battles which illuminates the origins of the hubris that plagues industry to this day.	Mantle Jonathan	10/01/1997	272
Coming Apart: The State of White America	Libertarian Harvard professor exposes troubling trends in America using controversial data mapping the structural advantages of the upper class (Belmont) and the harsh realities of the lower (Fishtown).	Charles Murray	01/01/1970	416
Conquering Gotham: Building Penn Station and its Tunnels	Epic tale of power and money and the struggle to build Penn Station and the system of tunnels that links Manhattan to New Jersey and Long Island.	Jill Jonnes	01/01/1970	384
Coolidge	Interesting reexamination of Coolage administration (1924-1928) in defense of his Laissez-faire approach to government and how it drove prosperity and restored trust in (Republican) government.	Amity Shlaes	02/12/2013	565
Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation	Fascinating history of bubbles and crashes revealing how little things change in markets, particularly as it relates to humans wrestle with both greed and fear.	Edward Chancellor	06/04/1999	386
Doug Kass on the Market: A life on TheStreet	Collections of writings on many market-related topics by renowned short seller and contributor to TheStreet.com.	Douglas A. Kass	01/01/1970	544
Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt	Interesting lens on the market of high-frequency quant trading and the big money that goes into gaining an edge.	Michael Lewis	01/01/1970	288
Hitler's First Hundred Days: When German Embraced the Third Reich	Well researched and uniquely-presented account of how many Germans not only accepted, but applauded the atrocities that unfolded as Hitler violently took control.	Peter Fritzche	01/01/1970	432
How to Trade in Stocks	Published in 1940, this book presents timeless principles on speculation and trading from one of the greatest stock market operators of all times.	Jesse Livermore	03/01/1940	146
IBM: The Rise and Fall and Reinvention of a Global Icon (History of Computing)	Long saga of cultural decay that persists at this iconic company. Written by an insider, book demonstrates how hard it is to kill a sick giant, even if that was not the author's intention.	James W. Cortada	03/05/2019	752
King of Capital. The Remarkable Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Steve Schwarzman and Blackstone	Impressive story of how Blackstone transformed itself from two guys and a secretary, to the powerhouse that it is today.	David Carey and John E. Morris	10/05/2010	400
Liar's Poker	Michael Lewis' first classic book on greed and excess on Wall Street profiling the treasury bond scandal of 1991 that brought down Solomon Brothers.	Michael Lewis	01/01/1970	256
Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World	Reads like an epic novel and tells the history of central banking during the 1920s, profiling how a group of eccentric men from the US, UK, Germany, and France, caused the great depression.	Liaquat Ahamed	01/01/1970	576
Mastering Market Cycles: Getting the Odds on Your Side	A re-compilation of previous writings with a title that promises more than is delivered, and few new insights to justify the reading this book instead of his better one, The Most Important Thing.	Howard Marks	10/02/2018	336
Masters of the Word: How Media Shaped History from the Alphabet to the Internet	This detailed survey of the key role that media played thoughout global history provides a valuable framework for understanding and sizing the impact of the Internet.	William Bernstein	01/01/1970	448
MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed Bin Salman	Fascinating profile of Saudi Arabia's mysterious and young leader, his violent and authoritarian inclinations, his love-hate relationship with Trump, and his use of technology to control the people.	Ben Hubbard	03/10/2020	384
Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Transformed America	Story of the epic fight between Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick, two early industrialists emblematic of the Guided Age and age-old conflicts between labor and capital.	Les Standiford	05/10/2005	336
Money Mischief: Episodes in Monetary History	Interesting history of currency from ancient times showing how little certain things change, and how controversial monetary policy has been throughout the ages.	Milton Friedman	02/01/1992	274
Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing	Tells stories of how and why money has failed or worked in the past, reinforcing the message that money is all about trust, and that when the trust exists, prosperity and progress result. Book ends with an explanation of how MMT fits the historical context.	Jacob Goldstein	09/08/2020	272
Mr. Market Miscalculates: The Bubble Years and Beyond	Collection of brilliantly-written pieces from Grant's Interest Rate Observer profiling the folly and excess in financial markets that are fueled by the easy money policies which he disapproves.	James Grant	11/07/2008	430
One Up on Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market	Inspirational investment book written by the legendary Fidelity stock fund manager suggests regular people can gain an advantage over professional investors by paying attention to what they buy and consume.	Peter Lynch and John Rothchild	04/03/2000	304
Panic! The Story of Modern Financial Insanity	Entertaining tales of miscalculation and greed that underpinned multiple financial collapses through recent history, starting with the 1987 crash and ending in the subprime mortgage debacle of 2008.	Michael Lewis	01/01/1970	352
Priceless: The Case that Brought Down the Visa/MasterCard Bank Cartel	Interesting account of the Justice Department's marathon case against MasterCard and Visa, written by the lead lawyer in the case, who perhaps unintentionally, exposes how priceless these businesses really are.	Lloyd Constantine	10/06/2009	272
Since Yesterday: The 1930s in America, September 3, 1929-September 3, 1939	A contemporary history written from 1939 adds perspective on how current views and stories about the great depression changed over time.	Frederick Lewis Allen	01/01/1939	402
Tap Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2013	Early biography of Warren Buffett by his close friend and Fortune report who is best known for editing his annual letters.	Carol J. Loomis	01/01/1970	368
The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living	A life philosophy for achieving inner peace and enlightenment presented by one of the world's most renowned spiritual leaders.	Dalai Lama	10/01/2009	352
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World	History of money and banking from ancient to modern times offers insights on commerce, global trade, monetary theories, and human nature.	Niall Ferguson	01/01/2007	432
The Big Change: America Transforms Itself: 1900-1950	Last book by renowned contemporary historian (1890-1954), published two years before his death, about America's transformation into an industrial powerhouse in the first half of the 1900s.	Frederick Lewis Allen	01/01/1952	322
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine	Michael Lewis's entertaining account (only "based" on true stories), which later became a movie, of people who made big profits anticipating the 2008 crash.	Michael Lewis	01/01/1970	288
The Domino Effect	Detailed history of how the shale revolution triggered a cascading series of events that took down the North American energy market. Author runs RBN Energy, an Energy Blog that offers training and other resources.	Russel E. Braziel	01/03/2016	332
The End of Accounting and the Path Forward for Investors and Managers	Somewhat technical, but enlightening review of how modern, asset-light companies defy the old accounting rules, creating risks and opportunities for investors.	Baruch Lev and Feng Gu	01/01/1970	288
The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking, and the Future of the Global Economy	Former Governor of the Bank of England critiques modern central banking while offering a simple framework to coping with complexity that is grounded in common sense.	Mervyn King	01/01/1970	448
The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression	A retelling of the Great Depression that incorporates hindsights on policy mistakes and argues for smaller government and greater faith in market forces.	Amity Shlaes	06/12/2007	480
The Great Crash 1929	Story of the Great Depression told by a renowned historian offers insights on what caused the crash and the unfortunately circumstances that perpetuated the economic crisis.	John Galbraith	01/01/1955	206
The Great Game: The Emergence of Wall Street as a World Power (1953-2000)	History of financial markets and the stories behind the establishment of Wall Street as the center of the financial world.	John S. Gordon	01/01/1970	320
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers	Savvy management advice and stories from a renowned and outspoken venture capitalist, co-founder of Anreessen Horowitz.	Ben Horowitz	03/04/2014	304
The Lessons of History: The celebrated collection of essays compiling over 5000 years of history by two of the greatest attesters of our time	Evaluates the nature and story of human experience through different constructs, including religion, economic systems, and government.	Will Durant and Ariel Durant	08/09/1968	117
The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production - Toyota's Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars	MIT professors praise of the lean production techniques and philosophies that rocked the auto industry in the 1980s and remain relevant to this day.	James P. Womack	10/10/1990	336
The Mind of Wall Street: A Legendary Financier on the Perils of Greed and the Mysteries of the Market	Autobiography of a Wall Street legend recounting successes, failures, and lessons from a long career managing money.	Leon Levy	11/06/2002	240
The Misbehavior of Markets: A Fractal View of Financial Turbulence	Famous professor and one of the fathers of chaos theory, explains famous how fractal theory applies to financial markets.	Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard L. Hudson	08/03/2004	352
The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations	Renowned energy expert retells in vivid detail the modern version of the energy story, which he had not told in this form since he published The Quest in 2012. Not just informative, but also entertaining, and with many great pictures.	Daniel Yergin	01/01/1970	512
The Oil Kings: How the U.S., Iran, and Saudi Arabia Changed the Balance of Power in the Middle East	Fascinating tale of the critical role that oil and the Middle East played in shaping US foreign policy in the 1970s.	Andrew S. Cooper	08/09/2011	544
The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It	Entertaining and revealing stories of wildly successful quant managers that dominated their markets (some still do), making untold fortunes while playing each other in poker tournaments on regular basis.	Scott Patterson	02/02/2010	352
The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World Industry	Renowned Energy expert and historian tells the story of oil and energy, and explains the role of renewables and the environment have played in the past and how it might change in the future.	Daniel Yergin	01/01/1970	816
The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves	Uplifting account of the human race which highlight how far we have come as a society, and how much more room exists for improvement.	Matt Ridley	01/01/1970	448
The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War	A long and valuable history of productivity growth in the US ends on a pessimistic conclusion today's innovations cannot match those of the past - yet readers can draw a different conclusion and still enjoy the book.	Robert J. Gordon	01/12/2016	784
The Tedious, Brief History of Insurance	Offers historical perspectives and explanations that are useful for understanding this obscure industry.	Richard Rudolph	06/02/2015	398
The Trouble with Prosperity: The Loss of Fear, the Rise of Speculation and the risk to American Savings	Renowned historian and market analyst explores how prosperity plants the seeds of future crisis, with focus on Manhattan's real estate booms and the stories behind its great buildings.	James Grant	01/01/1970	348
The Warren Buffet Way: Investment Strategies of the World's Greatest Investor	Retired money manager turned author, Robert Hagstrom, tells the classic stories which made Warren Buffett so rich and famous.	Robert G. Hagstrom	11/04/1994	288
This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly	Draws from centuries of data across dozens of economies to make the case that the 2008 credit crisis was not that different from other cycles that took many years to cure.	Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff	10/01/2009	512
Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders	Tells the story of the turnaround of a Navy submarine from worst to best by adopting an explicit mindset and culture of accountability and empowerment.	David L. Marquet	01/01/1970	272
When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management	Profiles the incredible story behind one of the biggest financial collapses of modern times - one that was so big it required Fed intervention.	Roger Lowenstein	09/12/2000	288
When Money Dies: The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany	Interesting and informative narrative about the German experience with hyper-inflation in the 1920s, and the scares that this would leave on that generation.	Adam Fergusson	10/12/2010	288
Where Good Ideas Come from: The Natural History of Innovation	Profiles the history of innovation and explores nature of knowledge and how it must accumulate before the "adjacent possible" becomes visible, explaining why certain innovations take their time to play out.	Steven Johnson	10/05/2010	336

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Top recommendations

The Joys of Compounding: The Passionate Pursuit of Lifelong Learning

By Gautam Baid, 2020 (456 pages)

Indian-born, US-based investor Gautam Baid provides a detailed and comprehensive review on investing and the general pursuit of knowledge, with great quotes and real-life examples from his experience with Indian stocks. Chapter 22 is a gem.

Killing the Market: Legendary Investor Robert W. Wilson

By Roemer McPhee, 2016 (104 pages)

Story of a legenday long/short money manager who produced incredible returns during his 40 year investment career by deployed maximum leverage.

The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution

By Gregory Zuckerman, 2019 (384 pages)

Biography of a brilliant and accomplished mathematician who launched the quant revolution and has managed to remain one of the best-performing and most secretive hedge funds ever.

The Infinite Game

By Simon Sinek, 2019 (272 pages)

Consultant applies the concepts in James Carse’s book, Finite and Infinite Games, to offer insights and advice on business strategy and culture.

The Rule: How I Beat the Odds in the Markets and in Life – and How You Can Too

By Larry Hite, 2019 (256 pages)

Autobiography of the unlikely rise and triumph of a legendary trader and hedge fund pioneer who shares the lessons and learnings of a lifetime of beating the odds.

T. Rowe Price: The Man, The Company, and The Investment Philosophy

By Cornelius C. Bond, 2019 (272 pages)

Story of the impressive founder, the culture, and the time-tested investment philosophy of one of the world’s most successful investment management firms.

Quality Investing: Owning the Best Companies for the Long Term

By Patrick Hargreaves, 2016 (224 pages)

Precious review of respected UK hedge fund AKO Capital’s quality investing approach, rich with specific examples of companies and industries and their quality attributes.

Capital Returns: Investing Through the Capital Cycle: A Money Manager’s Reports 2002-15

By Edward Chancellor, 2015 (225 pages)

Explains the investment philosophy of UK hedge fund Marathon Capital with various examples and excerpts from company reports and insights on quality investing.

Uncommon Sense: Investment Wisdom since the Stock Market’s Dawn

By Michael Kemp, 2015 (368 pages)

Easy to read survey of investment theory and practice with a common sense approach, extensive historical perspective, and captivating narratives.

Value: The Four Cornerstones of Corporate Finance

By McKinsey & Company, 2010 (272 pages)

McKinsey ‘s more readable version of Valuation, with focus on corporate strategy, provides a simple framework for understanding and detecting value creation.

And Then They Fired Me

By Jannie Mouton, 2011 (217 pages)

Autobiography of the Warren Buffett of South Africa, sharing his guiding principles and precious insights on investing, which apply surprisingly well to less-chaotic capital market.

Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits

By Philip A. Fisher, 1958 (288 pages)

Best seller from 1958 by legendary growth investor providing time-tested criteria for identifying outstanding companies and investing in them for the long-run.

All recommendations

(Sorted by date first published)

Book Title	Comments	Author	First Published	Printed Pages
And Then They Fired Me	Autobiography of the Warren Buffett of South Africa, sharing his guiding principles and precious insights on investing, which apply surprisingly well to less-chaotic capital market.	Jannie Mouton	01/11/2011	217
Capital Returns: Investing Through the Capital Cycle: A Money Manager’s Reports 2002-15	Explains the investment philosophy of UK hedge fund Marathon Capital with various examples and excerpts from company reports and insights on quality investing.	Edward Chancellor	01/01/1970	225
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits	Best seller from 1958 by legendary growth investor providing time-tested criteria for identifying outstanding companies and investing in them for the long-run.	Philip A. Fisher	01/01/1970	288
Killing the Market: Legendary Investor Robert W. Wilson	Story of a legenday long/short money manager who produced incredible returns during his 40 year investment career by deployed maximum leverage.	Roemer McPhee	01/01/1970	104
Quality Investing: Owning the Best Companies for the Long Term	Precious review of respected UK hedge fund AKO Capital's quality investing approach, rich with specific examples of companies and industries and their quality attributes.	Patrick Hargreaves	01/05/2016	224
T. Rowe Price: The Man, The Company, and The Investment Philosophy	Story of the impressive founder, the culture, and the time-tested investment philosophy of one of the world's most successful investment management firms.	Cornelius C. Bond	01/01/1970	272
The Infinite Game	Consultant applies the concepts in James Carse's book, Finite and Infinite Games, to offer insights and advice on business strategy and culture.	Simon Sinek	01/01/1970	272
The Joys of Compounding: The Passionate Pursuit of Lifelong Learning	Indian-born, US-based investor Gautam Baid provides a detailed and comprehensive review on investing and the general pursuit of knowledge, with great quotes and real-life examples from his experience with Indian stocks. Chapter 22 is a gem.	Gautam Baid	06/02/2020	456
The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution	Biography of a brilliant and accomplished mathematician who launched the quant revolution and has managed to remain one of the best-performing and most secretive hedge funds ever.	Gregory Zuckerman	11/05/2019	384
The Rule: How I Beat the Odds in the Markets and in Life - and How You Can Too	Autobiography of the unlikely rise and triumph of a legendary trader and hedge fund pioneer who shares the lessons and learnings of a lifetime of beating the odds.	Larry Hite	10/01/2019	256
Uncommon Sense: Investment Wisdom since the Stock Market's Dawn	Easy to read survey of investment theory and practice with a common sense approach, extensive historical perspective, and captivating narratives.	Michael Kemp	01/01/1970	368
Value: The Four Cornerstones of Corporate Finance	McKinsey 's more readable version of Valuation, with focus on corporate strategy, provides a simple framework for understanding and detecting value creation.	McKinsey & Company	11/09/2010	272
10½ Lessons from Experience: Perspectives on Fund Management	Co-founder of UK-based hedge fund Marshall Wace shares lessons and insights from a long and successful investing career. Reveals details of Marshal Wace's structure, strategies, culture, and risk management philosophy.	Paul Marshal	01/01/1970	128
A Hedge Fund Tale of Reach and Grasp	Eye-opening fictional account of a quant-driven hedge fund manager who comes from nothing and hits it big, only to blow-up and lose it all, by legendary investor and author, Barton Biggs.	Barton Biggs	01/01/1970	336
A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market	Legendary hedge fund manager and self-proclaimed genius, brags about his incredible accomplishments, his acumen for numbers, and the art of using math to make big money.	Edward O. Thorp	01/01/1970	416
A Zebra in Lion Country: The Dean Of Small Cap Stocks Explains How To Invest In Small Rapidly Growing Companies	Legendary small cap fund manager explains his approach to investing and offers precious stories and insights on what drove his success.	Ralph Wanger	01/01/1970	256
Adaptive Markets: Financial Evolution at the Spreed of Thought	Excellent survey of how market really work with a useful framework for coping with risk - one that gives greater allowance for the influence of irrational behaviors.	Andrew W. Lo	05/02/2017	504
Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Road Trip	Fascinating story of a roadtrip around the world by legendary and outspoken investor and ex-partner of George Soros.	Jim Rogers	01/01/1970	368
Anatomy of the Bear: Lessons from Wall Street's Four Great Bottoms	Analyzes in detail how four major bear market bottoms could have been detected through patterns and signals that were readily available to contemporary investors.	Russell Napier	01/01/1970	336
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder	Mathematician and philosopher focuses on the systematic underpricing of volatility and how to benefit from disorder.	Nassim Nicholas Taleb	01/01/1970	544
Beat the Crowd: How You Can Out-Invest the Herd by Thinking Differently	One can be a contrarian in a bull market by being even more bullish than consensus, was one of the key messages from this investment book from a renowned fund manager and Fortune Magazine contributor.	Ken Fisher with Elisabeth Dellinger	01/01/1970	320
Being Right or Making Money	Unique book by quantitative trend follower and hedge fund manager on how to improve your chances of making money.	Ned Davis	01/01/1970	256
Big Money Thinks Small: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing	Insightful and entertaining memoirs of a veteran small cap money manager with advice on how to avoid common pitfalls.	Joel Tillinghast	01/01/1970	312
Capital: The Story of Long-Term Investment Excellence	Story of Capital Research Group written by Charles Ellis, a prolific author and founder of well-known financial services consulting firm, Greenwich Associates.	Charles D. Ellis	02/04/2004	352
Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors	Classic strategy book popular with management consultants that lays out useful frameworks for analyzing industries and companies, such as Porter's 5 forces.	Michael E. Porter	06/01/1998	397
Concentrated Investing: Strategies of the World's Greatest Concentrated Value Investors	Success stories of how outsized returns were made by concentrating and being right, with engaging stories backed by rich data and theory - tells stories of legendary investors and their investments.	Allen Benello	01/01/1970	256
Dead Company Walking: How a Hedge Fund Manager Finds Opportunity in Unexpected Places	Unique and entertaining memoir by a hedge fund manager who made it his business to benefit from the failure of companies and industries.	Scott Fearon and Jesse Powell	01/06/2015	256
Diary of a Hedgehog: Biggs' Final Words on the Market	Barton Biggs' memoirs of from his years as a hedge fund manager running Traxis Partners, published shortly before he passed away in 2012.	Barton Biggs	11/06/2012	213
Downside Protection: Process and Tenets for Short Selling in All Market Environments	Hedge fund manager discusses his approach to short selling based on deep fundamental research and a categorization of shorts into different types, which are illuminated with interesting examples.	Nitin K Sacketi	06/07/2019	130
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets	Nassim Taleb's best book, with entertaining stories of risk mismanagement and sound advice on how avoiding common mistakes in interpreting reality.	Nassim Nicholas Taleb	01/01/1970	368
Fooling Some of the People All of the Time: A Long Short Story	David Einhorn's memoirs and the story of how he shorted Allied capital and made big money other of high-profile bets that made him rich and famous.	David Einhorn	05/02/2008	400
Hedge Fund Market Wizards: How Winning Traders Win	Schwagger's best book profiling interviews with top performing hedge fund managers that survived the 2008 crash.	Jack D. Schwager	01/01/1970	544
High Returns from Low Risk: A Remarkable Stock Market Paradox	Insightful discussion on the paradox of how lower volatility stocks can systematically outperform and how many quantitative screens miss them.	Pim Van Vliet and Jan De Koning	01/01/1970	164
Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success	Profiles Steve Job's obsession with simplicity and how this permeated everything Apple did, including its marketing campaigns.	Ken Segall	01/01/1970	240
Invested: Changing Forever the Way Americans Invest	Charles Schwab autobiography tells the story of how his company democratized investing in the US and became a powerhouse.	Charles Schwab	10/08/2019	352
Investing Against the Tide: Lessons from a Life Running Money	Memoirs of a famous British value investor who discusses his investment philosophy and illustrates with examples.	Anthony Bolton	01/01/1970	240
Investing for Growth: How to Make Money by Only Buying the Best Companies in the World	A compilation of the writtings of renowned UK fund investor, Terry Smith, since he started Fundsmith in 2010. Not much that is original content, but still a worthwhile and entertaining read. The analogy of investing and the Tour de France was excellent.	Terry Smith	01/01/1970	366
Investing for the Long Term	Renowned fund manager (who some have called the Warren Buffett of Spain) explains his value investing approach and philosophies.	Francisco Parames	01/01/1970	312
Investing: The Last Liberal Art	Explains investing from a range of fields outside of economics, including physics, biology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and literature.	Robert G. Hagstrom	01/08/2013	216
Investment: A History	Comprehensive and highly-instructive history of the investment industry and its many players, with valuable insights on theory and practice.	Norton Reamer and Jesse Downing	01/01/1970	448
Jesse Livermore - Boy Plunger: The Man Who Sold America Short in 1929	One of several books on the life and times of one the greatest traders of all times, and one of the fathers of momentum investing.	Tom Rubython	05/07/2015	400
John Neff on Investing	Memoirs of a successful value investor with an enviable track record and a knack for unconventional thinking.	John Neff	01/01/1970	288
Julian Robertson: A Tiger in the Land of Bulls and Bears	Story of the famous hedge fund manager who founded the Tiger Fund and seeded a generation of other highly-successful funds known as the Tiger Cubs.	Daniel A. Strachman	01/01/1970	288
Leading at The Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition	The Ernest Shakleton story told by a management consultant focused on drawing leadership lessons applicable to the corporate world.	Dennis N. T. Perkins	05/05/2000	268
Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders	Inspirational book by trader and popular author who interviews top performing traders in search for clues on how they manage risk and make big money.	Jack D. Schwager	01/01/1970	480
My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance	Captivating autobiography of a particle physicist and intellectual who migrated to Wall Street to become a successful quant manager.	Emanuel Derman	01/01/1970	304
Narrative and Numbers: The Value of Stories in Business	NYU business school professor and blogger highlights the importance of narrative and numbers in stock-picking.	Aswath Damodaran	01/10/2017	296
Only the Best Will Do	Fund manager justifies his investment philosophy of investing in the highest quality growth companies, such as MasterCard and others.	Peter Seilern	01/01/1970	200
Pioneering Portfolio Management: An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment	Survey of the art and theory of capital allocation of famed CIO of Yale's endowment, known for his large allocation to alternative and illiquid strategies.	David F. Swensen	01/06/2009	432
Principles: Life and Work	One of the world's most successful hedge fund managers shares his life stories and the principles that made him so successful.	Ray Dalio	01/01/1970	592
Quantitative Momentum: A Practitioner's Guide to Building a Momentum-Based Stock Selection System	Defends momentum investing and provides practical strategies for its deployment by use of quantitative techniques.	Wesley R. Gray	10/03/2016	208
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator	A collection of stories first-published as articles in the Saturday Evening Post as memoirs of a trader pseudo-names Larry Livingston following a series of interviews with legendary Wall Street operator, Jesse Livermore.	Lefèvre Edwin	01/01/1923	408
Repeatability: Build enduring businesses for a world of constant change	Bain & Company consultants show how leadership and culture can make serial compounders of companies in otherwise unattractive industries.	Chris Zook and James Allen	03/06/2012	288
Retail Disruptors: The Spectacular Rise and Impact of the Hard Discounters	Consultant explains the growing popularity and disruption from the "hard discounter" format in retail, where fewer SKUs are sold at better prices by operators obsessed with keeping cost and complexity to a minimum.	Jan-Benedict Steenkamp	01/01/1970	264
Simple: Conquering the Crisis of Complexity	A manifesto on simplicity showing how hard it can be to achieve and sustain, but also how beneficial it can be to those who manage.	Alan Siegel and Irene Etzkorn	04/02/2013	256
Stocks for the Long Run: The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns & Long Term Investment Strategies	Sometimes referred to as "the buy and hold bible," this book made the case that stocks offered an attractive risk/reward proposition in 1994, and then again when updated in 2014.	Jeremy J. Siegel	01/01/1994	448
Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction	One of the most respected experts on why experts are not good predictors, offers advice on how to make better forecasts.	Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner	01/01/1970	352
Technical Analysis of Stock Trends (8th Edition)	Considered the bible of technical analysis, this classic book on its 9th edition surveys the theories behind why certain chart setups repeat themselves, and how they can be used to predict future moves.	Robert D. Edwards	01/01/1970	752
The Alchemy of Finance	Classic investment book and with theories (such as reflexivity), case studies, and a trading diary, by one of the world's most famous hedge fund managers.	George Soros	01/01/1970	391
The Art of Execution: How the world's best investors get it wrong and still make millions	Fund of fund manager classifies investors into different types and explains how each manages mistakes and copes with losses.	Lee Freeman-Shor	01/01/1970	208
The Art of Short Selling	Practitioner describes, through detailed examples of her highly-specialized approach to short selling, how she caught some of fantastic blowups during the early 1990s.	Katherin F. Stanley	01/01/1970	304
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable	Taleb's angry treatise on the flaws with modern financial theory and the follies resulting from improper risk management.	Nassim Nicholas Taleb	01/01/1970	366
The Blue Line Imperative: What Managing for Value Really Means	Respected academics at INSEAD make a case for a maverick mindset they call Blue Line Management, that only engages in activities that create true value.	Keven Kaiser and S. David Young	09/03/2013	320
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right	Influential surgeon and author of Being Mortal explains a simple, yet powerful way to improve performance by reducing the incidence of avoidable mistakes with simple checklists.	Atul Gawande	01/01/1970	224
The Davis Dynasty: Fifty Years of Successful Investing on Wall Street	Biography of legendary American investor who started with a relatively small stake and amassed a fortune by investing patiently, mostly in insurance stocks.	David Rothchild	08/03/2001	328
The Education of a Value Investor: My Transformative Quest for Wealth, Wisdom, and Enlightenment	Inspirational autobiography of a hedge fund manager and his learnings from managing money and coping with emotional biases through the 2008 crash.	Guy Spier	09/09/2014	224
The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America	Lawrence Cunningham's survey of the many writing and thoughts attributed to Warren Buffett that came mostly from the letters he wrote his shareholders over the decades.	Lawrence Cunningham and Warren Buffett	01/01/1970	350
The Founder's Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crisis of Growth	Management strategy book by the same authors of Repeatability, focused on the importance of culture and mindset in sustaining profitable growth.	Chris Zook and James Allen	06/07/2016	224
The Future for Investors: Why the Tried and the True Triumph Over the Bold and the New	Argues for the investment merits of all-weather, durable businesses while shunning the attractiveness of high growth concepts that suffer from what the author, a respected university professor, calls the treadmill effect.	Jeremy J. Siegel	03/08/2005	336
The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (Management of Innovation and Change)	Book on technological disruption and disruptor strategies, written by renowned Harvard professor and thought-leader on the topic.	Clayton M. Christensen	01/01/1970	288
The Investment checklist: The Art of In-Depth Research	Valuable framework for applied equity research with good examples and ideas, but more of a value tilt, with less emphasis on quality.	Michael Shearn	11/08/2011	384
The Investor's Paradox: The Power of Simplicity in a World of Overwhelming Choice	Veteran fund of funds investor explains his approach and philosophy in the selection of the best fund managers.	Brian Portnoy	01/07/2014	256
The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor	Compilation of Marks' memos at Oaktree Capital that explain his framework for risk management and investing generally.	Howard Marks	05/01/2011	200
The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success	Profile of eight highly successful leaders and capital allocators and how they delivered outsized shareholder value.	William N. Thorndike	01/01/1970	272
The Rise and Fall of Nations: Forces of Change in the Post-Crisis World	Chief investment officer of Morgan Stanley Investment Management Emerging Market group offers his views on how to spot and benefit from boom-bust cycles.	Ruchir Sharma	06/07/2016	480
The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing	Explores the roles that skill and luck play across competitive domains like sports and investing, with interesting examples and anecdotes.	Michael J. Mauboussin	11/06/2012	320
The Wisdom of Crowds	Interesting discussion on how markets work, how efficient they can be at processing new information, and also how they can sometimes become irrational or lopsided.	James Surowiecki	01/01/1970	336
Unexpected Returns: Understanding Secular Stock Market Cycles	Survey of how markets go through secular bull and bear markets and the macro factors that can help investors detect turns.	Ed Easterling	04/01/2005	296
Unknown Market Wizards: The Best Traders You've Never Heard Of	Career trader Jack Schwager interviews several commodities and stock traders with huge returns with the goal of understanding their secrets. Unlike his prior books that focused on famous investors, this one profiles mostly young days traders with tiny accounts.	Jack D. Schwager	11/03/2020	361
Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies (6th edition)	Comprehensive reference book on company valuation theory and practice, with examples using Heineken and Ecolab, among others.	Tim Koller and McKinsey & Company	01/01/1970	896
Where Are the Customer's Yachts? Or A Good Look at Wall Street	Hilarious 1940 book about the conflicts of interest on Wall Street which highlights how little some things have changed.	Fred Schwed	03/02/1940	256
Why Moats Matter: The Morningstar Approach to Stock Investing	Morningstar makes the case for why investors should seek out sustainable competitive advantages that they, and Warren Buffett, refer to as moats.	Heather Brilliant and Elizabeth Collins	01/01/1970	240
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future	Enlightening survey of the power law world and how it applies to not only venture capital investing, but life in general.	Peter Thiel	01/01/1970	224

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Top recommendations

Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

By Steven Pinker, 2018 (576 pages)

Optimistic assessment of the human condition, argues that the world is not falling apart, and that the forces of reason will usher progress.

Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy

By Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, 2016 (288 pages)

A popular and highly-regarded Indian Yogi shares his guide and strategies for achieving happiness, calmness, and fulfilment.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

By Atul Gawande, 2014 (304 pages)

Influential surgeon and author of The Checklist Manifesto, confronts the inevitability of death and how medicine often runs counter to the interests of the human spirit.

Finite and Infinite Games

By James Carse, 1986 (160 pages)

Theology professor explains the economic theory of cooperation from a philosophical and theological standpoint and without referencing economics.

Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin

By Stephen Jay Gould, 1996 (244 pages)

Draws from anthropology, chaos theory, and common sense to propose fascinating theories on how evolution works and why humans are wired to misinterpret reality.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values

By Robert M. Pirsig, 1974 (412 pages)

Enlightening fictional account by a philosopher who goes on a cross-country motorcycle trip with his 11-year old son following a nervous breakdown that required time at a mental institution.

All recommendations

(Sorted by date first published)

Book Title	Comments	Author	First Published	Printed Pages
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End	Influential surgeon and author of The Checklist Manifesto, confronts the inevitability of death and how medicine often runs counter to the interests of the human spirit.	Atul Gawande	10/07/2014	304
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress	Optimistic assessment of the human condition, argues that the world is not falling apart, and that the forces of reason will usher progress.	Steven Pinker	01/01/1970	576
Finite and Infinite Games	Theology professor explains the economic theory of cooperation from a philosophical and theological standpoint and without referencing economics.	James Carse	01/01/1970	160
Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin	Draws from anthropology, chaos theory, and common sense to propose fascinating theories on how evolution works and why humans are wired to misinterpret reality.	Stephen Jay Gould	09/03/1996	244
Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy	A popular and highly-regarded Indian Yogi shares his guide and strategies for achieving happiness, calmness, and fulfilment.	Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev	01/01/1970	288
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values	Enlightening fictional account by a philosopher who goes on a cross-country motorcycle trip with his 11-year old son following a nervous breakdown that required time at a mental institution.	Robert M. Pirsig	05/01/1974	412
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos	Canadian clinical psychologist offers a humorous, critical and in-your-face, survey of reality through 12 rules of life that draw from science, theology, and common sense.	Jordan B. Peterson	01/01/1970	409
Atlas Shrugged	First published in 1957, tells the fictional story of industrialists battling to keep a country afloat, while an inventor named John Galt organizes a movement against collectivism in favor of objectivism, or rational self-interest.	Ayn Rand	10/10/1957	1.088
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think	Similar to Pinker's Enlightenment now and Rational Optimist, the Hans Rosling shows how the human condition is considerably better than is widely perceived.	Hans Rosling	04/03/2018	352
Greenspan's Bubbles: The Age of Ignorance at the Federal Reserve	Angry book setting the record straight on Greenspan's mistakes, by a well knows short seller and contributor to theStreet.com.	William Fleckenstein	02/06/2008	208
How Will You Measure Your Life?	Inspirational book by one of the most influential Harvard Business School professors, who was also a ranked leader in the Mormon church, and died January 2020 at 67, from cancer.	Clayton Christensen, James Allworth and Karen Dillon	01/01/1970	240
Joy on Demand: The Art of Discovering the Happiness Within	An early Google programmer shares meditation techniques for achieving happiness, enhancing creativity, and attracting new friends.	Chade-Meng Tan	01/01/1970	272
Maxims	Entertaining collection of 350 year old maxims by French author and nobleman, who took part in the literary movement of classicism that served as inspiration to notable philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche .	La Rochefoucauld [1613-1680]	01/01/1665	168
The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms	Collection of maxims on life by risk-arb trader, turned hedge fund manager, turned full-time scholar & philosopher, whose clever jabs are entertaining as well as enlightening.	Nassim Nicholas Taleb	01/01/1970	112
The Hedgehog and the Fox: An Essay on Tolstoy's View of History	Classic essay on Tolstoy's view of history which classifies people into two types, foxes and hedgehogs. "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."	Isaiah Berlin	01/01/1953	95
The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True	Pop science book by renowned scientist/philosopher who attempts to explain in simple terms, the complex nature of things.	Richard Dawkins	09/01/2011	272
The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise	Politically conservative social scientist (president of American Enterprise Institute) lays out the case for why people and enterprise are better off free, and why America should resist big government and higher taxes.	Arthur C. Brooks	05/08/2012	224
Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World	Profiles the life advice from top performers across multiple fields including fitness, business, investing, and art.	Timothy Ferris	01/01/1970	624
Where Does it Hurt?: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Fixing Health Care	Written by the ex-CEO of AthenaHealth, who is also the nephew former US President, George W. Bush, provides a critical examination of what's wrong with US healthcare, particularly at the point of care.	Jonathan Bush and Stephen Baker	01/01/1970	240

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Top recommendations

Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy – And How to Make Them Work for You

By Geoffrey G. Parker, 2016 (352 pages)

The best book on platforms; explains how they differ from traditional businesses and offers strategies for growing, monetizing, and creating value.

How the Internet Happened: From Netscape to the iPhone

By Brian McCullough, 2018 (448 pages)

A contemporary history of how the internet became what it is today, as told by a tech blogger who profiles of the key personalities, companies, and products that shaped the present. Precious insights on the role of culture, software, platforms, and monetization schemes.

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(Sorted by date first published)

Book Title	Comments	Author	First Published	Printed Pages
AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order	One of the fathers of artificial intelligence and former Google executive explains how technology has evolved in China and why they will eventually surpass Silicon Valley in the technology race.	Kai-Fu Lee	01/01/1970	272
Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another	Physicist applies a unique framework that draws parallels from nature to explain why societies and markets often behave in unexpected ways.	Philip Ball	06/01/2004	528
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow	Pulls ideas and narratives from multiple fields, such as philosophy, theology, biology, and computer science, to describe the human experience and assess its future.	Yuval Harari	01/01/1970	464
How Google Works	Google executives explain the mindset and culture that makes their company so outstanding, with the new, March 2017 edition including a bonus chapter and forward that are must-reads.	Eric Schmidt	01/01/1970	304
How the Internet Happened: From Netscape to the iPhone	A contemporary history of how the internet became what it is today, as told by a tech blogger who profiles of the key personalities, companies, and products that shaped the present. Precious insights on the role of culture, software, platforms, and monetization schemes.	Brian McCullough	01/01/1970	448
More from Less: The Surprising Story of How We Learned to Prosper Using Fewer Resources—and What Happens Next	Timely survey of how technology is allowing mankind to proper while using fewer resources. While not necessarily the author's intention, his arguments and conclusions are helpful for understanding today's markets.	Andrew McAfee	10/08/2019	352
Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy - And How to Make Them Work for You	The best book on platforms; explains how they differ from traditional businesses and offers strategies for growing, monetizing, and creating value.	Geoffrey G. Parker	01/01/1970	352
Subscribed: Why the Subscription Model Will Be Your Company's Future - and What to Do About It	Silicon Valley entrepreneur explains how some modern companies are gaining a competitive advantage by converting to a subscription models in order to better respond to customer's changing needs.	Tien Tzuo	06/05/2018	256
The Signal and the Noise: Why most fail but some don't	Renowned statistician shares stories, concepts, and frameworks for gaining a better understanding of probabilities and of our shortcomings as forecasters.	Nate Silver	01/01/1970	554
What Technology Wants	Written by co-founder of Wired Magazine, this book offers a unique framework for understanding how technology works and where it might be headed. Quotes theologist James Carse and concludes that like religion, technology is an infinite game.	Kevin Kelly	01/01/1970	416
2030: How Today's Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything	Wharton Professor takes a stab at what the world will look like in ten years by assessing the implications of relevant socio-political,economic, and technological trends. Rich in facts and insights, but the last chapter was the best.	Mauro F. Guillen	01/01/1970	288
Average is Over: Powering America Beyond the Age of Great Stagnation	Provocative, if not alarming, appraisal of the endgame with the digital economics, because as winners take all, the bell curve gets replaced with a pare to curve consisting of only a few winners who dominate while the majority loses.	Tyler Cowen	01/01/2013	304
Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company - and Revolutionized the Industry	Founder of Salesforce.com tells his story and his vision for how cloud computing and the software as a service (SaaS) model would change how software is delivered.	Marc R. Benioff	01/01/1970	304
Big Business: A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero	Economist, bestselling author, and famous blogger argues that the biggest problem in America is that we don’t love "big business" enough.	Tyler Cowen	04/09/2019	272
Birth of the Chaordic Age	Founder of Visa explores interesting parallels between complex theory and business strategy to introduce his concept for a new type of organization that thrives in in chaos.	Dee Hock	01/01/2000	345
Digital Transformation: Survive and Thrive in an Era of Mass Extinction	Visionary Silicon Valley entrepreneur examines how cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things are changing how business and government operate.	Thoman M. Siebel	07/09/2019	256
Distant Reading	Published in Italian in 2005 and English in 2013, a literary historian introduces a novel research technique that enables computerized content analysis and is applicable to equity research (which is not mentioned).	Franco Moretti	01/01/2005	224
Euclid's Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace	Theoretical physicist and renowned author offers a captivating narrative on the history of scientific discoveries in geometry from Pythagoras to Enstein.	Leonard Mlodinow	01/01/1970	320
Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry	Collection of essays on how the semiconductor industry evolved over the years, as most companies outsourced manufacturing to focus on design, while allowing ever-more sophisticated manufacturing and scale-economies to acumulate in the hands of a few giants.	Daniel Nenni	01/01/1970	220
Frenemies: The Epic Disruption of the Ad Business (and Everything Else)	Inside story on how the bloated and antiquated advertising industry is being disrupted by a new order where coopetition and technological disruption rule the day.	Ken Auletta	06/07/2018	368
Idea Makers: Personal Perspectives on the Lives & Ideas of Some Notable People	Renowned mathematician Stephen Wolfram profiles history's notable scientists and methematicians, including a few he knew personally, like Feynman, Mandelbrot, and Steve Jobs. Despite the complexity of the subjects discussed, the book is surprsingly light and entertaining.	Stephen Wolfram	07/07/2016	250
Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry	Tells the remarkable story of rapid success and failure of an unlikely partnership between a visionary engineer and an abrasive Harvard Business school graduate.	Jacquie McNish	01/01/1970	288
Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital Future	MIT economist explores strategies and concepts in digital transformation, such as platform economics, network effects, and crowd sourcing - which apply to all businesses.	Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee	01/01/1970	416
Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, the Gates Foundation, Rock the World with OKRs	Renowned venture capitalist discusses a management framework focused on Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that Silicon Valley companies are known to utilize for driving outstanding performance.	Jon Doerr and Kris Duggan	01/01/1970	320
Modern Monopolies: What It Takes to Dominate the 21st Century Economy	Explores how mobile platforms can dominate their verticals that draws examples from dominant platforms like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Snapchat, and Tinder to offer valuable insights.	Alex Moazed and Nicholas L. Johnson	01/01/1970	272
Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception	Nobel Price-winning economists offer a provocative thesis about how markets can be unfriendly with profits made by traps that systematically exploit our psychological weaknesses and our ignorance.	George Akerlof and Robert Shiller	01/01/1970	288
Power Hungry: The Myths of "Green" Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future	Debunks the theory that the world is ready to switch off from using fossil fuels, given how hungry it really is for power and inefficient and insufficient renewables still are.	Robert Bryce	01/01/1970	416
Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future	Respected economist paints a pessimistic, if not alarming, picture of the future of labor by predicting that automation will leave millions with nothing productive to do.	Martin Ford	01/01/2015	354
Samsung Rising: The Inside Story of the South Korean Giant That Set Out to Beat Apple and Conquer Tech	Reporter who covered Samsung for years tells the bizarre story of how the company succeeded in the mobile handset market, even while lacking the innovative and adaptive cultures of its US competitors. Book offers valuable industry insights and perspectives..	Geoffrey Cain	01/01/1970	416
Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations	Renowned NY Times journalist offers a well-researched survey of how digital technology is transforming the world and why it is important to keep up with this change.	Thomas Friedman	01/01/1970	496
The Curse of Cash	Controversial book by influential Harvard professor discusses the limitations of cash and how a world without it would reduce corruption, drug trade, and disease transmission, while making monetary policy more effective.	Kenneth S. Rogoff	09/06/2016	296
The Demographics of Innovation: Why Demographics is a Key to the Innovation Race	Interesting thesis on how the demographic make-up of countries influences their ability to keep pace with technological innovation - paints an optimistic view for India and China given their large, young population.	James Liang	01/01/1970	264
The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google	Outspoken business school professor, serial entrepreneur and blogger offers an entertaining read on how and why Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google will continue to dominate, but increasingly compete with each other.	Scott Galloway	10/03/2017	320
The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution	Biographies of several of the early innovators including Alan Turing, John von Neumann, Robert Noyce, Steve Jobs, and Larry Page - that culminates in the invention of the computer and the modern era.	Walter Isaacson	10/07/2014	560
The Microchip Revolution: A brief history	Detailed account of early days of the semiconductor - as told by industry veterans obsessed with manufacturing challenges and progress. Helpful for appreciating how mach has changed since the industry went fabless, a trend the authors consider a national security mistake.	Luc Oliver Bauer & E. Marchall Wilder	01/01/1970	382
The New Digital Age: Transforming Nations, Businesses, and our lives	Google's former CEO co-authored this uplifting review of the transformative impact that digital technologies will have globally as the internet and mobile computing become ubiquitous.	Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen	01/01/1970	336
The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies	Surveys how technology is improving the world, how the new order will require humans to work closer with machines, and how all companies will ultimately be forced to change or die.	Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee	01/01/1970	320
The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism	NYU professor describes how the sharing of assets and labor through platforms like Uber, AirBnb, and TaskRabbit, will change the face of business and labor markets.	Arun Sundararajan	01/01/1970	306
The Theory that Would Not Die: How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant	Fascinating history of Baye's Theory that profiles famous mathematicians like Bayes, Laplace, and Turing, who applied to change history.	Sharon B. McGrayne	01/01/1970	360
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference	Fascinating thesis on how big changes can be caused by small perturbations that push complex systems beyond their so-called tipping points.	Malcolm Gladwell	01/01/1970	288
Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age	Written by Microsoft's veteran	Brad Smith	09/10/2019	368

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