Books
1. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre
Originally published in 1923, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is a very lively, entertaining and informative biography of the speculator Jesse Livermore who made and lost multi-million dollar fortunes many times over from the early 1900s through the 1930s. Jesse got his start in the 1890s … Read the full review here.
2. Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Hedge fund manager and professor Nassim Nicholas Taleb rose to prominence after publishing his book Fooled by Randomness about the role chance plays in our lives and the market. Along with Dr. Doom Nouriel Roubini, Taleb was one of the market observers and participants who anticipated the upcoming 2007-2009 crash by explicitly stating … Read the full review here.
3. When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein
Written by Roger Lowenstein who also wrote Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist
, the book is an eye opener and a lesson in how things can go wrong when you combine extreme leverage with financial instruments that are beyond your core area of expertise. The book details the rise and spectacular fall of the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management, which during its early years returned as much as 40% a year after fees to its investors.
4. Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis
As equity investors many of us have very little exposure to how bonds markets function. Liar’s Poker does a great job of providing us a fun and light hearted glimpse into the world of bond trading as it
existed at the Wall Street firm Salomon Brothers during its peak and is a must read in my opinion. Folks who might be wondering if a book written in 1989 about a now defunct investment firm has any relevance in the world we live in now would find … Read the full review here.
5. A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel
Princeton University Economics professor Dr. Burton Malkiel has written an excellent book in “A Random Walk Down Wall Street”, which has sold a million
copies and is periodically updated with new insights. While the book is long and
I don’t agree with the efficient market hypothesis (the strong form or the weak form that Dr. Malkiel believes in), it is very interesting to see how he goes about debunking the importance
of technical analysis and … Read the full review here.
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