Books are very personal and there is often a view that books on finance are dry and technical. I have however compiled a list below of some books on finance related topics that are, in my view, interesting, sometimes technical, but also enjoyable to read or just a useful source of relevant information in areas that are related to my training activities. I love a good story and also history so many the books I have chosen are, to me at least, interesting because they focus on the working and psychology of markets, business history and people that work in the markets. As the saying goes the truth is often stranger than fiction and in some of the books I have referred to the facts would seem, if they were not facts, works of fantastic fiction. If you read any of the books in the list please consider when the books were written as what happened next or what was happening at the time of publication is very relevant to an assessment of how business conditions and market psychology affect financial returns, company performance and investors attitudes, regulation and financial conduct. In addition to the books on the list below there are of course, many books on companies and prominent business people that provide insight into why businesses and people in business achieve success or perform poorly. I also find it useful to review financial statements and publications of companies that have performed well or experienced financial distress as this provides insight into the characteristics, both strategic and quantitative, of successful and unsuccessful businesses and projects. I hope you enjoy any of the books or publications in the list that you choose to read. If you have some suggestions of your own I d be happy to hear from you. With best wishes Malcolm Sullivan Page 1 of 5
Animal Spirits George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller 2009 How Human Psychology drives the Economy and why it matters for At the Crest of the Tidal Wave Bailouts or Bail - Ins Barbarians at the Gate Commercial Real Estate Analysis & Investments, Student Edition Global Capitalism Robert R. Prechter Jr. 1997 Analysis of the outlook for financial markets and potential for a major market downturn Nouriel Roubini and Brad Sester Bryan Burrough and John Helyar Geltner,Miller,Clayton, Eichholtz 2004 How the international community should deal with international financial crises in Emerging Markets 1990 The takeover of RJ Reynolds, the main people and organisations involved and the workings of the Leveraged Buyout Market 2007 Economic & Financial Analysis of Commercial Real Estate Den of Thieves James B. Stewart 1991 The activities of the US financial markets and key players with an emphasis on the Junk Bond Market and financial misconduct Page 2 of 5
Exposure Michael Woodford 2012 The financial scandal at Olympus, a major Japanese Corporation, written by the former President and CEO of the Company who unveiled financial scandals at the company Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds Charles Mackay 1841 Examples of collective mania, delusions and follies in history including financial collapses like the South Sea Bubble and Tulip mania Globalizing Capital Barry Eichengreen 1996 A History of the Financial System Going for Broke Russell Taylor 1993 Financial and Banking collapses and scandals Liar s Poker Michael Lewis 1989 An insight into the bond business in the US written by a former bond salesman Lords of Finance Liaquat Ahamed 2009 The Great Depression in 1929 and the policy decisions and roles of the key Central Bankers at the time in dealing with the consequences of the ensuing economic crisis Page 3 of 5
Management in Ten Words Terry Leahy 2013 The management philosophy of Terry Leahy, former CEO of Tesco one of the world s largest retailers, until 2011, subsequent to which the company faced a downturn in its financial performance On the Brink Hank Paulson 2010 The Global Reckless$ Endangerment Gretchen Morgensen & Joshua Rosner Financial Crisis 2011 The US Mortgage Finance Crisis, with a particular emphasis on the activities of the Federal National Mortgage Association Reminiscences of a Stock operator Edwin Lefevre 1923 A fictionalized account of the life of Jesse Livermore, a well known securities trader, which gives insights into the art of trading and speculation Steve Jobs Karen Blumenthal 2012 A biography of The Black Swan Nassim Nicholas Taleb Steve Jobs 2007 The impact of random events and the limitations of trying to predict everything in the context of the impact of highly improbable events Page 4 of 5
The Crunch Alex Brummer 2008 The origins and development of the credit crisis which developed from the problems of the US sub prime mortgage market The Death of Money James Rickards 2014 Factors that the author believes will result in the Coming Collapse of the Monetary System The Edge of Chaos Bernice Cohen 1997 Analytical techniques in the context of identifying, based on history, the stages of Financial Booms, Bubbles, Crashes and Chaos The House of Al Alletzhauser 1990 The development of Nomura The Snowball, Revised & Updated Edition Nomura Securities Alice Schroeder Book Biography of Warren Buffett that gives background not only on his investments and investment philosophy but also insight into Warren Buffett as a person The World is Flat Thomas Friedman 2005 How technology is reducing geographical boundaries and implications for economies, businesses and people Page 5 of 5